Just Haven't Met You Yet(84)

I laugh politely, nervously knitting my fingers in my lap. I can’t believe Suki is here, in Jersey, for my suitcase story.

“The most important thing now is the photo shoot. I want to be in and out of this wilderness by tomorrow afternoon.” Suki gives the sea a distasteful look, brushing down her jacket, as though worried the air here might damage the fabric.

“Dionne and Saul flew out with me; they went straight to scout locations as we weren’t sure what you’d lined up. Oh, and my man at the Mail has already said they’ll run it alongside a feature on our US launch.” Suki claps her hands. “You couldn’t have timed this thing better if I’m honest, Laura. So, what have you organized?”

I can’t admit that I haven’t planned anything yet because I spent yesterday discovering my parents’ love story was a lie, kissing two different men, attempting to live out a cabin-themed date fantasy, attending a sixty-fifth birthday party, and then making whimsical jewelry late into the night.

“I’m sorry, Suki. I— What with persuading Jasper, and getting to know him, then losing my phone, I’m afraid the details of the shoot haven’t been locked in yet—I thought the team wouldn’t be arriving until tomorrow.”

Suki nods toward the cottage with a smirk.

“He’s in there, is he?”

“Oh no, no!” I shake my head. Oh great, she thinks I’m in my dressing gown because I’ve just been lounging around having sex all morning. “He’s not here. I was just changing my clothes because I’ve been out exercising.”

Suki looks suspicious.

“Well, I’m glad you’ve been having some delicious ‘exercise’ time with your new beau. Maybe you’ll be less of a Moping Morag around the office now you’ve got yourself a ticket back to orgasm town.”

I make a pained mumbling noise. I really don’t need to talk to my employer about the status of my travel arrangements to orgasm town.

“Well, anyway, I must get on,” Suki says, getting to her feet, “cab’s waiting. You take an hour for this,” she waves a hand at my face. “Get yourself . . . presentable. Here’s my spare phone,” she says, taking a smartphone from her bag, “so we can stay in comms and you can bring your beau up to speed.”

“Jasper was keen to do the shoot at his house,” I say, feeling nervous to suggest it. “He sells kitchens.”

“Laura, this isn’t an opportunity to sell things. This is a story of true love, of two people brought together by destiny!” Suki throws up her hands.

“A little reciprocal PR would make sure he’s definitely on board, and tagging more brands would gain us more cross-post content.” I give her a hopeful grin.

Suki sighs. “Fine, give me the address. We’ll recon at his house at fourteen hundred hours, style you there, do some nicely lit couple photos, then head to the airport and beaches for coverage shots. Don’t you worry, Laura, we’ll keep your boy sweet.”

As soon as Suki’s gone, I pick up the phone she left me and download my contacts from the cloud. There are so many people I need to call. First, I ring Jasper and update him on the new plan for this afternoon; he sounds delighted, then says he must hurry off to “prepare the space.” Then I text Dee and Vanya to let them know I lost my phone and am staying in Jersey a few more days. I hover over Ted’s number. After changing my mind several times, I eventually send him a text saying simply: Are you OK? x Laura. Finally, I call Gran, just in case she’s been worrying about me, which of course she has. I reassure her I’m fine and then fill her in on my meeting with Bad Granny this morning.

“Gran, there’s one thing I don’t understand: How did I come to have both halves of the coin?” I ask her.

“Oh, that blasted coin!” she says. “They argued about it for years, a lawyer even came knocking once—it was all deeply unpleasant.”

“Why did she care so much, when it ended like it did?” I ask.

“She felt the coin was a part of your story as much as it was Margorie’s. She believed she must have found it for a reason—she didn’t want to let it go.” Gran sighs, and I hear the sound of her Sudoku pencil tapping against the handset. “Before he left for Morocco, out of the blue, Alex sent her the other half, saying he wanted it to be yours, that the pieces should stay together.”

My eyes begin to itch. He’d wanted me to have it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you any of this sooner, Laurie. Sometimes it feels better not to look backward, to let the past stay in the past. When are you coming home?”

“I’m going to stay a few more days actually, Gran, I-I’ve kind of met someone.”

“Have you now,” Gran says, instantly sounding more cheerful. “There must be something in the water on that island, I tell you. What’s his name then?”

And for a moment, I pause, because I don’t know which name I want to say.





TIGER WOMAN ON OBLIGATION

As women, we spend so much of our lives feeling obliged. Obliged to show up when we say we will, obliged to turn up with a smile, obliged to tell everyone, “I am fine.” But obligated is just another word for oppressed. The only person you are obligated to is yourself.