‘TheSagra.’
‘Whatever you want to call it. Cancelled.’
‘Sweet dreams, Saverio,’ Sarah said, slamming the door in his smirking face, double bolting it securely from the inside.
Sarah caught Matthew in the corridor and they raced to the window to watch Saverio’s next move. Shaking his head and muttering indecipherable things under his breath, they watched him light a thin cigar and make a final note in his notepad. He returned to his car and drove away.
‘In this case, only Australian English will do,’ Sarah announced, hands on hips.
‘Explain.’
‘That guy,’ she pointed towards the window, ‘is acompletefuckwit.’
‘And a mindless one at that,’ Matthew added. ‘Look what I found in the rear courtyard today.’ He reached into the pocket of his jeans which were slumped over one of the chairs and withdrew the cigar butt.
‘But you cleared the courtyard before we left for Assisi.’
‘I know I did. Buthedoesn’t.’
Petunia exhaled a series of grunts and groans as she inspected what remained of the burned-out barn.
‘Va bene. Ci vorrebbero almeno cinque ore. Più o meno. Tranquilli.’ She instructed a few of her workers to fetch particular equipment from their respective vans, then made a call – which Sarah assumed involved hurling verbal abuse at someone, surmised by her sudden shift in tone, short, sharp sentences and aggressive hand gestures – but within moments, they had confirmation of the arrival of a bobcat, front-loader and a series of large industrial waste bins to clear the mess.
‘This woman could rule the world,’ Sarah whispered under her breath.
‘Unchallenged.’
Together, Matthew and Sarah did what they could to support Petunia and her team until it became unsafe to do so. From then on, they divided and conquered. Sarah worked on reordering the banners, signage and marketing materials, and Matthew made calls to track down marquees, trestle tables and furniture.
Just before lunchtime, Petunia interrupted Matthew and Sarah in the kitchen. She kicked off her soot-laden boots and stepped foot inside, carrying a shoe-box-sized blackened case.
‘Che cos’è?’ Matthew asked as she set it down on the stainless-steel bench with a distinct thud.
‘Boh! Non sono affari miei.’ She ran a gloved hand over the case’s surface, smearing the soot and grime, revealing its natural black marble finish. ‘Sporchissimo,’ she noted through disgust.
Matthew asked her where she had found the case and Petunia explained that the bobcat had dug it up from the soil behind the barn.
‘Can we deal with that later?’ Sarah asked, looking disheartened at the loose soil dusting the benchtop. ‘We are on the tightest of schedules.’
‘Yep. Likely just rubbish, anyway. I’ll get it out of here.’ Matthew paused for a moment, trying to work out where he could put the case before settling on the cellar. He pulled up the trapdoor in the rear courtyard and climbed down, stashing the case between sedimented bottles of sacramental wine and spare roof tiles.
Sarah and Matthew eventually made it to bed at two in the morning. Their hearts were as heavy as their eyes, and they collapsed into a deep sleep as soon as their fatigued and weary bodies hit the mattress. The day’s tiresome work meant that many of the major challenges had been cleared and, in keeping with ‘local jurisdiction’, so had the barn.
The following morning, Emanuela’s bright eyes were wide and her cheeks were pale as Sarah told her what had happened. ‘It’s ok, though. We’ve managed to put other things in place for now. All we are counting on is that deliveries arrive when promised.’
‘What is scheduled to arrive, and when?’ Emanuela clicked the end of her pen and was poised to make a list.
Sarah, reading from her calendar, outlined the week’s schedule.
Emanuela’s concern was written all over her face, but she offered to personally follow-up with all the suppliers, which Sarah gratefully accepted. ‘You have done a very good job, Sarah,’ Emanuela said. ‘And Matthew too. I am sure we can get everything in order in time.’
‘I really think we will. I need to reconsider some of the physical arrangements for the three days. The fire damaged some of the rear garden, and we also lost large patches of grass by the side of La Viola. None of those areas should really be privy to the public. Leave it with me, I will rejig the layout so as to avoid that. We have OH&S clearance from the fire department and structural clearance from their engineers.’
Emanuela nodded. ‘Good. I will take copies of all your papers, please. Can you send them through?’
Sarah made a note. ‘Absolutely.’
Emanuela ran her finger down her weekly calendar, then asked, ‘Do you have a vacant room for me for the three days? The firm will pay for the lodging and any associated costs.’
