Marielle survived with a shattered pelvis and three broken ribs, but the knock to her head still caused her serious migraines to this day.
Sitting on the back of Theo’s moped that evening, having never been near one since Marielle’s accident, my stomach somersaulted with dread.
‘All set?’ he asked.
‘As I’ll ever be,’ I muttered, wrapping my arms like a vice around his waist. As we set off up the narrow lanes of ‘Somewhere’, I decided that if Theo was one of
those harum-scarum male drivers who wanted to impress me, I would demand he stop and then I’d jump off. And even though he wasn’t, I still closed my eyes as we left the port behind us
and set off along a steep and dusty road. Eventually, after we’d been climbing for what to me seemed like an eternity, but was in reality probably less than fifteen minutes, I felt him brake
and the bike lean to one side as he put a foot on terra firma and stopped the engine.
‘Right, this is it.’
‘Good.’
I opened my eyes feeling shaky with relief and concentrated on climbing off.
‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ Theo eulogised. ‘I mean, the views climbing up here are spectacular, but I think this has to be the best.’
As I’d had my eyes tightly shut all the way here, I didn’t know anything about the views. He took my hand and led me across some rough, dry grass, and I saw ancient olive trees
peppering the sloping land below us, which fell sharply into the sea beyond. I nodded to indicate that yes, it was.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked him as he continued to lead me on through the olive grove. I couldn’t see a single dwelling in front of us. Only an ancient barn, probably meant
for the goats.
‘There.’ He pointed to the barn and turned to me. ‘Home sweet home. Isn’t it amazing?’
‘It’s . . . I . . .’
‘Ally, you’re awfully pale. Are you feeling okay?’
‘Yes,’ I assured him as we finally arrived at the barn and I wondered which one of us had lost the plot. If this really was his ‘home’, then even if I had to walk every
kilometre back down in the dark, I would. I wasn’t spending the night here for anything.
‘I know it looks like a shack at the moment, but I’ve recently bought it and I wanted you to be the first to see it, especially at sunset. I know it needs a lot of work, and of
course the planning regulations here are fairly strict,’ he continued as he heaved open the splintering wooden door and we entered the building. Through the roof, in the twilight, I could see
the first stars beginning to appear in the enormous hole above me. The interior smelt strongly of goat, which made my already churning stomach turn over again.
‘What do you think?’ he asked me.
‘I think that, as you say, it has a beautiful view.’ As I stood listening to Theo explaining how he’d employed an architect, and his plans for the kitchen just here and a huge
sitting room there and a terrace beyond overlooking the sea, I shook my head helplessly and stumbled outside, unable to stand the smell of goat any longer. Running over the rough, dried earth
outside, I managed to get round the corner of the barn before I doubled over and dry-retched.
‘Ally, what is it? Are you ill again?’
Theo was quickly by my side, his arms supporting me as I shook my head miserably.
‘No, really, I’m fine. I just . . . I just . . .’
And then I sat down in the grass and bawled my eyes out like a little girl. I told him about the moped accident and how I was missing my father so very badly and how sorry I was that he was
seeing me upset again.
‘Ally, it’s you who needs to forgive me. This is my fault. Of course you’re exhausted from the race and the trauma of your father’s death. You do such a great impression
of being tough that I, the man who likes to pride himself on being the ultimate reader of people, have failed you. Now, I’m going to phone a friend, and get him to come up here by car and
collect us
Sitting on the back of Theo’s moped that evening, having never been near one since Marielle’s accident, my stomach somersaulted with dread.
‘All set?’ he asked.
‘As I’ll ever be,’ I muttered, wrapping my arms like a vice around his waist. As we set off up the narrow lanes of ‘Somewhere’, I decided that if Theo was one of
those harum-scarum male drivers who wanted to impress me, I would demand he stop and then I’d jump off. And even though he wasn’t, I still closed my eyes as we left the port behind us
and set off along a steep and dusty road. Eventually, after we’d been climbing for what to me seemed like an eternity, but was in reality probably less than fifteen minutes, I felt him brake
and the bike lean to one side as he put a foot on terra firma and stopped the engine.
‘Right, this is it.’
‘Good.’
I opened my eyes feeling shaky with relief and concentrated on climbing off.
‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ Theo eulogised. ‘I mean, the views climbing up here are spectacular, but I think this has to be the best.’
As I’d had my eyes tightly shut all the way here, I didn’t know anything about the views. He took my hand and led me across some rough, dry grass, and I saw ancient olive trees
peppering the sloping land below us, which fell sharply into the sea beyond. I nodded to indicate that yes, it was.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked him as he continued to lead me on through the olive grove. I couldn’t see a single dwelling in front of us. Only an ancient barn, probably meant
for the goats.
‘There.’ He pointed to the barn and turned to me. ‘Home sweet home. Isn’t it amazing?’
‘It’s . . . I . . .’
‘Ally, you’re awfully pale. Are you feeling okay?’
‘Yes,’ I assured him as we finally arrived at the barn and I wondered which one of us had lost the plot. If this really was his ‘home’, then even if I had to walk every
kilometre back down in the dark, I would. I wasn’t spending the night here for anything.
‘I know it looks like a shack at the moment, but I’ve recently bought it and I wanted you to be the first to see it, especially at sunset. I know it needs a lot of work, and of
course the planning regulations here are fairly strict,’ he continued as he heaved open the splintering wooden door and we entered the building. Through the roof, in the twilight, I could see
the first stars beginning to appear in the enormous hole above me. The interior smelt strongly of goat, which made my already churning stomach turn over again.
‘What do you think?’ he asked me.
‘I think that, as you say, it has a beautiful view.’ As I stood listening to Theo explaining how he’d employed an architect, and his plans for the kitchen just here and a huge
sitting room there and a terrace beyond overlooking the sea, I shook my head helplessly and stumbled outside, unable to stand the smell of goat any longer. Running over the rough, dried earth
outside, I managed to get round the corner of the barn before I doubled over and dry-retched.
‘Ally, what is it? Are you ill again?’
Theo was quickly by my side, his arms supporting me as I shook my head miserably.
‘No, really, I’m fine. I just . . . I just . . .’
And then I sat down in the grass and bawled my eyes out like a little girl. I told him about the moped accident and how I was missing my father so very badly and how sorry I was that he was
seeing me upset again.
‘Ally, it’s you who needs to forgive me. This is my fault. Of course you’re exhausted from the race and the trauma of your father’s death. You do such a great impression
of being tough that I, the man who likes to pride himself on being the ultimate reader of people, have failed you. Now, I’m going to phone a friend, and get him to come up here by car and
collect us
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