‘Pleased to meet you. Have you been up at Chamoux?’
Annie nodded, still amazed at bumping into him here. ‘Yes, and it was lovely, apart from the cable car.’ She turned her attention to Matt and surveyed him critically. He was looking very good: fit, healthy and no older than the last time they had met. And that, she well remembered, had been at Steve’s funeral. She did her best to banish the memory of that grim day. His lush dark hair was still without a trace of grey even though he, like she, was edging towards forty. ‘How amazing to bump into you like this, Matt. I haven’t seen you for ages.’
Annie and Karen sat down at the table with them and told them of the wonderful meal they had just had. Karen spoke English and Matt translated it effortlessly to Luisa. Just at that moment, the waiter appeared and asked what he could bring them. Karen ordered a cappuccino. Annie ordered her usual espresso.
The waiter emerged a couple of minutes later with the cups on a tray. He set them down on the table, along with a till receipt. Before Annie could reach for her bag, Matt produced a ten euro note and handed it to him. The man nodded, retrieved the slip of paper and disappeared back inside again. Annie raised her cup in Matt’s direction. ‘Thank you and cheers. How great to run into you again.’ And it really was. She gave him a big smile and he smiled back. The handle of the tiny brown coffee cup was hot to the touch so she contented herself with just breathing in the rich, strong aroma before setting it back down on its saucer again to cool. She looked across at Karen.
‘Matt runs a very good translation business.’ She turned back towards him. ‘Is that still going? You were in Turin, Matt, but then you left for Tuscany. That was a good few years ago. Where are you based now?’
‘Florence, and the business is doing really well. I’ve been there over five years now, but I won’t be there for much longer.’
Karen was also being cautious, just sipping the foam on the top of her cappuccino. ‘Surely that’s a fabulous place to live. Why leave, Matt? Where could be better than Florence?’
Matt raised his hand and pointed at the snow-covered peaks all around them. ‘Up here. Space and fresh air. Florence is getting more and more claustrophobic. Too many bloody tourists all over the place, vicious mosquitoes, and the heat in summer’s absolutely suffocating. I can work from anywhere, so I’ve pretty much made up my mind to come up here for some quality of life. Up here, twenty minutes in the car and I can be up on a ski slope or at the bottom of a climb.’ His eyes ran up and across the distant peaks. Annie saw that same expression of awe on his face that she remembered so well with Steve. Both of them had something deep inside that drew them to the mountains like moths to a flame. She shook her head, but made no comment as he carried on.
‘I’ve been a member of the climbing club here for years and I know the area really well.’ He cradled his cup in the palm of his hand for a few moments. ‘For my work, all I need’s a computer and a few bookshelves, so, like I say, I can work from anywhere, really. But what about you, Karen? I thought you were in the UK. Don’t tell me you’ve moved to Italy like your sister?’ She shook her head.
‘No, I’m afraid I’m off to Geneva on the early bus tomorrow and flying home to Bristol in the afternoon. It’s just been a long weekend, really.’
Matt transferred his attention to his coffee and drained the cup in one well-practised movement. ‘And you, Annie? How’ve you been?’ His voice was soft, compassionate, and Annie remembered how good he had always been to her. ‘I kept meaning to call you, but I didn’t know what to say. Somehow, having me crying my eyes out down the phone to you probably wouldn’t have helped.’
Annie smiled at him and told him the simple truth. ‘In fact, Matt, it would’ve helped a lot. We both lost our best friend that day.’ For a moment she was afraid her voice would give up on her, but she took a deep breath and managed to keep the smile on her face. He caught her eye and nodded.
‘I should’ve called.’ She saw that he, too, stopped to catch his breath before continuing. ‘So, where are you these days? Still in Turin?’
Annie shook her head. ‘No, I’m up here now.’ She saw a flicker of interest in his eyes. For Luisa’s sake she switched to Italian. Karen knew the story well by now. They had been talking about little else all weekend. ‘I decided the time had come to make a change; a big change. After years of working for other people, I’m opening my own English-language school up here in Santorso.’ The blonde girl looked interested.
‘What a good idea. Whereabouts? In Santorso itself?’
Annie nodded. ‘Yes, I’ve leased a big apartment bang in the centre for the school.’ She and Matt exchanged glances. ‘It was time for a change. Get on with my life again.’
Matt nodded, but, mercifully, didn’t pursue the subject. The last two bleak years of her life were a subject Annie preferred to avoid. Instead, he expressed interest. ‘I’m looking for an office as well; at least, somewhere much smaller would do for that. I’m fed up of working from home. I need to separate business from pleasure. To be honest, just one decent-sized room with space for me, a computer, and a few bookshelves. So far all I’ve found are big places.’
Annie had a sudden idea. ‘You know, Matt, I might just have a solution for you. The flat I’ve taken for the school is pretty big; too big for me, really, at least for a while until the numbers build up. I reckon I could easily do without one of the rooms if you want to rent it off me as your office. Would that help?’
Matt beamed. ‘That would be amazing. Are you sure?’
Annie thought about it and the more she did, the more sensible it appeared. And some extra cash coming in would be a big help at this uncertain time. Of course Steve hadn’t had any life insurance so she was using all her savings plus an expensive bank loan to set up the school, and the finances were tight. And, although she hadn’t seen Matt for ages, she knew she could trust him and she had always liked him. She looked up and gave him a smile. ‘I’m absolutely sure. Are you around for a few days? Why don’t you call in and take a look.’
‘That’s great, Annie. I should be able to make it tomorrow. When’s the school opening?’
‘I’ve just had the brochures printed. The Santorso English Academy opens its doors to the public on the fifteenth of January. I just hope I get lots of students.’
Karen knew her sister well enough to see the conflict in her head. ‘It’ll be great, Annie. Just you wait and see. You’ll be fighting them off in a few weeks’ time. Everywhere you look around here there are hotels, restaurants, ski lifts and tourists, so English has got to be pretty well essential for anybody in that business. And Paolina says the same.’
Luisa glanced at her watch and held out her wrist towards Matt. He nodded. She stood up and excused herself, heading inside to the ladies’. Matt waited until she was out of earshot before asking, ‘Who’s Paolina?’
‘She’s my newly appointed school secretary/receptionist. In fact, if you decide to take a room off me we could share her if you like. As soon as the publicity starts I’m hoping she’s going to be busy talking to potential clients and convincing them to part with their money.’
Karen smiled across the table at them. ‘I like Paolina. And she’s very pretty. I imagine that helps attract the male students in a place like Italy.’ Karen had been introduced to Paolina the previous day.
‘That helps attract males in any country.’ An expression of heightened interest spread across Matt’s face. Before he could comment further, Annie leapt in to lay down the ground rules.
‘But if you do join us, it’s hands off Paolina, Matt. Got it? If she turns out to be as good as I think, I don’t want you doing your usual act and then dumping her.’ He raised his hand as if to protest, but she hadn’t finished. ‘Promise me you won’t lay a finger on her, or I won’t rent you that room after all.’
Matt raised both hands in surrender. ‘All right, all right, I promise. Paolina is off limits. Message understood.