Page 47 of It Was Always You

TRACK 21

‘I WILL REMEMBER YOU’ (SARAH MCLACHLAN)

The following day, Adam awoke on the sofa. It had been a fitful night’s sleep filled with dreams of Eve and he was worn out. He pulled himself to a sitting position and rubbed his hands over his face.

Today would be hard.

Today he would tell Lily he needed to be alone for a while. Today he would say goodbye to Eve properly. He had no clue why he felt it had to be today, but it just had to be. He had been heartbroken for almost a whole year now and he knew he couldn’t sustain that state of limbo much longer. Eve would be so mad at him if she could see how he had put his whole life on hold after losing her. He would never get over her completely. He would never forget her. But he was just thirty years old and knew he couldn’t spend the rest of his life looking back. So today, there were places he wanted to walk. He wanted to be alone with his memories of Eve.

Lily yawned as she slumped onto the sofa beside him. ‘Morning, Adders. Coffee?’

He turned towards her. ‘Lil… I need… I need some time alone today. Is that okay?’

She scrunched her brow. ‘Sure, of course. Is everything okay?’

He nodded. ‘Yeah… I just feel like… I don’t know… like I need to be with my memories today. Does that sound mad?’

She smiled warmly and squeezed his arm. ‘No, it sounds like you.’

‘What will you do? Will you be okay?’

She waved a dismissive hand. ‘I’ll be absolutely fine. I may go shopping again.’ She widened her eyes and opened her mouth, feigning horror.

He smiled and shook his head. ‘That chartered return flight is looking more necessary by the day.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll stick to window shopping,’ she said with a wink as she stood and walked to the bureau to make coffee. Adam walked into the en suite and turned on the shower.

While Adam was in the shower, Lily ordered room service. Adam needed a good meal before he went out as she knew there was little chance of him taking time to eat if she wasn’t there to encourage him. She knew how difficult today would be. She spotted the list of places he wanted to visit and knew that these were places he and Eve had talked about going together.

He had decided to do a harbour tour first to take in the views of the spectacular Statue of Liberty and then make his way back to take a walk in Central Park. She knew these two places were the ones he and Eve had been most excited about. Later in the evening, he was going to visit Times Square when the billboards were lit brightly, dazzling pedestrians and drivers alike with their vibrant coloured images and advertisements.

He came out of the en suite with a towel wrapped around his waist and one in his hand that he was using to rub vigorously at his hair. His eyes had the red-rimmed, telltale signs of tears cried once again.

Poor Adders.

She smiled warmly, deciding not to ask about his wellbeing, knowing she was beginning to sound like a broken record.

‘I ordered pancakes and maple syrup. They came with bacon. How dodgy is that?’ She giggled as she lifted the silver bell-shaped lids from the warm plates.

He walked over to take a look. ‘Dodgy? I think it sounds amazing. Oooh, and the bacon’s all crispy too.’

Lily scrunched her nose up at the crispy pinkish coloured strips. ‘Yeah, crozzled more like.’

‘Nah, this is perfect. Nice and crunchy,’ he said as he chewed and it sounded like he was munching on gravel. ‘You’ve got no bloody taste, that’s your trouble.’

The two friends ate their breakfast in silence. He still sat in his damp towel while she tried not to imagine him naked.

Eventually, she pushed her chair back from the table. ‘Well, I’m stuffed. I don’t think I’ll need lunch now!’

‘Aww, you’re a lightweight! You used to be able to eat a tattie more than a pig, Lil. What’s happened to you?’ he asked with a mouthful of bacon and pancake.

She pretended to gag. ‘Adders, I can see everything smooshing around in your mouth. It’s disgusting!’

A wide grin spread over his face as he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. ‘Blaaaaargh!’ He shook his head from side to side.

She threw her scrunched-up napkin at him. ‘You really are a pig!’ He laughed as she made her way to the en suite and shouted over her shoulder, ‘Get some clothes on, too. I can see your arse!’

‘You know you love me, really!’ he shouted after her.