"What do you see out there?" Anne asks me as she hands me the mint ice cream. 

I turn to her and answer: "The lighthouse. No matter where you are on this island, you can always see the lighthouse."

Anne smiles at me and I take the cup of ice cream in my hand. "Thank you."

She takes two more spoons and we sit down on a yellow bench overlooking the sea on the promenade. Although it's a beautiful, warm afternoon, there aren't many people out and about. 

"Now it's getting serious," Anne says to me and dips her spoon into the vanilla ice cream. I do the same and we both pause before tasting the ice cream. With a serious look and voice, I say to her: "Let the competition begin." 

The taste of mint in my mouth amazes me. Anne was right, it didn't taste like toothpaste in my mouth, but I still didn't really like it. How can she eat something like that, I think to myself and grimace. Anne notices.

"Really?" she says in mock horror. "How dare you?"

"I'm sorry, it doesn't taste good at all. But hey, you were right, it doesn't taste like toothpaste. So a small victory for you?" I hold out my cup to her as a peace offering. 

Offended, she takes another spoonful of the vanilla before holding it out to me as well. 

"Unfortunately, you couldn't change my mind about vanilla either, but hey, at least we tried it," she says and laughs. 

"Satisfied?" she asks me as I take the first spoonful of my favourite ice cream. 

"It couldn't be better. And you?" I reply, looking out at the lighthouse and the sea again. 

How I will miss this view. If only we could extend this week. 

"Perfect," Anne replies and is almost finished with her cup. We sit next to each other in silence, enjoying the peace and quiet and each other's company. When I've finished, Anne takes the cup from my hand and stands up. 

"Wait here for me, will you?" she says and before I can answer she has already disappeared.

"There you are," I hear Sam say and as I turn round I can just see him sit down next to me on the bench. I cross my arms and put as much space as possible between the two of us on the yellow bench. 

"Well Lily? How are you? Enjoying Italy? I've never seen you at one of our parties on the beach in the evening or at night. Did swimming make you so tired that you had to go to bed early?" he asks me as he reduces the space between us again. 

"None of your business," I reply and turn away. 

"Don't pretend, Lily. I was just trying to be nice. Actually, I wanted to ask you if we wanted to meet up at home sometime. As a date?" he asks me.

I look at him, perplexed. Did I just hear that right? Sam, the idiot wants to meet up with me. After all the insults and comments last year, he actually wants to go out with me? 

"You can still think about it. But there's only one right answer. Will you come to the beach with me?" 

When I don't respond, he holds out his hand to me. 

"No. I'll wait here for someone." I reply and turn back to the sea and the lighthouse. 

"All right, whatever you say. But don't wait too long." Sam replies offended and walks off towards the beach. 

What just happened? 

"What did he want?" I hear a familiar voice and see Anne walking towards the bench and me. She hides her right hand behind her back. 

"I don't know. The main thing is that he's gone now," I reply. "And where have you been?" I ask her to change the subject. 

Anne sits down next to me and starts to smile. "I have something for you. It should always remind you of this special place and of our conversations. It should remind you that you are never alone."

As she says this, she takes her right hand out from behind her back. 

"You don't have to give me..." before I can finish the sentence, she opens her hand and there's a pin in it. And not just any pin, but a small lighthouse. 

"These are exactly the same colours as our lighthouse here. It's beautiful," I say quietly. As I take the pin from her hand, I feel her warmth again. I can't help it and hug her. "Thank you," I whisper into her shoulder. 

She hugs me tighter in response. "You're welcome, Lily," she replies into my shoulder. 

I wish we could stay here forever. In Giglio. On this beach. On this yellow bench. In this warm embrace. But life has other plans.