I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. My mother’s sister passed away suddenly, and we were forced to cut our holiday short. I hope to return to Italy one day soon.
Yours truly,
“Mylos”
I folded the note and put it back in the envelope. I was disappointed. More than that. What I felt was profound, as though the universe had put us in one another’s paths, and instead of following the course laid out for us, we’d each gone our separate ways. Somewhere, a guardian angel was fighting back tears just like I was.
3
Grinder
Two Years Later
London, England
“Have you heard back from her?” my sister asked.
“Not yet.”
“What will you do?”
“I haven’t decided.”
For the past two years, I’d thought a lot about Pia. Fourteen days after our family’s abrupt departure from Italy, I’d received a letter from her in answer to my note. In it, she told me how disappointed she was that we didn’t have the chance to get to know one another better and she hoped that, one day soon, we’d be able to swim together at sunset.
Included in the envelope was a heart-shaped, multifaceted stone to remember her by. I’d taken that letter—but not the stone—to Lily and asked her whether she thought Pia was being flirtatious. She’d rolled her eyes and smacked me. “You really can’t be that daft, Miles. Of course she is.”
I’d written back, and so had Pia. About once a week, I’d receive a letter from her and would immediately answer. The last one I wrote, though, went unanswered. It had been three weeks, and I was trying my hardest not to read anything into it. My sister asking me daily if I’d received anything wasn’t helping.
In less than a month, I’d be graduating from secondary school. Less than a month later, I’d begin training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst—known to most simply as Sandhurst. My plan was to become an officer in the British Army. The two-year training program would be rigorous, and at the end, I would join the ranks in service to my country.
My mum wasn’t pleased when I announced my acceptance, but my father had enthusiastically given his consent.
In my unreciprocated correspondence, I’d told Pia I hoped to come to Italy before I had to report to the academy. I wouldn’t have much time, but at least we’d be able to see each other again.
That she hadn’t responded, stung. Perhaps I made too much of what she’d written to me. What to me was a longing to see her again, to her may have been a flirtation she hadn’t expected me to act on.
Feeling foolish, I pulled the heart-shaped stone she’d sent me out of my pocket and studied it. Since the day it arrived, I’d carried it with me everywhere. It had become my touchstone. Perhaps it was time to let go of the foolish boyhood crush it represented. I set it on my dresser and walked out of the room. Before I was all the way downstairs, though, I raced up and put it back in my pocket. Silly or not, I felt a certain sense of peace when I carried it with me.
The day after my graduation, my parents were leaving on their annual summer holiday, this time to the Algarve region of Portugal. I’d begged off going for even a week, saying I had to prepare for my departure to Sandhurst.
“We’ll be off, then,” said my mother, reaching up to kiss my cheek. “You won’t change your mind and join us?”
I shook my head. “Thank you, but no. Too much to do and all that.”
“Right,” she said, her eyes scrunching as she handed me an envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Our gift to you, Miles,” said my father as I pulled out the round-trip ticket to Florence. “It seems you might have some unfinished business in Tuscany.”
I looked over his shoulder at my sister, who couldn’t contain her smile. Once our mum and dad were off, she’d be getting an earful from me. She’d obviously orchestrated this “gift.”
“You’d best pack, Miles,” said my mother. “Your flight leaves at the same time ours does.”
“Seriously?” I looked at the ticket a second time. Yes, it was for today. “Bullocks,” I muttered, rushing up the stairs to grab my things.
As I made my way back down, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the red stone, hoping the girl who’d given it to me would be happy to see me.