then, isn’t that true for a lot of people? I muse sadly, thinking about Adam.
‘And what about you?’
I snap back. ‘Me? No,’ I protest, shaking my head determinedly. ‘No, not in love . . .’ The words catch in my throat as my mind thumbs through the snapshots of mine and Adam’s brief relationship. It wasn’t love. Of course not. How could I be in love with someone I barely knew? And yet . . .
And yet you can spend a lifetime with someone and still be a stranger to them, but on the flipside you can meet someone briefly who can see inside your soul. Can you measure love by time? By anything? Or is it something inexplicable that has no rhyme or reason, no scientific explanation. Something that just happens. Like magic.
As the thought hits, I suddenly realise that I’m not convincing anyone, least of all me.
‘Yes, I am,’ I say, turning to look at the old man. My voice is quiet but unfaltering. ‘I am in love with someone.’
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‘Well, then, do not worry.’ He smiles reassuringly. ‘The legend is indeed powerful, but do you know what is more powerful?’ He looks at me, his dark eyes seeming even darker, and I feel goose bumps prickling my arms, just like all those years ago.
‘Love,’ he says simply. ‘The power of love.’
I look at him, a million questions racing through my head. ‘But—’
‘Goodbye, Lucy.’ Before I can finish, he stands up, tipping his hat. ‘Say hello to Nathaniel for me.’
‘Yes, I will.’ I nod absently, watching as he turns and walks away. Then a thought strikes. ‘How did you remember our names?’
But he’s already gone, disappeared down an alleyway, leaving me with a jumble of thoughts and unanswered questions.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
I’m still sitting alone on the bench, trying to make sense of it all, when my phone rings. It’s my sister, Kate. I pick up.
‘How’s Venice? Got rid of him yet?’ she says with characteristic bluntness.
‘Not yet,’ I say blithely, but reminded of why I’m here, I feel a clutch of worry. ‘So, anyway, how are you?’ I ask, sweeping it under my cerebral carpet.
‘Well, do you want the good news . . . or the good news?’
‘Huh?’
There’s a pause and then . . .
‘We got the all-clear!’ Jeff and Kate yell in stereo down the phone, their voices so loud I have to hold my mobile away from my ear.
‘Oh my God, that’s brilliant!’ I gasp, feeling a tidal wave of emotions wash over me – relief, joy, delight . . . I want to punch the air, high-five a stranger, hug someone, but there’s no one here, just me, on a bench, in a tiny piazza in Venice, listening to my sister and Jeff speaking nineteen to the dozen down the phone, telling me all about the results. It was stage one and he didn’t need chemo. ‘Just a holiday,’ Kate is enthusing, ‘a bloody long holiday.’
Listening to her speaking, I can’t stop smiling, and it’s not just because Jeff’s got the all-clear. It’s because of the change in my sister. Hearing her excitedly talking about taking a holiday, it’s like a new Kate. Gone is the sister who used to spend every spare moment she had in the office or the gym, who was so focused on making partner or running the marathon that she lost sight of who and what aÕwhoone i fre important in life. She was left behind that day in the hospital, and somehow I don’t think she’s ever coming back.
‘We were thinking a safari, or maybe even diving on the Great Barrier Reef, or Jeff said why don’t we just go crazy and take sabbaticals from work and do both . . .’
As she’s talking, I’m distracted by a couple who’ve wandered into the piazza. Absently I watch them taking each other’s photograph by the fountain, before the guy notices me and walks over.
‘Excuse me,’ he begins, then realising I’m on the phone, falters. ‘Oh . . . sorry.’
‘It’s OK.’ I smile. The glow from my sister’s good news feels infectious. I mean, come on, here’s a couple in love, in one of the most romantic cities in the world, and they want a photo together. ‘Hang on, Kate,’ I say to my sister, who’s now wondering if they should buy round-the-world tickets and take in the Pyramids as well. ‘I just need to take a photo.’
‘No worries. Let’s speak later,’ she says cheerfully, saying her goodbyes and hanging up.
No worries? I