‘It’s not like I haven’t thought about things that aren’t talking,’ I admitted. ‘But my experience is non-existent. What if he’s done more than me?’
‘Then he’ll be patient and respectful of your boundaries, or he’ll get his ass kicked.’
She held up her hand for a high five and I hit it without missing a beat.
‘And what if I want something more than hand-holding?’
‘Then you’ll be patient and respectful of his boundaries, and should you ever need someone to cover for you while you explore those boundaries, I’m your girl. Just remember this when I need an alibi, OK? I swear it won’t be for anything illegal. If I can help it.’
I smiled at my new friend and she smiled back.
‘It’s wild to think we knew each other when we were babies,’ Lydia said, wiggling her multi-coloured toes. ‘I know the circumstances suck but Emily Bell, I for one am glad you came back to Savannah.’
‘Me too,’ I agreed. ‘And more than anything else, I’m glad you didn’t move to Charleston.’
Before she could let out the torrent of abuse I knew was on the tip of her tongue, the home screen of my dad’s laptop flashed into life and Lydia nudged the trackpad to bring the cursor into view.
‘Touch ID or enter password,’ she read from the screen. ‘What’s the password?’
‘I don’t know.’
I was crushed. All I had left of my dad was right in front of me and I couldn’t even open it.
‘Hey, we don’t give up before we’ve even started,’ Lydia said, her Pollyanna optimism out in full force. ‘It’s probably his birthday or your birthday or a family pet or something. Dads aren’t known for their ultra-cryptic passwords. Or at least that’s what I hear.’
She fished around in her tote bag, pulling out a notebook and pen and an even brighter smile. ‘You’ll never find out if you don’t try.’
‘You’re right,’ I said, sniffing back tears that hadn’t fallen yet.
‘Almost always am. We’ll figure it out together,’ she replied as she opened her notebook and pushed the laptop towards me. ‘That’s what friends are for.’
‘Thank you,’ I told her, fingers hovering over the keyboard. ‘It’s nice to have a friend.’
And it really was.
Chapter Twenty-Two
‘Huh.’
Lydia stood in front of Catherine’s craft room, her head cocked all the way to one side. ‘I wouldn’t have thought your grandmother would be into that kind of stuff.’
‘What kind of stuff?’
‘The door, it’s Haint blue, right?’ she said. ‘We use it to ward away spirits. It’s supposed to represent water or something, Gullah legend says spirits can’t cross running water.’
‘I have no idea,’ I admitted. ‘Who are the Gullah?’
‘Hello, girls.’
We both jumped at the sound of Catherine’s voice. Lydia managed to land in a perfect curtsey while I managed to slip on the freshly polished floor and skid face first into the wall. My grandmother calmly placed her handbag on the console table and removed her sunglasses, to make sure we both appreciated the full weight of her glare.
‘Good afternoon, Miss Catherine,’ Lydia sang. ‘Emily was giving me a tour of your beautiful home. I do believe Bell House is the most gorgeous abode in all of Georgia.’
‘Good afternoon to you, Lydia,’ Catherine replied. ‘Thankyou for your most gracious compliment. You laid it on a little too thick but still, I appreciate it.’
Lydia clicked her tongue and shot her with double-finger guns and from the look on Catherine’s face, I was worried the gesture was just as likely to kill her as a real gun.
‘We’re going out for a while,’ I said, ducking my head to hide the mini makeover Lydia had insisted I didn’t need but ‘wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world’ but there was no way to hide the fact we’d swapped outfits. Sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind, said Lydia, after pronouncing each and every thing in my closet ‘mid at best’.
