Chapter 9 Dinner at Gino's

'Someone's going to buy the company,' said Stephen on the phone from London. And then he said something about it being 'the best thing all round'. He sounded quite cheerful, said he would be with her in the morning and that he missed her. Anna felt, in all honesty, that she couldn't say the same thing back to him. Today had been so full of other things that she hadn't really missed him.

So all she said to him was, 'It'll be lovely to see you for breakfast' - which was true, it would be lovely – Stephen was the most important person in her life. But she didn't say anything about going out with Tristan.

She put on a bright red dress that she'd had for years but which always made her feel great, especially when she had a suntan, and gave her hair a quick brush. She was excited about tonight. It was a great feeling getting ready to go out with another man. It reminded her of how she felt before she met Stephen.

She walked slowly up the hill to the car park.

'Hey, you look nice,' said Anna when she saw Tristan.

Instead of his usual shorts and T-shirt Tristan was wearing trousers and a green short-sleeved shirt. 'We're not going anywhere expensive, are we?' she asked.

'No, just an Italian restaurant in St Leven, not far. And you look wonderful!' Tristan replied. 'Shall we go?'

Tristan's car smelt of fish. The whole of the back was full of nets. 'Does it smell?' he asked when he saw Anna's face.

'It just seems normal to me.'

'Well, I'm just glad we're not going far,' laughed Anna.

'Sorry. Actually, all I can smell is your perfume. Have you heard from Stephen?' asked Tristan.

'Yes, he just rang,' replied Anna. 'He seemed fine. He said he'd be back tomorrow for breakfast.'

'Is he driving down overnight, then?' asked Tristan.

'Yes, I guess so. He likes night driving.'

It took about fifteen minutes to get to St Leven. Anna suggested going for a walk round the harbour first. She needed a bit of fresh air after the fishy car. The harbour was bigger than Polreath and so were the fishing boats. One or two of the men on board said hello to Tristan and gave Anna a quick look. 'I get the feeling I'm being noticed,' Anna thought. 'I wonder if that woman in the shop in Polreath is going to tell me tomorrow what I was doing tonight!'

'What are you smiling at?' asked Tristan.

'I was just thinking how hard it would be to keep anything secret down here,' Anna replied.

'True. Were you thinking about anything in particular?' he asked, looking at her.

'No,' she lied. 'Let's go and eat. I'm really hungry.'

Gino's restaurant was away from the sea, in a narrow street. They walked through the restaurant to the garden at the back where there were a number of tables gathered around a pizza oven. Gino was putting in and taking out the pizzas from the oven with a long wooden thing.

' 'ello, Tristan. Good to see you. 'ow are you?' said Gino.

Tristan and Anna sat at the only free table and ordered two pizza margheritas and the house wine. They began talking about Italy, where they had both been, and then the difficulty of living away from your own country.

Tristan said it was not 'the country' that was important for him but simply the place where you were - the town, the village.

'And that's why Jill and I can never work as a couple. Neither of us is willing to leave the place where we want to be. We spoke on the phone earlier today and decided to be realistic. We haven't really got a future together. I'm sure we'll try to remain friends. There was a lot between us and we had good laughs. But everybody says that kind of thing when their relationship breaks up.'

'I'm sorry it didn't work out for you,' said Anna.

'Actually, you helped me to take the decision,' said

Tristan, and looked across at Anna to see what she would do. She was looking directly at him so he continued. 'This is going to sound like a Hollywood movie but . . . you've woken me up.' Tristan reached across the table and took her hand. 'I was feeling really sorry for myself and then you and Stephen arrived.'

'Yes, me and Stephen! Anna repeated. And yes, it did sound like a film, she thought, but she wanted him to continue. 'What's so special about me and Stephen? You must meet hundreds of visitors every year, and they probably all fall in love with Polreath, and half of them with you too.'

'I don't know why. I just know I wanted to get to know you both better. Maybe you arrived at the right time, I don't know. Anyway, whatever it is, I feel clearer about some things.'

'I don't,' thought Anna. 'I feel confused. Why is he holding my hand? Would he be holding Stephen's hand too if he was here?'

'But now there's another problem,' he went on. 'I think we're attracted to one another.'

Anna pulled her hand away. How could he say that! He'd just been talking about her and Stephen and now he was saying this. How could he? Five minutes ago he'd been talking about breaking up with Jill. That can't have been easy to do. And here he was, saying he was attracted to her.

It sounded like throwing off one pair of shoes and trying on a new pair. What was he doing?

'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.'

'No, you shouldn't,' said Anna.

'But it's true, isn't it?' Tristan said softly.

'Yes.' And she picked up her glass to hide her confusion.

'But I don't intend to do anything about it. I'm with Stephen and we're happy. And you've confused me.'

'Same here,' he said. He took hold of her hand again. 'I know you're happy with Stephen - I could see it the first day you were here. I just thought it was better to bring everything out into the open. Sometimes if you don't talk about things they become even more important.'

'Maybe some things are better left unsaid. Stephen's coming back tomorrow and in three weeks I'll have disappeared out of your life. Oh, I don't know what I'm doing anymore,' Anna said.

'It's not a crime to find someone attractive, is it?' he said.

'No, it's not. In fact, it's great in a way. But I've been with Stephen for ten years and this is the first time I've been in this situation. I don't know what to do. And by the way, Gino is looking at us. Let's talk about something else, please.'

And they did. They talked about food and they slowly relaxed. But all the time Anna was thinking. She did find him attractive and if there were no Stephen, who knows what might happen. Recently she had felt excluded sometimes by Stephen. He had seemed to be in a world of his own, so it was wonderful to be the centre of Tristan's attention.

Tristan's thoughts were going along similar lines. He didn't want to hurt anybody. Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut. That was his problem - he always had to say what he was thinking, didn't he? It had got him into trouble more than once in the past. Anna was a warm, open, lively woman - and he felt good when he was with her. But, as she said, she would be leaving in three weeks, so there was no point in letting things go any further.

They got up to leave and Gino came over. 'Cheerio, my friend,' he said, ‘and my friend's friend,' he said looking at Anna. ' 'ope to see you again. Be good!'

'Mmm, an interesting choice of words,' thought Tristan as they stepped out into the street.

'Gosh, Tristan, the smell of fish in your car is quite powerful. We'll have to drive with the windows open,' said Anna. Sitting in the car on the way back to Polreath was not very easy. And it wasn't just because of the fishy smell.

They were both very conscious of each other sitting close by. Tristan parked the car above the village and they got out.

'Let's just walk for a bit,' said Anna. 'I don't want to go back to the cottage yet.'

They took the path along the top of the cliffs. It was dark but the moon was bright enough so there was no danger of them walking over the edge. In places the path was quite narrow where it passed between bushes and Anna walked in front. Being in front made her feel as if she was in charge of the situation. Then she heard something move just ahead, an animal probably, and she stopped suddenly.

Tristan walked into the back of her. She jumped and half turned round. They were standing so close. She reached up and touched his face with her finger. He put his arms round her and they kissed, long and hard.

Anna pulled away from him. 'So much for not letting things go any further,' said Tristan softly.

'I think I knew that was going to happen,' said Anna.

The sense of his body was still with her. 'I know this might sound odd, but I needed that!'

Tristan smiled. 'So did I - and I need more.' They kissed again but this time more lightly. It was almost as if a spell had been broken, and a deep and exciting kiss had been enough for the moment.

'Anna, I think you're wonderful,' he said, trying to keep his voice light. 'I wish we were free to do whatever we want, but we're not. At least, I'll still be able to look Stephen in the eye when I see him tomorrow.'

'I hope I can, too. Do you think we'd better go before anything else happens? We don't need to say anything to Stephen, either of us, do we?'

'No, why should we?' he replied. 'Nothing's happened.'

But they both knew something had.

***

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 822