The Sisters (6 page)

‘Lulu, how many times have I told you? I don’t want to be in your band,’ Beatrice said as she walked up the stairs into her bedroom, closely followed by Lucinda and Jessica. She sat down at her desk and swivelled her chair round so that her back was to her sisters.

‘I’m not asking you to be in the band, I just want you to sing backup on the demo tape.’

‘I have exams. I don’t have time to sing backup.’

‘They’re just mocks. They don’t count,’ Lucinda said as she sat down on Emma’s bed with the bright pink Barbie duvet cover.

‘Of course they count. Just because you don’t care about having an education doesn’t mean…’

‘For God’s sake, I’m not asking you to give up school and start singing in pubs, I’m just asking you to do us a favour.’

‘Where’s Charmaine? I thought that she was your backup.’ Lucinda rolled her eyes and gave her a “you talk to her” look to Jessica.

‘She’s dumped us for her boyfriend. So, we’re stuck,’ Jessica said. ‘Bea, we wouldn’t ask you if we wasn’t desperate. You know how hard Lulu has been working. She’s worked her arse off in order to save enough money to hire the studio. If we don’t go now, then she’ll lose all of that money. Please will you come? Please,’ Jessica said as she put her arms around Beatrice.

‘Come on Bea, we’re sisters. Please. Just this once,’ Lucinda said.

‘I don’t know your songs,’ Beatrice said as she put a bookmark in the middle of Pride and Prejudice and closed the book.

‘Oh yes you do,’ Lucinda said with a smile. ‘I’ve heard you.’

‘Babe you look…’ Jake thought carefully as he watched Beatrice fiddling with her hair in the car mirror. ‘You look perfect.’

‘Liar. Lou will get off that plane looking glamorous and I’ll look like a…’

‘A beautiful woman who has just had a baby, has two lunatic five-year-olds and a husband who loves her.’

Beatrice smiled at Jake as he finished strapping their son into the car seat. They’d first met outside the Forbidden Planet comic book shop on Charing Cross Road. To say they met was not entirely correct. She’d been walking past carrying a Frappuccino when Jake had walked out of Forbidden Planet with his nose deep in a comic book as he bumped into her. He’d stood there in horror as the brown coffee stain spread across her pristine cream silk blouse. Beatrice had been too stunned to speak whilst Jake repeatedly apologised. He’d promised to pay for the dry cleaning and Beatrice had given him the address of where she worked. A week later he turned up at her office with a Selfridge’s gift voucher and a Frappuccino. They’d been together ever since.

‘I still don’t understand why you’re picking her up. Doesn’t she have people? I mean, how are you going to fit her, two kids, a baby and all of their stuff in our car?’

‘We’ll manage. Anyway, I doubt she has bought much luggage with her. She shipped most of her stuff over.’

‘This is Lou we’re talking about. It’s not as if she’ll be flying economy with a 23 kilo weight restriction.’

Lucinda checked again that her seatbelt was firmly fastened as the plane began its descent into London, Heathrow. For as long as she could remember she hated flying. Her brain just couldn’t comprehend the physics of how this great metal beast of a plane managed to stay in the air. “Lift, force and drag. It’s called fluid dynamics or the Bernoulli’s principle. The plane’s wing is shaped and tilted so that the air moving over it travels faster than the air moving underneath.” Richard loved flying and had tried to explain more than once how it all worked. It was odd how she’d suddenly remembered that. It was 10.30am, but her watch was still on New York time, 5.30am. She looked across at Reece who was sitting upright but still out cold, tucked up in his blanket, with his bright red headphones still on his head. The boy had an amazing ability to sleep anywhere, whereas Katelyn was wide-awake with her forehead pressed firmly against the window as she watched London beneath her. Lucinda tried to focus on the film but finally gave in and turned her own head. The mid morning sun was spreading across London like butter on a freshly toasted crumpet and the River Thames snaked through the centre of the city. It’d been so long since she’d seen the city and she could clearly see London split in two. The South East where it had all began for her, the o2 arena, Docklands, which had expanded since she’d last seen it, and the West where she was heading. Her stomach flipped. She blamed it on the plane making its descent but she knew it was really anxiety as the plane flew over the South Bank with the London Eye standing resolute like an archer’s target. She copied her daughter and pressed her face closer to the window as she spotted the iconic Wembley Stadium. When she’d left London the two ivory towers were still standing amongst the red and grey rooftops. Now an impressive arch stood in its place. Still iconic but not quite the same.

Beatrice stood with Sam in her arms watching the arrivals of Terminal 5. It was noisy and chaotic with families and friends screaming, laughing and crying as they reunited with each other. She could see the drivers standing, expressionless with their white placards waiting for their passengers. It brought back memories of a time when they’d returned home after a successful promotional tour of Japan. Beatrice had never seen so many people in one place and it took her a few moments to realise that the crowd of teenagers and photographers were screaming their names. ‘Lucinda, over here. Jessica, Jessica…Auntie Bea. Auntie Bea.’

Beatrice was snapped out of her daydream by the voice. She saw Katelyn run through the waiting crowds closely followed by a trolley filled with four large suitcases being pushed by Reece, and his mother behind him pushing a second trolley with another four suitcases. Beatrice groaned and kicked herself for believing that Lucinda would be travelling lightly. She found a gap in the crowd and watched as Katelyn excitedly made her way over and didn’t stop her as she threw her arms around her much to the bemusement of Sam who found himself squashed between them. Beatrice felt the overwhelming love radiate from Katelyn as she hugged her aunt.

‘So you missed me then,’ Beatrice said laughing.

‘Of course I did. I always do. Ooh let me look at the baby. Can I hold him?’ Katelyn said excitedly.

Beatrice removed Sam from his sling and handed him to his older cousin who immediately began to cover him in kisses, which caused him to gurgle happily.

‘Oh my God Reece. Look at you.’ Reece stood awkwardly by the luggage with his red headphones still on his head. ‘For God’s sake you’re not too big to give me a hug,’ Beatrice said as she hugged her nephew. She burst out laughing as he hugged her even tighter. When she let go of Reece she finally took a look at her sister. Lucinda had been determined to arrive in London in style and without giving any credence to the fact that she was now on a very strict budget. She hadn’t even blinked when she booked the flights and took out her debit card to pay the princely sum of $20,000 for their business class seats, but she’d made sure that the pyjamas and luxury toiletries that British Airways provided were tucked away in their hand luggage. Beatrice took a close look at her sister standing statuesque in her Alexander McQueen heels, black skinny jeans and a turquoise blazer. There was no sign that Lucinda had just spent nearly 8 hours on an overnight flight. Her dark chocolate skin, with barely a line on it was freshly made-up and her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Beatrice’s left hand immediately went to own hair and she began a feeble attempt to smooth down the split ends. There was no sign at all that this was a woman running away from financial disaster. ‘So, are you just going to stand there gawping,’ Lucinda said with a smile. Beatrice walked over and hugged her sister.

‘You look amazing, sis. How was your flight?’

‘It wasn’t bad. I have no idea how people endure that flight in economy. You’re not here on your own are you?’ said Lucinda. ‘You’ve got a driver, right?’

‘Er, no. It’s just me. I didn’t think you’d be coming with all of this stuff. I thought that you shipped nearly everything over.’

‘Bea, do you have any idea how much it costs to literally ship an entire brownstone townhouse from New York to London?’ Beatrice didn’t answer because she didn’t know.

‘Lou. I can’t take all of this. I mean have the Range Rover, but it can’t take all this.’

‘Don’t panic. I’m only joking. I’ve arranged for our luggage to be picked up and taken to the house.’

‘Thank God for that. It’s good to see you, Lou.’

‘You too. It’s been too long,’ Lucinda said as she took the baby from Katelyn. ‘He’s very cute. Come on lets go.’ Beatrice had no choice but to follow as Lucinda walked ahead leaving her with the luggage.

They’d been on the motorway for fifteen minutes before the excited chatter in the back seat died down completely. Beatrice glimpsed into the rear-view mirror and could see that her niece, nephew and son had all fallen asleep. She thought that Lucinda was asleep also but as she turned her head she could see that she was just staring solemnly out of the window.

‘Well at least you didn’t come back to pouring rain,’ said Beatrice as she took out a pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment and put them on. ‘I still can’t believe that you’re back at all.’

Lucinda didn’t reply and smiled because she couldn’t quite believe it either. The last six weeks had been so frantic that she hadn’t had the chance to fully absorb the enormity of what was actually happening to her and her family. She was uprooting herself and her children from everything they knew all because she’d taken her eyes off the ball. Laziness, complacency and arrogance had got her into this position. ‘It’s a shame that dad couldn’t come with you. You know how much he loves a trip to the airport,’ said Lucinda.

‘Well it’s a good thing that he didn’t. He’d have had to sit on the roof,’ Beatrice replied.

They made small talk for the rest of the journey. Beatrice spoke about the twins and how much she despised her local mothers and babies group. Noticeably she didn’t mention Jessica and Lucinda didn’t ask. As Beatrice drove along the A40 and turned onto the Westway it wasn’t lost on Lucinda just how much London had changed, but also how much it had stayed the same. As they turned into the familiarity of Notting Hill and drove past the large white Victorian houses the anxiety Lucinda had felt when the plane had begun its final descent overtook her again. As much as London had changed, Lucinda knew that it had an uncanny ability to show you for who you really were.

‘DAD,’ LUCINDA said as she fell into her father’s arms.

‘My girl,’ Richard held onto her tightly. This was his star. He knew that you weren’t supposed to have favourites but she was his first.

‘Come on. Come in. We don’t want to be making a spectacle of ourselves on the doorstep.’

They stepped into the house and Lucinda closed the door behind him. They looked at each other and the same thought passed through their minds.
You’ve lost weight
. Though neither said it, Lucinda and Richard could recognise the signs in each other. That there was something inside, eating away in both of them. Richard followed Lucinda through the hallway, which still smelt of paint and varnish. It was all very white. Even the oak floors, which had been stripped back, had been whitewashed. He felt as though he was walking through a hospital corridor.

‘So, dad what would you like to drink? Tea, coffee, juice or…’ Lucinda stopped abruptly as she turned and looked again at her father, watching intensely the new lines on his face. ‘Or perhaps you’d like something to eat?’

‘No. I had a big breakfast,’ Richard lied as he followed her into the kitchen. The kitchen had been recently decorated and fitted out with new white gloss cabinets, granite worktops and the largest cooker that Richard had ever seen. It wouldn’t have surprised him if the cooker had cost more than his own car.

‘It’s not really you is it?’ Richard said he walked around, opening and closing the cupboard doors and running his hand across the worktops. Lucinda smiled as she watched her dad.

‘I’m not a fan of all this white gloss and steel. It’s a bit too cold for my liking. Definitely not my taste. But it’s only for a time until I can get back into my own house.’

‘When will that be?’

‘Not sure yet. I was planning to go to the estate agents this afternoon but there’s so much to sort out first.’

‘Well, take it easy. You only got back yesterday. You’ve got plenty of time. I can’t believe that it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Lulu. I only ever see your head on Skype.’

‘What can I say? Thank god for Skype. How’s mum? I called her cell phone but…’

‘Oh, she’s moderating exams today so she probably won’t get round to calling you back until lunchtime. Anyway, where are my grandchildren?’

‘Sleeping. They’re still adjusting to the time difference. You know dad, you didn’t have to come over. I was planning on coming later once the kids had emerged from their cave.’

‘Don’t be silly. I wanted to see you. It’s been too long and you don’t have a car.’

‘God, don’t remind me. I need to sort that out too. Anyway, we would have got a taxi.’

‘A taxi? You shouldn’t have to waste your money on taxis.’

‘Dad, money isn’t a problem. Now. Are you sure that you don’t want something to drink? Thank God for Bea and online shopping that I’ve actually got something to offer you.’ She knew she was rambling but she’d never been able to lie to her father so if he asked her she’d just blame it on jetlag.

‘Fine, do you have any green tea?’

‘Green tea? You?’

‘Yes green tea? Don’t look so surprised.’

‘You’re the man who puts three sugars in his tea and calls a Mars bar breakfast.’

‘It’s your mother’s idea. She’s got me on a detox health kick.’

‘Health kick? You won’t last a week. Is this why you’ve lost so much weight? Detox?’

‘Yes, something like that,’ Richard said quietly. She decided against pushing it any further and busied herself with making the tea whilst her dad wandered into the garden. He had so much running through his mind. The appointment with the oncologist the day before had left him with more questions than answers.