The Sisters (8 page)

‘Lena hasn’t told me anything, other than that she wants me to pay for her to go on a film course in New York in July.’

Jessica rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve already told her that’s out of the question. She’s too young.’

‘So did Lulu come back because of your dad?’ Jessica stiffened with the ease and familiarity of Christopher saying her name.

‘When has she ever done anything for other people? It’s just good timing on her part. Who knows what she’s up to but I’ll tell you one thing, she definitely didn’t come back for dad.’

‘How long is she here for?’

‘According to Bea she’s back for good.’

‘Wow. Lulu is back in town. It’d be good to see her. It will be good for you to see her too. Just make sure there aren’t any sharp objects around.’

‘You’re not funny Christopher.’

He laughed as he got up from the chair. ‘Lulu is back in town,’ Christopher repeated as he walked out of the office. If Jessica didn’t know better she could have sworn that there was a spring in his step.

‘Maybe grandma has gone out,’ Katelyn said without lifting her eyes from her mobile phone.

‘No, she’s in,’ Lucinda said as she lifted up the brass knocker but stopped as the front door jolted open.

‘Grandma,’ Katelyn screamed as she ducked under her own mother’s arm and straight into Felicia’s arms.

‘Bon Jé,’
Felicia said. Lucinda couldn’t help but smile as she saw how much her mother’s face lit up when she saw her grandchildren.

‘We thought you’d gone out,’ said Katelyn.

‘No, I was in the kitchen and the radio was on and bloody hell, Reece, you’ve shot up.’ Reece gave his grandmother a hug, squeezing her so tight that she felt herself lift off the ground.

‘I’m not that tall. I’m only 6ft 1.’ They all stood in the hallway as Felicia watched the two grandchildren who she hadn’t seen for over five years.

‘God, I could cry but I won’t.’ Lucinda closed the front door and faced her mother.

‘Hi mum.’

‘You left it too long,’ Felicia said as she hugged her daughter. Lucinda hugged her back but couldn’t help feeling that her mother didn’t have the same warmth in her voice that she had for her grandchildren.

‘So, you’re home,’ said Felicia as she sat at the kitchen table with Lucinda. Her mother had clearly been busy that morning as the kitchen counter was filled with plates of Lucinda’s favourite foods: aubergine and saltfish, fishcakes and fried bakes.

‘Your aunt Sarah came back from Grenada last week and brought back cocoa. I’ve even got some mangoes and avocados left if you want to take some home. God knows how the woman got it all through customs,’ Felicia said as she poured Lucinda a cup of steaming hot cocoa tea from the blue teapot. Lucinda took a sip and sighed satisfactorily as the smooth, rich, sweet Grenadian chocolate hit the back of her tongue.

‘That tastes so good. I can’t remember the last time I had this.’

‘Maybe if you came home a bit more often you wouldn’t miss it so much,’ Felicia said as she poured two more cups of cocoa tea then went out to the garden and handed them both to Katelyn and Reece who were playing with the dog. The dog had never had so much attention. Lucinda didn’t say anything as she ripped apart a fishcake and dipped it into the homemade pepper sauce.

‘How’s work?’ Lucinda asked when her mum returned to the table.

‘Busy,’ Felicia replied as she stirred her tea. ‘But at least it’s exam time so it’s not too long to go. I suppose that it’s good timing really.’

‘Because of dad.’

‘Of course because of your dad. I mean, it’s just me and him here now.’

‘Well, I’m here. You don’t have to do it all on your own.’

‘You’re here,’ Felicia repeated slowly as if she was about to embark on a complex lecture about the economic structure of ancient Greece. ‘But how long are you here for before your feet start itching again?’

‘Mum, don’t do this. I’m here. The children are here. It’s a new start for all of us.’

‘I’m not doing anything, my dear.’

‘Of course you’re not, mum,’ Lucinda said with a wry smile. ‘Look. I’m not going to get itchy feet. I’m not going to uproot the kids just because I don’t like the water pressure in my shower and I’m not going to leave whilst dad is…’ Lucinda stopped talking as Reece and Katelyn came back into the kitchen with their empty cups.

‘When is grandad coming back?’ Reece said as he picked up a handful of fishcakes and began to demolish them.

‘He’s only at your auntie Beatrice’s house so he should be back soon. So, are you happy to be here?’ Felicia said as she stroked Katelyn’s hair in the exact same way that she used to do with Lucinda.

‘Give me a week and I’ll let you know,’ Katelyn said as she began to pull apart a fried-bake.

‘You sound just like your mother when she was your age.’ Lucinda rolled her eyes but she supposed she should have been grateful because she knew that her mother was being quite restrained.

‘So, what’s your plan?’ Felicia asked Lucinda.

‘Mom is going to make a new album,’ Reece answered for his mum, which surprised Lucinda, as she didn’t think he could hear anything through those headphones, which seemed permanently attached to his head.

‘You’re doing what?’ Felicia said.

‘And Auntie Jessica is going to help her.’ Lucinda gave her son a look, which he recognised as the sign to shut up.

‘You’ve spoken to your sister?’

‘Not yet.’ Felicia watched Lucinda. She knew there was a lot more going on here even though Richard had tried to dismiss any talk of there being more to Lucinda’s return.

‘So, you’re going to record again? Perform?’

‘Well, one step at a time, mum. But yes that’s the plan.’

‘Why?’

‘What do you mean why? It’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at.’

‘But you haven’t done it for so long. Things have changed.’

‘Mum things haven’t changed that much, people still appreciate good music. I still have fans out there.’

‘Where?’ Katelyn said.

‘Don’t be facety,’ Lucinda said sharply. ‘I have friends and it’ll work.’

‘Well for your sake I hope it does because
crapo smokes yuh pipe
if it doesn’t,’ Felicia said as she picked up a fishcake, dipped it in the pepper sauce and ate it.

If Lucinda didn’t know better, she could have sworn that her mother had already gone to Ladbrokes and placed a bet on her comeback being an epic failure.

LUCINDA WAS still reeling from her mum’s comment when she got home.

“
Crapo smoke your pipe if it doesn’t
.” She’d always hated it when her mother said that. As though it would kill her to wish her luck instead of telling her that she was about to enter Dante’s inferno. It infuriated her.

The first two attempts to call Jessica had failed and Lucinda wondered when Jessica had changed her phone number, completely cutting her sister out of her life. She had to call Beatrice in the end, to get Jessica’s number. As she dialled the number she crossed her fingers and said a quick prayer that Jessica would pick up.

‘Jessica. It’s me. It’s Lou.’

Lucinda heard Jessica take a sharp inhale of breath and could almost hear the words running through Jessica’s brain.
Why didn’t I press decline
. Instead Jessica said, ‘I don’t usually pick up unknown numbers but I thought you were someone else.’

‘Sorry, I’m afraid that you’ve got me. How are you?’

‘I’m fine. How are the kids?’

‘They’re good. They’re looking forward to seeing you,’ Lucinda answered as she sat down on the stairs and waited for Jessica to stop behaving as though she was talking to a debt collector.

‘As I said, I’m busy. So what do you want?’ Jessica said coldly.

‘I’ve spoken to dad. He’s told me,’ Lucinda said ignoring the sternness in Jessica’s voice. She knew her sister didn’t want to talk to her but to hear that forcefully in her voice, hurt.

‘Has he told the twins?’

‘No, he wants to tell them all together. I don’t know, safety in numbers I suppose.’

‘So now you know I really don’t see what there is for us to talk about.’

‘Look, Jess,’ Lucinda said finally having enough of Jessica’s obtuseness. ‘We’re going to have to see each other at some point. So I was thinking that if you were free tonight, we could meet. Just the two of us.’

‘Fine,’ Jessica replied but only in an effort to get Lucinda off the phone.

‘Good. Hopefully we can finally sort things out once and for all.’

‘Let’s get one thing clear, Lucinda. The only thing that we have to talk about is dad. Other than that, there’s absolutely nothing that we have to sort out.’

Jessica leaned her head against the shower wall and let the water beat down on her shoulders. She’d been standing there for at least fifteen minutes with the hot water scalding her skin, trying to forget about the conversation with Lucinda. It’d annoyed her that Lucinda had sounded so confident and sure of herself, as if the past five years hadn’t happened. It pissed her off.

She finally stepped out of the shower, took the shower cap of her head and wrapped the thick cream towel around her. She wondered why she was even making the effort as she wiped the condensation off the bathroom mirror and watched her reflection. She was only 42 yet she felt much older.

‘What are you doing home?’ Jessica said as she instinctively pulled her towel around her tighter at the sound of Andrew’s voice, surprised to see him standing in the doorway. His blue Hermes tie was slightly askew and he had the tell tale signs in his eyes that he was recovering from a liquid lunch.

‘It’s a bit early for you isn’t it?’ he continued. ‘I mean, it’s only 7pm, don’t tell me you actually came home to cook dinner for your husband?’

‘You can talk. I can’t remember the last time that you came home before midnight. I should call the newspapers and let them know,’ Jessica replied as she squeezed past him and walked over to the chest of drawers in the bedroom.

‘Don’t get too excited. I only came to change my shirt,’ Andrew said as he walked up behind Jessica, put his arms around her and began to remove her towel. ‘But that doesn’t mean I haven’t got time for a quickie.’

‘Well, I haven’t,’ she said as she pulled back the towel, grabbed her underwear from the drawer, went back into the bathroom and locked the door.

‘What is with you? I’m not asking for an eighteen hour tantric session,’ Andrew shouted.

Jessica put on her underwear and silently cursed that she hadn’t picked up the rest of her clothes, which were laid out on the bed. After she’d finished moisturising, she did her make-up and then plugged in the straighteners. ‘Not bad,’ she said as she looked at herself when she was done. She turned sideways and viewed her profile in the mirror. She couldn’t remember the last time that she’d even stepped on the elliptical machine or used the rowing machine in the basement. It wasn’t as though she’d got fat; she was running around like a blue arsed fly for 18 hours a day but she was definitely slacking. Her once firm stomach had softened and she could see the delicate folds of love handles beginning to form.

Neither Jessica nor Andrew said anything to each other as she came back into the bedroom and continued getting dressed.

‘You look nice,’ Andrew finally said as Jessica put on her Jimmy Choo flats and picked up her bag from the bed. She didn’t reply as her phone beeped to let her know that her cab was arriving in 10 minutes. She still hadn’t told him that Lucinda was back or that she was meeting her that evening. It wasn’t as if they had all sat down at the dining table and had anything resembling a family dinner where they would discuss what was happening in their lives. She looked into his eyes and wondered what his reaction would be, whether he’d be surprised or pleased. If he had any brains at all, he’d remain indifferent.

‘I’m meeting Lucinda.’ She watched his eyes intently for a reaction.

‘Oh she’s back is she,’ Andrew said as he got up and opened the bedroom door. ‘Tell her that I said hello.’ There was no mistaking the slight flicker of a smile before he walked out the door. She stood in the room for a few minutes waiting for the sound of the front door being opened and closed before she went downstairs. The house was deadly quiet as Lena, who was in the middle of her GCSE exams, was locked in her bedroom studying. She resisted the urge to pick up the dog, who was asleep in his bed, just so she could receive a few minutes of genuine affection from him.

Jessica walked down the stairs into the living room and looked through the shutters to see the familiar black and white sign of the Addison Lee cab waiting on her road, with its hazard lights rhythmically flashing away. Jessica walked into the kitchen, opened the wine cooler and pulled out a bottle of vodka. ‘Just a quick one,’ she said as she filled a tumbler with vodka.

Lucinda had been waiting for forty-five minutes and was now on her second glass of Pinot Noir. The restaurant was busy for a Wednesday night and Lucinda had quite enjoyed watching couples, friends and business acquaintances sitting at the other tables. She wondered what their conversations were about. She’d always been intrigued by people and she revelled in the fact that when she sang she could effectively be in control of the emotions people felt, although she felt repelled when someone had told her more than once that they’d conceived their child whilst listening to a Euterpe song.

As she sat and waited she was more than aware of a few heads turning to look at her and then those heads frantically met together as the same question passed between their lips. ‘Is it her? I’m sure it’s her.’

Jessica looked at her watch again. She was late and she knew that Lucinda was the sort of woman who prided herself on always being on time or annoyingly early. That was one thing that they’d always say about Euterpe. Thanks to Lucinda they had never left anyone waiting. As the cab turned into Smithfield’s market Jessica asked herself again why she had agreed to have dinner with Lucinda. Dinner was a commitment. Dinner meant sitting at a table for a minimum of two hours. She should have suggested a pub. She should have suggested an underground car park. Anything but dinner.