Page 128 of So, I Met This Guy . . .

‘Doesn’t mean you’re opening a door; often it’s so you can close one.’

‘Hey, come and a look at this one! It’s amazing!’

Flick’s voice broke into their conversation and they both turned to see her standing a few feet away, in front of a large mural.

‘Coming,’ called George, then turned back to Maggie. Her face was filled with concern.

‘I’m just worried he’ll hurt her, like he hurt her mother, like he hurt me,’ she protested.

‘Which is why you have to go with her,’ he urged. ‘She needs you.’

She fell silent. Everyone talks about the desire to be loved, but it’s the desire to be needed that’s stronger. Did Flick need her?

‘Isn’t it amazing?’

Her face lit up, Flick was gesturing up at the huge, colourful alien-like figure on the side of a building.

‘It’s by Akimbo,’ said George, reading from his guidebook. ‘Apparently it’s in homage to Margarida Borràs, a transgender woman in Valencia who was executed in 1460 because of her identity.’

‘Wow, that’s pretty intense,’ said Flick.

‘What I love about street art is that it isn’t hidden away in some museum – it’s right here, in the real world,’ enthused George as the three of them stood and stared up at the powerful futuristic painting. ‘So you’re an art buff too, Flick?’

‘I am now.’ She grinned. ‘I always thought art wasn’t relevant, that it didn’t mean anything to me. It was Maggie who told me how to look at it differently.’

‘You had a good teacher.’ George smiled. ‘You know Maggie was an amazing painter herself?’

Maggie rolled her eyes at the flattery. ‘He’s only being nice because it’s my birthday.’

‘No, I’m serious.’

‘You should start painting again, now all this is over,’ urged Flick.

‘It’s not over yet, I’m coming with you.’

It was a split-second decision. But as soon as she said it out loud, she knew she’d made the right decision.

‘But I thought you wanted to go home?’

They say home is where the heart is and standing on a random street in Valencia with Flick and George, it suddenly struck Maggie that perhaps she was already home.

‘We’re in this together, aren’t we?’ she smiled.

‘Well, if you’re sure?’ Flick tried to hide her obvious delight.

‘OK, now that’s sorted, I just have one more question.’

They both turned to look at George as he interrupted.

‘Why would a man wanted by the police, who’d escaped to Europe, go on a cruise?’

‘Maybe he needed a holiday,’ quipped Maggie, with more than a hint of sarcasm. ‘Stealing someone’s life savings must be hard work. And aren’t you outside the jurisdiction of the police when you’re at sea?’

‘Yes, but not when you’re docked at port – then it’s a matter for the local police – so it’s not like you can escape the law indefinitely.’

‘How do you know so much about cruises?’ asked Flick.

‘I have several friends who work on the ships.’ George shrugged. ‘I’ve thought about it myself. All your income is tax free.’