He flinched and again I felt guilty. “No, he’s not. I’m not trying to interfere, but I want to be sure you’re safe with him.”
“I am.”
“Alright then.”
A heated silence did nothing to ease the tension. “You know, if you’re after his money this is a bad way to go about it. Or maybe it’s smart to make me think you don’t like him so it won’t seem suspicious when you suddenly need a loan three months from now.”
He didn’t get angry and that made this all worse. He just stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded.
“I’ve earned that level of suspicion, I suppose.” Yes, he had, especially as I knew how much money he owed to his previous employers. I was tempted to tell him I knew but no, I’d wait until after the wedding. I wouldn’t ruin anything. “I’ll see you at the wedding, Lola.”
I stood there, holding the tiny succulent, watching my father walk away. Again.
Thirty-Four
The week passed in a blur. I didn’t see my father again and I didn’t know how to feel about it. A toxic mix of wanting him to come back and wishing I would never see him again. I remembered feeling that way about Alfie once. I’m sure Priya, Alfie’s therapist, would have something to say about how I dealt with people that caused me pain.
Alfie barely spoke to me. No flowers, no facetime dinner dates. He was shutting down and shutting me out and all I could do was trust him.
As far as I knew, the club was still closed until they figured out how this had happened. Closed for renovations was the excuse, the Tellers didn’t need their members knowing about the security breach.
Whoever was sending them, hadn’t sent demands yet which made me nervous but it all just seemed so…petty. The photos, the articles…if the potential consequences for my career weren’t so serious I would almost find it funny. I wondered what would come next.
I tried to distract myself with other things. With daily updates on Natalie’s wedding, helping her find caterers and acake on short notice. I finished up the plans for her swans and I even managed to successfully place a supply order with Rosie.
The four sculptures were donated. The dancing lady went to Rosie’s, the elephant to a local art school, and the tower went to a sculpture park. Jemima Puddle-duck and Mr Fox would go to the garden I’d built with Bradley at Ryan’s school. It felt like a lifetime ago since we’d done that together.
It had taken some arm twisting but I’d managed to get Maia and Alfie to agree to let me take it to the school myself. I hadn’t managed to speak to Alfie on the phone myself, he was still practically radio silent. I tried not to let it bother me that he’d answered Maia’s calls straight away and not mine. I had to trust him. There must be a reason for his behaviour and I wasn’t going to let insecurity get the better of me.
Maia said that Alfie had agreed only because the school wasn’t far away. Whatever the reason, I was just glad to be getting out. I loved Harrington but I’d been stuck here for nearly two weeks and I was going a bit stir crazy.
On Friday, I watched production finish up on the show. The winner was announced, the judges were praised and Sid and I stood back and said well done to everybody. Alfie was right. I didn’t like being behind the scenes, I wanted to be front and centre. I wanted to be in Imani’s position, to be seen as a judge and a teacher.
The day was winding down. I’d said goodbye to Sid, though I’d be seeing him again in the next few weeks to build Natalie’s sculpture. I stood in the carpark, supervising the loading of Jemima Puddle-duck and Mr Fox onto a truck when I heard someone call my name.
“Lola?” Imani approached, gorgeous in a fuschia maxi dress that I could only dream of pulling off.
“Hey.” I accepted her hug. “Congratulations. You make a great judge and presenter-type person.”
“Thank you. You and Sid made me look good.” I appreciated that acknowledgement. Imani never forgot to thank everyone who worked behind the scenes on her projects, even if other people did. “So, what will you do now?”
“Well, we have to finish up a few things. I’m taking these two sculptures to my nephew's school, I hope you don’t mind.”
“I meant, for you. I still need an assistant.”
I hesitated, I hadn’t expected this and I didn’t know how to turn down an offer from someone I admired so much. “Thank you. That’s very generous.”
“Why does that sound like a no?”
My hands twisted in front of me. I felt awful. “Imani, you know I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’ve taken risks on me that most people in your position wouldn’t have. But, this is the first time my life has been wide open. I’ve always had a next step that I was sure I needed to take. I could see my path. For the first time I can’t and that feels…necessary. Ineedto feel uncertain right now. I know that probably sounds stupid.”
“It doesn’t. You’re a young person. What you’re feeling is perfectly perfect for where you are in life. I plan to take a few weeks off, when I come back we’ll have a talk. If you want to take the job it’s there, though I have a feeling you won’t. I saw you watching me. I think you’re bored of making me look good.”
“You look good on your own, Imani. But yes, I might have been a little jealous. I’ve been told I’d be good at it, presenting I mean. My fiance wants me to create my own show somehow. Show an audience how I design gardens, build sculptures.”
“Hard truth? Yes, you would be good at it.”
“Why is that a hard truth?” I asked.
