Page 25 of Sisters

‘What about that blue one there?’ asked Abby, pointing at another car further along the forecourt, an ordinary Fiat 500 without an open roof.

‘That one is gone,’ said the dealer.

‘It’s right there.’

‘I mean, it is reserved.’

‘OK, that white one next to it.’

‘Also reserved.’

Abby frowned. ‘The green one? I suppose that is reserved too?’

‘I’m afraid so,’ said the dealer gravely. He gave a surreptitious wink to Ellie, who pretended not to see.

Abby let out a sound of frustration. ‘This is...extortion,’ she seethed.

The dealer looked apologetic. ‘I can do little discount,’ he said and, looking at Ellie, added, ‘especially for two such lovely ladies.’

‘At least the weather’s nice,’ said Ellie, tilting her face towards the sky and closing her eyes, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted. As she did so, an image of her mother’s body on the terrace came into her mind and, sickened, she quickly opened her eyes again. They were behind the wheel in the red Fiat, top down, cruising through the Tuscan countryside.

‘He robbed me,’ said Abby.

‘You heard what he said – it was the only one.’

‘He was lying. All because you wanted this one.’

‘You think?’ Ellie tutted. ‘That’s naughty.’ She hid a small smile. ‘Lucky I didn’t go all gooey over the Spider.’

The light was fading. As the sky darkened, sunless and foreboding, the guilt and the sadness stalked Ellie with a vengeance. She stared out of the window, watching her mother’s last day fade into black. Beside her, Abby shifted uncomfortably. It was becoming clear they needed to stop – Ellie had noticed for some time now that Abby was tiring. And anyway, they couldn’t just keep on driving – they had no idea of where they were heading. As they came into the next village, Abby said what Ellie was thinking.

‘Maybe we should find a place to stay for the night. Figure out what to do.’

They booked themselves into a B & B just off the village square, then took a table in the small dining room for dinner. There were only two other guests there, a young backpacking couple from Germany who hunkered up together poring over guidebooks.

Ellie and Abby sat as far away from them as they could. Ellie spoke first, before Abby could say anything. ‘I need to turn myself in.’

‘What? No!’

‘But there’s no other way. And I deserve it.’

‘You do not,’ said Abby emphatically, keeping her voice low. ‘Are you forgetting what she did to you?’

‘Doesn’t mean I needed to do what I did,’ said Ellie, upset. ‘Push her like that.’

Abby rested her hand on her sister’s across the table. ‘You didn’t mean for that to happen,’ she said. ‘You didn’t go out of your way to hurt her.’

‘No, but—’

‘It was anaccident.’

A tear rolled down Ellie’s cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Abby glanced around the room, made sure the backpackers weren’t watching.

‘Maybe it could look just like that. An accident,’ said Abby carefully.

‘What are you getting at?’

‘Maybe Susanna didn’t want to come to the Tuscan mainland with us on our little sightseeing trip, maybe she opted to stay at home.’ Abby shrugged. ‘She fell and hit her head.’