everyone think that it has something to do with Paul?’
‘Because he’s bankrupt and a couple of months later you’ve hotfooted it home.’
‘Emma, I did not hotfoot it home. It was always my plan to come home eventually.’ It scared her how easily the lies rolled off her tongue.
‘Really?’ Emma said, making no attempt to disguise the disbelief in her voice. ‘After all this time. Just like that?’
‘It wasn’t just like that,’ Lucinda lied again.
‘So what are you going to do? Mum mentioned that you were going to make music again.’ Lucinda wasn’t at all surprised that her mum had immediately called her little sister and told her of Lucinda’s plans.
‘That’s the plan. I can’t sit on my arse doing nothing.’
‘Hmmm, why change the habit of the past fifteen years,’ Emma said with a smirk.
‘You really should have respect for your elders, Em.’
‘I’ll have respect when you start telling the truth, Lou. Just because I’m the little sister , as you’ve so kindly reminded me, doesn’t mean that I’m living in a bubble and that I need to know my place.’
‘I never said that.’
‘You didn’t have to.’ Like the breeze that had suddenly swept across the garden so had the temperature quickly heightened between Lucinda and Emma.
‘You’re not in trouble are you?’ Emma asked as she swallowed the last of her beer and put the empty bottle on the table. Lucinda focused her attention on the blue bottle and watched the little beads of condensation trickle down. ‘I mean, everyone in America is always getting in trouble for not paying their taxes. You’re not running away from the IRS are you?’ Lucinda felt her body sink down with relief and the beginnings of laughter rise from her stomach.
‘No, no I’m not in trouble with the IRS,’ Lucinda said as she began to laugh.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Ems, honestly, I’m sure,’ Lucinda said as she wondered how much longer she’d have to hold on to her lies.
FOURTEEN
JESSICA STILL hadn’t made it home, even though she was the first one to walk out of the restaurant and only lived twenty minutes away. She’d thought about heading back to the office but tonight was the first time in months that she’d left before 10pm and that wasn’t right considering she had a teenage daughter at home. Instead she distracted herself with a quick trip into Little Waitrose on Highbury Corner buying things she didn’t really need before beginning the walk home. It was almost eleven o’clock when she arrived at her house. It’d been the first thing that she’d bought after the divorce. Neither she nor Christopher wanted to live in a house that held the memories of the beginning or ending of their relationship so they amicably sold the house in St John’s Wood and split the profit. Jessica had wanted to be closer to her family but not too close that her mother could drop in whenever she felt like it; so she chose Islington. She loved her house but instead of rising up to greet her the house sunk back and told her to prepare herself.
As she walked through the front door the first thing she saw was a picture of her second wedding day as they stood on the steps of Marylebone Town Hall. It’d never occurred to her that she would remarry. She was laughing in those pictures as the white confetti floated down in front of them and Andrew leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. That was a moment of happiness frozen in time. Now she walked past it as though it didn’t exist. She put the shopping bags on the kitchen counter and leaned against the island unsure what she should be doing. On the outside she was the epitome of calm but inside she was a jumbled up mess. She wasn’t able to compartmentalise and put her emotions in neat little boxes, the way that Emma and Lucinda did. Without turning on any lights she reached into the wine rack and pulled out a bottle of red.
She packed away the shopping and then went upstairs, showered and changed
‘Because he’s bankrupt and a couple of months later you’ve hotfooted it home.’
‘Emma, I did not hotfoot it home. It was always my plan to come home eventually.’ It scared her how easily the lies rolled off her tongue.
‘Really?’ Emma said, making no attempt to disguise the disbelief in her voice. ‘After all this time. Just like that?’
‘It wasn’t just like that,’ Lucinda lied again.
‘So what are you going to do? Mum mentioned that you were going to make music again.’ Lucinda wasn’t at all surprised that her mum had immediately called her little sister and told her of Lucinda’s plans.
‘That’s the plan. I can’t sit on my arse doing nothing.’
‘Hmmm, why change the habit of the past fifteen years,’ Emma said with a smirk.
‘You really should have respect for your elders, Em.’
‘I’ll have respect when you start telling the truth, Lou. Just because I’m the little sister , as you’ve so kindly reminded me, doesn’t mean that I’m living in a bubble and that I need to know my place.’
‘I never said that.’
‘You didn’t have to.’ Like the breeze that had suddenly swept across the garden so had the temperature quickly heightened between Lucinda and Emma.
‘You’re not in trouble are you?’ Emma asked as she swallowed the last of her beer and put the empty bottle on the table. Lucinda focused her attention on the blue bottle and watched the little beads of condensation trickle down. ‘I mean, everyone in America is always getting in trouble for not paying their taxes. You’re not running away from the IRS are you?’ Lucinda felt her body sink down with relief and the beginnings of laughter rise from her stomach.
‘No, no I’m not in trouble with the IRS,’ Lucinda said as she began to laugh.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Ems, honestly, I’m sure,’ Lucinda said as she wondered how much longer she’d have to hold on to her lies.
FOURTEEN
JESSICA STILL hadn’t made it home, even though she was the first one to walk out of the restaurant and only lived twenty minutes away. She’d thought about heading back to the office but tonight was the first time in months that she’d left before 10pm and that wasn’t right considering she had a teenage daughter at home. Instead she distracted herself with a quick trip into Little Waitrose on Highbury Corner buying things she didn’t really need before beginning the walk home. It was almost eleven o’clock when she arrived at her house. It’d been the first thing that she’d bought after the divorce. Neither she nor Christopher wanted to live in a house that held the memories of the beginning or ending of their relationship so they amicably sold the house in St John’s Wood and split the profit. Jessica had wanted to be closer to her family but not too close that her mother could drop in whenever she felt like it; so she chose Islington. She loved her house but instead of rising up to greet her the house sunk back and told her to prepare herself.
As she walked through the front door the first thing she saw was a picture of her second wedding day as they stood on the steps of Marylebone Town Hall. It’d never occurred to her that she would remarry. She was laughing in those pictures as the white confetti floated down in front of them and Andrew leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. That was a moment of happiness frozen in time. Now she walked past it as though it didn’t exist. She put the shopping bags on the kitchen counter and leaned against the island unsure what she should be doing. On the outside she was the epitome of calm but inside she was a jumbled up mess. She wasn’t able to compartmentalise and put her emotions in neat little boxes, the way that Emma and Lucinda did. Without turning on any lights she reached into the wine rack and pulled out a bottle of red.
She packed away the shopping and then went upstairs, showered and changed
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