Southern Belle. Fiona Hood-Stewart
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exactly the same,” she marveled as they turned into the driveway and she was able to distinguish the chalet properly. “Do you remember all those wonderful weekends and vacations we used to spend here, Gio? It seems like only yesterday.”
“Don’t remind me,” Gio groaned dramatically, “I’ll be thirty-four next month. Can you imagine? Me? Positively ancient.”
“Rubbish,” Elm laughed, “You’re as gorgeous now, Contessa, as you’ve always been and you know it.”
“Bah! Non lo so. The men seem to think so, but I have a mirror. I’m seriously contemplating some of those injections I hear so much about.” Gioconda’s eyes twinkled. Then she shrugged as only Italians can shrug and sent Elm a mischievous grin. “But, anyway, you’ll be happy to know, cara, that the chalet only looks the same on the outside. I’ve redecorated the interior completely, thank God,” she added. “Remember those dreadful brown velvet chairs of my grandmother’s?”
“I do.” Elm grinned back, recalling Gioconda’s pithy comments at the time. At fifteen, Gio had already possessed a tremendous sense of style, she realized, amused. “What color are they now?”
“Mercifully they don’t exist anymore.” Gioconda gave a dramatic shudder. “I donated them to the Salvation Army. And frankly, darling, I’m not even sure they wanted them.” She pressed the automatic garage door, which opened immediately.
“Those doors always remind me of a spaceship,” Elm remarked, tilting her head dreamily. “Like in those movies where a spacecraft opens and you get zapped inside and—”
“Mamma mia. You haven’t changed in the slightest. Always that incredible imagination at work,” Gioconda exclaimed, laughing. “Still painting a lot, cara? I loved your last exhibition. And by the way, Franco and Gianni are still dying to do that exhibit in Florence we talked about.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Elm mused. All at once, a project that a few months ago had seemed a logistically impossible project struck her as challenging and exciting.
“Well, that’s a positive change,” Gio remarked, surprised. “The last time I mentioned it, you spurned the idea outright.”
“The last time you mentioned it, I was still living in La La Land,” Elm answered ruefully as the vehicle crawled into the garage.
“Ah, poverina,” Gio exclaimed sympathetically. “I suppose escaping into your fantasy world was the only way to bear that self-absorbed husband of yours. I’ll never understand why you married him,” she added, shaking her head, her well-cut, silky, shoulder-length black hair swinging elegantly.
“I guess it seemed a good idea at the time,” Elm replied with a noncommittal shrug. “But he won’t be my husband for much longer.”
“Thank God for that! When you told me you were leaving him and planning to get divorced, I made Umberto open a bottle of the vintage Crystal. We drank to your future and recalled all the good times.”
“Umberto! It’s amazing that he still works for you after all these years,” Elm smiled, fondly remembering the Mancini family butler.
“You bet. He still bosses everyone around and makes a general nuisance of himself. Nonno—you remember my grandfather?”
“Of course.”
“Well, Nonno offered to buy him a nice house in Umberto’s village in Sicily, and take care of him and his family.”
“And?”
“He was so insulted that the matter was never brought up again.”
Elm laughed. “I can believe that.”
“Frankly, I don’t know what Nonno would do without him. They still spend hours going over the defeat at Monte Cassino. They’re certain that if only they’d been the ones leading the Italian troops, history would have taken a different turn.” Gioconda parked neatly next to a shiny red Ferrari.
“Yours?” Elm quirked an amused brow in the direction of the car.
“But of course, bella. I haven’t changed. I’m still as extravagant as ever. Ah! There’s Maria.” Gio waved at the uniformed maid preparing to unload the car.
“Buona sera, signora.”
“Good evening.” Elm smiled back graciously, before following her friend up the carpeted steps.
At the top Gioconda pushed open the paneled wooden door and held it wide while Elm passed through.
“Benvenuto, cara. It’s wonderful to have you back.”
“It’s wonderful to be back,” Elm murmured, taking stock of the hall. “Wow, Gio, it’s totally different, perfectly divine,” she marveled, gazing appreciatively at the pine-paneled walls of the entrance, the regional antiques, the imaginative floral arrangements of wild flowers and berries. “That’s fantastic,” she exclaimed, enchanted, pointing to two heavy wax candles in wrought-iron stands flickering invitingly on an ancient wooden chest. “And that scent. I know that scent.” She stopped, closed her eyes and sniffed, breathing in the subtle mélange of cloves, pine and something deliciously mysterious. “It’s simply enchanting,” she murmured, delighted, fingers trailing lovingly over the polished wood, “Just lovely. Trust you to do a perfect job, Gio.”
“Glad you approve, cara,” Gio pulled off her fur jacket and reached for Elm’s coat. “Now, before we settle down to a well-deserved glass of champagne, I’ll take you up to your room. Umberto, siamo qui…” she called, throwing the coats over the carved hall chair. “He can’t hear a thing, poor old darling, deaf as a post.”
“Signora Contessa?” Umberto, on the alert, appeared out of nowhere, the same picture of unaltered ancient dignity that Elm recalled so well.
“Look,” Gioconda exclaimed, grabbing Elm’s arm, “look who’s finally returned to us!”
“Ah! Signora, quanti anni.” Umberto clasped Elm’s hand, his creased face breaking into a delighted smile. Elm returned the pressure, eyes moist. It was like opening a picture book and finding herself back in her own personal fairy tale, a bittersweet reminder of just how much and how little had taken place since.
“It’s marvelous to be back, Umberto,” she murmured, deeply touched, smiling into his kind old face, remembering all the times he’d left the door unlatched for them, the midnight snacks and the scolds. It was like time travel, and again her eyes stung.
“Enough,” Gioconda declared, grabbing Elm’s hand. “Now we will make some fine new memories!” She winked, dark eyes flashing. “I have another surprise for you, bella. Come on.” Like an excited child, she dragged Elm up the stairs, then down the tapestry-covered corridor to a door at the end.
Elm threw her head back and laughed, caught up in Gioconda’s contagious enthusiasm. When she peeked inside as her friend opened the bedroom door, she caught her breath and clasped her hands. “Oh Gio, it’s simply gorgeous,” she exclaimed, stepping into the room.
“You like it? I had it completely redone as soon as you said you were coming. They finished yesterday,” she giggled.
Enchanted, Elm moved about the room, touched more by the generosity of Gioconda’s gesture than the actual, undeniable loveliness of the decor itself. A luxurious mink throw lay strewn over a long ottoman at the foot of the king-size canopied bed, draped with old rose Toile de Jouy curtains that matched the walls. Scattered lamps shed their gentle glow about the room, their reflections shimmering in the large pine-framed mirror above the antique dressing table. It was feminine and sophisticated, warm and welcoming, everything she’d dreamed of during the chilling loneliness of the past two weeks. Turning, she embraced her friend tight.
“Thank you, Gio. This means more to me than you can possibly know.”
“Now, now, cara,” Gio scolded gruffly, wiping a tear from her own eyes. “There’s more.”
“More?”