But as she was holding her phone, it rang, and she didn’t need to look at the screen to know that it was her sister. Years earlier, Abby had taken Blake’s phone and given herself a customised ringtone, as well as the name ‘Favourite Sister.’ It still made Blake smile whenever she saw it flash across her screen.
‘Hey, Abby.’
‘Hey! Just checking in to see how the sleuthing is going. Any updates?’
‘Well,’ Blake said, leaning back in her chair and twirling her pen between two fingers. She refreshed her computer screen and saw that two more women had left comments since she’d last looked, and it sent a shiver down her spine. Women were actually connecting with her story.
‘Blake? What is it? Tell me what you’ve discovered!’
‘I don’t know much, but I do have a lead,’ she said, knowing that she should have told her sister earlier. She’d kept it secret at their last Sunday dinner, letting her siblings direct the conversation as she’d sat wondering when she might hear back from Henri Toussaint. Thankfully, they hadn’t noticed how quiet she’d been.
‘Here, in London? How long have you kept this from me? What else?’
Blake groaned. ‘No, the clue is actually in Paris.’
‘Paris? How fabulous! So, you have a name?’
‘I have a name for someone who should be able to help me. He’s curating an exhibition, and apparently he’s one of the most knowledgeable people in the fashion industry about design history. It’s the only promising lead I have.’
‘When do you leave then?’
‘Leave?’ Blake turned away from the comments she’d been reading to focus on her conversation with her sister. ‘What do you mean,leave? I’m waiting for him to reply to my email, but I’m sure he’s very busy with the upcoming exhibition and?—’
‘Blake, if the clues are pointing to Paris, then surely you need tobein Paris? Why wait for an email when you could just go and see this guy and speak to him in person?’
Blake sighed. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought about how nice it would be to actually be in France as she was trying to discover more, but it wasn’t like she could just up and leave. There was the cost, to begin with, and there was no guarantee that this Henri would even agree to see her if she just turned up.
‘I can’t just?—’
‘Blake, you’ve always said that you’d love to travel, and this is your chance. What’s holding you back? Seriously, what could go wrong?’
Blake went silent. What was she supposed to say to that? She’d always tried so hard to support Abby’s love of travel, content with being the sensible, stable one while her sister explored the world. It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she had responsibilities, that she couldn’t just go, but even as she thought them, she knew she was only making up excuses.
‘Blake?’
‘I’m here.’
‘You deserve to travel and have some fun for once, even if it is for work. Let me hold the fort here while you go and be thereckless sister for once.’ Abby laughed. ‘Who knows, you could even add a few days to your trip for fun, and explore the city?’
Blake’s heart started to beat a little faster. Abby was right, there was nothing holding her back, and perhaps it was time for her to be a little more spontaneous. She’d spent so much of her life being serious that she feared she might forget entirely how to live a little.
‘You know, this is work for me, so I’d have to clear it with my editor, and?—’
‘But if she says yes, if she tells you to go?’ Abby nudged, in a way that only a sister could without being overbearing. ‘Will you go then?’
‘Yes. If she told me to go, then I’d go. Of course I would.’Would I, though? Would I honestly want to go to Paris, find this man and try to get the answers to my questions in person?She knew the logical answer was yes, because without his input she might not have another story to run with. But still.
‘You promise?’
Blake laughed. She could almost see the smile on her sister’s face. ‘Yes, Abby, I promise.’
Abby let out a little squeal down the line, and Blake held the phone away from her ear for a moment. Trust Abby to get all carried away when it wasn’t even confirmed whether she’d have to go or not.
‘This is going to be great for you, Blake. You’ve been the most amazing sister to us, the parent we never had, but you can’t keep living your life for us.’
I know I can’t. Trust me, Abby, I know. ‘I’ve been happy for you to do the living for me, Abs, you know that. I don’t have any regrets about the decisions I’ve made or the way things turned out.’ That wasn’t entirely honest—she did have regrets, about not asking for help or sharing how bad their situation was at thetime, but she would do it all over again if it meant keeping her family together.
‘Well, maybe it’s your turn to be someone different now. A new chapter, and all.’
