This Is Us by Helen McGinn

Author:Helen McGinn [McGinn, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Published: 2022-09-09T16:00:00+00:00

Lingering over the last of their wine, the friends carried on chatting. It was only when the waiter began mopping the floor around them, they realised they were the last ones there. Having gathered their belongings and thanked the owner and his staff for a wonderful dinner, they stood for a moment in the square, lights still twinkling in the trees. The tables outside were still surrounded by groups talking and laughing.

‘How about we walk to the bridge and back before we go back to the hotel, take in the view at night?’

‘Good idea,’ said Sarah. ‘I need to walk some of this off.’ She patted her stomach.

Bridget did up her trousers. ‘I’m definitely up for a walk, I’ll never get to sleep feeling this full.’

They headed towards the river and walked to the Ponte Vecchio along the now familiar route. The air was still warm, the night sky a beautiful deep inky blue sprinkled generously with stars. Halfway across the bridge, now almost empty of people, they stopped and stood underneath the huge stone arches, looking east along the river towards the Ponte alle Grazie, rolling Tuscan hills in the distance. Below them, the water moved slowly, small ripples making the light on the surface dance to an invisible tune.

They stood side by side, each lost in their own thoughts for a few moments. Much as Stella tried to not think about him, she couldn’t help but wonder, as she so often did, where Simon was, what he might be doing, who he might be with. Emily Parker’s name hung in her mind. Despite the wonderful evening they’d had, the thought of Simon left her feeling hollow once more.

She felt Lucy’s arm around her shoulders. ‘Thank you,’ Stella whispered. ‘I’m all right, I promise. I just can’t help but think about him. Where he is, you know?’

‘Of course you do, it would be weird if you didn’t.’ Bridget put her arm around Stella too, squeezing her shoulder.

‘It’s just… I’m tired of trying to figure out what happened. He left me with nothing to go on.’ Stella sighed. ‘I didn’t want to talk about it tonight. I’m sick of talking about him, sick of thinking about him, to be honest. But it’s so unfinished. I’ve tried everything, but until he gets in touch – if he gets in touch…’

‘He will, I’m sure.’ Sarah spoke softly.

Bridget nodded. ‘He’ll be back. But leaving without trace like that is…’ She stopped short of saying the word unforgivable out loud.

Stella took a deep breath. ‘I know it sounds ridiculous, but I found a name written on a piece of paper in an old wallet of his. It might be nothing, but it did make me wonder… I know so little of Simon’s past. He has no family but us, none of our friends have heard from him. It’s the only name I have that might be able to tell me something.’

‘What’s the name?’ Lucy asked, her mind already putting two and two together and realising that’s who Stella was searching for on her phone earlier.

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