Page 60 - SpontaneousSuccessFINAL6

NICHOLAS BOOTHMAN
broke through it all. A small child with the face of an
angel, swimming in an oversized Benfica sweater, was
holding out a white envelope.
“Excuse me. This is for you,” she said, her English
impeccable. I scrambled to my feet.
“It is?” I took it, my hand a little unsteady. “Thank
you.”
She gave a sweet, innocent smile, and for a moment,
it felt as if she could see right through me.
“Dad wants you to have it.”
A fleeting moment of sobriety made my jaw drop.
Could this be Thomas' daughter?
“Are you Lara?” By the time I'd steadied myself and
tried to connect the dots, she was gone.
I slumped back down and put the envelope on the
table in front of me. As I stared at it, Francesca, who had
been watching me quietly, slid her chair closer. She
placed her hand gently on my arm, her touch pulling me
back to the present.
“Mister Nick, I want to thank you for everything you
have done for my mother and for me.”
Her words were warm and genuine, and they made
me think back on the past few weeks. When I’d first
arrived, I was just a stranger in the village, but things
60