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Of course you do, Allie thought with an internal eye-roll.
“You confused me for a moment,” the woman went on, “Because you look so much like your mother did then, but of course you were just a little girl. Nine though, not eight.” She positively beamed as she reached out and squeezed Allie’s hand. “It was your birthday. Your parents had bought you a silver bracelet and you were so proud of it.” Her eyes sparkled with delight as she squeezed Allie’s hand a little tighter. “After dinner you and your mum kept dragging your dad up to dance. He grumbled about it, but everyone could see that he loved every minute really.”
Allie’s heart felt as though it had lodged itself somewhere in her throat.
“How can you possibly remember that?”
“I never forget a face.” She dropped Allie’s hand and waved to a young woman at the other side of the room. “Now, you two are going to have a wonderful evening. Lottie will take great care of you.”
“Hello,” the young woman said, smiling brightly as she reached them.
“Lottie, sweetheart,” the woman said. “These two are old friends. Look after them and make sure they have everything they need.”
“Of course,” Lottie said. “Do you want to follow me and I’ll show you to your table?”
In a daze, Allie trailed Lottie into the vast conservatory. The centre of the room was a large dance floor with elegant tables set with white linens around the edge. In the corner a jazz band played softly.
“This place is stunning,” Allie murmured to Hugh, glancing back at him. “I’m not sure what just happened with that woman, though.” At the table she looked questioningly at Lottie. “Is she the owner?”
“Yes. Arietta’s a hoot, isn’t she?”
“That’s one word,” Allie said, taking a seat.
“It must be three years since I brought Emmy,” Hugh said, drawing his chair in as he sat. “It’s crazy that she remembers.”
“It’s twenty years since I was here,” Allie said. “I don’t even know how it’s possible for her to remember that.”
Hugh began to say something, then stopped and laughed before trying again. “This will sound ridiculous, but one of my friends claims that when he was here, she cast some kind of love spell on him.”
“Is she some sort of witch?” Allie looked questioningly at Lottie who was smiling down at them with amusement. “I can’t believe I just seriously asked that question.”
“Arietta isn’t a witch,” Lottie said. “She’s a super-recogniser.”
“A what?” Hugh asked.
“It’s the opposite of face blindness,” Lottie said, deadly serious. “She remembers faces. Once she sees a person, she never forgets them. It’s a bit mind-boggling if you think about it too much. But it’s supposed to affect one percent of the population to some extent. Personally, I imagine most people learn to keep it hidden because it can come off as very creepy.”
“Are you serious?” Allie asked. “That’s a real thing?”
Lottie nodded solemnly.
“What about the love spells?” Hugh asked.
“That’s not a real thing.” Lottie beamed. “That’s just Arietta having fun. Also, she says you should never underestimate the power of suggestion. You put an idea in someone’s head that they’re destined to be with a certain person and you might just look at that person differently.”
“Makes sense, I suppose,” Hugh said.
Lottie asked what they wanted to drink, then left them to peruse the menu before coming back to take their food order.
“Why is Emmy in France?” Allie asked, when they were alone again.
“Her mum lives in Paris,” Hugh said. “So she goes there for most of the school holidays.”
“Oh.” Allie’s brows rose in surprise. “So Emmy lives with you full-time in term time?”
“Yes. Which I think has worked out well overall. It definitely works well for me. I can’t imagine only seeing her at weekends or every other week or something.”
“Doesn’t it feel as though you do all the serious parenting and your ex-wife gets the fun bits?” Allie pressed her lips together. “Sorry, that sounded harsh. Also was she your wife? That was presumptuous of me.”
