Instead, she stopped a few times to ask different groups of folk sitting at tables, as well as a couple of friendly looking waiters. No one seemed to have noticed a tall, thin young man with unkempt brown hair and a goatee beard. Stella felt increasingly sick.
Her phone rang, making her jump. It was Lily, wanting to know where she was.
‘Louise is making supper. When will you be back?’
‘Have you seen Hector?’ Stella asked urgently. ‘Can you check if he’s in his room?’
Lily took the phone upstairs with her and had a look round.
‘He’s not here. I don’t know where he is. He’s probably sulking somewhere. He’ll be fine, Mum. Stop worrying.’
Stella had come to the end of the main street now. Beyond was a small strip of pebbly beach, dotted with neatly stacked rows of sun loungers and folded-up umbrellas.
On first sight, the place appeared to be deserted, but then at the far end, she spotted one lounger set apart from the rest, close to the water’s edge.
The chair was white with no cushions, which had evidently been tidied away, and someone was stretched out on it, staring at the horizon.
It was a melancholy sight and as Stella hurried towards the lone figure, her pulse started to race. The closer she came, the more familiar the person seemed until she knew for certain.
‘Hector!’
She upped her pace and started to run towards him as fast as she could. ‘Thank God I’ve found you!’
On hearing her cry, Hector sat up, staring, his thin arms crossed over his chest.
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked suspiciously when she finally reached him and stopped abruptly.
‘I didn’t know where you were,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I was worried about you.’
He shrugged. ‘I wanted a walk. I’d been inside most of the day. You didn’t need to get all worked up.’
Stella indicated she’d like to sit down and he shuffled along to make room. Now she was beside him, his body close to hers, her pulse began to settle.
‘You could’ve left me a note or sent a text or something,’ she said resentfully.
She was about to make another dig but stopped herself when she noticed his face. It was red and blotchy and his eyes were puffy. He’d been crying.
‘Oh! What is it, my darling?’ she said with a crack in her voice. Instinctively, her arm wound round his back and she hugged him close, resting her head on his shoulder. She was grateful he didn’t move but let it stay there.
They remained like that for some minutes, huddled together, listening to the lapping waves and gulls’ cries, as well as each other’s steady breathing. It was the first time in a long while Stella had been allowed to hold her son. She didn’t want to break the spell by speaking.
It was Hector who ended the silence.
‘I’ve fucked up my life,’ he said, hanging his head.
Stella paused. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Quitting uni, mainly. I wasn’t coping very well, because of everything happening at home. But I should’ve stayed.’
‘You can always reapply.’
‘Dad said the same thing. He was going to help me write a new personal statement. There’s no point now.’
‘Why not?’ He sounded so hopeless. Stella was genuinely baffled.
Hector’s body tensed and he pushed his mother away, leaving a cold space between them. Her arm dropped limply to her side.
‘Because you guys are getting divorced.’ He was frowning and really angry. ‘You won’t be able to afford for me to go to uni now.’
