‘Art,’ she said, without hesitation, smiling across at her mother as she said the word. ‘I’m…’ She paused, turning the word over in her mind. ‘I’m an artist.’
‘Well, I shall have to see some of your art. Do you have any photos you could show me?’
Ella shook her head. ‘No, but I’ve been working on a new piece since I’ve been here in Greece. I’ll show it to you before I leave.’
‘You have?’ her mother asked.
‘I have.’
Or perhaps I could give it to her as a gift?
‘I would like that very much.’
One more week. One more week of sunshine, of being this new version of me, of discovering my past. She only wished she had longer, because Alexandra didn’t even want to think about her going home, not yet.
‘And tell me, do you have a special someone?’
‘I’m not sure if he’s my special someone yet,’ Ella said, feeling her mother go still beside her. ‘We haven’t known each other very long, but I hope he becomes that person. I’d love for you both to meet him one day.’
‘Well, all I can say is that if he lights up your eyes and makes your heart skip a beat, if he makes you feel like home, then don’t let him go. Take it from an old lady who made many mistakes where love was concerned.’
They strolled arm in arm, with a warm wind blowing against their skin, the sun still high in the sky as they made their way down to the cluster of restaurants near the water. Suddenly Ella had the most overwhelming longing for her brother, and she put her arm around her mother’s shoulders and squeezed her gently. It made her grateful for the journey the little box had brought her on. Not only had she discovered a grandmother she’d never known existed, but it had also brought her closer to her mum in a way she hadn’t felt since Harrison had passed.
I wish you were here, Harry. Every adventure was better with you, and this one would have been no different.
Two hours later, the three women sat in Alexandra’s home, their bellies full from the most delicious food Ella had ever eaten, cheeks sore from all the smiles and laughter. But now that they were back at the house, surrounded by photos of Bernard and Alexandra together, there was still part of the story that she was waiting to hear. And when her mother stood and took one of the photos down, staring intently at the man in the picture, she knew it was the right time to ask.
‘Alexandra, did Bernard only recently pass away?’ her mother asked, looking up from the photograph.
‘He did. We didn’t have long together after reuniting. It seemed that we were never destined to be together for long, as if a cruel twist of fate stopped us from having our time together later in life too.’
Ella and her mother waited as Alexandra dabbed her eyes, taking back one of the photographs, the one of Bernard as a young man, and smiling down at it. ‘But we made the most of every day when we did find each other again. There wasn’t a day that passed that he didn’t tell me he was the luckiest man alive. He was a beautiful man, and he treated me the way every woman deserves to be treated.’
‘He suffered from an illness?’ Ella asked.
Alexandra looked out of the window, clearing her throat. ‘My Bernard had cancer. By the time they found it, it had spread everywhere, and we only had months from when he was first diagnosed until the day we said goodbye.’
Ella moved closer to Alexandra so she could put an arm around her, looking at her mother and hoping she’d know the right thing to say. But her mum was still studying the photograph.
‘He does have my eyes,’ Madeline suddenly said with a gasp. ‘I feel like I’m looking back at myself. I can’t…’
‘That’s why I couldn’t stop looking at you before I gave you up,’ Alexandra said. ‘Because it was as if I were looking at my Bernard.’
‘Alexandra, would you tell us, what happened in the end? Were you able to stay by his side through his illness?’
Alexandra laughed, softly, under her breath. ‘The doctors and nurses knew better than to try to part us. After all those years separated, I wasn’t going to leave his side for so much as a night.’
‘Yours was a true love story,’ Ella said.
‘And your mother here is evidence of just how much we loved each other,’ Alexandra said. ‘Even at the end, when he was ready to take his last breath, we wondered about you. You were never far from our thoughts.’
Ella watched the way Alexandra reached forwards to touch her mother, as if she couldn’t quite believe her daughter was sitting in front of her. She watched as she stroked her hair back from her face, traced her fingertips across her cheek, shook her head in wonder. It was the most beautiful moment to be part of.
‘What happened to your family, Alexandra?’ Madeline asked.
The smile dropped from Alexandra’s lips then, as if a dark shadow had passed over her. ‘I never spoke to my father again, not after I was married. I never saw anyone from his side of the family, not ever, not after you’d been adopted and I moved back to Greece.’
‘And your mother’s side of the family?’
