My mamma lives in this house.’
Geoff stared in astonishment at the stranger who’d just pitched up on his doorstep.
‘I think you’ll find she doesn’t,’ he huffed, going to shut the door in her face.
The woman frowned and went quiet for a moment, as if trying to order her thoughts. ‘No, no, wait, sorry! I don’t mean my mamma lives here now. I mean she did. I apologise. I am excited to find the house.’
She smiled and waved a piece of paper in the air with his address scrawled on it.
Did Geoff detect an Italian accent? He took a moment to look at the woman, who was about his age, perhaps younger. Her glossy, long black hair tumbled down her shoulders and her dark eyes shone with kindness. It was possible she was telling the truth – after all, he’d not lived there long.
‘Why would you be excited about this house? Geoff replied. ‘It’s hardly remarkable.’ Immediately, he regretted being so blunt, but he was flustered, unused to having visitors, especially such attractive ones.
‘I explain,’ she said, pulling her dark-rimmed glasses off of her head and onto her nose.
‘My mamma, she lived here when she and Pappa came to Britain to work. This was the first house they rented.’
She stepped back and looked admiringly at the modest two-up, two-down, terraced house as if it was Buckingham Palace.
‘When she discovered I was coming here for a holiday, she said to me, “Ariadne, please go find the house. We had so many happy times there.” My parents are not up to travelling such a long way nowadays.’
Her shoulders sagged slightly as she spoke. But just as suddenly, she composed herself. ‘So I am visiting for them and I will tell them all about it,’ she concluded with a megawatt smile.
To his amazement, Geoff found himself smiling back. This woman was tenacious, he’d give her that.
Ariadne took off her pink backpack and crouched down to unzip it, making her white skirt pool at her feet and her rainbow-coloured bangles clatter. Her long pink fingernails matched her toenails, which peeped out through light brown strappy sandals.
She started fiddling around inside and gave an apologetic smile. ‘So much stuff, too much. I always overpack,’ she muttered.
Eventually she
