Wish You Were Here

Chapter 17



The next morning, Tiana’s little head was barely visible above her duvet when Milo went into her bedroom to wake her up. He drew back the blush-pink curtains and light streamed into the room, bouncing off the oval mirror and lighting up the pop stars in the posters on the walls whose names Milo could never remember.

‘Tiana?’ he called softly. ‘Wake up! It’s time to get up for breakfast.’ There was a light groan followed by a sob and Milo was by her side in an instant. ‘Sweetheart? Are you okay?’ He pushed her dark hair away from her face and felt her forehead. It was certainly warm but was it something to be concerned with? ‘Don’t you feel well?’

This time, a little squeak left her. ‘Tummy hurts.’

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘You rest there, my love.’ He drew the curtains, plunging the room back into darkness. She must have caught the bug that Hanna had, he thought, which meant he wouldn’t be able to go to work that day.

Leaving the bedroom, he made a call to his colleague, Lander, to let him know that he wouldn’t be in and then something occurred to him.

‘Alice!’

She was going to meet him in the gardens and now he wasn’t going to be there. Could he trust Lander to say that he was unable to make it in to work but not to reveal the reason why?

He rang Lander back and did his best to explain but his colleague merely laughed at the subterfuge.

‘You’ll be found out!’ he said and Milo knew that he was probably right.

There had been rain in the night and the gardens at the Villa Argenti were scented with a thousand perfumes from the plants, flowers and the earth itself. Everything looked newly washed and fresh, replenished from the life-giving rain. Alice had read that Kethos didn’t get much rain and she expected that Milo welcomed every single drop of it to keep his garden beautiful and lush. Of course, there was an irrigation system in place and the millionaire owner had probably fixed it so that his grass was never anything other than emerald, but nothing could compare with the sweetness of rain.

Alice inhaled deeply as she walked down the main path. At first, she didn’t worry about the fact that she couldn’t find Milo. She just thought he’d be pottering around somewhere in the depths of the grounds and had every belief that their paths would cross sooner or later. Indeed, the excitement of turning each corner and emerging from behind each tree in the knowledge that she might then see him heightened her senses and added to the anticipation of seeing him again.

What would they say to each other? Maybe they wouldn’t say anything at all. Maybe he would greet her with a kiss. Alice tried to imagine it and felt quite weak doing so but she was quickly awakened from her delicious daydream by the sight of a man approaching her. He looked barely out of his teens and he was looking intently at Alice.

‘Hello?’ she volunteered.

‘Are you Aleeeece?’ the man said.

‘Yes,’ she said.

‘I have to say that – er – Milo isn’t here.’

‘Oh,’ Alice said.

‘He say sorry.’

‘Okay,’ Alice said. ‘Will he be here tomorrow?’

‘I do not know,’ the man said.

‘I see.’ She bit her lip. She would have to come back again tomorrow. That was the only thing she could do but what a waste of a beautiful day. They had so few of them left now. ‘He’s all right, isn’t he?’ she asked the man.

‘All right?’

‘Yes – he isn’t ill, is he?’

The man shrugged which Alice thought was a strange response but perhaps his English just wasn’t that good.

‘You are a very beautiful woman,’ the young man suddenly said. ‘Your eyes – your hair—’

Alice shook her head. It was happening again. ‘I have to go,’ she said, and she made a hasty retreat to the exit.

‘You’re back early,’ Stella said from behind her sunglasses. Alice sat on the edge of the lounger next to her but didn’t answer. ‘He stood you up, didn’t he?’

‘He wasn’t there,’ Alice said and her voice sounded horribly woebegone.

‘He stood you up,’ Stella repeated matter-of-factly.

‘He couldn’t get in to work. It isn’t the same thing.’

‘So what was his excuse?’ Stella asked, putting her magazine down and placing her hands on her hips which looked funny on somebody sprawled out on a sun lounger.

‘He didn’t leave an excuse,’ Alice said.

‘He’s married,’ Stella said and Alice visibly flinched at the word. Stella saw and smiled. ‘He’s married and he’s got six children.’

Alice blinked in astonishment. Wasn’t that exactly what Milo had told the dark-eyed man in Kintos about her as a joke – that she was married with six children? Maybe he’d been thinking about his own situation.

‘You do talk some rubbish,’ Alice said, standing up.

‘Oh, really?’ Stella said, lowering her glasses and squinting at Alice. ‘So where is he, then? Why didn’t he leave a proper message for you? Why didn’t he call here?’

Alice had already wondered that. He’d called round before. Couldn’t he have found time to do so again? What was so important that he couldn’t have let her know what was going on? He knew that she’d be going home soon.

‘The day after tomorrow,’ she said to herself.

‘What?’ Stella asked.

‘Nothing,’ Alice said, walking back into the villa. She closed the French doors behind her and slumped down on one of the sofas. She felt deflated and defeated. What was happening with Milo? His colleague had been vague and uneasy when she’d asked him if Milo was ill. Was he ill? Was it serious? Alice wanted to know. And, if he wasn’t ill, what was going on?

She had to find out and, if Milo had been able to find out where she was staying by just asking a few questions, surely she could find him by doing the same?

Tiana had been sick twice and had then slept for the rest of the morning and right into the afternoon. Milo had contacted Dr Papadis who lived at the bottom of the hill. He was retired but was always happy to help anybody out if he could. He’d taken Tiana’s temperature and pulse rate and listened to her heart and had said that there was no cause for alarm.

‘She is young and strong and it is only a tummy bug. It’s going around at the moment.’

Milo had sighed in relief, thankful that it was nothing more serious.

‘Lots of fluids, lots of sleep and let her rest for a couple of days until it is out of her system.’

That was the rub, Milo thought. He’d have to take more time off work. It was a good job his boss was away and Lander could cover for him, but what was he going to do about Alice?

Milo couldn’t help thinking that his brother and Sonya should have shown up at that moment. A sick child in bed for two or three days might have put them off quickly enough but he couldn’t help acknowledging that he could use some help – just someone to babysit for a couple of hours whilst he went to see Alice. But that would be admitting to Georgio and Sonya that he couldn’t cope on his own with Tiana and he’d be leaving himself wide open for them to step in, and he wasn’t about to do that.

But what on earth must Alice be thinking about him? This was the worst possible scenario – him unable to see her the day after they’d made love. What if she was thinking he had used her and didn’t really care about her at all but was quite able to brush her off with a simple excuse about not being able to see her again? His guts churned in dismay at the thought but what could he do? He couldn’t leave Tiana even for a moment and, the truth was, he didn’t want to. She came first even if he was falling in love with this woman from England.

This, he thought, was what his life was going to be like for the next few years. Tiana was still only ten years old and his responsibility was to her. He really shouldn’t be thinking about his own life – especially not something as self-indulgent as a love life – that much was clear now.

Later that afternoon, after wearing the old table top in the kitchen thin with the drumming of his fingers, he tiptoed back into Tiana’s room.

‘Are you feeling any better?’ he asked, stroking her hair and realising that her head was still hot. ‘Do you want anything to eat?’

She shook her head and buried it further into the pillow.

‘Give me a call if you need me,’ he said. ‘Okay?’

He returned to the kitchen which was fast feeling like a prison. How could he get in touch with Alice?

Forget her, a little voice said. She’s leaving anyway. Nothing’s going to come of it.

But, as much as he knew that was true, he wanted to see her again. He didn’t want things to end like this with so much left unsaid. He wanted to say goodbye. He wanted to kiss her goodbye.

‘Milo?’ Tiana’s little voice broke into his thoughts and he was back in her bedroom in an instant.

‘Yes, my sweetheart?’ he said, sitting on the edge of her bed and squeezing the tiny shoulder that was protruding from the bedclothes.

‘I got scared. I didn’t know where you were.’

‘I’m right here, sweetheart,’ Milo said. ‘I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.’