I hope you can forgive me, but if you don’t it won’t really matter because by the time you read this I will already be gone, but I asked Rose all about your past. I was saddened to know that our paths were more similar than I imagined.
I too am a product of social services, but unlike you I fell into the hands of people who couldn’t love me or treat me the way I wanted. I let that decide my future. I let their harsh words and the hurt from them blind me and make me into someone to be ashamed of. Someone whose lifestyle was their end. I don’t want that to be you.
I know you have dreams, not to mention talent, too. You’ve always worked your magic on me and I’ve also seen the women who leave Rose’s and how happy they look. You’re being held back there. I know how difficult it is for someone of your age and background to make a move forward when there’s so much against you. It was very difficult for me, and I went in all the wrong directions for help. I don’t want you to do the same. That’s why you’ll find in this envelope the information on a small allowance fund I’ve set up for you. It will be under the guidance of my solicitor, and he will oversee the payments to you to help you get started with a salon of your own.You’ll also find a ticket to my absolute favourite place on Earth and a stay at a place owned by one of my dearest friends for as long as you like.
It’s a magical part of the world with transformative powers.
I’ve also included some fun money. You need a break before you start your brand-new venture and, I hope, brand-new life. I’m sorry I won’t be there to see your transformation, but I’m pretty sure you’ll do me proud.
I wish you all the best in your future, Annie. I hope you’ll remember me, and maybe one day do something good for someone else who might need it.
In the meantime, enjoy La Dolce Vita.
Felicity
Annie’s eyes misted afresh as she read the words the older woman had written. How had someone who barely knew her, really, seen something in her that no one else did? She took a chance on her, a chance that no one in Annie’s life had ever taken, before except her dad. Yet Felicity had done even more – she’d invested in her.
‘You won’t regret it,’ she whispered she looked down at the coast of Italy. ‘I promise you won’t.’
‘Did you say something?’ The lady seated next to Annie gave her a strange look. She was in her late sixties, with mostly grey hair and small framed glasses. She wasn’t smiling. In fact, Annie had been sure up until the moment she spoke that she was sleeping.
She blushed. ‘Sorry, I was talking to myself.’
‘Maybe next time speak more softly,’ the woman muttered. ‘I was trying to sleep.’
‘Sorry,’ she repeated with a little grin, as she slouched down in her seat and turned her gaze back to the window.
She wondered what Italy would be like. She had never been on a foreign holiday before; hell, she had barely travelled outside of Dublin.
How would she get on in this strange new place?
Chapter 13
By the time they landed at Naples airport Annie was completely lost.
She didn’t speak a word of Italian, and her head was completely muddled by the fast-moving crowds and general hubbub, but thanks to the English exit signs she was able to find her way to the baggage claim and out of Arrivals.
‘You want taxi?’ a lightly accented voice called out.
‘Yes. I need to get to a place called Villa Dolce Vita.’ She read out the address written on a piece of paper. ‘Do you know it?’ she asked hopefully.
‘Positano?’ the man repeated. ‘But of course. It is a long journey, though.’
Annie smiled as she said words she’d never before had the privilege of uttering: ‘I can pay.’
The driver was a maniac, she was sure of it. She’d never seen anyone weave in and out of traffic at such a pace, and for most of the drive – as he wound along roads that were so narrow and high she was certain they would drop off the side and go hurtling to the ground on every turn – her heart was in her mouth.
She was relieved and elated when they finally arrived at the villa and she could see the back of yer man. Though he was nice, in fairness. He had great English and didn’t seem to bat an eyelid at her non-existent Italian.
She supposed they were well used to tourists in these parts and it made her feel immediately at ease. Until they’d hit the road, that was.
The accommodation Felicity had chosen was surprisingly underwhelming. Granted, many of the houses around here looked fairly ancient and crumbling, but huddled closely on top of one another – as if fighting for space all the way down the mountain to the bejewelled sea – they looked like a pile of colourful kids’ blocks with their pastel colours and terracotta roofs. The effect was startling.
The house looked to be situated just on the edge of a big town, and Annie could see lots of blue-and-white beach brollies and sun loungers laid out on the beach a little further along the coast, beneath all the houses and buildings, which was where the main action must be.
Annie supposed the crumbling buildings thing was the kind of old-world Italian charm that tourists seemed to love.
For her part, she couldn’t wait to hit the beach and then visit some of the local watering holes – though from her vantage point, as she stood beneath the shade of a lemon tree and stared down at the water below, it was going to be one hell of a climb down to get there.
