Maybe she never will.
The pebble she chose from the beach is suddenly heavy in her shorts pocket.
She takes it out of her pocket and holds it on the table in front of her.
‘Let’s not fight,’ she says. ‘We only have each other, Mom. But I have to do what I want to do.’
‘But—’ Bobbi interrupts.
‘No, Mom, let me speak. You left your home a long time ago and did what you wanted to do. Did your mother want you to move to LA? Nope, and yet what happened? You did what you wanted to do. I’ve got to do that now, Mom, so you’re either with me or against me.’
Bobbi glares at her.
‘No singing?’ she says tremulously.
Keera shakes her head.
Bobbi finds something very interesting to look at far out to sea. Keera thinks she might be crying. She’s not sure her mother has ever cried. Except possibly that time she met Garth Brooks.
‘Youcan sing if you want to,’ Keera adds.
‘Who wants me?’ says Bobbi.
‘I do,’ says her daughter and grabs Bobbi’s hand.
‘But how will we survive?’
‘We’ll survive. We’re both talented and we have lots of things we can do, they’re simply different things. It’ll be an adjustment, Mom, but we can do it.’
‘What if I can’t?’ asks Bobbi. She sounds like a lost child.
‘We’re all having lunch on the beach, Mom, I want you to come. You need a pebble.’
Everyone’s in the hall sorting out bills and luggage before they go down to the beach for a speedy lunch. Rose has a schedule of online therapy slots and she’s trying to organise one for everyone for a follow-up.
She’s interrupted by a loud shriek: ‘Dan, darling!’
Julia has just erupted from a taxi, wearing almost the same clothes she was wearing yesterday, India is sure. Although Julia might have had a bra on yesterday and, today, she’s clearly not wearing one. Her blue fringed vest top slips dangerously low on one side.
‘Dan!’ Julia and her breasts are pressed up against Dan and she’s French kissing him as if they aren’t in a public place.
‘Puhlease,’ mutters India. ‘I’m going to the beach.’
‘No, India,’ says Dan, unhooking Julia and grabbing India’s hand to stop her leaving.
‘What are you doing, DanDan?’ Julia asks with a dangerous glint.
DanDan?thinks Keera.
Rank.
Dan ignores his ex-girlfriend.
‘I don’t want it to end like this, India.’
‘You don’t want what to end?’demands Julia.
‘What I have with India,’ says Dan firmly.
