Page 35 of The Island of Hopes and Dreams

They walked on for another couple of minutes in silence before Rhys said, ‘I do wonder if having parents who care enough to be so invested in your wedding that they come to blows is a good thing.’

Lola glanced back at him. ‘You’re saying your parents don’t about you?’

‘Not exactly.’

Only their footsteps scuffing the compacted dirt path sounded for a moment; a sharp call of a gull wheeling overhead broke the silence.

‘I’m being unfair,’ Rhys finally said. ‘My parents do care about us all, it’s just my brothers and their families take up all their time and energy and very little is left for me.’

‘Is that because you try not to bother them or because you’re the son who doesn’t demand their attention?’

Rhys grunted. ‘A bit of both.’

They continued on, both quiet again. The path steadily climbed between forest-green bushes, which were broken up by cream-toned rocks.

‘Maybe I don’t make the effort,’ Rhys piped up. ‘Actually, I know I don’t. Sometimes it’s hard seeing my brothers with their families…’ He trailed off.

‘Because it’s what you want, right? A partner to share things with. Perhaps children one day?’ Lola said the words carefully because she could sense his conflict and had heard the sorrow in his voice. She wondered if he was thinking of Zoe and the future he’d imagined with her.

They rounded a corner and suddenly the beach was visible. Lola halted, open-mouthed. A thick swathe of sand was sandwiched between the emerald-green sea, and a dark-blue river cut behind the beach and through the gap in the towering pink-trachyte rocks, its multicoloured crags peppered with bushes.

‘I’ve never been here,’ Rhys said as they continued along the path that wound down to the beach. ‘Although I’m not surprised as it’s a rather romantic spot. Perhaps Fabs saved it for Mirabel.’

There were a few people dotted about on the oyster-pale sand, mostly couples or family groups. Lola shaded her eyes and squinted, searching the beach for Mirabel.

‘I think I can see her.’ On the far side, a woman was sitting on her own, her red dress bright against the sand. ‘I should go and talk to her on my own.’

Rhys nodded and moved off the path, settling himself on a rock next to where the river narrowed to a stream and flowed out to sea. ‘I’ll be here if you need me.’

21

Lola wished more than anything that she was strolling barefoot across Spiaggia di Cala li Cossi with Mirabel’s arm hooked in hers and a beach bag slung over her shoulder with towels and a picnic inside. As it was, her trainers kicked up sand, her cross-body bag contained little more than her purse, phone, lip balm and a bottle of water and she was on her own as she passed groups of happy people making the most of the late September sun.

As Lola neared Mirabel, she couldn’t help but notice how forlorn she looked, with her legs crossed and shoulders hunched as she stared towards the pond-flat sea.

‘Hey, you doing okay?’ Lola said softly as she sat down next to her on the warm sand and they hugged. The sea barely lapped the shore and the voices from the other beach-goers were distant, twirled away on the lightest of breezes.

‘This is the beach Fabs took me to the first time I visited his family.’ Mirabel drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. ‘Everything felt simple back then, even if I was overwhelmed by meeting his family. How wealthy he actually was wasn’t really apparent till I came here and saw how they lived and where he grew up. None of that mattered back then, whereas now…’ She exhaled deeply. Lola allowed her the time to put her thoughts into words. ‘Now, everything is different.’

Mirabel’s need to escape to somewhere that held happy memories was understandable, yet Lola sensed there was more to it than she was saying.

‘What’s really going on?’ Lola asked gently. ‘You running away has everyone worried. I understand how overwhelming the last few days have been, but are things okay between you and Fab?—’

‘Yes! Nothing’s wrong with us. I love him with all my heart, it’s just…’ She glanced away but not before Lola noticed her tears.

Lola reached for Mirabel’s hand.

‘I want to marry Fabs more than anything; I want us to start a family. I’ve got to the point where those things mean as much to me as my career, yet it’s the thought of starting over with everything that I’m struggling with: quitting my job, building my own business and client list, leaving my family and starting a whole new life in a country without friends of my own and on an island I’ve only ever visited. I’ve always loved being here, but that’s with the knowledge that I’ll be going home again at the end of a week or two.

‘I’m not just marrying Fabs but his whole family, and that’sa lot. Being referee between his mum and my mum got me thinking, what happens when there are grandchildren involved? I’m still learning Italian and we’d need to bring up our children bilingual. There’s so much to think about. And what if this never gets any easier? What if I hate living here and miss my life back home?’ She turned to Lola wide-eyed. ‘London’s my home.’ She was trembling, her breathing sharp and her face flushed. It was almost as if she was having a panic attack.

‘Oh Mirabel.’ Lola slipped an arm across her shoulders. ‘Have you shared these thoughts with Fabs?’

‘Not in so many words, but I will. I need to.’

Lola hugged her close. ‘It’s an awful lot to be processing, and emotions are bound to be running high when you’re all living together.’

‘It’s not like we’re on top of each other – their place is palatial.’

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