Last Voyage of the Valentina(109)

“A great deal more than you give her credit for.”

“So, you’re going to stick around for a while, then?”

It was Alba’s turn to look solemn. “I have no intention of leaving. Not ever.”

Alba was at ease with herself. She was happy to lie alone at night, listening to the song of birds and the ringing of crickets. She was no longer frightened of the dark or of being on her own. She felt secure. But her mind often wandered to Fitz, wondering what he was doing, remembering with a bittersweet nostalgia the good times they had shared. But then she would toy with Gabriele’s card, running her finger over the name and telephone number, wondering whether the time had come for her to move on and explore new pastures. He had been handsome and kind. He had made her laugh in spite of the disasters she had suffered on arriving in Italy. They had somehow clicked. Fit together nicely, as if cut from the same piece of wood. After so much time on her own, she now felt ready for love.

Then Fate made the decision for her. It was the first week of October and still warm, except for a slight chill on the wind that swept in off the sea. The trattoria was full of people: tourism was picking up; articles had been written about the secret wonders of the town so that foreigners were stopping off on their way down the Amalfi coast to more famous locations like Positano and Capri. Alba was busy taking orders and returning with trays of steaming dishes. She enjoyed chatting to the locals and the new faces who were always happy to talk to the lovely young woman with short spiky hair and strange pale eyes. As she served drinks she heard the motor of a boat and lifted her gaze. Before she could identify the passenger, her heart began to thud. She put down her tray and stepped out from under the awning. With one hand on her hip, the other shielding her eyes from the sun, she squinted to get a better look. When the boat slowed down at the quay she forgot the customers and her duties and ran along the beach, her eyes stinging with excitement. “Fitz, Fitz!” she shouted, waving her hand in the air.

Fitz stepped out onto the quay, his suitcase in one hand, a panama hat in the other. He didn’t recognize the young woman running toward him, calling his name. “Fitz, it’s me, Alba!” she exclaimed, registering the bewildered look on his face.

“You’ve cut your hair!” he said, frowning. “You’re very brown too.” He traced his eyes up and down her thin dress, imprinted with flowers, and the simple black espadrilles she wore on her feet. She had changed so much. He wondered whether he had been wise to come. But then her smiling face was before him, her eyes bright with happiness, and he recognized the Alba he knew.

“I missed you, Fitz,” she said, touching his arm, gazing up at him. “I missed you so much.” He put down his suitcase and drew her into his arms.

“I missed you too, darling.” He kissed her temple.

“I’m sorry I never telephoned,” she began.

“No, I should apologize for never saying goodbye. I tried to, but I was too late. You had already gone.” He began to laugh. “Your stupid goat was eating through all Viv’s new plants!” She laughed too. It bubbled up from her belly like a delicious fountain.

“Was she furious?”

“Only for a moment. She misses you too.”

“I have so much to tell you!”

“And I you.”

“You must stay at my grandmother’s house. There’s a spare room upstairs. I have my mother’s old room.” She linked her arm through his. He put his hat back on his head and picked up his suitcase. “Come and have a drink. I’ll tell Toto to take over. I have a job now. I work in the family business with my uncle and cousin. That,” she said, pointing proudly to the trattoria, “is it.”

She found a table for Fitz and brought him a glass of wine and a bottle of water. “You must taste Immacolata’s delicious dishes,” she said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “Of course, she doesn’t cook now. She’s too old. But they are all her own recipes. Here, choose one. It’s on the house.” She handed him a menu.

“You choose whatever you think I’ll like. I don’t want to waste time browsing when I can be talking to you.”

She leaned forward, her brown face beaming at him contentedly. “You came,” she said softly.

“I worried that you weren’t coming back.”

“I didn’t think I could face you.”

“Me?” He frowned. “Why on earth not?”

“I realized how selfish I had been.”

“Oh, Alba!”

“No, really. I’ve had a lot of time to think and so much has happened. I realized that I hadn’t been very kind.”