Wish You Were Here

by Victoria Connelly

  She recognised her father’s shaky signature at the bottom. So this is what he’d been so worried about. What exactly had he thought he’d signed away? Alice studied the document. Stella hadn’t even bothered detailing anything – she’d obviously just been intent on getting their father’s signature on it but Alice could well imagine what she was thinking of and she didn’t believe that her own name would appear anywhere on the document.

  It was then that she heard the front door open. Her sister was back. Quickly, she left the bedroom with the will in her hand and walked down the stairs, her heart thumping in her chest. She had no idea what she was going to say and wished that she was anywhere but there.

  ‘ALICE!’ Stella screamed as she saw her sister, her hand dramatically flying to her chest. ‘You gave me such a shock!’

  Alice stared at her for a moment, not sure where to begin.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ Stella continued.

  ‘I’m trying to find out what you’re doing!’ Alice replied, her voice rising just a little.

  ‘What do you mean?’ she asked, dropping her car keys on the hall table. Alice held out the will and saw her sister turn pale. ‘Have you been going through my things?’

  ‘Of course I’ve been going through your things. How do you think I found this?’

  ‘But this is my home!’ she said. ‘You’ve got no right to do that!’

  ‘No, Stella – this is our father’s home,’ Alice said, following her into the living room. ‘He’s not dead yet!’

  Stella had the good grace to look shamefaced for a moment. ‘But—’

  ‘He’s written his will,’ Alice told her. ‘He wrote it years ago when he knew he was sliding into dementia.’

  ‘But that’s not fair!’ Stella protested. ‘That’s before everything happened.’

  ‘What are you talking about? Before what happened?’

  Stella’s eyes filled with tears but she didn’t answer right away.

  ‘Stella – what’s going on?’

  Stella sank onto the sofa but Alice remained standing. ‘I’m in debt,’ Stella said at last.

  Alice blinked but didn’t seem surprised. She sat down on the chair opposite her sister. ‘How much do you owe?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Stella said.

  ‘You must know! Is it a few hundred pounds? Or over a thousand? What?’ Alice asked, exasperation in her voice.

  ‘It’s more than that.’

  ‘How much more?’

  Stella shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. About eleven thousand pounds.’

  Alice’s eyes doubled in size.

  ‘Don’t look at me like that! You’re always judging me.’

  ‘I’m not always judging you,’ Alice said, trying desperately to remain calm. ‘I’m just trying to work out what’s going on.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘God, Stella! I know you’re not the world’s greatest mathematician but you must know that if you spend more than you earn then you’re going to end up in trouble. I mean, just look around you.’ She pointed to the cherry-red laptop and the cashmere clothes. ‘You haven’t got a job. You’ve made no effort to get a job and yet you’re spending money as if you’ve just won the lottery.’

  ‘But I’m entitled to nice things,’ she said.

  ‘You’re entitled to nothing – not unless you earn the money first,’ Alice explained. ‘I can’t afford to go out and buy myself brand new clothes and I’ve got a full-time job!’

  ‘But I like nice things.’

  ‘I know you do,’ Alice said. ‘You’ve been spoiled. Dad used to spoil you all the time. He was wrong to do that but he knew how upset you were when Mum died and it was the only thing he knew how to do. He used to spoil Mum too – remember?’

  Stella shook her head and Alice remembered just how young Stella had been when their mother had died.

  ‘You look so much like her and I think Dad treated you a lot like Mum with all those gifts. I don’t suppose it’s your fault that you’ve grown so used to always having what you want but it has to stop. You’re not a child any more. You’ve got to grow up and take care of yourself.’

  Stella looked shaken for a moment.

  Alice sat forward, directing her gaze at her sister. ‘What did you think was going to happen? That you could get Dad to sign everything over to you? Did you really think he’d do that?’

  ‘I don’t know what I thought!’ Stella cried. ‘I just need the money.’

  ‘And what would happen if you did get it? You’d have it all spent in no time and then be broke again. This can’t go on, Stella!’

  Stella looked down at the carpet and Alice couldn’t tell if she was taking everything on board or if she was planning on replacing the ancient carpet with a new Axminster at the earliest opportunity.

  ‘Do you know how worried Dad is about all this? He’s going out of his mind,’ Alice told her.

  ‘He’s already out of his mind,’ Stella said.

  ‘This isn’t a joke, Stella. This is just the sort of thing that could tip him over the edge. He’s weak and he needs to be kept calm.’

  ‘Don’t lecture me!’

  ‘I’m not lecturing you.’ Alice bit her lip and counted silently to ten. She needed to be calm. ‘Just promise me you’ll try and find work. Promise me you’ll curb all this spending.’ There was silence. ‘Nobody is going to bail you out of this mess but you – can’t you see that? Dad’s not always going to be around to pick up the bills and I don’t earn enough to look after myself half the time let alone a shopaholic sister. You’ve got to take care of this yourself, you see that, don’t you?’

  Stella nodded slowly and looked up at Alice. ‘I’m sorry I’m always causing you so much trouble,’ she said in a tiny voice. It was the first time that Stella had ever apologised for anything in her life.

  Alice got up from the chair and sat down next to her sister on the sofa, hugging her to her and kissing her cheek. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have eleven thousand pounds knocking about but I’ll help you where I can.’

  ‘You will?’

  ‘Of course I will.’

  They sat like that for a moment longer and Alice couldn’t help wondering what life would be like if the two of them were like this all the time. She almost felt close to her in that rare moment of calm but then Stella’s mobile went and she sprang up to answer it.

  ‘Oh, Andy!’ she cried as if in relief. ‘No, of course I haven’t forgotten. Yes, I’ll be there later. Give me an hour, okay? I’ve got to get changed. Just wait until you see the dress I’ve got! See you, honey!’ She hung up.

  ‘Are you going out?’ Alice asked.

  ‘Yes. To that new club.’

  Alice’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You won’t be spending any money there, will you?’

  ‘Of course not!’ Stella chimed. ‘Andy will be getting all the drinks in, I expect. I’ll only have to pay for a taxi home.’

  Alice sighed. Had Stella been listening to her at all?

  Alice’s answerphone was blinking when she got home and she realised that her mobile phone had gone flat.

  She pressed play.

  ‘Alice? It’s Sam. You need to come in right away.’

  That was it. That was all the message there was and she knew exactly what it meant.

  Chapter 31

  Milo hated leaving the island but he had no choice. He’d called Lander at the villa to explain the situation and his colleague had said it was no trouble.

  Boarding the first boat to the mainland in the morning, Milo stood at the rails and looked back at Kethos. The morning sunshine cast the water a deep peacock-blue and the white buildings of Kethos Town gleamed brightly. He wondered when he’d see his little island again and only hoped he’d have Tiana with him when he did.

  He tried not to think of the worst that could happen – that Georgio wouldn’t let him see her or that he’d got some sort of lawyer involved with papers drawn up or that he and Sonya had actually mov
ed house to some town that Milo would never be able to find. They wouldn’t do that, would they? Milo winced. Right now, he wouldn’t put anything past that brother of his.

  He paced the deck of the boat. His body was still sore after his moped accident and he realised that he’d probably done himself more damage than he’d first thought but he didn’t have time for that now. A sprained ankle or wrist could wait; his sister couldn’t.

  As they approached the mainland, he tried to think how long ago it was since his last trip there. It was probably Georgio’s wedding which had taken place in a big modern hotel in Athens. The whole thing had been a big, brash affair with very little heart, it had seemed to Milo. If he ever got married, it would be in the little church near his home where he and his bride would be surrounded by the people he’d grown up with. Milo and his new wife would walk out of the tiny church to bright, wide sea views and the reception would be modest but satisfying – wholesome home-cooked food prepared on the island, not the fancy fare that had filled Georgio’s reception.

  He shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about mythical brides and weddings that might never happen. He had to focus on Tiana.

  Milo wished that the boat would pick up some speed. Didn’t they know that he was in a hurry? Georgio and Sonya had probably got Tiana signed up at some expensive school already and were trying to teach her how to speak without the gentle burr that was common to islanders. He felt his fingers curl up into an angry fist at the thought. He could well imagine Sonya pulling some godawful uniform onto his little girl and trying to flatten her unruly hair because she wouldn’t want Tiana as she was – oh, no. She’d want to turn her into a neat little doll-child that wore perfect clothes, had perfect hair and didn’t run around orchards climbing trees and falling out of them.

  Finally, the boat docked and Milo sprinted off it and took a bus into the centre of Athens. From the station, he took a taxi and almost balked when told the price of his fare. He wasn’t used to paying for such luxuries but he hadn’t wanted to waste any time walking in the wrong direction whilst trying to find his brother’s place.

  Georgio and Sonya lived in an apartment in a block which towered over a narrow street and overlooked several other blocks just like it. Milo grimaced. There were no fields or orchards or views of the sea here.

  Reaching the door of the flats, he realised he should have a plan. If he buzzed his brother’s intercom, would he even let him in? Milo had a feeling he wouldn’t. He had to get into the flats first.

  He hung around for a bit, waiting for an opportunity and, after five minutes, an elderly lady came to the door, a shopping bag slung over her arm.

  ‘Let me,’ Milo said, holding the door open for her as she emerged.

  ‘So kind,’ she said, her bright eyes beaming up at him. She didn’t turn around and question whether he should actually be allowed access to the flats and he walked quickly towards the stairs before she had the chance to realise that he wasn’t a resident.

  His brother’s flat was on the seventh floor but Milo didn’t trust lifts and certainly didn’t want to risk being stuck in one when he’d come this far but his pace was a lot slower than he anticipated and he had to stop several times because of the throbbing pain in his right ankle.

  Finally, he made it to the flat. Checking his battered watch face, he saw that it was half past ten. Would anybody be at home? He’d only thought of that now but surely they wouldn’t have marched Tiana off to school already? Even they wouldn’t be as cruel as to do that, would they? Surely they would allow her to settle in before forcing her into a new life.

  He pressed his ear up against the door and listened. He could definitely hear voices and he felt his anger rise as he lifted his hand and knocked loudly on the door. He didn’t have to wait long before Sonya greeted him.

  ‘Milo!’ she cried, her eyes wide.

  ‘What? You think I wouldn’t come as soon as I found out what you’d done?’ He pushed past his sister-in-law and strode into the immaculate living room filled with furniture made from leather and glass. His brother was standing by the window on his phone but he hung up as soon as he saw Milo.

  ‘Where’s Tiana?’ Georgio demanded.

  For a moment, Milo was confused. ‘What?’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Milo said, a look of fear crossing his face.

  ‘She’s not here, Milo,’ his brother told him.

  ‘Then where is she?’

  ‘You think we’re not trying to find out? We’ve been going out of our minds with worry!’

  ‘You’ve been going out of your mind?’ Milo said. ‘You’re not the one who’s had her taken from him. You’re the one who put her in danger, Georgio! You took her from her home and brought her to a place she has no business being.’

  ‘But this should be her home too – here with us!’

  ‘How can you say that? She hates the city and – right now – she’s probably out there lost in the middle of it. God!’ Milo’s eyes were dark with fury. ‘How could you do this? How could you be so selfish?’

  ‘I’m doing what’s right for her.’

  ‘No, you’re not – you’re doing what’s right for you! You just took her, damn you! As if you had a right to do that.’

  ‘I have every right,’ Georgio said.

  ‘Goddam it!’ Milo cursed. ‘Have you ever had a conversation with her? Have you? And I mean something that goes beyond “How was your day at school?” because conversations with a kid are about more than that, you know?’

  ‘Oh, and you know exactly how to behave around a kid, don’t you?’

  Milo bristled. ‘I might not be the best father-figure to her. You might be older but she loves me!’

  ‘Milo – please!’ Sonya said.

  ‘She’s ten years old,’ Milo continued, ‘and you’ve taken her from everything she knows and loves. She doesn’t want to be here. How many times do I have to tell you that? When are you going to understand that she’s happy with me?’

  ‘Stop, please!’ Sonya begged, her eyes filling with tears. ‘This isn’t going to help Tiana. We’ve got to try and find her.’

  Georgio had started pacing up and down the room. He looked pale and Milo’s anger suddenly ebbed away as he realised that his brother was just as terrified as he was.

  ‘Have you taken her anywhere since she arrived?’ Milo asked, his voice calmer now.

  ‘We haven’t had time,’ Sonya said, wiping her eyes with an immaculate handkerchief. ‘We came straight home from the boat.’

  ‘Which is her room?’

  Sonya led Milo through to a bedroom at the back of the flat. It was tiny and Milo could smell fresh paint on the walls and couldn’t help noticing that they were pink just like her bedroom at home. The bed was covered in brand new soft toys and Milo felt himself softening just a little. They might not have gone about it the right way but it was obvious that they adored Tiana and were desperate to make a home for her here.

  He cursed under his breath and turned around. ‘Have you no idea where she might have gone?’

  They both shook their heads.

  ‘There’s nowhere to go here,’ Sonya said, her eyes filling with tears again. ‘It’s just streets.’

  Milo nodded. He’d seen. There were no parks, no playgrounds, no open spaces that Tiana might feel tempted to visit. Anyway, this wasn’t about running away to a park because she wanted to play. This was about her trying to get home.

  ‘She’s trying to get back to Kethos,’ he said as the idea dawned on him.

  ‘What?’ Georgio said, the word exiting his mouth like a gunshot. ‘That’s crazy! Why would she do that? How would she do that?’

  ‘Remember when we came over last year for the day?’ Milo remembered the day he’d dragged himself away from Kethos so that they could exchange Christmas presents with Georgio and Sonya. He’d thought his last trip to the mainland had been for Georgio’s wedding but it hadn’t, had it? He’d almost
forgotten about the rough boat ride over in December. Both he and Tiana had felt queasy but had she been paying enough attention to get herself home again on her own?

  ‘You don’t seriously believe she’d try to get back to Kethos, do you?’ Sonya said.

  Milo shrugged. ‘I think we have to believe it. It’s our only hope.’

  Chapter 32

  Alice couldn’t help but smile when she saw her father’s coffin. She’d been prepared, of course, because they’d talked about it many times in the past but the reality was, well, so much brighter than she’d imagined. How many other people would dare to have a green and yellow coffin, she wondered? He’d chosen the colours in honour of his support of Norwich City Football Club and there, amongst the brilliant yellow flowers and green foliage sat a stuffed toy canary.

  Stella was mortified. ‘I don’t believe it! What was he thinking of?’

  ‘The Canaries, I think,’ Alice said, once again acknowledging how little Stella had known their father.

  ‘I think it’s terrible!’

  ‘It’s his funeral. He can do what he likes.’

  ‘He always did,’ Stella said.

  Alice turned and glared at her. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Stella snapped.

  Alice shook her head. She still couldn’t believe he’d gone. The heart attack had been shockingly swift. He’d had one before and had been warned to take things easy.

  ‘Easy?’ he’d laughed. ‘I’m stuck in a wheelchair for half the day and in bed for the other half. How much bloody easier can I take it?’

  Alice smiled as she remembered and tears pricked her eyes as she realised that she’d never hear that wonderfully warm laugh again. He hadn’t had many reasons to laugh over the last few years but his sense of humour had never left him.

  Alice still couldn’t believe that it was happening. After Sam’s phone call, everything had seemed to happen in slow motion and yet it had all happened frighteningly fast. It didn’t seem a moment since she’d been sitting on her father’s bed with his hands held in hers and now they were at his funeral about to cremate him.