‘Hello?’ I say, when the caller doesn’t immediately reply. All I can detect is a strange sort of snuffling noise.
‘Is everything okay?’ I ask again, pulling Tom’s chair across so I can sit down.
‘Yes, sorry, it’s just that …’ She stops again, and I look up just in time to see Claudette emerge with her phone clamped to her ear. It will be Carlos on the other end – he calls her every night and she pretends not to care, but she’s fooling nobody.
La Fuente looks so beautiful in the painting, and I find I can almost hear the water running as I gaze down at it. I’ve already booked to go back to Mojácar over Easter next year, but right now that feels so far away. The woman on the other end of the line has fallen silent again, and I force myself to give her my full attention.
‘My name is Hannah,’ I say gently, putting my spare hand over my ear so I can hear her better. ‘I’m one of the team who went out to Mojácar to make the film you’ve just seen, so I’d be happy to help with any questions that you might have.’
There’s another pause.
‘Was there a particular reason why you called?’ I try again, waiting while I hear her take a deep breath.
‘The woman, in the film.’
‘You mean Elaine?’ I guess, my pulse starting to quicken.
‘Yes, Elaine. This is going to sound crazy,’ she says, a nervous tremble breaking through her voice. ‘But I think she might be my mother.’
There are rainbows in the painting, hundreds of them, faint but unmistakable in the air around myself and Nancy. And high above the fountain, splitting the fresh blue of the Andalusian sky in half, there are two more. A double reminder of hope and of enduring love.
‘Are you still there?’ the woman asks.
‘Yes, I’m still here,’ I say quickly, watching my fingers shake as I pick up a pen and pull my notebook towards me.
‘I’ve been looking for my mum for over twenty years,’ she says now, her voice cracking. ‘It felt like magic when her name popped on my TV screen tonight and I saw her sitting there, like a dream coming true right in front of my eyes – does that sound crazy?’
‘Not at all,’ I say, looking again at the rainbows that Elaine painted and giving in to a smile so big that it lifts my heart. ‘That sounds just about right to me.’
Acknowledgements
Here it is, my third novel. THIRD! Can somebody pinch me, please? Right, my first thanks must go to you, dearest reader. Thank you for choosing this book and for allowing me the chance to whisk you away on an adventure. I really hope you enjoy it, and please do come and natter to me about it on Twitter@Isabelle_Broom – I would love to hear from you.
To my wonderful agent Hannah Ferguson, thank you for everything you do and for teaching me that no dream is too big. Thanks also to the amazing team at Hardman & Swainson and The Marsh Agency, all of whom are in fact superheroes masquerading as everyday folk – you heard it here first.
To my editor, Kimberley Atkins, you moved all the way to the other side of the world and STILL found time for me and for this book. There are very few people that I hold in higher regard than you, and I’m so proud of you for setting off on an amazing adventure of your own. This novel gained so much depth and integrity from you – not to mention a much-needed cull of adverbs! – and the two of us thank you dearly from the bottom of our booky boots. To the Penguin massive – AKA Maxine Hitchcock, Claire Bush, Sarah Harwood, Eve Hall, Sarah Bance, Emma Brown and Jess Hart – and to everyone else who helped get this book out into the world, you are all incredible. Thank you so much.
There are many great things about being an author, but one of the very best for me has been all the inspiring, supportive, kind, caring, funny and utterly brilliant friends that I’ve made along the way. There are far too many of you to list here, but I would like to send special thanks to Katie Marsh, Vicky Zimmerman, Rosie Walsh, Tasmina Perry, Giovanna Fletcher, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Fanny Blake, Kirsty Greenwood, Cesca Major, Hannah Beckerman, Kate Eberlen, Milly Johnson, Jane Fallon, Nina Pottell, Sara-Jade Virtue, Amy Rowland, Elizabeth Masters, Fran Gough, Francesca Pearce, Sophie Ransom, Anne Cater, Annette Hannah, Zarina de Ruiter and Linda Hill, not to mention all the bloggers and reviewing community who make time to read my books and spread the word. There will never be enough thank yous in the world for you all.
To my best friend Sadie, thank you for being the only person I can communicate with using weird grunting sounds alone. Let’s promise to never stop being total weirdos. Same goes for you, Ian Lawton. I feel so lucky to have found you and to have you, Sarah and little Ethan in my life. I hope you know how much I love you all. To my uni crew, Ranjit, Sarah, Tamsin, Gemma, Carrie, Chad, Colette, Hack, Sue and Joe McStravick – you are all legends. To Dom and Tom, Corrie and Jamie, Alex H and Big Nurse G, Tammo, Linds and Rich, plus the beautiful Miss Molly Haynes and Charlotte McKeggie – who was the first to take me to magical Mojácar all those years ago – you are all glorious and I love you.
This book is all about what it means to be a sister, something I would have no idea about if it wasn’t for my own dearest idiot sisters, Coralie, Heloise, Felicity and Bryony, who are all so brilliantly unique, funny and wonderful. To the rest of my family, both old and new, thank you for all the amazing love and support. And Mum, what else can I say except that I love you so very much indeed – then, now, and always.
THE BEGINNING
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PENGUIN BOOKS
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Penguin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published 2017
Copyright © Isabelle Broom, 2017
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover photos © Shutterstock
ISBN: 978-0-718-18667-8
Then. Now. Always. Page 34
