Invincible Summer (26 page)

After a while she stopped and bobbed around on the surface, tossed and buffeted by the waves. Eva tried to look back at the people on the beach but they were tiny figures now, and her eyes were half-blinded by the light. She spread out onto her back and drifted, savouring the sensation of weightlessness. These days she had a knee that ached in winter and her back made her groan whenever she tried to lift Allegra, but here in the sea she felt light and clean. The sound of the waves washing in and out of her ears made her feel almost as if her father was there, all around her in the water, and not just her father but something that felt like maybe a mother would feel too. She felt as if the years were sliding away from her. Just for a moment, it felt like coming home.