3
It seemed she’d only just dropped off again after her sleepless spell when she was startled from her drug-like doze by a loud knocking. It took her a few moments to remember where she was.
‘Stella? Are you awake? Can I come in?’
Louise. Stella sat up quickly, smoothing down her hair with the palm of a hand and rubbing a forefinger under each eye to remove any traces of yesterday’s mascara.
Louise must have been up a while and looked fresh and bright. Her fair, shoulder-length hair was damp from the shower and she was wearing denim shorts and a clean white vest top, which showed off her toned arms.
She was only five foot three, slim and athletic but definitely a woman, with a small waist and bigger boobs, hips and thighs. Everything was firm and in proportion and she cycled, swam and lifted weights to keep it that way.
Some of Stella’s friends, including Harriet, thought she was too perfect and a bit of a smarty-pants to boot, but Stella disagreed.
She’d met Louise on the very first day of secondary school. She’d been feeling lonely and lost without Harriet, whose parents had decided to send her somewhere else.
Louise had come straight up to Stella, bold as brass, after a PE class and asked if they could be friends. She’d always been brave like that. Stella had been thrilled, said yes, and they’d pretty much stuck together for the next eight years.
Funnily enough, Louise and Harriet had tolerated one another but never really gelled; Stella suspected there might have been some jealousy involved. But there was no need, as their paths didn’t often cross. Louise was Stella’s school friend and Stella saw Harriet at weekends and during holidays.
Everyone seemed to think Louise was super self-confident, but Stella was as familiar with her vulnerabilities as her strengths. She’d wiped away Louise’s tears when she was dumped by her first boyfriend and, later, cheered her up when she failed to get into the university she really wanted.
Louise had done the same for her, and occasionally being bossed around seemed a small price to pay for such a long friendship.
Perching on the end of the bed, Louise peered at Stella and pulled a concerned face.
‘Bad night?’
Stella gave a wry smile. ‘Do I look that awful?’
‘Not at all?—’
‘It’s okay.’ Stella smiled. ‘I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep for ages. I had my eyes closed, though, and I was remembering a lovely weekend we had with Harriet and Jon in Norfolk before she became ill. At least I got some rest.’
‘Poor you.’ Louise’s complexion was so clear and her face so smooth, you’d never think she’d recently turned fifty. She had a light tan left over from a Caribbean holiday with the children in January, and her small, intelligent blue eyes, set quite close together, sparkled with life.
Her hair was naturally fair, she wore little makeup and might have been described as an English rose, were it not for the rows of little gold hoops and studs that glinted all the way up and down the outer edges of her ears. There must have been six earrings on each side. Some had teeny-tiny gold pendants; others were studded with semi-precious stones.
They were intricate and subtle, and Stella often noticed people looking at them. She found her own gaze wandered that way, too. The earrings gave Louise an air of appealing quirkiness, which Stella envied. She couldn’t seem to find time to put on any earrings. Sometimes, she even forgot to brush her hair.
‘Do you want to skip the walk and try and get some more sleep?’ Louise asked now, but Stella shook her head.
‘Let’s go before it gets too hot. It won’t take me long to dress.’
* * *
Her heart leaped when they closed the black iron gates behind them and set off along the sandy path into the Cretan countryside.
It was only 8a.m. and the sun was already shining. The air felt crisp and the cloudless blue sky looked fresh and cool. Spiral spiders’ webs, covered in shimmering dewdrops, dangled like scraps of lace from the olive trees lining the way. Tiny wild orchids and blue pimpernel peeped through the vegetation on either side, which was so dense, at times they felt as if they were walking through a giant salad bowl. The scent of wild herbs filled their nostrils, and birdsong filled their ears. The din was so lusty and joyful, it was almost as if the birds were performing a roistering oratorio just for them.
They kept to a slow, steady pace. They weren’t in a rush and wanted to soak up their surroundings. Stella circled her head and shoulders a few times to loosen her muscles and ligaments, all the while keeping an eye out for roots and stones.
She was wearing loose khaki shorts, a white short-sleeved shirt and thick socks tucked into sturdy brown walking boots. Her hair, which was mid-brown and jaw-length, was really too short to tie back, but she’d pulled what she could into a funny, stubby ponytail.
Several inches taller than her friend, she felt pale and unattractive by comparison. Stress had made her weight fall and now her hip bones protruded and her once voluptuous breasts had all but disappeared.
It didn’t feel like her body any more, but then almost everything else had changed, too, so she wasn’t much surprised.
‘I think I did the wrong thing, making Hector come,’ she said, aware of the sound of their boots scrunching on sand, rocks and pebbles. ‘I hope he doesn’t spoil things for everyone.’
