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He knew one thing for certain: this wasn’t the end for them. After ten years, he’d had enough. He wanted closure, and watching her walk away from him wasn’t how he’d achieve it. There would be a better way. He just needed time to consider that, and come up with a plan.
‘You’re home!’ Annie pushed back her chair, a huge grin on her face as she zipped around the table and towards Alicia. Alicia could only stand there, stricken by the sight of her daughter, and all the similarities to Graciano she’d been able to blot out for the past nine years that were now forcing themselves to be acknowledged—similarities not only to Graciano, but to his family. Annie’s family.
She bent down so she could wrap her arms around Annie, hugging her little body tight, tears filming her eyes as she nuzzled into the curve of her neck and her silky dark hair. She inhaled, eyes closed, and then blinked open, so her gaze landed across the room on Diane, who was watching with a small frown.
‘You’re early!’ Annie remarked, moving to pull back, except Alicia held her tight, as though her life depended on it—as though she knew that the world they’d built, of being just the two of them, could no longer go on.
‘I finished ahead of schedule,’ she said unevenly. ‘And I wanted to come home.’
‘Yay! How was it?’
‘Lovely,’ she lied.
‘Did you take a billion photos? Diane showed me the one of the beach, but that’s all. Did you go shopping? What was it like?’
Alicia laughed softly. ‘I was working. I didn’t get many photos.’
‘But you took some?’
She thought of the beautiful beach, the gardens, and nodded. ‘I’ll show you in the morning. It’s late now.’ The only flight she could get out of Valencia had been an evening one, and it had been held up on the tarmac.
‘Diane let me stay up watching a movie.’
‘She did, did she?’ Alicia tried to relax into the normalcy of this, the domestic contentment of her normal life, but she knew she no longer belonged quite the same way. She was different. Everything had changed.
‘And eating ice cream.’
‘Dibber dobber,’ Diane responded, moving closer with a wink.
‘Well, it’s bedtime now.’ Alicia pressed another kiss to her daughter’s forehead, then straightened, heart heavy with the weight of her responsibilities.
Once Annie had padded upstairs, Diane propped a hip against the door, her silvering hair shimmering in the soft lamplight. ‘You’re upset.’
It was a correct guess, but Alicia shook her head, pushing a bright smile to her face. Diane was one of the few people who knew all of Alicia’s secrets. She’d been there from the beginning, when Alicia had come to hospital appointments on her own and Diane, the paediatrician on call, had taken a special interest in the teenage mother. She’d held Alicia’s hand when she’d tried to speak to Graciano and had seen her heartbreak when he’d rejected her.
‘Yes,’ she said, pulling her lips to one side. ‘But I probably deserve to be.’
‘Pish, what happened?’
Alicia sighed softly, then began to talk, to explain everything to Diane, who listened with a sympathetic, loving expression, nodding from time to time.
‘Do you still love him, darling?’ Diane asked, after a beat.
Alicia startled. ‘Love him? Of course not. How can I?’
‘Because you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. You’ve been single ever since him. And you look as though you’ve left a part of yourself behind in Spain.’
Alicia opened her mouth to deny it again, but found her mind too swamped. ‘It doesn’t matter how I feel. We’ve both made too many mistakes, Di. You must see that? What future can there be for us, after all that’s come before?’
The following day, Graciano flicked through the document, scowling.
There was no denying: it was excellent. With very little input from Graciano, Alicia had somehow planned the perfect evening—for his non-existent event. It was a shame he wasn’t planning to host any such party, as it would have been exceptional. The plans were comprehensive and professional, detailing guest transportation, staffing needs as well as accommodation, dietary requirements, menu suggestions, marquee placement and dance floor. She’d suggested two music options: a DJ for by the beach, and more of a lowkey acoustic band for the dinner. She’d arranged for fireworks, scheduled interviews with several high-profile magazines... Everything had been thought of.
He got to the bottom, then quit the document, returning to the email she’d sent, rereading it for the tenth time.
Graciano,
Please see attached event plan. I’ve gone through the details with your assistant, who’s happy to run point on the night. You shouldn’t need anything more from me.
