Page 29

NOW

August 2023

Lily

Departures lounge, Dublin Airport

Michael drove into the designated drop-off area at Terminal 1 at Dublin Airport. Lily turned to look at him, her eyes wide in wonder.

‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ she said. They both stepped out of the car, and Michael opened the boot to grab Lily’s overnight case.

The previous evening, Zach had phoned her to tell her he’d booked a flight to Malaga, Spain. In his words, he was going out of his mind waiting for their DNA results, so he decided to go back to the home he’d lived in with his mother in Ronda. He wanted to ask Senor and Senora Alvarez more about his time there. See if he could unravel some mysteries in his mind by retracing his footsteps.

Lily had wished him luck; she understood his need to keep moving. She felt restless and envious that Zach had something to do while enduring the agonising wait for results. Gaga was with her father, who was beside himself with hope and anticipation that, finally, his quest might be over. Her mother was, as usual, nose down in her ledgers, keeping track of her growing empire of flats and houses. While her father was an open book, his every emotion displayed for all to witness, her mother remained guarded and was harder to read.

It was Michael who suggested that Lily book a ticket. With his eyes on his mobile, he told her that seats were available on the same flight Zach had booked.

‘You could do one overnight in Spain and be home to tuck Ben back into bed. Ready for your clients on Monday.’

Lily had rallied against the idea. She’d gone to bed, tossing and turning as she ran through the valid reasons why she shouldn’t go with Zach. He was a stranger to her. While she might feel a connection to him, that was most likely her subconscious looking for one. Because she wanted him to be her brother. Zach could be unhinged, dangerous even. But she discounted this thought as fast as it came. Her instincts told her that, whether or not he was Robert, his intention was not to cause her any harm.

Over coffee and hot buttery toast earlier that morning, Lily casually asked Michael what time the flight was. And her husband once again surprised her in the best way.

‘Flights at eleven o’clock. But you’ve got lots of time. I’ve checked you in already.’

‘What?’ Lily asked, dumbfounded as her heart began to race.

‘I knew you would change your mind, so I booked a ticket. We’ll need to leave in an hour, which gives you plenty of time to shower and pack an overnight case.’

‘I don’t deserve you,’ Lily said, her heart swelling with gratitude and love for her husband.

‘Yes, you do. I don’t want you to have any regrets, Lily. What if this is your brother? You’ll feel so bad that you’ve left him to deal with this alone.’

And so, here she was, kissing her son goodbye and hugging her husband tight. ‘A few weeks ago, I wanted my parents to finally admit to themselves that Robert is dead. And now I am about to fly to Spain with a man who could be him.’

Michael cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips. ‘It’s crazy, I know. And while I want you to go, remember that you don’t know this guy. Keep your guard up.’

‘My gut tells me he’s a good guy,’ Lily said.

‘And I always trust your gut. You read people for a living. But, all the same, be a little wary.’

With one last kiss to her two boys, Lily took her small wheelie case and went to the departure gate. She’d not told Zach she was coming too. Mainly because there was little time, but also because she wanted to surprise him. There was no sign of him in the twenty-minute crawl through security, so she made her way to the departure gate, where boarding was due to begin in thirty minutes. And then she saw him. EarPods in, looking at his phone. Sitting close to the gate, his knee jiggling up and down. He looked stressed. And her heart swelled with something that felt like affection.

‘Hey, you,’ she said, gently kicking his foot.

He jumped up, startled, and his EarPods fell onto the tiled floor between them.

‘What are you doing here?’ he asked.

‘I thought you could do with the company,’ Lily said, feeling a flush run across her face. She’d not considered until this minute that he might not want her to tag along. ‘But if you’d rather go it alone, I can go back . . .’ She took a step away from him.

A smile broke out across his face, reaching his eyes, which crinkled at the sides.

‘This is the nicest thing . . .’ He came over and pulled her into a quick hug. ‘Thank you. Honestly, I never expected this.’

They weren’t sitting together on the flight, but that suited Lily, who was still a little sleepy from her restless night. Three hours later, their flight landed at Malaga airport.

‘I’ve hired a car already,’ Zach said as they queued for Passport Control.

Lily pointed to Zach’s blue passport. ‘It’s a little mad to think you might not be a Zach.’

He turned towards her. ‘Maybe keep that to yourself as we walk through, please. Don’t fancy being hauled into interrogation for name fraud!’ He pulled a face, half grimacing. ‘But I’ve thought about that a lot, too.’

‘Zach suits you no matter what,’ Lily said, trying to put herself into his shoes. She couldn’t imagine having to change her name now, after forty years of living with it.

‘I can’t conceive not being Zach. But, I have to tell you, Robert doesn’t feel wrong either.’

They each passed through Passport Control with little more than a perfunctory wave from the officer in charge, then walked into the busy Arrivals hall. A rush of warm air hit their faces.

‘Whoa. That’s hot!’ Lily said, fanning herself with her passport. ‘I’m going to get some water and sun cream while you get the car, okay? I’ll follow you over to the car hire area.’ She pointed to the sign that hung overhead a few feet away.

Once she’d bought her toiletries and refreshments, she found Zach, who was now ready to collect their vehicle.

‘Are you a nervous passenger?’ Zach asked as they buckled up into their red Jeep Renegade.

‘No. At least I wasn’t until you asked that question.’

‘I’m a good driver – I’ve never been in an accident – but the road to Ronda is windy.’ He handed Lily his phone. ‘I’ve set the satnav; your job is chief navigator! We’re heading for the E15 Autovia first of all, in the direction of Algeciras. Then we’ll drive down the coast.’

This was a job that Lily was more than happy to take control of.

‘Michael would get lost in a supermarket car park if I’m not there to direct him. You are in safe hands!’ Lily joked as she did a quick scan of the route. ‘From what I can see, we’ll pass through Benalmadena, Torremolinos, and Marbella en route. We could always stop in one of those for a coffee.’

‘I could eat. Fair warning: I’m always hungry,’ Zach said with his lopsided grin. ‘I had a couple of dates with a nice woman from Marbella the summer I lived in Spain. I know a few places we can hit.’

Lily looked at him in surprise. They’d never discussed romantic relationships in therapy, but they were in new territory now. They were moving quickly to the friendship area of town.

‘She was Spanish?’

‘No, she was Dutch. She was also on a summer vacation. It was one of those flings that spark fiercely but burn out fast.’

‘I remember those sparky relationships,’ Lily said with a smile, thinking about a year she’d backpacked around Australia after graduating from university.

‘Before Michael?’

‘One sec. Turn right here . . . yep, either lane will work . . . that’s it,’ Lily said, her eyes on the map. Then, once Zach was where he should be, she looked up. ‘Yep, I had some fun in Australia, before Michael. Who, by the way, was a slow burner instead of a spark. And, it turns out, a keeper.’

‘He adores you. That was the first thing I noticed when I met him last week. A blind man could see that.’ He paused for a moment and then added softly, ‘I envy you both. I’ve never had that kind of love.’

‘We’re lucky. I know that not everyone gets what we have, and I don’t take it for granted.’ She glanced over to Zach. ‘You’ll find it, though. I reckon you have a lot to offer the right woman.’

‘I appreciate the vote of confidence. From your lips to the dating God’s ears,’ Zach said, a big smile breaking out on his face again. ‘Tell me about Oz. With my nomadic tendencies, it’s one place I’ve yet to tick off my bucket list.’

‘I fell in love with the country. The people are so friendly. They say the Irish are supposed to be the land of a thousand welcomes. We’ve nothing on the Australians. I’ve always thought that it’s because they have their work-life balance sorted. They are naturally more chilled and happy.’

‘Why did you come home to Ireland, then? Were you not tempted to stay there?’

Lily sighed. ‘It’s complicated. Family demands, I suppose, is the easiest way to describe it.’

When they saw the first sign for Ronda, he let out a whoop. Zach’s excitement was palpable as they drove along the superhighway, and Lily couldn’t help but feel a little caught up in it.

‘You know, when I spent the summer here, I begged my sisters to visit me. Ronda is so beautiful – I wanted them to experience it too. But family life got in the way for them. Issy nearly came once. But then she met a bloke and cancelled on me at the last minute.’ He paused, then glanced over to Lily. ‘Weird to think that I might get to show Ronda to one of my sisters after all . . .’

Lily’s heart started to flutter. And her breath quickened.

‘You okay?’ Zach asked. ‘Sorry, shouldn’t I have said that?’

‘I’m fine,’ Lily said, feeling anything but. That word – sister – held so much power.

‘It’s just that when you decided to come here, I figured you would have only done that if you believed me . . .’ Zach’s voice grew tighter with every word.

‘No, it’s me who’s sorry,’ Lily replied, in a rush to make sure that her complicated response to this situation was on her, not on him. ‘I do believe you. But hearing it out loud . . . that I might be your little sister . . . after all these years of believing I’ll never get to find my big brother . . .’ Her voice broke off.

It was too much. They drove silently for a while, both lost in their thoughts, but occasionally stealing glances at each other. Had she made a mistake by joining Zach on this journey ? She had always been careful, always doing the right thing, and now she had thrown caution to the wind. She could only hope she wouldn’t regret the first spontaneous thing she had done in years.