Wish You Were Here

by Victoria Connelly

  She closed her eyes as hot tears threatened to spill. He hadn’t known who she was that last time she’d visited him and the memory pained her. If only they’d had more time together. If only he’d had some glimmer of recognition that day.

  The funeral went as well as a funeral possibly could. Sam had taken a couple of hours off work to attend and Alice was glad of his company even though he kept giving her flirty little looks over the hymn books.

  ‘He was a fine man,’ he told her after the service had ended.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  ‘Alice,’ he said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘There’s something I really need to tell you.’ His eyes widened and had that doe-like expression that Alice was now used to recognising.

  ‘Not now, Sam,’ she said, knowing that whatever Sam wanted to say had nothing to do with her father’s funeral.

  ‘But you don’t know what I’m going to say,’ he protested.

  ‘I do,’ she said, and hurried down the gravel path out of the churchyard. Now was not the time to hear another man’s declaration of love.

  After it was all over, there was a reception at the hotel near the care home and Alice was warmed to see so many residents there to pay their last respects to her father.

  ‘Oh, look at him over there,’ Stella said, nodding towards an elderly man who was standing by the window with a plate piled high with food from the buffet. ‘He’s still got his slippers on!’

  ‘And you will too if you’re lucky enough to reach his age.’

  ‘Trust me,’ Stella said, ‘I will still be tottering around in my heels even when I’m ninety.’

  Alice rolled her eyes as an image of an ancient Stella flirting her way around an old people’s home whilst wearing heels assaulted her vision.

  ‘I’m getting something to eat,’ Stella said, leaving Alice’s side. Alice couldn’t eat. Her stomach felt as if it was somersaulting inside her but she did reach out for a glass of wine from a nearby tray. It was as she was finishing it off and contemplating a second glass that she saw the old woman sitting in a chair by the window. She hadn’t noticed her before and wondered why. She was very striking with her smooth, shoulder-length silver hair and a blue and pink shawl embracing her body.

  ‘Hello,’ Alice said as she approached her and took a seat next to her. ‘Thanks so much for coming today.’

  ‘I’m afraid I didn’t make the service,’ the woman said. ‘I have problems with my back, I’m afraid, and I can’t sit up for long any more and I get awfully cold.’

  ‘It was certainly cold in there,’ Alice said, shivering at the memory of the icy church. ‘Can I get you anything?’

  ‘Oh, no thank you. I’m saving up for dinner.’ She gave a little smile. ‘At my age, food is one of the few things we have to look forward to.’

  ‘How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.’

  ‘I don’t mind, my dear. I’m eighty-two.’

  Alice smiled at her. ‘You must have seen so many amazing things.’

  ‘And been to an awful lot of funerals.’ She pulled her shawl a little tighter around her shoulders. ‘That’s the downside of getting old. Amongst other things, of course. It’s so sad to see all your friends go.’

  Alice nodded.

  ‘And your father was a very dear friend indeed,’ she said, her pale eyes bright. ‘He’s going to be missed so much.’

  Alice’s eyes filled with tears.

  ‘Oh, my dear, I didn’t mean to make you sad.’

  ‘No, you didn’t. I’m happy. Really I am,’ Alice said. ‘It’s just that everyone’s so kind. They keep telling me the loveliest things about him today and it makes me realise how much he was loved.’

  ‘He certainly was.’

  Alice blinked her tears away and looked at the woman. ‘You’re Rosa, aren’t you?’

  The old lady smiled and nodded.

  ‘I’m sorry we’ve not met before,’ Alice said.

  ‘That’s all right. I know that your time with your father was always precious.’

  ‘You mean there was never enough of it,’ Alice said, sadness filling her eyes.

  The old lady looked shocked. ‘I didn’t say that.’

  ‘I know, but it’s just that I feel I never had enough time with him,’ she said with a sad smile.

  ‘But that couldn’t be helped. You’re a working girl and I know how hard all you young girls work these days.’

  Alice shook her head. ‘But it’s still a lousy excuse.’

  ‘You spent every moment you could with your father. Everybody knew that. He was a very lucky man. I hardly ever get to see my family.’

  ‘Don’t you?’

  She shook her head. ‘My daughter lives in Lancashire and my son – well, he doesn’t like care homes.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Alice said. ‘That’s awful.’

  ‘That’s life,’ Rosa said.

  There was a pause and they both looked out of the window on to the immaculate lawn. There was a little weak sunshine about and Alice spotted a statue hiding amongst the shrubbery. She cocked her head to one side. It looked like a classical figure. Could it possibly be Aphrodite or was her mind playing tricks on her?

  ‘So, what are you going to do now?’ Rosa asked, breaking into Alice’s thoughts.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, your father said that you were only really living here because of him and, well, now that he’s gone…’ She looked up at Alice with questioning eyes.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Alice said.

  ‘He told me that there was something about you – something hidden away that was waiting to get out. He said that you were suppressing it – that you were just going through the motions here but that something would take you away one day.’

  ‘Really? He said that?’

  The old lady nodded. ‘Is there something? Something you want to do? I mean, I hope you don’t mind me saying this but, with what your father is leaving you, you might very well be able to do it.’

  ‘But I don’t want to do anything,’ Alice said, puzzled. ‘I’m happy here.’

  ‘Are you?’ The old lady sounded surprised. ‘But your father told me—’ she paused.

  ‘What?’ Alice asked, desperate to know.

  ‘He said that you would surprise everybody. He said that Stella might do the most outrageous things but you would be the one to do the most amazing thing.’

  ‘How strange. He never said anything like that to me,’ Alice said.

  ‘But he must have been thinking it.’ The old lady reached out and grabbed one of Alice’s hands and she was surprised by its warmth. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying all this to you,’ she said. ‘He loved talking about you. He was very proud of you, you know.’

  Alice could feel the all-familiar tears once again. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Thank you so much for telling me all this.’

  A young woman suddenly appeared at the side of Rosa and helped her out of her chair.

  ‘Time to get you home, Mrs Reynolds.’

  Rosa gave Alice a look of resignation and Alice said her goodbyes and watched as she linked arms with the young lady and was led away.

  Alice turned and glanced around the room. She was looking for Stella but couldn’t see her anywhere. She’d probably gone home, Alice thought, believing that she’d done her duty and that there was no point in hanging around any longer than was absolutely necessary.

  Chapter 33

  Georgio had alerted the police about the disappearance of Tiana but Milo wanted to do something more practical than hang around the flat waiting, on the chance that some overworked officer might ring them back with information. He wanted to get out there and pound the streets looking for her himself. He wanted to get back to the boat and see if she’d somehow managed to get there.

  ‘Are you coming?’ he asked his brother.

  Georgio shook his head. ‘I think we should all stay here in case she comes back.’
>
  ‘She’s not going to come back!’ Milo shouted in frustration. ‘She’s trying to get away from here! Here is the last place you’ll find her!’

  ‘Oh, God, I can’t bear it!’ Sonya said, mopping her eyes. Her mascara had streaked down her face and, for the first time in his life, Milo saw her looking less than perfect. Goodness, he thought. She really did care about his little sister.

  ‘I’m going out,’ Milo announced. ‘I can’t stand around here doing nothing.’

  ‘I’m coming with you,’ Sonya said, getting up from the sofa.

  Milo blinked in surprise. ‘What?’

  ‘What?’ Georgio echoed.

  ‘I need to do something!’ Sonya cried.

  ‘You need to sit down,’ Georgio said.

  ‘This is my fault,’ Sonya said. ‘I pressed you and pressed you until you agreed. I never once thought about Tiana. Milo’s right – we put ourselves first.’

  Georgio placed his huge hands on her shoulders. ‘Don’t think like that. We did what we thought was right.’

  ‘But I must try and find her,’ she said, making a move to find her handbag.

  Milo looked pleadingly at Georgio and his brother read his mind. ‘Sonya,’ Georgio began, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea. Milo can cope perfectly well on his own.’

  ‘But he’s only one person,’ Sonya said. ‘We’ll cover double the ground if I go as well.’

  For a moment, Georgio looked helpless as his wife put a pair of stilettos on. She looked as if she was about to go out shopping rather than marching up and down the streets looking for a missing child.

  ‘Darling,’ Georgio said, ‘you don’t have to do this.’

  ‘Yes!’ she said, almost screaming the word. ‘I do have to do this! Or undo it or—’ she paused, and her beautiful mouth started to tremble.

  Georgio stepped in and guided her back to the sofa. ‘You’re not in a state to go anywhere,’ he told her gently, stroking her hair as she cried.

  ‘But I’ve got to try.’

  He shook his head. ‘Milo will take care of things. I need you here with me.’

  ‘You do?’ she said.

  ‘Of course I do,’ he said, kissing the top of her head. ‘And we need to stay here for Tiana. Both of us.’

  Milo was relieved to get out of the apartment. Knowing that he was permanently broke, his brother had pressed some money into his hands just before he left.

  ‘Let us know as soon as you find anything,’ Georgio had said.

  ‘Of course,’ Milo had replied.

  ‘Milo?’ Georgio called as he’d headed for the stairs.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  Milo had nodded and had watched as his brother had returned to his flat and slowly closed the door.

  He hailed a taxi outside the flat and spent ten minutes driving slowly up and down the neighbourhood streets, his eyes scanning every inch for Tiana but she was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Take me to the port,’ he told the driver. ‘Slowly.’

  He rolled his window down but he didn’t hear the noises of the city. It was as if somebody had hit a mute button on the world and his vision focused on the streets, his head twitching from side to side as they drove to the port, trying to see down each and every street and alley they passed.

  Would Tiana really have walked all this way on her own? He tried to get inside her mind. What would he do if he was in her position? He’d try to get home, that much was clear, but how? Would she have any money even if she could find her way back to the boat?

  His mind whirred with worry at the different scenarios. She was a ten-year-old girl on her own in a large capital city. Part of him was hoping that she would go unnoticed and that she would be able to find her way back home by herself, quickly and quietly. The other part of him was hoping that some kindly person would notice her and help her but what if the wrong kind of person saw her first?

  Milo closed his eyes as kidnappers, child molesters and murderers all jostled for space in his imagination.

  ‘Tiana,’ he said, whispering her name in despair as his eyes snapped open again for fear of missing her in the streets.

  He wished with all his heart that Alice was there beside him, holding his hand and telling him that everything would be okay in that calm, quiet voice of hers. But she wasn’t there; she was over a thousand miles away and certainly wasn’t thinking about him and his problems.

  When the taxi arrived at the port, he jumped out, flung some notes at the driver and ran down towards the boat for Kethos, stopping everyone he passed along the way.

  ‘Have you seen a small girl? She’s ten years old, long dark hair, about this high,’ he said, gesturing with his hand. But everybody said no, shaking their heads and getting on with their own business. How could they be so callous, Milo wondered? Didn’t they know this was Tiana who was missing? His dear, sweet, innocent sister whom he loved more than anything in the world. Didn’t they care? Somebody must have seen her. How could a little girl – his special little girl – just disappear?

  He dithered by the ticket office and then asked the man inside if he’d seen a little girl.

  ‘I see many little girls. Many tourists. Everybody has a little girl with them.’

  ‘But she would have been on her own,’ Milo said but the man simply shook his head and Milo walked away.

  To get on the boat or not to get on the boat – that was the question. Should he wait around the port, hoping he’d spot her, or get the next boat back to Kethos in case she’d already made her way back there? Could she have got there that quickly, he asked himself? She was a pretty determined young lady.

  He got his mobile out of his pocket and rang Georgio.

  ‘I’m getting the next boat back,’ Milo told him. ‘We can only hope that she made it on to one of the boats that’s already gone.’

  Georgio didn’t try to stop him. In fact, he thought it best if Milo went home in case Tiana was trying to get back there.

  Once on board, Milo couldn’t relax. He paced up and down the deck, hobbling on his sore ankle and cursing every time he twisted it. He should sit down. He knew he was doing himself more harm than good and he wasn’t making the time pass any faster by his strange hobbling march.

  The sea was a dark, malevolent navy now and there were gunmetal-grey clouds hovering on the horizon. That’s all they needed – Tiana desperately trying to get home in the middle of a raging storm.

  The boat ride back to the island was the longest of Milo’s life. He sincerely believed that he’d be able to swim faster with all the pent-up anxiety that was racing around him. When, at last, it docked, he pushed past the tourists and the locals, and he looked up and down the harbour, desperate to see his little sister there.

  ‘Hey, Milo!’ she’d call casually. ‘What took you so long? I’ve been here ages and I was getting bored.’

  But there was no sign of her and Milo’s face fell with the weight of worry.

  * * *

  ‘He’s selling the house?’ Stella cried. ‘He can’t! It’s my home!’

  ‘It was his home,’ Alice pointed out as diplomatically as she could. It was a few days after the funeral and the contents of their father’s will had been revealed to the sisters. The family home was to be sold and, once bills had been settled, the proceeds were to be shared – equally – between Alice and Stella. There was also a small sum in a bank account and a few shares which didn’t amount to much. The car had been left to Stella and her father’s old watch had been left to Alice. The watch was probably worth more than the car was these days, Stella was quick to point out.

  The possessions in the house were to be left to the discretion of the sisters and the beloved glasses that had belonged to their mother were to be shared between the two of them.

  Stella didn’t seem at all happy at any of the arrangements. ‘But this hasn’t been his home for the last few years. It’s been my home.’

  ‘But it has to be sold. There a
re bills to pay,’ Alice told her. ‘We have to get things sorted out.’

  ‘And what am I meant to do?’

  ‘Well, there’s no rush,’ Alice said. ‘There’s no telling how long it will take to sell the house and it’s better if you stay. People prefer to see a home lived in although you’ll have to have a good sort out and tidy up.’ She cast her eye over the pile of clothes that had been dumped on a chair in the living room.

  Stella looked shocked. ‘And after? What happens then?’

  Alice sighed. She was becoming exasperated. ‘You’ll just have to find somewhere else. You’ll have plenty of money to put down a good deposit for a place of your own.’

  ‘What – a pokey flat in town?’

  ‘It would be a start, yes!’

  ‘But I like this house.’

  ‘Yes, but you can’t afford this one.’

  ‘You’re just being greedy, Alice. You just want your half of the money. You’re not even thinking about me.’

  That seemed to do it for Alice. She was fed up of Stella accusing her of things she wasn’t guilty of and she wasn’t going to take it any more.

  ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘I’m not thinking of you and you know why? Because I’m going away.’

  ‘Going where?’ Stella sounded panicky.

  ‘Kethos.’

  ‘Kethos? What on earth are you going there for?’ Stella asked and then she rolled her eyes. ‘Oh my God! You’re going back to that guy, aren’t you?’

  ‘No, I’m not going back to that guy.’

  ‘Then why on earth else would you bother going back there?’

  Alice bit her lip. What could she say? ‘I’m going back—’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Because—’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I have some private business there.’

  Stella’s face screwed up in disbelief. ‘You’re so weird, Alice. I’ll never understand you.’

  ‘No, you won’t,’ Alice said, ‘because you never make an effort. Everything is always about you, isn’t it?’

  ‘What?’ Stella said, her face creasing up in consternation.

  ‘The whole world has got to revolve around you all the time, but it doesn’t, Stella. It doesn’t! There are other people on this planet too – people with dreams and worries – people who have feelings! Only you don’t seem to notice because you’re too wrapped up in your own selfish ways.’