“You do.”
We didn’t move, hands holding each other, the night dying.
I watched her eventually climb the steps up to the guesthouse, waiting until she waved at me from the top and only then did I start the walk home, back to my barn.
Feeling seventeen again.
Feeling light.
Anya
The tones of my sister’s voice had never been described as dulcet. When Shakespeare described Cordelia’s voice as being ‘ever sweet, gentle and low’ he didn’t have any future idea of what Kim would be like.
Light swirled in from the window, catching the flecks of dust that danced like small fairies. I put the time at close to midday and despite having a night later than I’d known for years, I felt more awake than normal.
I thought about Gabe and his words, the way he’d kissed me. I’d expected to feel guilt this morning, something other than the excitement I felt grip my chest, as if I was sixteen again.
My therapist had encouraged me to talk about moving on and how that looked. I’d talked about my job, where I wanted to progress to, where I wanted to live. It had felt so far away, an untouchable dream that lurked in the distance.
Last night had felt like a film. The bonfire and the fireworks. How he’d held my hand and our legs had touched as we talked.
Yet it was now morning and it hadn’t faded. Only my sister and her loud voice and annoyed words were spewing through the window.
“Sometimes I think we should be getting references for guests before we allow them to stay. How someone behaves like that is beyond me!” I heard anger in her voice and hurt. There was no way I couldn’t check on her. As irritating as she could be, she was a good, well-meaning person and pregnant. Very, very pregnant and I didn’t feel competent to be delivering that child on a Saturday morning if we couldn’t get her to the hospital quick enough.
I pulled on a dressing gown and headed outside, the sun cresting a perfect blue sky. Kim was standing with Phillip, her husband and my brother-in-law. Eventually they would take over the guesthouse from Nan, and Phillip would finish his job in banking. If Kim didn’t murder our guests before then.
“What’s happened?”
She eyed me and smiled. “You look better.”
“It was the Caribbean punch.”
She rolled her eyes. “As soon as this baby’s out I’m indulging. I feel like I haven’t had alcohol for years.”
“And if you carry on like you are that baby might be out sooner than you expect. Maybe you could name it after whichever guest has pissed you off.”
There was a chuckle from Phillip.
Kim looked up and huffed. “This stupid couple from somewhere down south. I have no idea how much gin the woman consumed last night but she threw a huge tantrum about the room not having a shower over the bath, and how the towels were too fluffy so they didn’t absorb water. Then she went on and on about how things should be done. I have no idea how I didn’t throw something at her.”
“Because you’re a professional?” Kim was good at her job. She loved the guesthouse and its history. “What did her husband or partner say?” I knew who she was referring to. I’d seen them after breakfast yesterday, a couple in their fifties. She’d bobbed outside a couple of times for a cigarette.
“He was too pissed. Then this morning they both sauntered down as if nothing had happened, all smiles and thank yous.”
This was nothing we hadn’t had before. When I spoke to Kim during the week she’d give me stories of the guests they had, telling me the things she’d noticed or that she’d discovered. But right now she was hormonal and tired and cranky and really should be sitting with her feet up somewhere.
“Okay, Kimbo, let’s get some decaffeinated coffee and a nice healthy breakfast and we can go through some of Marcy’s things.” I needed to tell her about Gabe, to see what she thought. She’d only been nice about him when she’d spoken about him yesterday and I knew she’d be excited that out of nowhere I’d had even one night of something that verged on being happy.
“I need to check on the monster. He’s got a party this afternoon.” She looked slightly less murderous.
“I’ll take him. You need to cut back on what you’re doing. Take some time out. And we have Annalise starting on Monday.” Phillip put his hand on her shoulder. He was undemonstrative and I’d never quite worked out the dynamic between them as my sister was over the top with her affections and as tactile as any person could be without receiving multiple restraining orders. But they worked and had done since he’d stayed here as a guest for his parents’ wedding anniversary when he was twenty-five and Kim twenty-two, fresh out of studying for a degree.
“Let’s get coffee and then I want to show you something.”
“You’d best get changed first.” She eyed what I was wearing. “Don’t want the guests to think we’rethatsort of place.”
* * *
