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‘God, yes! I literally took three photos and one of those was a mistake. It’s me looking into the camera from below. Hideous.’ Lucy pulled a face.
Bridget grabbed her laptop and opened it. ‘Right, let me just…’ She turned it round so they could all see. Crowding round the screen, they watched the slideshow Bridget had put together, their smiling faces popping up in between shots of the city. Blue skies and green shutters, umber-coloured walls and arched wooden doorways, ice creams and negronis, stone staircases and paintings, each image taking them further back into the streets and sights of Florence.
‘Please can we do that again one day? It was just the best,’ said Stella.
‘Only as long as it’s not to help one of us get over another break-up.’ Lucy laughed.
‘Maybe we can do a belated trip to celebrate my break-up?’ said Sarah. ‘Even if it was quite a long time ago.’
Bridget snapped her laptop shut. ‘Right, come on. I’m starving and that chicken smells so good. Shall I get some plates?’
‘Yes please, take them straight from the dishwasher.’ Stella pointed at the door under the kitchen island as she made her way over to the oven.
‘Ooh, I’ve just remembered I picked up something for pudding.’ Sarah reached into her bag on the floor by her feet and pulled out a big bag of cantucci biscuits and a small bottle of vin santo. She held them up like trophies.
‘Where did you find those?’ said Bridget.
‘Lidl,’ replied Sarah, her face beaming.
‘Here you go,’ said Stella, placing the roasting tin on the table. She handed Lucy a carving knife and fork. ‘Can you do that bit. I’m just going to throw some salad leaves into a bowl.’ Just then, the twins appeared at the door in their pyjamas. ‘Hey, you two, what are you doing up? You should be in bed.’ Stella went to usher them out of the kitchen and back up the stairs, but they dodged her and accosted the guests.
After managing to draw out hugging people round the table for a good five minutes, both girls were shepherded out and back upstairs by Stella. She tucked them in and kissed each of them on the forehead, the sound of her friends round the table downstairs.
She looked in on Max, still awake and playing something on his iPad. ‘Hey, no screens in bed.’ Stella walked over to him and put her hand out. He handed it over without a fuss.
‘Mum, when you go to Scotland, you will come back won’t you?’ Max’s voice wobbled a little.
Stella’s heart jumped in her chest. ‘Yes, of course! And it’s not until next month, we haven’t even got a date yet. I’m just going for a couple of days. I promise you that’s my last work trip for a while and you’ll have a lovely time with Grandpa and Susie, you know they’ll spoil you rotten.’
Max brushed his blonde hair from his face. ‘Is Dad ever coming back?’
Stella looked at him, his cheeks flushed, his eyes wide. She knew she couldn’t lie to him. ‘The truth is, I don’t know. I wish I did, but I don’t. So, until we do, let’s just keep going.’
‘One day at a time.’ Max gave his mother a small smile.
‘Yes, my love. One day at a time.’
20
‘OK, ready?’ Emily Parker stood in her swimming costume, wetsuit boots on her feet and a towel wrapped round her body. She looked at her friend standing next to her, similarly dressed but with a more apprehensive look on her face.
‘Em, is this going to hurt?’
‘No! Well, not once you get used to it.’
‘Wait, you said…’ cried her companion.
‘Lou, I promise you, you’ll feel amazing once you get used to the water. And we’ll only stay in for a minute. Here, take my hand.’ With that, Emily grabbed her friend’s hand and together they walked across sand the colour of buttermilk and into the blue-green sea.
‘It’s bloody freezing!’ Lou shrieked as the water hit her legs.
‘Just keep walking and when I say swim, we swim.’ Emily’s voice was calm, determined.
‘Jesus!’
‘Now, swim!’ Emily launched herself forward into the water, taking a few strokes before turning back to face Lou. ‘Come on, you can do it!’ Emily had been in the sea almost every day since the spring, but for a first-timer like Lou, it took some getting used to. ‘Honestly, keep moving and your body will soon get used to it.’
With a gasp, Lou followed Emily and sank her body onto the water. ‘OH MY GOD!’ If someone were to stick a thousand pins into her body all at the same time, Lou imagined it wasn’t far off what she was feeling right at that moment.
