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Back The Library
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. THE LIBRARY
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Questions for your Book Club
  55. Acknowledgements
  56. About the Author
  57. Become an Aria Addict

Now that Paul seemed to be sorting himself out it wouldn’t be long before Tom returned home and got on with his life. Saying goodbye to Tom, as she knew she must, would be almost as hard as saying goodbye to River, all those years ago. She knew now exactly what she had missed out on and it had been far more than even she had imagined. Watching the small changes in Tom, seeing him grow in confidence and simply spending time with him was a privilege and one she wished she’d been able to experience with River. She made a pledge to herself that she would find something to fill the void that Tom would leave but what or whom that would be she wasn’t sure.

29

TOM

I know I did crap in my French reading exam. My mind went completely blank. I think I panicked a bit because my palms went sweaty and my heart went all thumpy. I had to do a bit of meditating to calm myself down. The invigilator came over to check on me and everybody looked, which did not help at all. But after a few minutes I was okay. Maggie had said all I can do is my best and she’s right, so I looked at the words and they were kind of familiar but not enough that I could translate it completely. Instead I picked out the words I did know and made a few guesses.

I’ve never liked French. It’s not like I’m going to visit France anytime soon. I might one day, when I’ve got a good job. Then I’d like to travel. I like the idea of a villa with its own pool. I’ve seen them on the adverts and they look impressive. I’ve never been on a plane. That’s not strictly true. I did once go somewhere with Mum and Dad that had planes in a hangar and you could sit in them for a photo but that’s not like getting on one to go on holiday. I don’t remember where it was. That trip was when Mum’s bump was huge, which couldn’t have been long before she died. I wish I could remember more about it. I wish I wasn’t forgetting her.

I know kids in my year who go on two foreign holidays a year. Two! And they talk about it like it’s completely normal. This kid, Malachy, his parents have a holiday home in Spain and sometimes he goes just for the weekend – how mad is that? I even heard him moaning about it once because he was missing go-carting. I’d have liked to have had that call to make – go-carting or Spain? Actually it was a tough decision but I would definitely choose Spain.