Phoebe looked up at the blue sky. “It’s much brighter over here,” she said.
33
Movie
Ginny needed to be on her own. She wasn’t ready to see Adrian, or her friends again, so she got into a taxi that had pulled up to the entrance of the hotel. She asked the driver to take her to the one place she might find some peace of mind.
He drove her away from Grand Hotel Castello Bella Vista, along the bumpy road toward Vigornuovo and then up the hill that she’d climbed with Eric and the others. The rocky terrain meant the road petered out halfway, so Ginny paid the fare, got out and trekked the rest of the way.
She walked until she reached the little white chapel with the turquoise door. Wrapping the scarf Heather had given her around her shoulders, she made sure her dress covered her knees. The door creaked as she opened it and she stepped onto the mosaicked floor.
It felt strange to be back inside, especially alone and all dressed up. She lit a candle and watched the flickering flame until her heart rate slowed a little and goose bumps rose on her arms in the cool air.
Her emotions were still chaotic. She’d made a real hash of things and it’d take a long time to pick apart and reassemble them. She presumed all the conversation taking place that afternoon would be about her and there was nothing she could do about it. She was starting not to worry what other people thought about her.
Ginny considered all the people who’d previously married in the chapel, and she could almost sense the joy soaked into the stone walls. Of course, there’d have been many funerals, too, all manner of life events played out in this tiny space. Promises and vows would have been made, with every intention of keeping them, but also with a chance of breaking them.
The longer she stood there, the more her mind calmed and cleared like the morning mist evaporating above the mountains. Sunlight sliced through the windows and she lifted her fingers and swept them through the golden rays, trying to touch the sparkles of dust.
Ginny didn’t know what might happen next with her and Adrian, but they would always be parents, grandparents and, hopefully, friends. She had to get to know herself more again, thinking about whatshewanted, before she could consider the future shape of their relationship.
She now understood that no one else was responsible for her happiness, only her. And there had to be more to it than continually trying to solve other people’s problems.
After dropping a few coins into the wooden box, she made her way back outside. Closing her eyes, Ginny lifted her face toward the sun and stood there letting it wash over her entire body, until she heard footsteps approaching.
Eric and Biscotti were heading up the hill toward her and she raised her hand and waved to them. Eric nodded hello and sat down on the grass with Biscotti curled up at his side.
Ginny joined them. If she were Eric, she’d have lots of questions, like what Ginny was doing on top of a hill on her own, why she’d run away from her vow renewal ceremony and how she’d arrived at the chapel. She appreciated it when he didn’t say a thing.
She wrapped her arms around her knees and looked down at the village, watching the river sparkle in the sun. People scurried around, as small as ants. Around her, daisies swayed in the breeze and she took off her shoes to wriggle her toes in the grass. She stroked Biscotti’s head and thought how simply dogs lived their lives, wagging their tails when they were happy and lowering them when they were sad.
A feeling of acceptance eventually spread through her body, from her feet to the top of her head, and she finally recognized it as the passion she’d been looking for. It was excitement and intrigue for what might come next in her life, whatever form that might take, without looking to others to satisfy her. It was hers for the choosing and taking, and it felt right.
After a while, Ginny felt her scalp tingling from the sun and she slipped Curtis’s cap onto her head. She handed Eric’s penknife back to him.
He smiled and picked up a small broken branch, whittling the blade against the wood. Time slipped away until he handed something to her, a tiny carved heart with a hole through the top.
Ginny loosened Heather’s scarf. She took off the necklace Edna had given her and slid the heart onto the chain, so it hung alongside the daisy pendant. She twisted off her wedding ring and added it, too.
Eric reached out and helped her refasten the clasp.
He opened his rucksack and took out a napkin embroidered with the Grand Hotel Castello Bella Vista logo. Inside were slices of bread and he cut up an apple to make a sandwich, handing half to Ginny.
She found she was ravenously hungry and relished each mouthful.
Eric took his yellow tin out of his pocket and paused before he opened it. He took out Bess’s collar and removed the silver name disk, slipping it into his pocket. He unfastened Biscotti’s bow tie and placed the collar around the dog’s neck in its place.
“Pink suits him,” Ginny said.
Eric nodded proudly.
The three of them sat together until the tip of Eric’s nose shone red from the sun. He stood up and batted grass off his trousers, holding out a hand to assist Ginny to her feet. “Thank you,” he said, as if their time together had helped him, too, somehow.
“You’re welcome,” she said. Ginny slipped her shoes back on and they climbed back down the hill together without talking.
When they arrived back at Splendido, Nico was draping bunting around the courtyard. He waved when he saw Ginny and Eric. “Edna has made these pretty flags for Loretta’s birthday,” he said. “You are both in time for cake.”
Eric smiled and went inside with Biscotti.
