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She sed Her voice was painful ‘She could have waited another day, then It would have saved her a journey’

A frown darkened his brow Carefully he set Benji down again, and while the little boy fell with glee upon a gleahtened and demanded, ‘Non capisco? What do you mean?’

Her voice didn’t work properly, but she made the words come

‘You’d already warnedto send me back’

He stared ‘What is this you are saying?’

He seery She wondered why ‘You said…you said ould have to talk I…I knehat you meant’

There was nothing in his face Nothing at all Then, very carefully, he spoke

‘And what, cara, did I mean? Tell me’

Her hands clenched in her pockets

‘Rafaello, please I knew—I knew, I pro kind to ic wand over me and…and decided to be kind, let me have my little dream I knew that was all it was—that it was not supposed to be more than that I understood I did—truly’ She sed, then went on ‘You gave —that day in Florence You warned me then that you would not want me to pine for you I understood then’

He looked at her There was soe about his face She could not read it—but then all she wanted to do was gaze and drink him in For this was heaven, a tiny, minuscule sliver of heaven, beamed down to her by special delivery to make another, final memory for her to keep and treasure all her days One last joy

She was drinking him in as a thirstyin his dark, beautiful eyes, his silken rain-wet hair, the beads of water on his lashes, the strong column of his nose, the planes of his face, the sculpted beauty of his mouth

‘You understood?’ His voice was flat Benji patted his knee, proffering the shell Absently he took it,to the child She watched hiers His eyes went back to hers

‘You understood?’ he said again Then, with a savage movement he hurled the shell far out into the sea Benji stared, open-ht, and tried to follow suit with a pebble