“I used an alias.” Edna worked her jaw for a few moments. “It was...Miss Peach.”
Cogs cranked in Ginny’s head. “Miss Peach?” She frowned. “The lady who asked me how well I knew my husband, live on air?”
Edna nodded meekly.
Ginny squinted as she tried to recallthatconversation and her temples started to throb. The caller had been unhappy in her marriage and stayed for the sake of her child. She’d felt stuck and said she’d wasted precious time. Edna hadn’t admitted to any of this in Italy, only to her sense of loneliness and grief for the loss of her daughter. “I thought that you missed Desmond...” she started.
“I do, but we separated emotionally a long time before he died. We lived together but had separate lives and I wished I’d been brave enough to leave him. Daisy was the only mortar holding us together, and it totally crumbled when she died. It’s why I’ve been trying to encourage you to make the right choices.”
Ginny rubbed between her eyes, trying to take in this information. Her nostrils flared at the thought of Edna keeping this from her, for three whole weeks. Adrian had betrayed her and nowthis. Something she’d forgotten arrived in her head. “You asked if I knew what Adrian got up to after work... Howdoyou know him?”
“I feel ashamed for not telling you everything sooner. I didn’t know how to admit to what I’d done.” Edna pushed her cup away. “After Desmond died, I didn’t get around to selling his car for some time. I took it to The Vehicle Emporium and dealt with Adrian Splinter. I recognized him from photos I’d seen of you both in a magazine. He has very blue eyes. I sat in his office while he went off to print some paperwork. Maybe he’d just finished his lunch break because a laptop was on his desk with the screen still lit up.” She paused and pointed at her eyes. “I told you, twenty-twenty vision.
“I saw a dating site was open and there was a photograph of him on display. When he returned to the office, we locked eyes and I think he knew I’d seen it. He hurriedly switched it off and acted like nothing had happened.”
Ginny’s mouth hung open. “Before the vow renewal, Adrian said you looked familiar...”
“He probably couldn’t place who I was, here with you in Italy. When I sold Desmond’s car, I was miserable and wearing dark clothes. Not like now.” Edna stroked her patchwork waistcoat. “When I called your show and said my name was Miss Peach, I was feeling lonely and bitter. I heard you on the radio sometimes, sounding chirpy, as if you didn’t have a care in the world. Your life looked so perfect in the magazine photos and something snapped inside me. I’d not talked to anyone for days and my words spewed out.” A tear fell from Edna’s eye onto the table.
Ginny ran her fingers down her neck. “You were Miss Peach?” she repeated numbly.
“I really am sorry.”
“Whythatname?”
“It was Daisy’s favorite fruit.”
At the time of the call, Ginny remembered jumping to defend her marriage. If Edna hadn’t called her show, Ginny might not have become aware of Adrian’s misdemeanors. She wouldn’t have traveled to Italy, to meet the four strangers who’d become friends.
She couldn’t help feeling a touch of her customary empathy toward the older woman sat hunched in front of her, especially when she spotted they were both wearing the friendship bracelets Loretta had made for them.
In many ways, Edna had changed Ginny’s life for the better. “You were right, my life wasn’t perfect,” she told Edna. “No one’s is. Everyone has problems that can shape or break us. It’s weird, but I’m glad you made that call. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, and you wouldn’t be here either.” She ducked to seek out Edna’s eyes. “Or does that make me sound like an advice expert?”
“It makes you sound like a perceptive young woman, and I hope you’ll be happy, whichever path you choose in life.” Edna reached out and patted the back of Ginny’s hand. “And I’m going to aim for the same thing, too.”
When the screens showed that Edna’s plane was ready for boarding, Ginny walked with her toward the departure gate.
“Sadly, this is where we say goodbye,” Edna said.
Ginny could swear she saw the old woman’s chin trembling and it made her own bottom lip wobble, too. “I prefer the Italian wordarrivederci,” she said.
Edna nodded and wiped a tear from her eye. “Arrivederciandgrazie, Ginny. I’m truly grateful for everything.”
Ginny planted a kiss on her cheek. “Have a safe journey home and keep in touch. Using your own name this time,” she added with a smile, and the two women waved until they were out of sight.
36
Cymbal
Ginny
Ten months later
Ginny found that wearing jeans and a sweater to work was more comfortable than her skirt suit. She’d retired her leopard print heels, thinking that callers wouldn’t mind what she was wearing, so long as she could help them out. Things were much quieter and less fraught without Tam around trying to shake things up.
She wrapped Heather’s new scarf around her neck and tied it in a loose knot. The early morning April sky was still gray, though sunshine was trying to break through the clouds.
A couple of emails had arrived for her over the weekend and Ginny read them while making herself a coffee. One was from a lady who needed time to herself after caring for an injured relative for months. The other was from a young woman who’d been devastated to discover her fiancé had been cheating on her with his ex-girlfriend.
