The House that Florence Left (Portuguese Paradise #4)

Chapter 22

Bella lay in bed the following day, feeling slightly lighter. ‘Didn’t realise how much all that stuff about Will’s house was affecting us,’ she said to the cats, who were sitting peacefully at the end of the bed.

Switching off her ambient rainforest soundtrack, she put her feet on the floor, enjoying the sensation of the cool tiles and wondering whether to put the air conditioning on later. It felt as if the day was going to get much hotter. Grabbing a quick shower, she put on her swimming costume and walked outside. The sea roared, the birds sang and the storks sat watching her as she climbed down the steps into the water.

When she got out, she made herself a cup of tea and sat in the shade of the tree for a while, before standing up and tidying around some of the bougainvillea bursting from the window boxes on the ground floor.

Back inside, she opened the wardrobe and decided to put on the blue sundress that had belonged to Flo, went downstairs switched on her computer and logged on, preparing to tick a number of items off her to-do list.

Her phone buzzed and she checked the message.

Join us for breakfast at Hugo’s, Bella? We all decided it would be lovely to meet before we start our day. Duarte

Bella checked through her diary. Her first meeting was at ten thirty. Thinking about the fact she’d worked till 8 p.m. the previous night she decided she’d already done two hours’ work, glanced over at the ‘ambling’ picture, smoothed down her dress and typed a response.

What a lovely idea. I have to leave by ten but can be there in a few minutes. Bella

Excellent news! See you very soon.

She grabbed her bag and ambled down to the gate, pausing under the tree in the track to check she had remembered her keys. Birds chirped above her in the tree’s tangled branches, hidden by the lush green leaves, its roots stretching out towards the entrance to the lane. Only one side of the storks’ nest tile was visible behind it, and she pondered arranging for some of it to be cut back but put her arms around it instead. ‘Gorgeous tree,’ she murmured, turning and walking towards the beach.

As she walked over the dunes towards the café she paused, enjoying the sea glittering under the sunlight.

Her friends were sitting at a long table outside that faced the beach.

‘Here she is!’ Ignacio waved at her.

‘Hold it!’ shouted Bella, feeling a sudden urge to capture the image for ever. ‘I just want to take a picture to send my parents. Say cheese, everyone!’

‘Cheese!’ they all shouted.

‘Thanks.’ She took the photo and sent it to her mother then went over to the table. ‘What’s the occasion?’

‘No occasion.’ Layla stood and moved a chair for her. ‘We just decided it’s a beautiful day and we live in a beautiful place and we should take more time out to enjoy it.’

‘Absolutely right.’ Minnie touched Ignacio’s cheek. ‘And it will stop these two constantly rehearsing their living statue routines every time they have a spare ten minutes.’

‘It’s called having a passion.’ Duarte took a sip of a fresh orange juice. ‘Talking of which, I’ve been thinking more about Hugo’s charity and businesses idea.’

‘Yes, but isn’t the idea of being a living statue that you just stand still a lot?’ Minnie’s face was deadpan.

‘There is more to it than that, Minnie!’ Ignacio folded his arms and stared into the distance.

Elena shook her head. ‘Duarte, I say this with love, but you have the attention span of a bumble bee, flitting from one thing to another to stop yourself from being bored. How much money have you spent on those John Travolta costumes?’

‘I can have more than one passion.’ Duarte sounded petulant.

Bella sat down. ‘Well, meeting you for breakfast is a lovely idea. I can’t stay too long though.’

‘Neither can I.’ Elena leaned back. ‘I have a lot of appointments with clients today.’

‘What would you like, Bella?’ Hugo stood in the doorway, clearly busy.

‘Avocado on brown toast with tomatoes, an orange juice and—’

‘A gal?o ,’ he interrupted, smiling. ‘Coming up.’

Quiet Julian was delivering the food to the group as Will walked over from the dunes to the bottom of the steps with Deidre, who was trying to pull him up to the café on her lead.

‘Will!’ shouted Ignacio. ‘How’s the leg?’

‘Much better.’ Will held up his stick. ‘Hopefully won’t need this anymore soon.’

Deidre barked and then whined.

‘You can’t go on the beach at this time of day, girl,’ he told her. He looked back up at the group. ‘I just wanted to say hello. Duarte messaged me to tell me you were here.’

‘Come and join us.’ Minnie pointed at a chair. ‘You can move that one over.’

He looked sheepish. ‘I’m not sure...’ He glanced at Elena, who was very focused on her phone.

She jumped as Minnie nudged her and grabbed her phone. ‘Are you an adult?’ Minnie asked.

‘Work,’ muttered Elena.

Minnie nudged her again. ‘Sort it out,’ she whispered. ‘Goodness knows what you see in an old hippie like that, but you’ve been miserable since that argument.’

‘I heard that.’ Will almost smiled. ‘Everything was closing in on me and I panicked.’

‘I’m so embarrassed and angry about Jorge,’ Elena said quickly, still unable to look at Will directly.

‘Go for a walk,’ whispered Minnie. ‘Go...’ She stood and gently pulled her friend to her feet, walked her down the steps and planted her next to Will. ‘Life is too short. And I think all this needs to be private this time. Or should I give you a microphone like you had at the yoga class?’

Deidre clicked Elena’s hand and her face cracked into a smile.

‘Shall we?’ asked Will.

Elena nodded, and they walked slowly back over the dunes towards Will’s house.

‘Thank God. She’s been so miserable.’ Minnie sat down and picked up her glass.

‘Are you working today, Bella?’ Layla took a bite out of a croissant.

‘Yes but starting a bit later as I was working till late last night. I think I deserve a bit of a treat.’

‘We should do it more often.’ Layla squeezed her hand.

‘We should. It’s such a lovely café, and you are all such good company. What a wonderful start to the day.’

‘How is the house looking now?’ asked Ignacio.

‘It’s good. It’s mainly decorating from now on. Structurally fine apparently. I’ve got to sort out the land at the back of the house, but Hugo may be able to help with that. So, I think I can say I have “made it better” although...’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know if I’ve “made it better” enough?’

‘Ah, the end is in sight.’ Ignacio picked up his coffee.

‘Yes. It’s going to be a beautiful spot for someone.’ As soon as the words came out of Bella’s mouth, she felt a lump in her throat, and looked up.

Hugo was standing in front of her with her drink. Their eyes met for a moment. Then they both looked away.

Bella cleared her throat. ‘I can understand why Great-Aunt Flo loved it so much.’

Her phone began to ring, so she rummaged around in her bag, trying to concentrate on that rather than why she was feeling so strangely emotional all of a sudden.

‘Hi, Mum!’ she said brightly.

There was silence at the end of the phone.

‘Is everything all right?’ Bella’s stomach lurched. ‘Excuse me.’ She stood up and walked down onto the beach.

‘Your father had another fall.’ There was silence again. ‘He’s getting more and more frustrated and more and more angry and our whole lives are about that now.’ Her mother’s voice sounded flat. ‘And I’m finding it difficult to cope. There. I’ve said it. Finally.’

‘I’ll come home. I’ll come home today.’ Bella turned towards the café. ‘I should be closer to help you. It’s not fair.’

‘It’s not fair on any of us, including you.’

‘We need to change things though, Mum, don’t we?’ Bella waved at the others. ‘Tell Hugo I’ll pay him later,’ she shouted, then hurried up back towards the house.

‘I don’t want you to come home.’

‘I’ll come home for a few days.’ Bella forced herself to sound upbeat. ‘Help out. And I’ll pop into the office to show my face to my new boss. I’ve got a review booked in for this week and we can do it in person.’

There was a pause. ‘We need to do something,’ her mother said eventually. ‘You’re so organised, you’ll see whatever it is that we can do to get us on our way and then go back to Portugal.’

‘I’ve got to come home sometime.’ Bella was standing under the tree again. ‘This is a temporary project, remember.’

‘But I don’t think you’re ready to finish it yet, Bella. So, this is just for a few days.’

Bella watched the storks gliding across the treetops in the distance towards the Nest, as Yin and Yang wandered down the path towards her. ‘Just for a few days, Mum. I can’t be here for ever. I’ll let you know when I’ve booked my flight.’

She ended the call and took a deep breath. ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen,’ she told the cats. ‘Whatever this is, this—’ she pointed at her heart ‘—this was not supposed to get involved in the decisions this—’ she pointed at her head ‘—has to make.’

‘Bella!’ Hugo was running up the track towards her. ‘You forgot this.’ He handed her a box with her breakfast in it and a takeaway coffee.

‘Ah, thank you.’ She smiled at him, relieved he was there. ‘I’m glad you’re here. Can you keep an eye on this place for me for a few days? I’ve got a family emergency.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Of course I’ll look after it.’

‘I’ll ask Will to feed the cats. They’re used to him.’

He touched her hand. ‘Are you all right?’

She bit her lip. ‘I’m used to this kind of family emergency,’ she said. ‘But I’m usually very close by when it happens.’

They looked at each other.

‘It’s difficult being pulled in many different directions.’

‘Yes.’ Bella nodded.

‘Keep in touch.’

‘Yes. I’ll let you know when I’m coming back.’

‘Good,’ he said.

‘Yes,’ said Bella.

‘I’d better get back to work.’

‘Thank you.’ She held up the coffee cup and nodded.

‘You’re welcome.’ He nodded back and turned away, then strode back towards the café.

Bella walked into the house, turned on her laptop, logged on for work and spent the rest of the day organising her trip home and her face-to-face meeting with her new boss.

* * *

She finished packing just as the sun set, deciding to go and sit on the roof for a while before she went to bed to try to get some rest before leaving for her early flight.

She stepped outside. In the distance Lagos glowed, vibrant and full of life, the beach bars dotting the bay like lanterns, the windows of the apartments and villas along Meia Praia flickering with light.

Sitting down, she pulled a blanket over her shoulders and looked at the crescent moon surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of glimmering stars hanging like a canopy in the sky. The muted sound of music pumped quietly from a café inland, and the waves crashed rhythmically on the beach.

The cats followed her out and lay under the chair. She glanced down and murmured, ‘Will’s going to be feeding you for the next few days, guys.’ Then she looked at the storks’ nest. ‘I think you can look after yourselves.’

Pouring herself a glass of wine, she sat and watched, the chatter in her head slowing down. How are we going to manage now with Dad... I have to sell this place soon so I can be closer. Lurching from one crisis to the next with the parents... What will it be like for someone else to live in this? What’s going to happen to you two? She looked at the cats and felt something unravel in the pit of her stomach. You two,this place ...

She shook her head. No... no... I’m just stressed . She almost gritted her teeth. This was always a business proposition. The cats were always temporary. They will live with Will and it will be fine. Fine .

The lights of Hugo’s café began to dim, and then disappear, and Bella pictured him locking up and walking along the track back to his house. Her stomach lurched again.

Telling herself firmly she would only be away for a few days, she looked back up at the sky. I’m only passing through , she thought. I’ve nearly made it better. It must be better enough soon.

Opening her eyes, she took a sip of wine and her mind calmed again, lulled by the stillness around her. She put her glass on the floor and pushed the chair back to recline, closed her eyes and listened for a while, breathing slowly in and out in time with the sea.

Bella didn’t remember going downstairs, but she was standing in the kitchen looking for the cats. But they weren’t there. A tiny dog she didn’t recognise wandered in and sat next to the table.

‘Hello?’ Bella said. ‘Are you related to Deidre?’

The dog ignored her and trotted back into the living room.

‘I’m not sure I like it, to be honest,’ said a female voice from the other room. ‘I think we’ll have to gut the whole place and start again. I mean, the shell of it is fine, but it’s so old-fashioned.’

‘What? Sorry, who are you?’ Bella hurried into the living room. A middle-aged woman with curly grey hair was taking photographs of the room, while a man was knocking the walls.

‘You’re right, babes.’ The man took his sunglasses from the top of his head and cleaned them on his shirt. ‘I bought it knowing that. But, you know, it’s in a great spot.’

‘Can we get rid of those storks?’ The woman wrinkled her nose with distaste.

‘Not yet. But leave it with me.’

Bella walked up to them. ‘What are you doing in my house?’ she asked, but they didn’t seem to notice she was there. ‘Why do you want to change it after all the work I’ve done? I’ve nearly made it better.’

The dog started to bark, then purr, then snort.

Bella opened her eyes. She was sitting in the middle of a vista full of stars, glittering and shimmering and shining, surrounding her with pinpricks of light, as if she was sitting in the sky. She heard the purring again and opened her eyes. Only this time she was actually awake. The cats were stretched out, purring noisily, and she was lying under the blanket on the reclined chair, looking up at the stars, not in them. And she’d just had a bad dream.

‘Oh.’ She put her hands down and stroked Yin and Yang, their fur warm and soft, realising she had just had a nightmare. And then she began to wonder how she could make sure that when she sold the house, the new owners wouldn’t knock it down. Or get rid of the cats.

Unwrapping herself from the blanket, she got out of the chair, picked up the wine and the glass and went inside, set the alarm for 6 a.m., and attempted to go to sleep.

* * *

Bella lay with her eyes wide open, the alarm ringing in the background. She couldn’t seem to get herself out of bed. Her body felt like a stone, heavy and hard. She rolled out of bed, hurried into the shower and tried to wake herself up by turning the water down to lukewarm. Putting on her clothes, she brushed her hair and put her make-up on, the alarms still ringing in the background to make sure she felt some sense of urgency, rather than the kind of dread that made her want to shut the doors and hide away from the world. The kind she hadn’t felt for years but knew would one day come back.

Putting her phone in her bag she walked onto the landing. Her suitcase was next to the door, ready for her to pick up to take to the car. Glancing at the door to the roof terrace she paused for a moment, then pushed it open and walked up the steps. The sky was a misty grey, the moon still visible high in the sky, a pink glow hovering over the sea to the east. The sea was quiet and calm and the storks were standing next to the nest, preening.

Wishing she hadn’t taken one last look, she hurried inside, locked the door, ran downstairs, put the cat food in the bowl for when Yin and Yang woke up, picked up her bag, locked the door behind her and put the case in the boot of the car. Then she turned on the engine and drove down to the track, the house getting smaller and smaller in her rearview mirror. She stopped next to the tree, got out, locked the gate and drove away again. But this time she started crying.

‘Stop it,’ she shouted to herself. ‘You’re coming back in a few days. It must be because you’re overtired and worried about Mum and Dad. Not because you’re sad to leave the house. It’s a house, Bella, not a person.’

She switched on the radio, turned the music up as loud as she could to drown out her thoughts and accelerated from the lane onto the main road.