She imagined her mamma Teresa's face in front of her,
then pictured her own alongside.
She focused hard on them until they merged.
Eventually, from somewhere in the dark recesses of either the room or her mind, her mother's voice came through crystal clear.
You and me, we're like two drops of water.
She didn't even have time to smile. Her thoughts faded away as tiredness took hold and carried her off into sleep.
CHAPTER 14
There'd been no one else in this huge house when she'd got up. She'd been worried at first, but the sight of a fully stocked breakfast table had filled her heart, and stomach, with joy.
She'd sat down, had a few sips of pear juice and proceeded to smother half a dozen homemade jams over warm pieces of bread. She'd felt right at home. It was warm and cosy. The old gadgets hung on the walls and resting on the solid wooden shelves made the dining room feel peaceful and safe. Homely, even.
Chantal had got full only after her fourth piece of bread.
She'd slipped on a jacket and gone outside into the vast parking area, seeing for the first time how daylight treated what had seemed ten hours ago to be a house of horrors and a bleak view down into the valley.
Standing there now, with a smile on her face, she wondered how she could ever have been scared by such a marvellous place.
Looking beyond the car park, she saw a vast expanse of green surrounded by trees. The big, white building itself was brought to life somewhat by the green door and shutters. As she glanced upwards, she noticed a large number of plants on the huge balcony, protected from the cold by plastic sheeting.
Chantal closed her eyes and inhaled the pure, country air that surrounded this little bit of paradise. When she reopened them, she was staring at a blue sky with a few wavy clouds. She took a deep breath, as if the oxygen could somehow cleanse her lungs of years of tar and nicotine. She felt like she was sucking on a eucalyptus drop. A gentle infusion of energy.
Fantastic!
Turns out she'd have come to work in Tuscany a lot sooner if she'd known it would be all clean air, breathtaking scenery and homemade jam.
No way was she going back home now.
She wandered over to her car. There was huge scratch all the way down one side, reminding her of the previous day's misadventures. She'd had a lucky escape, she knew that.
She shrugged her shoulders to ward off a shiver and was distracted by the sound of a car approaching.
Coming up the hill she herself had driven up the previous night was a white Opel Kadett which, at first glance, had to be at least twenty-five years old. Chantal squinted to see who was at the wheel, but the sun, albeit fairly weak, was reflecting off the windscreen. Just a few seconds later, it became clear that the person driving was Alfredo.
As the car trundled past, he greeted Chantal by way of a raised arm. She flashed him a smile in return and watched as the Opel pulled in alongside her Citroën.
Alfredo got out and paused to look at the damaged side of the C2. His face clouded over.
"How on earth did you do that, signorina?" he enquired, using for the first time the more formal lei to address her rather than tu.
Chantal was floored by the change. Were they in work mode now? Did she need to observe some employer-employee formalities? She decided to follow suit.
"It's a long sto...let's just say I ran into a little difficulty Mist.."
"Alfredo's fine, honestly."
"As you wish, Alfredo," she replied, using lei.
"Why are you suddenly using lei?" he asked.
Chantal was speechless. Just seconds earlier, he'd used lei to address her! Was he pulling her leg? She decided to ask, albeit indirectly.
"But you just called me lei."
"I did?"
"Yes, when you got out of the car," Chantal continued, motioning to the old banger.
"Impossible," Alfredo replied, staring at the floor. "Ermm, OK. Perhaps I misheard." He took a few steps towards her and looked directly into her eyes. "It's best if we carry on using tu. What do you say?"
Chantal was lost in his stare, unable to decide if she was in heaven or hell.
She snapped out of it and found the strength for a smile and a response.
"Fine by me."
"Great," he replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Have you already had breakfast? I left you someth..."
"It was the best breakfast I've ever had," Chantal replied, feeling a touch embarrassed by the overfamiliarity of Alfredo's hand.
"Really?" exclaimed Alfredo, as he tightened his grip.
Again, the sensation in the pit of her stomach left Chantal wondering if she were in heaven or hell.
"The jam was absolutely..."
"Delicious?" he ventured.
"That wouldn't do it justice."
"I see. So what word would do it justice then?" he asked, finally relaxing his grip on the girl's shoulder.
"I think 'exquisite' sums it up very nicely," she replied, relieved to be free from his grasp. "And there's plenty more compliments where that came from."
"Chantal, you're too kind."
"But it's true."
"If you insist. All that matters is that you liked it. I'm pleased. The jam's homemade, by me."
He paused and smiled, looking straight into Chantal eyes. She lowered her gaze and felt her face redden.
"If we have a bit of spare time, I can show you how I do it."
Chantal looked up at him, and he saw she looked puzzled.
"The jam, I mean," he clarified. "I'll teach you every trick in the book, and you'll be making exquisite jams in no time!"
"Oh, I'd love that!" she replied, holding his gaze for a split second.
"It's a date!" He turned around and gestured towards the Kadett. "Could you give me a hand with the shopping?"
Chantal watched as he opened the boot, which contained several large bags. She realised at that very moment that she'd been hired. No need for an interview. Unless the few words they'd just exchanged counted and were enough to convince him she was the right person for the job.
"Sure, I'm intrigued to see what you've bought."
CHAPTER 15
Perhaps Chantal's luck had changed. Perhaps God had finally realised that even she needed some respite from all the crap.
She finally felt like she was living again, rather than just surviving.
Another line crossed.
Unbeknown to Chantal, Alfredo poked his head into the pantry.
"Hey! I see you've already put everything away."
His voice jarred her out of her thoughts.
"Nearly everything," she confessed after a moment's hesitation, pointing to a shopping bag still on the floor.
Around an hour earlier, Alfredo had given her a brief overview of how things worked at the B&B before showing her the pantry and issuing a few vague instructions. She'd done her best and tried to remember what he'd suggested. She smiled. It looked as though she'd succeeded.
"You're very quick and very thorough..." Alfredo stroked his chin, debating whether to say what was on the tip of his tongue.
Chantal looked up at him, inviting him to go on.
He smiled thinly and continued.
"If I'd have known, I'd have hired you years ago."
She tried to suppress the smile that was forming at the edges of her mouth. She wasn't used to compliments. None of her previous bosses had given her any, not even Signor Ferruccio from Lilly's Snack Bar, and he'd been the nicest of them all.
She looked down, shifting her gaze away from Alfredo. Unable to suppress the smile any longer, she turned towards the open cupboard door and pretended to check what she'd already put away.
"That's very kind of you," she said, doing her utmost to keep her excitement in check, "but isn't it a bit early to be showering me with praise? I've only done one job for you!"
Alfredo coughed twice to clear his throat.
"Look, Chantal..."
He coughed again to buy himself the time he needed to rearrange what he wanted to say.
"I've been doing this for quite a few years now. Running a B&B..."
He paused for a moment to watch the graceful movements of Chantal's shapely body.
His voice came out hoarse, but to Chantal it was like birdsong.
"...and I've seen a lot of girls over that time, believe me. Loads of them accept that they have to do the work, but not many really want to be doing it. And even fewer actually manage to do it well..."
He took a couple of steps towards her.
"You do it very well, Chantal. I don't need months of observing you to know that. I suspected as much in the chat room, and now I know for sure."
This time, Chantal had no choice but to turn and meet the gaze of her new employer. She didn't feel it was necessary to hide her smile any longer.
"I'm pleased you think so highly of me."
His response was immediate.
"I'm pleased to have found a girl like you."
She smiled again.
"Have there really been that many girls who have worked here?"
Alfredo looked up at the ceiling and his head began to nod as if he were counting every single girl as their image passed in front of his eyes.
Then, suddenly, he looked directly at her again.
Heaven or hell?
"There's been so many I've lost count."
Chantal decided he was being genuine. She felt like the time had come to ask him the question she had wanted to put to him as soon as he'd offered her the job. But not just yet.
"So, what became of them? Did you fire them all?" she added jokingly, accompanying her question with yet another smile.
Alfredo seemed a bit put out.
Chantal sensed he'd had problems with some of the girls. Too many sick days, trouble with the unions, hands in the till. That kind of thing.
"To tell you the truth," Alfredo ventured, "it was them who chose to leave." He licked his lips. "Well, most of them anyway. I'm not a horrible boss, if that's what you're thinking."
"It's not," she said instinctively.
He moved closer to her and carried on.
"In all these years, I've only ever fired one girl." He stopped, losing himself for an instant. "Yes, only one."
"And why was that? If you don't mind me asking."
Alfredo's expression softened.
"It's funny looking back on it now. But it sure as hell wasn't at the time. She lost me four guests in one fell swoop..." he shook his head as though he were still in denial. "...and didn't even stop to think about the bad impression it would leave on the other people staying here."
He took a second to gather his thoughts, and Chantal gestured at him to carry on.
"Lavinia. That was her name." Alfredo appeared to be trying to dredge up memories from however many years ago this all took place. "She was very hard-working, in the sense that she would do whatever I asked. She did a good job and she did it quickly too. What more could I have asked for?"
Chantal realised it was a rhetorical question.
"She didn't smoke or drink - a really good girl, basically. Apart from her one vice..." Alfredo stared angrily into Chantal's vulnerable, pale-blue eyes.
It was just hell in his look now, no doubt about it.
"...married men."
Alfredo began to spit out his words.
"That girl loved nothing more than fucking other women's husbands. She really screwed me over." He seemed to snap out of his fury, the calmness returning to his words. "You certainly couldn't accuse her of not being conscientious. I mean, she certainly took care of business on her day off."
"Business?" Chantal asked, not really wanting to know the sordid details.
Alfredo looked a little embarrassed. He rubbed his forehead nervously before continuing.
"That's right, business. The business of anything and everything that a woman and two men can possibly get up to in a bedroom. Unfortunately for her, the wife of one of the guys sprained her ankle while the wives were out hill-walking, forcing them to come back early. Anyway, I'll give you the condensed version. At that time, as well as the tourists, I had two couples staying here. They were friends, around forty years old. Lavinia thought it would be a great idea to get the two guys into bed. You can imagine what happened the wives caught them at it. All hell broke loose. Obviously, the couples didn't hang around, but they'd created such a scene that the tourists also decided to leave. I mean, what was I supposed to do?"
He shrugged and held out his arms, reliving the sense of helplessness he'd felt on that day in the distant past.
"I gave her a second chance, but when she pulled the same stunt again I had no choice but to fire her. She's the only girl I've ever sacked...so far."
Chantal felt panicked as she could feel his eyes boring into her. She needed to say something to release the pressure.
"And the others? What happened to them?"
She felt stupid, realising she'd already asked that question.
"I told you, didn't I?" Alfredo continued to stare at her, but Chantal could have sworn his mind was elsewhere. "They left."
She decided now was the time.
"Alfredo, can I ask you something?"
He seemed to snap out of his trance.
"Sure."
She took a deep breath. Now or never.
"There must be loads of girls around here. Why did you hire someone who lives three hundred miles away?"
Alfredo looked surprised.
"You see, Chantal, our lives are governed by fate. It was fate that I met you in the chat room, and fate that you didn't have a job."
Chantal nodded tentatively.
"The girls round here don't exactly have a strong work ethic, and anyway..."
Alfredo decided he needed to let Chantal know about all the rumours, otherwise some busybody would only try and scare her with some ridiculous story the first time she went into town.
"And anyway what?" Chantal encouraged him to continue.
Alfredo sighed loudly.
"Chantal, you need to know that people round here don't like me or my business. They spread a whole load of lies about me."
"What kind of lies?" she blurted out in panic.
"That I'm some kind of monster." He stared right at her, aware that she was unable to find any words. "Look at me. Do I seem like a monster to you?"
Chantal shook her head and thought back to the old lady she'd encountered at the roadside. She was about to mention her to Alfredo - perhaps she already had? - but something inside was warning her against it. She decided to let him carry on.
"See? I don't seem like a monster because I'm not one." Alfredo again spread his arms out wide in a gesture that suggested he was reluctantly resigned to the situation. "Do I really seem like the kind of man who would kidnap, torture and kill a girl like you?"
Chantal felt her stomach tighten. For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she wondered whatever had possessed her to leave her quiet little home for this godforsaken B&B in the arse end of nowhere.
She froze as Alfredo drew closer. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her big, blue eyes.