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Chapters (84)
  1. Chapter one
  2. Chapter two
  3. Chapter three
  4. Chapter four
  5. Chapter five
  6. Chapter six
  7. Chapter seven
  8. Chapter eight
  9. Chapter nine
  10. Chapter ten
  11. Chapter eleven
  12. Chapter twelve
  13. Chapter thirteen
  14. Chapter fourteen
  15. Chapter fifteen
  16. Chapter sixteen
  17. Chapter seventeen
  18. Chapter eighteen
  19. Chapter nineteen
  20. Chapter twenty
  21. Chapter twenty-one
  22. Chapter twenty-two
  23. Chapter twenty-three
  24. Chapter twenty-four
  25. Chapter twenty-five
  26. Chapter twenty-six
  27. Chapter twenty-seven
  28. Chapter twenty-eight
  29. Chapter twenty-nine
  30. Chapter thirty
  31. Chapter thirty-one
  32. Chapter thirty-two
  33. Chapter thirty-three
  34. Chapter thirty-four
  35. Chapter thirty-five
  36. Chapter thirty-six
  37. Chapter thirty-seven
  38. Chapter thirty-eight
  39. Chapter thirty-nine
  40. Chapter forty
  41. Chapter forty-one
  42. Chapter forty-two
  43. Chapter forty-three
  44. Chapter forty-four
  45. Chapter forty-five
  46. Chapter forty-six
  47. Chapter forty-seven
  48. Chapter forty-eight
  49. Chapter forty-nine
  50. Chapter fifty
  51. Chapter fifty-one
  52. Chapter fifty-two
  53. Chapter fifty-three
  54. Chapter fifty-four
  55. Chapter fifty-five
  56. Chapter fifty-six
  57. Chapter fifty-seven
  58. Chapter fifty-eight
  59. Chapter fifty-nine
  60. Chapter sixty
  61. Chapter sixty-one
  62. Chapter sixty-two
  63. Chapter sixty-three
  64. Chapter sixty-four
  65. Chapter sixty-five
  66. Chapter sixty-six
  67. Chapter sixty-seven
  68. Chapter sixty-eight
  69. Chapter sixty-nine
  70. Chapter seventy
  71. Chapter seventy-one
  72. Chapter seventy-two
  73. Chapter seventy-three
  74. Chapter seventy-four
  75. Chapter seventy-five
  76. Chapter seventy-six
  77. Chapter seventy-seven
  78. Chapter seventy-eight
  79. Chapter seventy-nine
  80. Chapter eighty
  81. Chapter eighty-one
  82. Chapter eighty-two
  83. Chapter eighty-three
  84. Chapter eighty-four

We study each other across the expanse of his kitchen, both of us wondering what might have been. Pip comes to me and, taking both of my hands in his, he kisses me tenderly. ‘If you ever need anything,’ he says, ‘make sure that you call me.’

I tear myself away from him.

‘Have a blast,’ Pip says. ‘And tell that man he’s a lucky bastard.’

And that makes my heart do an unhealthy lurch. Because the only person on the planet who doesn’t yet know of my impending long-term visit to Nepal is Dean.

Chapter eighty-four

Chapter eighty-four

I’m too stunned—and too puffed out—to speak. I’m finally here and my brain is struggling to catch up with my body. I’ve already walked for over three hours, but each bend is taking me closer to Dean. The idea was to surprise him, but I’m getting more and more worried that like Shirley Valentine—when she jacked in everything and turned up back in Greece only to see her lover schmoozing another woman—that the surprise will be on me. Supposing in the intervening few weeks, he’s shacked up with one of the villagers or found himself another equally accommodating trekker? Or what if something’s happened and he’s hot-footed it back to California? Or what if when he sees me again he changes his mind?

But for me things haven’t changed. My feelings for Dean remain the same. I’m all of a wobble and my senses have gone into overload mode. And, if anything, the scenery is more fantastic and more overblown than I’ve remembered it. The snow-tipped mountains are higher and more impressive, the sky reflects the rich blue hue of the Himalayan poppies, the white clouds froth like the foam on the Mardi Khola River. As I weave my way through the rice paddies to Dean’s village, I can feel the joy of it seeping into my bones again.

I spent the first night in Kathmandu, which was supposed to help me recover from my jet lag, but I’m too ecstatic and wired to have jet lag. What’s the opposite of jet lag? Because that’s what I’ve got. My body is one big adrenaline surge. They could run the entire electricity grid in Kathmandu off me. I couldn’t believe that I was so close to Dean and yet still so far. The people at the headquarters of Teacher Placements in Nepal were fab when I presented myself to them all washed and scrubbed and looking suitably teacherish the next morning and, miracle upon miracle, have found me a placement which is in a village right near to Dean. A measly hour’s walk away! Which in Nepalese terms is a hop, skip and a very small jump.