Shelf Life
Page 21
Not a woman, but not a girl either. I know how that feels. Awkward. That’s an awkward age, I should know. Time to choose between one thing and another. But her outfit hasn’t settled for formal or casual: little tailored coat, comfy shoes. Long straight brown hair, fringe too long. When she looks up, I am taken aback. Her eyes are like black pools: very wide and very wet. She stares at me.
I smile because it is my job to smile. She smiles back.
‘You all right?’ I say.
‘You all right,’ she says.
We both nod. She loads her shopping on to the conveyor belt. I put my nail file back. I scan her items.
‘Got everything you need?’ I say. She nods yes. I help her pack.
11:09 04/01/2017
□ 6 LARGE EGGS
□ COLA DIET 6 CANS
□ PINK LADY 4X
□ BASICS COTTON WOOL
□ ROAST CHICKEN DELI
□ HEINZ TOMATO SOUP
□ PG TIPS FAMILY
□ YELLOW TAIL PINOT GRIGIO
□ OLIVIO PIMENTO 150G
□ STRAWBERRY 500G
□ GARNIER MOISTSR PEACH
□ PEO CUT FLOWERS
□ AUSSIE MIRACLE TREAT
□ SINGLE CREAM 250ML
□ SIRLOIN TOP SIDE 250G
□ THICK BLEACH 1L
□ GU 2X CHOC PUDDING
* * *
17 ITEMS
BALANCE DUE
DEBIT CARD
CHANGE
* * *
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing doesn’t have to be a lonely business. (What a sad thing to want to believe.) This book would not exist without the help and support of other people.
I am hugely indebted to my agent, Zoe Ross, who believed in this novel fiercely from the beginning and pointed out the way, and to my editor, Lizzy Goudsmit, whose sensitive advice and genial intuition made it the best book I was able to write. Thank you, Alison Barrow, Bella Bosworth, Emma Burton, Sharika Teelwah, Antonia Whitton and the whole team at Doubleday/Transworld for making me feel right at home.
I am grateful to Sophie Collins and Wendy Jones, for taking my writing seriously, and to Tim Parnell, Jack Underwood and the English and Comparative Literature department at Goldsmiths, for putting faith in me and my research. A huge thank you goes to Alice Ash, Claudia Durastanti and Dizz Tate, for being this book’s three Good Fairies and my best role models.
This novel owes a lot to the women in my life. I am especially grateful to Charlotte Heather, for her unending support and real companionship, and to Sandra Neuburger and Caterina Pinzauti for teaching me everything about girls and friendship. Thank you, Anjalie Joseph, my number one, my compass. Thank you, Su Pereira, Sandra Rutten and Eilidh Urquhart, my warm-blooded sisters. Thank you to Khairani Barokka, Serena Braida, Emily Cooper, Sophie Corser, Marzia D’Amico, Silvia Della Porta, Tamsin Murray-Leach, Rebecca Tamás, May-Lan Tan, Francine Toon and Chrissy Williams for the gift of their intimate and literary friendships.
I owe a lot to the creative communities that have protected me over the years, allowing me space and time to grow: Zamenhof Factory, DIY Space for London and their brilliant associates – my beautiful friends, I love you. There’s a chance I might still owe money on a Martini or two to famous local establishment La Tazza D’Oro – sorry.
Of course, I am most indebted to my family – both blood-related and acquired – and especially to my small and powerful grandmother, Maria Luisa Lavaggi; I am forever humbled by your tenacity and generosity. Thank you so much for supporting me, always.
Dario Franchini e Isabella Moretti, mamma e babbo: I suspect I’ll never find the right words to express how thankful I am to have been born your daughter, but I promise I’ll keep looking for them.
Francesco can have my green heart.
⋆
The ‘grief booklet’ Ruth reads from in ‘Apples’ (on pages 39 and 43–5) is based on the ‘5 stages of grief’ model devised by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross in On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families (2014), NY, New York: Scribner. The TEAR model (on pages 46–7) is drawn from J. William Worden, Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner (2008), NY, New York: Springer Publishing.
‘Lili Marlene’ is a song written by Hans Leip and Norbert Schultze, famously sung by Marlene Dietrich. The lyrics to ‘Wishin’ And Hopin’’, as sung by Dusty Springfield, were written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach.
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Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Doubleday
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Livia Franchini 2019
Cover © Getty Images
Livia Franchini has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
TEAR acronym on page 47 republished with permission of Springer Publishing Company, Inc., from Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, J. William Worden, Volume 4, Fourth edition, 2009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781473569188
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