Thursday, March 7, 2019

No More Mourning


8th March 2019

Story for Friday Fictioneers





Thank you to CEAyer for the photo.

No More Mourning

Staring out of the hotel window, Grace noticed the motorbike, almost hidden in the side street, waiting.  She'd seen it the morning before, when she'd watched as a handsome, middle aged, Italian man strode up to it purposefully and rode it away. She'd watched  him throw his head up against the wind as it blew through his dark hair and billowed through his open shirt, exposing his tanned body.
 Now she waited by the window. Three minutes, four minutes.. She was rewarded with a repeat of the day before, but this time he lingered, turned around,  as if looking for someone. Catching sight of his face made her shiver, her skin tingling, yearning. Her eyes followed him as he drove away and hung there after the noise of the engine faded. 
Guilt welled up within her. She shouldn't be feeling like this, she told herself. Surely it wasn't right.
 Grace thought of her husband who'd died just two months before. She'd nursed him during a long illness. She'd spent herself, put her own life on hold. Maybe it is only weeks since his death, but I'm done with  mourning, she decided, she'd done plenty of that over the last year as her dear Frank slowly disappeared.
They'd promised themselves that when they retired they'd spend some time in Florence. They'd looked forward to it, dreamed about it for years. She never expected to be here on her own, certainly didn't think she was brave enough, yet here she was. She knew her husband would understand, would even be happy for her. 
Maybe she would practice her Italian.
Maybe tomorrow she would speak to the mysterious stranger.

12 comments :

  1. Florence is a good city to make a new start in, fond memories of a wonderful city :-)

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    1. Yes'I love Florence tooThanks for your comment Iain.

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  2. If nothing else, she might get a new friend and tour guide.

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  3. I hope she follows through on it. What a tender tale.

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  4. She's had a hard time, good for her to now take care of herself. Lovely tale.

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  5. There comes a time when you have to move on. It seems that her time has come. Nicely done.

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    1. Thank you Subrato. Not sure she knows quite what she's at.

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  6. Kudos to the widow for making the choice not to let her life stop. Maybe the mysterious stranger is a widower :)

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