When Libby woke up on New Year’s Day, she felt slightly hung over from all the champagne that she and Angus had consumed the night before. It had been her favourite New Year’s Eve yet, just the three of them: low-key but perfect. She padded into the sitting room, saying ‘Morning’ as Angus lifted his head from the pillow – he had decided to sleep on the sofa after one too many drinks.
She looked at her phone and noticed several notifications from her FaceTime app. ‘Three missed calls from Luca,’ she said.
‘What can he want?’ Angus grunted sleepily.
‘I’ll call him back,’ Libby said as she pulled on her dressing gown and went back into her bedroom, shutting the door to leave Angus undisturbed. ‘Ciao, Luca,’ she said as he came into view. She recognised his backdrop instantly. He was on the balcony of his and Nicola’s flat in Positano. She felt an instant pang of longing for Italy at the sight.
‘Hi Libby, how are you? Happy New Year. And Happy New Year to my little Izzy – is she awake?’
‘She is, I’m just about to give her some breakfast. I’ll take you through in a sec. Is everything OK?’
‘Yes, yes it’s OK. I just wanted to talk to you…’ He was looking tired; there were shadows under his eyes.
‘What’s up?’ she asked.
‘I’ve ended things with Jules. I realise you don’t want to hear anything about our relationship, but I know you were worried about Jules seeing Izzy, so I thought I would tell you that it is no longer going to be an issue.’
‘Right. Thanks for letting me know,’ Libby said. Inside her heart was racing at the news, but she was determined not to let Luca see that it had had the slightest impact on her whatsoever.
‘As you know I’ve been in Positano for Christmas and New Year. I’ve decided to stay here. I can’t be away any longer. I just miss my life here so much. I miss my family, my home…’ Libby wasn’t surprised at this; she had been expecting it for quite some time now. ‘I told her last night that I wasn’t coming back, and when she offered to come and join me I said no. Things just weren’t really working.’
‘What about Izzy?’ she asked, less interested in hearing about their break-up and more concerned about how his change of circumstances would affect their daughter.
‘That’s the one thing I can’t bear the thought of: being in a different country from my own child. But I need to be true to myself. I will come and see her often, if that is OK with you… and I’d like to bring her to Italy sometimes too, if you agree?’
Libby’s heart wrenched at the thought of being in a separate country from her daughter, even for a short period of time, but she forced herself to think of it from Luca’s perspective. She realised it was only fair if she let him have her with him every now and again. It was important that she knew Italy as well as she knew England; she was half Italian, after all. ‘I’m sure we can work something out,’ Libby said bravely.
‘Thank you. I know this is less than ideal for us in terms of co-parenting, but I suppose it was never going to be easy having parents from different countries.’
‘Unless those parents were still together,’ Libby said.
‘I know. I’m sorry Libby… I wish it could have worked out.’
She was suddenly annoyed with herself for having said that. She didn’t want him to get the impression that she was sitting here pining for him, when in fact the total opposite was true. Instead she changed the subject, moving on to talk about her and Angus’s plan to set up a bed and breakfast together. Luca seemed surprised but he was supportive. If anyone knew how much she had loved being at La Casetta, and just how much she had struggled with law, it was Luca. A few minutes later she took the phone next door so that Luca could see his daughter. She held the phone while he chatted away to her in Italian.
After ending the call she went through to the sitting room and dropped the bombshell. ‘Guess what! Luca has dumped Jules,’ she said. ‘Can you believe it?’
‘No way! When?’ Angus was clearly shocked.
‘Yesterday. He’s decided to move back to Positano for good. Apparently when he told Jules she offered to fly over and be with him there, but he said no. He had grown tired of the relationship, surprise surprise, and so that’s that! Luca goes back to his old ways and Jules is left alone…’
‘Well that certainly is a turn-up for the books.’
‘I know. I wonder if Jules will get in touch with you now that she is on her own again. She had better not try and get hold of me. I hope she got the message the last time she showed up out of the blue.’
‘I need to talk to her anyway,’ Angus said. ‘I need to tell her that I want a divorce.’ They had discussed this last night, and Libby agreed that it was the right thing to do, to give him the clean slate he so clearly needed and deserved. Libby didn’t know quite how she would feel about the two of them seeing each other. She realised it wouldn’t be easy, though she wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much.
Sure enough, later on that week Jules telephoned Angus telling him that she needed to talk. He agreed to meet up with her, just the two of them, the following month. He wasn’t going to drop everything and see her immediately. She could wait until he was ready.
When the day came that Angus and Jules were scheduled to meet, Libby woke at the crack of dawn with a knot of dread in the bottom of her stomach. She was worried that seeing Jules might have a strange effect on him; that he might suddenly change his mind about their business plans. She had no doubt that now she was single and alone, Jules would try her very best to wheedle her way back into Angus’s life. What if he suddenly realised that he still loved her, that he wasn’t over her? What if it really was Jules he was meant to be with all along? What would she do then? The thought of him getting back together with Jules was so unbearable she felt her eyes fill with tears. She knew she could never forgive her, so where would that leave her in terms of her friendship with Angus?
She phoned him that morning.
‘What time are you meeting?’
‘At one thirty,’ Angus said. ‘What have you got planned for today?’ Having left Digby and Edwards the previous week, she was still getting used to her unemployed status. It felt strange being able to choose what to do with her days once again.
‘I’ve got an agent coming around to value the flat at midday. Shall we meet this afternoon to finalise the paperwork and start arranging some viewings?’
‘Good plan.’
‘See you later then,’ Libby said. ‘I hope it goes well with Jules.’
‘So do I. I’m not exactly looking forward to it.’ She could tell he was anxious.
‘It’ll be fine,’ she said. ‘Stay strong.’
The agent came around to view the house. Libby found herself buzzing with excitement: the plan was actually in motion once and for all. He told her his valuation and she was pleased with how much the flat had gone up in value since she had bought it. It wasn’t far off her estimate, and the money she could get from selling it, coupled with the money Angus had proposed to invest, would give them a substantial deposit. She couldn’t wait to start viewing some real properties. She wished Angus would hurry up and get here so they could get the ball rolling.
She knew that she watned to find a place relatively near the coast, that there needed to be space for Angus’s studio, and that she would rather inherit a business that was already set up and running than start one from scratch.
Time seemed to be moving painfully slowly. She kept checking her watch. Why hadn’t he called? She couldn’t stop thinking that Jules had got her way; that Angus had capitulated and would soon be ringing her to tell her that they were back together. The thought made her feel anxious. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. Why was she having such a strong reaction to the idea?
Libby’s nerves were so on edge that she decided to get out of the house as a distraction. She took Izzy to the park and walked around it, trying to stop the onslaught of images that were running through her mind: Jules declaring her undying love for Angus. Jules pleading for forgiveness, telling him it had all been a moment of madness. Jules begging him to stick to his wedding vows, promising to give him the baby he had always longed for… Her head spun. She tried to focus on the scenery around her instead. She checked her phone frequently in case Angus called her. She hoped that he would ring straight afterwards, just to put her mind at rest.
She walked all the way around the park and then via the shops on the way home, picking up some groceries. She set Izzy on her play mat and unpacked the shopping.
Just then she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and Angus walked in.
‘So how was it?’ She felt her breath catch in her throat as she waited for his response.
‘It was weird seeing her after all this time. She looks terrible. She has moved back into our old house and she’s found a job. She tried to tell me that she had ended things with Luca, that she had realised it had all been a big mistake and that she wanted to try and work things out between us.’
‘Oh my god, she is such a liar!’
‘Thankfully I already knew that it had been Luca’s decision, so knowing that she was lying to me yet again just made it easier to ignore her fake tears and ask for a divorce.’
‘You asked her?’
‘I certainly did.’
‘And what did she say?’
‘She tried her very best to talk her way out of it. There were lots of tears, apologies, and undoubtedly more lies, but I stuck to my guns and remained unmoved. I think she was quite shocked at how insistent I was.’
‘Did you tell her about the B & B?’
‘Yes. I actually thanked her for leaving me for Luca, for making it possible for me to have a new life without her.’
‘How did she react?’
‘You should have seen the look on her face: it was priceless!’
‘I bet! What did she say?’
‘That was when I stood up and said goodbye. I told her that I wished her the best of luck, that there were no hard feelings, and then I walked out. I left her speechless sitting at the table, mouth open.’ Libby couldn’t help but giggle at the thought.