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“That was the first time in my life I was happy…the happiest I ever would be. And I never told you.”
There’s always one moment in life that passes without you saying what you really wanted — needed — to. For Ruth that day came after the death of her beloved husband Trip.
She and Trip had fitted together perfectly, right from the very start, and their marriage was filled with love, happiness and adventure. Determined to leave nothing unspoken, Trip has left nine letters, taking Ruth on one last adventure - scattering his ashes in ten locations that have meaning for them both.
The letters take Ruth on a journey across the world, but also back through her marriage, and the life she thought they had shared.
They had been so happy. Hadn’t they?
At once heart-breaking and uplifting…
Farewell Trip is a must read. Prepare to smile through your tears!
Farewell Trip
Karin Dixon & Gary Twynam
HQ
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2013
Copyright © Karin Dixon & Gary Twynam 2013
Karin Dixon & Gary Twynam asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
E-book Edition © June 2013 ISBN: 9781472074256
Version date: 2018-07-23
Karin Dixon & Gary Twynam
They’ve been married for years, just not to each other.
She lives in Bristol. He lives in Shropshire.
She has three children. He has none.
She’s a bit chick. He’s a bit lit.
They both like Neil Diamond.
You can see our journey towards publication and onwards at:
http://garytwynamandkarindixon.blogspot.co.uk/
catch Gary’s musings on life at:
or follow us on twitter
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
About the Publisher
A huge thanks to all those friends who provided valuable feedback and support along the way - including Jo and Mike Berry, Catherine Barnes, Constance Fleuriot, Ally Kessler, Hazel Grian, Christabel Smith and Gracie Dixon. Not forgetting Karin’s wonderful children, Ellie, Izzy and Malin.
Simon True and Jenny Philips, for reasons known only to themselves, each made it their personal mission to see the book published and without them we would still be touting it around agents and publishers, with little hope. We wish all unpublished authors out there such devoted and determined friends.
Finally, many thanks to the lovely people at HQ Digital, especially Lucy Gilmour.
To Mark
and
To Anne
Lampeter, January 2010
I should wash you off me. It wasn’t as easy to scatter your ashes as I’d imagined. There was spillage. And I wish I’d considered the wind direction. At the very least I should wash my hands before I eat this panini, which is what a cheese and onion toastie is called in Conti’s these days, apparently.
On the plus side, the coffee hasn’t gone upmarket. No shiny chrome espresso machine here. It’s even in the same glass mug. It tastes like University.
How many mornings did I come here for one of these?
Practically every day for three years, and always on a Sunday; nothing else was open then, especially not the pubs. If I could be bothered I’d work out how many of these coffees I drank.
You’d do it, Trip, if you were here, wouldn’t you? In your head; and tell me how much it cost too.
I can’t believe Mr Conti is still here. He seemed close to retirement in those days, yet here he is thirty years on, looking exactly the same. I swear he used to wear that shirt when we were here.
I shouldn’t have expected him to recognise me. After all, how many students have passed through his doors since then? You’d have worked that out, too. But, well, I thought I’d stood out