‘Yes,’ agreed Lou slowly. ‘How are we going to get in touch with him?’ she asked. Being in Sicily, being away from all her troubles, felt so freeing. Finding Angelo – a task she was actively ignoring – would take away that freeing feeling.
But Toni, once on a mission, was not to be thwarted.
‘I’ve been online again this morning and I’ve found a gallery that exhibits work by an artist, Angelo M. It’s got to be him. It links to a website – which has ludicrously little detail – and an email. I have looked at so many artists and this is the only person who fits. Do you want to see the paintings?’
Lou shook her head and wished she wasn’t so conflicted about this. It was why they’d come to Sicily, after all.
‘I’m sending an email,’ Toni announced. ‘Look at what I’ve written and tell me what you think.’
Lou shivered. ‘I’m not sure I want to see it,’ she said. ‘An actual message makes it feel so real.’
‘It’s real,’ said Toni briskly.
Lou knew that her sister’s mind was full of bankruptcy and career suicide. She had absolutely no time for life’s niceties. They were in Sicily to find Angelo, therefore that was what they would do.
‘Look.’ Toni held out her phone.
Hello, I’m trying to get in touch with a painter by the name of Angelo Mulraney and apologies if this is not you. My name is Toni Cooper and I’m on holiday in Ortigia with my sister, Louise. We heard you once knew our mum, Lillian Cooper, when she was living in Whitehaven in Cork, and it would be lovely to catch up with you if possible?
‘It makes it look as if we just happened to be here and thought of looking him up,’ Toni explained. ‘If it’s not him or if he’s got a wife and ten kids, then they might go mental if we turn up out of the blue and say “Hey, you’re my dad!”’
Lou winced. Earlier, meeting with her father had seemed somewhat natural, as if they’d drift across each other’s paths on this glorious island, share a walk on a beach and then part: two threads of life simply passing by each other.
But now – this felt very immediate.
What if hedidhave a wife and ten kids and nobody had ever known of her existence? He wouldn’t want an unknown adult daughter materialising out of nowhere. Who would? Plus, had he known about her? If so, why had he never looked for her? It would feel like such a rejection – that this man, her birth father, had known of her existence and had not reached out to find her. She was nothing to him.
But if he hadn’t known?
‘I’m hitting send,’ Toni announced, and one finger pressed a button on her phone.
No, thought Lou wildly.NO! Take it back, delete it ... if he doesn’t want to see me for whatever reason, how will I cope?
But she said none of this because Toni had already moved on.
‘Let’s go out and get food,’ she said brightly.
They put on sun cream and hats, and headed off into the sun, looking for somewhere to buy groceries.
‘You OK?’ Lou asked Trinity, who’d been very quiet all morning.
‘Fine,’ said Trinity in a voice that led Lou to believe she was nowhere near fine. But then, it wasn’t her place to intrude. Perhaps the younger woman was simply tired.
‘I love this place,’ added Trinity, seeming determined to talk to prove that she was OK.
The three of them walked along a narrow street where creamy stone buildings were built close to each other and giant leafy green plants spilled from containers from arched doorways and iron balconies. ‘It’s easy to forget about another life when you’re here,’ she added wistfully.
‘Normally, I do forget about other stuff on holidays,’ Toni replied, ‘but not so much now.’
Lou forgot her own fears and put an arm around her sister’s waist. Sicily was performing its subtle magic on her again. Her breathing was even, the Barking Dog and Constant Catastrophist were quiet. She allowed herself to briefly wonder, again, what other life Trinity was trying to forget and then told herself that she was not in charge of this young woman.
She could not fix Trinity any more than she could fix Toni, her mother, or anyone on the planet. She could only fix herself. Worrying about the future never solved anything either. What would happen with Angelo would happen whether she worried about it or not. They might never find him. If that happened, so be it.
They walked past a tiny boutique that glittered with gold and pretty necklaces. There were exquisite little evil eye charms in sequins, in enamel and in delicate beads on vermeil chains. It was exactly the sort of shop that Lou and Mim had loved.
‘Let’s go in,’ Lou said delightedly.
Inside, she felt as if Mim was with her in spirit. There were ankh necklaces, the symbol of life from ancient Egypt that Mim adored. There were also starfish charms in all sizes dangling with coral-style stones and crystals on beaded necklaces.
