Free Garden of Stars by Rose Alexander

clutched onto him to stop herself from falling. She had wanted to hold onto him forever.
    â€œSure I do.” Scott gestured to the waitress as he spoke. “I loved taking you to all those places. You appreciated everything so much.” He rearranged the coasters on the walnut table in front of them. “Easily impressed, weren’t you?”
    Sarah frowned. Then the frown turned to a smile as she realised that he was teasing her. “I was.” She smirked bashfully. “And so in awe of you.”
    They both laughed.
    â€œSo,” said Sarah, breezily. “Joking aside, where do we start? It’s been – what, twenty years? – after all.” She wasn’t sure why she felt it necessary to pretend that she couldn’t remember the exact length of time that had passed since they last saw each other. “You better tell me what you’ve been up to.”
    The waitress was beside them, and Scott gave her their order. She went back to the bar and Sarah saw the barman selecting the bottle, uncorking it and pouring the delicate, yellow port into a pair of crystal glasses.
    Scott ran his hand through his thick, unruly hair as he answered. “OK, condensed version, Scott Calvin’s life story. As you know, I went back to Vancouver…not long after….” He stopped abruptly, as if unsure how to continue, then seemed to collect himself.
    â€œThe twins were born in Canada; Celina wanted that.”
    The pianist in the corner, who Sarah had almost forgotten was there, was playing more loudly now, crashing at the keys as the volume surged upwards, forcing Scott to raise his voice in competition. He glanced fleetingly in the piano’s direction and then resumed.
    â€œFast forward a year or two, we came back to Portugal, but not to Lisbon. Celina had had enough of city life so we found a place about thirty minutes’ drive away.” He paused, looking at Sarah to gauge her reaction. “Had enough yet?” he asked.
    â€œNot at all,” replied Sarah. “I want a complete update, nothing left out!” It was true, almost.
    The waitress returned with the drinks, nuts and olives. She placed the glasses carefully on the table, and the room was there before them, perfectly reflected in the clear, pale liquid. Sarah could see herself, and Scott, amongst the opulent velvet cushions and damask chair coverings.
    â€œWell, I’ve more or less got to the end now. These days, I’m doing a lot of travelling, but from now on I’ll be based in Canada. Celina and the kids have moved back already to prepare for their freshman year. Katie – that’s my daughter – will be crossing the border soon, heading for Harvard. My son Louis has a place at the university in Montreal. That’s it. That’s what’s happened since you’ve been gone.”
    The adagio reached its crescendo, and ended, the last chords humming gradually into silence.
    â€œWow,” Sarah said, instantly aware of how banal she must sound. There was too much information in what Scott had said, about his wife and family, about their return, on what seemed to be a permanent basis, to Vancouver. Let alone his final comment: since you’ve been gone .
    â€œSaúde.” Scott chinked his glass on hers, seemingly unconcerned by her linguistic vapidity.
    The pianist began to play again, a different piece. Sarah recognised the theme tune from Dr Zhivago . She picked up her glass and swirled it around, letting the port coat the inside of the glass and then slide slowly downwards. She raised it to her lips and drank, a healthy slug. It helped to dispel the lump that was forming in her throat.
    â€œSo,” she said, injecting her voice with a forced lightness. “You are the original cosmopolitan family, não é? Canada, Portugal, the States…”
    â€œThat’s one word for it. Rootless could be another!”
    â€œI think it sounds great,”