Bella (35 page)

   When she arrived
she knew straight away that something was wrong, so I had no choice but to tell
her.

She was very upset
and cried like a baby. I tried to reassure her by saying that the treatment
should work and I would be
fine.
I never told the younger children as they wouldn`t have understood anyway.

   Roy has been away
for a few months on business; however, he was due back soon.  I was four months
into my treatment and the specialist was very happy with my progress. Violet

decided to stay for
a while to offer help and support, but Anthony had to go
back to New York because of his work.

I still hadn
’
t heard from Simon so he didn
’
t
know about my illness and I told Lizzie not to say anything to him if he
called. I also told her not to tell Roy as I wanted to tell him myself.

   When he arrived
home, I asked him to come and see me. I tried to break the news as gently as
possible. He was very upset that I hadn
’
t
told him earlier.

   After a few weeks
my treatment was nearly over. I told Violet to go back
to New York because she had a job to ger back too. Lizzie and Roy
offered to go with me for my results to see if my cancer had gone. I was on
tender hooks waiting for the news. The
waiting room was busy and everyone there was in the same
position as me. One lady came out crying
and I wasn
’
t sure
whether her
news was good or bad. Hospitals are not the nicest
of places and everything is so clinical. When my name was
called, Lizzie squeezed my hand and Roy
gave me a hopeful
smile. I told
them to wait there as I preferred
to go in alone.

Mr Davies my
specialist greeted me with a smile, and sat down
.

  
“
Please take a seat
Mrs Ferrari. How have you been feeling? He got my notes out and
put his glasses on.

I said nothing, I
wanted to scream; just tell me if I am going to live or die.

  
“
Ok, apart from the usual sickness and fatigue.
”
I answered nervously.

 He looked up from
his notes and smiled.

  
“
I am pleased to tell you that you
’
re
in remission.
”
I wanted to hug him, I was so relieved.

  
“
Do you have any questions?

  
“
No doctor, the only thing I want now, is to go and live my
life.
”
I
realised at that moment just how precious life was. Lizzie and Roy were still
waiting anxiously in the waiting room when I walked out of the doctor
’
s room. They knew as soon as they saw me that the news was good.

We left the hospital
beaming and went home. That evening we celebrated big time.

   The next evening
the front door bell rang and when I answered it, Richard was standing there. 
As soon as he saw me he knew I
’
d been ill. I invited him in and explained about my cancer and that
I was now in remission. After I put the children to bed Lizzie offered to
babysit although I got the feeling she didn
’
t
really like Richard, despite not really taking the time to get to know him.He
took me to our local pub for a drink to celebrate my news.

After only a few
drinks I started to feel quite tipsy. This was the first time I had touched
alcohol since having cancer.

  
“
Have you heard anything from Simon?
”
I
asked.

  
“
I was going to ask you the same thing.
”

  
“
Last time I heard, he was staying with you and your dad. He hasn
’
t been in touch with me, but he called Lizzie a few months ago. She
hasn
’
t heard from him since and he isn
’
t
answering his calls. I hope he
’
s ok!
”

   I decided to call
Barbara and she told me she was on a cruise
and the last
time she
’
d heard from Simon was six weeks ago.
That
’
s a long time.
I even tried Victoria and
she knew nothing
either.
Richard decided to call all of
Simon
’
s friends, maybe he was
with one of them; however no one had heard from him.  The only thing
we could do was report him missing. Richard came with me to the police station
and we filed a
missing person
report. They told me Simon would only be
found if he wanted to be. I was more worried that something
had happened to him.

   Richard decided
to stay a few weeks and wait to see if

Simon turned up. 
Lizzie asked if there was something going on between Richard and me. I told her
nothing was going on and we were just friends. It had been a while since I
’
d had a relationship, and it wasn
’
t
long after, that my divorce came through from Claudio.

   That evening
Richard and I went for a walk, it was autumn time and the leaves were falling
off the trees. We walked along the beach and he took my hand. I couldn
’
t get Simon out of my mind and I was worried about him. Richard
noticed my quiet mood and asked me if I was ok. Hot tears sprung in my eyes and
I couldn
’
t help it. Everything over the last few years hit me like a ton of
bricks. He must have felt uncomfortable.
 
Richard laid out his coat and we sat down on the sand looking out to
sea. The night was rather warm for autumn, however, the sky looked full of
rain. We thought it would be a good idea to head back home. We were near my
street when I could see Lizzie outside talking to someone. We ran to the house,
Lizzie was talking to a police man. Apparently Simon hadn
’
t used any of his bank cards for six weeks. It was then that
I realised things were serious.

That night none of
us could sleep and we were all concerned

of Simon
’
s whereabouts.I hadn
’
t seen or spoken to him since we were on the sea front. I phoned
Violet and told her Simon was missing. She told me she would be on the next
available flight and come home.

   Richard and I
phoned everyone we could think of, but nobody had heard from him. Violet
arrived two days later and told me that the date was set for her wedding and
they had decided on Christmas. I told her the timing wasn`t exactly right to
talk about that, with Simon still missing.

Violet stayed for
her birthday and Anthony arrived the day after. I decided to take everyone out
to the local seafood restaurant. Everybody was in sombre mood and worried about
Simon. We were all hoping he would walk in through the door at any moment, but
he didn
’
t. As the weeks passed, there was no news on him.

   I thought I had
spotted Simon on a few occasions; however Violet thought it
was just wishful thinking on my behalf. I
knew he had to be somewhere.

Roy has arrived and
he has a new lady friend. He still misses Tammy very much; we all do. She was
an exceptional woman and a good mother to us all.

Time passed by and
Violet informed me she was pregnant.

   Nine months later
she gave birth to a beautiful baby
girl on the twenty first of March. They named her Ruby
and she is beautiful, she looks just like
Violet. She stayed in
hospital
for three days and was then allowed home with baby Ruby.

With a new baby in
the house, things were a bit chaotic, so I helped Violet as much
as I could.

Ruby was soon three
weeks old and was changing every day.

   Eventually I
returned home and decided to sell my house and move away. All the memories I
had there were too much.

Violet asked me to
move to New York to be near her, however, when I lived there before, I got
terribly home sick. Lizzie popped in for coffee and told me not to sell the
house but to rent it out instead; that way if I wanted to return home I
could. I became very close to Lizzie as
over the years she had always been there for me when I needed her, without
judging me one little bit. I felt torn between England and being with Violet in
New York. After sometime I made my decision to go and give New York another
try. Moving there was the best move I ever made.

The children were
much happier and Lizzie also moved
with me and was very lucky to find a job as a beautician almost
immediately. I opened up a little coffee shop and it was doing very well.
Richard often kept in touch by email and phone calls. Roy stayed in New York
more than in England. He liked being close to his family.

   Ruby was six
months old and kept her parents on their toes.

We started to wonder
if we would ever see Simon again. He seemed to have vanished of the face of the
earth.

I finally came to terms with the
situation and Richard told me that if he were to see him he would be tell me
immediately.

   Over the next few
weeks I was kept very busy in the coffee shop. Business was booming.  Thank
heavens the children were both at school full time.

    A few days later
Richard called to say he was coming to see me. When  he
arrived at the airport I went to pick him up. I was quite shocked at
his response in seeing me; he gave me a big hug
and a kiss. I didn
’
t exactly know how to react. I just stood there with butterflies in
my stomach. I showed him my new coffee shop then took him to my apartment on
West 34
^th
 
Street New York, the one that Roy had bought many years ago and that
I
’
d decided to keep.

   I took Richard
out for a meal that evening with
the children and Lizzie. I was happy and surprised to see Lizzie
really making an effort to get to know him..

    After I showed
him
Time Square and he was
amazed with the bright lights of the
city. Richard asked me on a real date with me, however, I refused
because I knew Simon was still somewhere
and until he was found dead or alive I felt I couldn
’
t
move on with my life.

   Lizzie told me
she received a phone call from Ben and was coming to visit New York for a few
weeks. She seemed very excited about it especially because she now knew she
wasn
’
t related to him and nothing could come between them incase they hit
it off again

   After all the
attempts Richard made to date me I finally gave in. How could I not have? He
was an amazing guy, with all the qualities I wanted in a man. He did so much
for me and had always comforted and supported me when I needed a friend. He
showed me how much he cared and he even told me numerous times that he was in
love with me. I knew I had to forget Simon once and for all and move on with my
life. Like the police said; he would only be found if he wanted to be.

   We agreed to meet
before the sunrise, the sun was peaking out over the horizon, and you could see
the first rays of sun grace the earth. Before your eyes, the clouds became lit
with a fabulous warm light, as the rising sun announced the coming of a new
day, and a new Chapter of my life. Richard took my hand and we walked along the
beach. Even though it was our first official date, I knew that we had fallen in
love long before. Richard decided to move to New York and our relationship did
nothing but blossom.

One day we were
standing in the middle of Times Square and Richard told me to look to the left.
I couldn't believe my eyes. There on a huge screen, written were the words;

               
Will you marry me
Bella?
 

I looked at Richard
and he was down on one knee, smiling the smile that made my knees wobble. Just
like Simon
’
s smile.

“
Well? Will you marry
me?
”

“
Yes, yes and yes.
”
I answered happily.

The ring was just as
I imagined; eighteen carat gold, antique with five diamonds in a gypsy setting.

   Our engagement
party was the following Saturday. Roy organised it at his place in New York. He
hired a marquee and staff; there was enough food to feed an army.