‘I can’t choose,’ she said, shaking her head at the vendor. ‘I’ll come back later.’ The vendor lost interest in her immediately and began hawking to another tourist. The sun shone warmly on the grey slate cobblestones of the square. The Fountain of the Four Rivers splashed nearby and she moved to sit on its smooth edge, resting her feet and relieving herself of her backpack for a few moments.
Pippa would be back soon. She’d gone looking for souvenirs for the kids. Just as her sister had once joked, she had actually moved in to the family home in Camberwell with Monty, Gabby and Gabby’s kids. Because Pippa and Harvey shared time with the kids on the same fortnightly arrangement as Gabby and Cam did, the house was a riot for two weeks when all seven kids were there, followed by two weeks of quiet.
Monty had put in a granny flat in the backyard, which the two oldest boys – Charlie and Hunter – shared, and they had all decided it was great preparation for share-house living. Charlie had begun TAFE studies in business and had been working at The Tin Man part-time this year. He had dreams of joining Marco, learning the ropes as a buyer out in the field. Summer would be starting her senior studies next year and had recently been profiled in one of the city’s glossy magazines for the fantastic success her skincare line had enjoyed. It had made Gabby rather misty-eyed to read that Summer had credited her business partner – Monty McPhee – for so much of the success so far. Monty’s cheeks had gone quite pink when he read that and he had given Summer a big hug, then quickly left the room before his emotions got the better of him. Celia was in high school and showing herself to be a conscientious student, excelling in debating and joining committees of all kinds. So far, she was thinking she might be a psychologist one day, which Gabby thought was a great choice for her.
It was school holidays at present, and Gabby’s kids were with Cam and Meri and baby Mykahla, as everyone continued to call her even though she was a walking, talking commander-in-chief in leopard-print leggings and pink boots. Gabby couldn’t wait to see what sort of teenager she’d become. Cam was settled and had been nothing but a stellar father for the past two and a half years, though he and Meri had decided not to have any more children. Things were great with just one child and that was good enough for them.
‘Look at all the cool stuff I got,’ Pippa said, arriving loaded up with bags. She still looked gorgeous and stylish and didn’t have any of the over-forty issues that Gabby had experienced, barely even any grey hairs. Gabby wore glasses most of the time now, dyed her hair to cover the greys every four weeks, and had endometriosis to add to her list of ailments, though her kidneys had been working happily for a long time now, which was what had made it possible to travel. Her health was in a good place and Pippa had convinced her it was time they went travelling again while they could.
Pippa pulled out bead necklaces, snow globes, keyrings, decks of cards, model Ferraris and Vespas, and tea towels. She’d even found patches of famous Roman buildings to sew onto Hercules’s saddle blanket. ‘I’m going to have to either buy a new suitcase or begin posting things home,’ she said, though she didn’t sound concerned about that dilemma.
‘We’ve only been here a week,’ Gabby said, finishing the last of her gelato and licking her finger.
Pippa shrugged. ‘We have a lot of children.’
‘That we do.’
‘Harvey’s taking mine camping for a few days.’
‘Camping? What’s got into him?’
‘I know, right? I think he’s having a midlife crisis. It’s all the young IT kids he has to work with. They’re all into rock climbing and hiking. I give it twelve hours before he and our kids are all trying to kill each other, or get dysentery or something, and he pulls the pin.’
Gabby hadn’t even started her souvenir shopping yet. She might also have to buy another suitcase. She had her kids and her father to buy for, as well as taking back something great to the cafe and for the staff, and she wanted to get something really wonderful for Krystal and Roxy, who’d both become like extra sisters to her, and something for their boys as well.
Krystal was due for a holiday too. So much of her energy had been invested in starting her handmade greeting card business, which Gabby proudly supported by selling the cards at the cafe, and the case and trial against the Arthur family. Now that the legal processes had wrapped up, and Cordelia-Aurora was awaiting sentencing for a number of crimes, including the destruction of evidence and her involvement in hiring heavies to intimidate witnesses, which had resulted in the accidental death of her own brother, Gabby expected that Krystal might deflate like a popped balloon after running on adrenaline for so long.
The courts had found that Cordelia-Aurora had not attempted to kill her brother, only to scare him into abandoning the thought of reopening the Farner Seven case. Krystal wasn’t sure if knowing this made his death any easier to bear. Evan still wouldn’t have been running in that street if his sister hadn’t been doing everything in her power to terrify him. Wyatt had been cleared of any wrongdoing, something that made Krystal furious because she was convinced he would have known. Rupert had never worked on the case and hadn’t been a subject of interest in the investigation, which Krystal was relieved about, as he’d always been the only one who’d even attempted to be kind to her and the boys. The driver of the car, a man well known to the police, was awaiting sentencing for manslaughter.
The legal processes had taken their toll on Krystal. She was even thinner than when she and Gabby had first met. Her face had aged with wrinkles, dark circles had appeared permanently under her eyes and angry eczema flares marked her hands. But she was a strong woman and she would recover, Gabby was certain. It was time for her to relax and finally lay all the ghosts to rest.
Gabby looked out across the square towards the enormous white Baroque church dominating the skyline, the pink and orange rendered walls of apartments, dark green shutters opening onto tiny wrought-iron balconies, potted olive trees and bright red geraniums, and her heart was full of joy. There was music in the air. Pigeons cooed. Happy travellers posed for photos and laughed and kissed. Then she smiled as she caught sight of the greatest view of all.
Luciano.
‘Oh, stop,’ Pippa said, groaning. ‘You two lovebirds make me sick.’
‘Don’t care,’ Gabby said, and got up to meet him, whiskered, his hair longer than when she’d first met him, his smile easier, but still wearing Blundstones. He put his arm around her and kissed her, longingly.
‘All right, all right,’ Pippa grumped.
‘Ah, don’t be like that, Pip,’ Luciano said. ‘We’ve still got five more weeks to catch you an Italian man.’
Pippa tilted her head. ‘How many cousins do you have, exactly?’
‘Too many to count. There’s got to be at least one good bloke in the lot.’
That seemed to cheer Pippa up and she stood, gathering her many bags of gifts. ‘Did you find somewhere for lunch?’
‘Of course,’ Luciano said, mock arrogantly. ‘Here, I am Italian. Everything on the menu is thirty per cent off for us and we got the best table overlooking the square.’
‘Skite,’ Pippa teased.
Luciano cocked his elbows out to the sides so both Gabby and Pippa could thread their arms through his. ‘Ladies, it would be my pleasure to escort you to lunch.’ Gabby laughed.
Luciano still lived in his brother’s house with his brother’s children. The kids didn’t feel ready to sell their parents’ house and move to another place yet, and Gabby respected that. Cooper, especially, didn’t want to move because he still ‘spoke’ to his parents. Neither Gabby nor Luciano doubted that Cooper had some sort of connection to them. Gabby loved all of Luciano’s kids but she did have an extra-soft spot for Cooper, both because of his extrasensory experiences, which she could relate to, and because of his deep love for Sally. She always took Sally with her when she went to stay at Luciano’s house and Cooper would barely leave her side the whole time. Sally had even taken to sleeping with Cooper when she
was there.
Luciano’s house was too small for Gabby and her kids to move in as well, so they’d agreed to keep living as they were. But when Gabby’s kids were with Cam she had more freedom to go and stay with Luciano, and she still saw him at work most days, so they both felt they were getting plenty of time with one another.
The waiter, dressed in black and white, with slicked-back hair, spotted Luciano immediately as he returned with his two women and ushered the three of them to the front of the line of waiting patrons, making a show of seating them at a table with views across the whole square. He presented them with menus and flicked out white napkins and laid them on their laps, then rushed off to find them sparkling Italian water. The air was filled with the aroma of garlic and pecorino cheese.
Gabby chose a creamy chicken risotto, served piping hot, which wasn’t particularly adventurous but was probably safe as far as food hygiene went. She may have been living life to the full, but it still wasn’t worth risking salmonella poisoning. Luciano went for braised pork ragù and Pippa for octopus and potato salad. The waiter returned with their sparkling water and took their orders, and the three of them relaxed into their seats.
‘I probably shouldn’t have had a gelato before lunch,’ Gabby said. But she’d been so hungry, and the rainbow colours of thick, creamy gelato had looked so tantalising.
‘Different country, different rules,’ Pippa said.
‘I agree,’ Luciano said. ‘Besides, you were making the most of the moment. That’s our thing, right?’
‘Yes, it is.’ Gabby smiled at him, admiring the angle of his jaw and the hint of collarbone peeking out from his shirt. He reached out and entwined his fingers in hers. She took a big breath and let herself soak up the glorious, peaceful vibe in the square, the colours, the sounds, the smells.
Everything here was imprinting upon her memories, her cells.
The longevity of the architecture here blew her mind. Some of it was thousands of years old and still standing. Humans were barely blips on the timeline, comparatively. Life could be hard and cruel but it could also be incredibly generous and beautiful. This moment, right here, would last somewhere in the ether, long after she was gone. She had no idea how much time she had left. But the Italians had a saying that she’d come to love.
Meglio aver poco che niente. Better to have little than nothing.
She had more than a little. So much more.
Acknowledgements
Around twenty years ago, I saw a heart transplant recipient named Claire Sylvia on The Phil Donahue Show talking about her unusual experience following her surgery, in which she had a deep connection with her donor. Her testimony affected me so strongly that it sat in my memories until it was triggered again when I watched the first episode of Pulse on ABC television, in which a woman contracted a virus and then needed a heart transplant. Instantly, the memory of listening to Claire Sylvia came back and I knew I wanted to write about that, and I went to find her memoir, A Change of Heart, to read her story. Claire has now passed away, but I am grateful to her for this inspiration.
I wish to offer my deep gratitude to Jim and Melissa, both heart transplant recipients, for generously sharing your stories with me. You are both so very brave and your stories gave me so much rich imagery to play with. Several people helped me find Jim and Melissa, through a long chain of phone calls and emails, including people from DonateLife, The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. All of these are wonderful organisations.
On the coffee side of my research, Marinus Jansen from Padre Coffee in Noosa was exceptionally generous in sharing his knowledge of the coffee trade, roasting practices and cupping, as were Vanesa Joachim and Kayla Byles. And Traecy and Peter Hinner from Noosa Black Coffee gave me a wonderful lunch on their deck and shared their experiences of starting a coffee farm. While I ran out of room to include that aspect of the coffee trade in this book, it gave me a well-rounded appreciation of the ‘tree to mouth’ cycle and may yet appear in another novel in the future.
Thank you to the team at Penguin Random House for welcoming me into your stable, and to my publisher, Ali Watts, for your structural guidance, humour and tremendous enthusiasm for my writing. To Kathryn Knight for your thoughtful copyediting and filling the gaps in my knowledge of modern technology, and to Clara Finlay for ‘top and tailing’ the book by being willing to read my first awful mud map of this novel and then for the final proofread. I’m so grateful to you all.
Thank you to Nikki Townsend for the gorgeous cover design. I loved it from the moment I saw it.
Thank you to Haylee Nash from The Nash Agency for your guidance, faith, passion and commitment. To my husband, Alwyn, for plot-storming with me. To Kate Smibert for always being my cheerleader and willing reader. To my son, Flynn, for being so lovely and funny and for finally learning not to touch Mama’s computer (most of the time). And to my animal family for keeping me grounded and making sure I regularly leave my desk to wander in the sunshine.
My beloved golden retriever, Daisy, sat by my side while I wrote this book, almost to the very end of the first draft, before passing away so swiftly, leaving an almost unbearable hole in my heart and life. (And for those who’ve read my book Three Gold Coins, yes, the character of Daisy was named after my dog.) Daisy’s personality is firmly embedded in Sally in this book (the way Sally guards Mykahla is exactly the way Daisy guarded Flynn as a baby), though Sally is far cleaner and much better behaved than Daisy ever was.
Finally, and most importantly, I wish to thank all my readers. I write books for you, and without you I wouldn’t get to have what is, for me, the greatest job I could find. Thank you for your emails and social media messages of support, which often turn up at exactly the right moment when I need to read them. Thank you for coming to signings and events. You are the ones who make it all worthwhile.
Jo x
Book Club Discussion Notes
Discuss the ways in which Gabby’s new heart is a blessing and the ways it is a curse.
Do you think organ transplant recipients have a ‘duty’ to live their lives in a particular way?
What are your own views on organ transplantation?
Did you find it easy to sympathise with Krystal’s point of view?
What are some of the different forms of family support the characters in this book display?
How did you feel about Cam at the end of the book compared to the beginning?
Discuss the ways in which animals are therapeutic for various characters in the novel.
In what ways are Gabby and Luciano perfect for one another?
Josephine Moon’s books are often characterised by descriptions of beautiful settings full of colour and sensory detail. In which scenes did you notice this most strongly?
Do you believe in life after death?
What do you see as being the central themes of the book?
Discuss the importance of coffee in this story, and the place of food in general in this novel and others by Josephine Moon.
About the Author
Josephine Moon was born and raised in Brisbane, and had a false start in Environmental Science before completing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and then a postgraduate degree in education. Twelve years and ten manuscripts later, her first novel, The Tea Chest, was picked up for publication and then shortlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award. Her bestselling contemporary fiction is published internationally. Her books include The Chocolate Promise, The Beekeeper’s Secret, Three Gold Coins and The Gift of Life.
In 2018, Josephine organised the ‘Authors for Farmers’ appeal, raising money to assist drought-affected farming communities. She is passionate about literacy, and is a proud sponsor of Story Dogs, which brings dogs into schools as reading companions for children learning to read, and The Smith Family, which supports underprivileged Australian children during their school life.
She now lives on acreage in the beautiful Noosa hinterland with he
r husband and son, and a tribe of animals that, despite her best efforts, seems to increase in size each year. There is always at least one dog or cat by her side while she writes, and frequently a horse staring at her through the window. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
MICHAEL JOSEPH
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Michael Joseph is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd in 2019
Copyright © Josephine Moon 2019
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, published, performed in public or communicated to the public in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd or its authorised licensees.
Cover design by Nikki Townsend Design
Cover photograph by Tiffany Credle/EyeEm
ISBN 9780143791997
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