Her mum hugged her close. ‘That must be incredibly hard. I have the dreams too, that he’s around. It drains me when it happens.’
She wasn’t sure whether that made her feel better or worse.
‘Why didn’t you ever tell me that this was how you were feeling, Bess?’
‘I didn’t want to make it harder for you in any way.’
‘But it wouldn’t have. I knew you had some sort of barrier up, that you weren’t telling me everything. I wish you had. You don’t always have to be the strong one.’
‘I know that now. But I wanted to protect you from having to support me as well as yourself.’
‘I’m your mum.’
And when Malcolm unleashed an even louder cheer from the lounge, they both began to laugh.
‘I’m happy for you, Mum.’ Bess nodded in the direction of the closed door behind which her mother’s new boyfriend was sitting, part of their lives now.
‘I’m happy for me too. And thank you, that means the world.’ She held onto Bess a little longer. ‘What about a happy ending for you, Bess?’
‘For me?’
Fiona began to smile. ‘I’ve heard you talk about your lodger, or more importantly about her son.’
‘Gio? We’re just friends.’
‘You’ve been friends a long time.’
‘I don’t want anything to spoil that.’
‘But you want more.’
‘It’s not that simple, Mum.’
Her mum squeezed her a little tighter, excitedly. ‘Take a chance, Bess. That keyring you have, the one that says,Live each day as if it’s your last?That doesn’t only apply to holidays, spending, new things. It applies to love as well. And love is one thing that it’s worth taking a risk for. Please believe me when I say that.’
‘You make it sound easy.’
‘It’s never easy. Dating is hard at whatever age. You meet some people you wish you’d never taken a chance on. Oh, but when you meet someone who’s worth it, as I suspect Gio is, or you wouldn’t be tying yourself in knots over him, it’s well and truly worth it.’
Bess cuddled her mum. So right about so many things.
Was there a chance she was right about this?
Was it time to take a chance on Gio?
29
Gio got a taxi to the airbase for 10a.m. sharp and found Bess in reception in her civvy clothes. He walked up behind her as she ran her eyes down a list attached to a clipboard.
‘Reporting for duty,’ he said.
She turned and met him with that beautiful smile. ‘You came.’
‘Of course.’
He liked the way she got a bit flustered; it reminded him of how things with Bess had evolved over recent months.
‘Is that the list of collections?’ he asked.
