Georgia gave her a thoughtful kind of look. ‘Is there a chance that this is all a big misunderstanding? That perhaps—’
Alexandra turned away from her niece then, as the woman returned with a man by her side. He had a full, thick head of white hair and a neatly clipped beard, and he was walking quickly, as if he were agitated. But the moment he saw her, the moment their eyes met, he stopped.
Her heart began to thud as she stood, staring, looking at a man who should have been a stranger to her. But he wasn’t. Even after all these years, he wasn’t.
‘Alexandra?’ Bernard’s voice carried to her as she opened her mouth to say something,anything, but found herself still standing, silent.
‘Alexandra!’ he repeated, loudly this time, as she began to walk towards him, her hands outstretched.
She couldn’t see anything else, couldn’t hear anything, could only focus on the man coming towards her.
‘It’s you,’ he said, when they were barely a few metres apart. ‘It’s truly you.’
‘Oh, Bernard, look at you. Look at you!’
He took her hands and they stood, their fingers wound tightly together as they stared into each other’s eyes.
‘As beautiful as the last time I saw you,’ he whispered. ‘How many years has it been?’
‘Forty years,’ she said, letting go of one of his hands to place her palm against his cheek. ‘It’s been four decades, Bernard. A lifetime.’
He put his arms around her then, holding her as they stood there, as if they were the only people in the room, as if they weren’t in the foyer of the concert hall. She pressed her cheek to his shoulder, inhaled the unfamiliar scent of his aftershave, the feel of his body against hers. There were so many things she thought she remembered about him, but she was also realising how much she’d forgotten.
‘Alex,’ he said, finally letting her go and standing back to look at her. ‘All this time, I can’t believe you’re standing here in front of me.’
‘You’re…’ she said, her eyes suddenly fixed on the gold band on his finger.
‘Widowed,’ he said gently. ‘Three years ago.’
She wished she didn’t feel relieved, but she did. After all this time, she couldn’t imagine finding out that he belonged to another.
‘You just left me, Alex. All those years ago, you just disappeared, and no one would tell me anything, other than that your father had returned for you. But I could never accept it.’ He shook his head. ‘Even after all this time, I’ve never forgotten my broken heart.’
Tears caught in her lashes and she did her best to blink them away. Of course he was angry; she’d always felt as if she was the one whose heart had been broken, without thinking how much it must have hurt him.
‘Alexandra?’ Georgia appeared at her side then, giving her a strange look. ‘This is an old friend of yours, I gather?’
Alexandra took Bernard’s hand in hers, her eyes still fixed on his face, wondering how a man could look so handsome after so much time had passed.
‘This isn’t just any friend, Georgia,’ she said. ‘This man was the love of my life.’And somehow, still is.
‘Well, I’m very pleased you’ve been able to reacquaint yourselves, but I fear we might miss our opportunity to be seated.’
‘Follow me,’ Bernard said, gesturing back the way he’d come. ‘It just so happens that I can take you to the best seats in the house.’
Georgia gave them both a puzzled look, and Alexandra saw the way she glanced at her hand in Bernard’s, but bless her, she never said a thing. But when they reached the backstage door, Alexandra turned, forgetting everything and everyone else as she looked up at Bernard.
‘I know it’s too late, but I’ve waited a lifetime to say this,’ Alexandra said.
Bernard’s eyes were on hers, his hand raised to touch the small of her back as he’d been about to usher her through.
‘I love you with all my heart, Bernard. And I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that I didn’t fight hard enough for us. It will forever be the biggest regret of my life, but if you can find it in your heart to forgive me…’
A tear escaped from the corner of his eye, and she lifted her hand to brush it away, catching it against her fingertip.
‘I forgive you,’ Bernard said, leaning forwards and touching a kiss to her cheek. ‘You’re here now, and that’s all that matters. I was always going to forgive you, Alex, I just never had the chance until now.’
Warmth spread through her when his lips whispered against her skin, as his words settled, as the sound of the orchestra beginning hummed through the air. It had taken four decades, and it had broken her heart a hundred times over, but here, somehow, after all this time, she’d found her way back to the man she loved. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.
