‘That’s good,’ Orla said. It had been her stock answer since Jacques and Tommy had left the cabin. That and ‘wow’ and a few ‘well done’s. She wasn’t excelling with the vocab right now, neither on paper nor from her mouth.
‘So have you and Jacques had sex?’ Erin asked.
‘What?’ Orla exclaimed.
‘That got your attention. And a “what” instead of a “that’s good”, “wow” or “well done”.’
‘Shock tactics, Erin? That’s usually Mum’s thing. But more often it’s something random like?—’
‘Have you heard that they’re making smoothies out of car tyres now?’
‘Exactly.’
‘But I wasn’t saying anything random,’ Erin stated, stroking Hunter on the head. ‘I meant it.’
And now her sister’s eyes were fixed on her in that way she had somehow perfected.
Orla needed to clear her throat as tension built up there. What was she going to say? She took a breath. Only the truth set you free.
‘How did you know?’
Erin gasped. ‘I didn’treallyknow. But now I do. So that’s why they’ve run away down to the village. Because he’s nowavoidingyou? Well, I guess you were snapping at him.’
‘Was I?’
‘Well, he was snapping at you too. It was like watching Mum and Dad squabbling overPointless.’
Great. So she’d given herself away and was now emulating her parents. She wasn’t currently being such a great role model for her sister.
‘So did it not go so well?’ Erin asked. ‘Are you a bit out of practice?’
‘No! Well, yes, but…’
‘Everything I’ve read says it’s easy, like riding a bike, but I don’t get that because they all have a million gears and some of them have actual batteries and a motor so not easy at all.’
Orla didn’t know what to say to that. And it hadn’t been difficult, it had been easy, effortless in all the best ways and full of heat.
‘OK, I can tell from your expression it was absolutely nothing like mountain biking.’
Hunter barked and Erin rewarded the noise with a treat for some unknown reason.
‘It shouldn’t have happened,’ Orla said. ‘It was poor decision-making on both our parts. We are going back to the UK in a few days. It made no sense.’
‘Unless you believe in love,’ Erin said, waving her hand in front of Hunter and getting him to spin in circles.
‘The type in fairy tales? I think we both know that’s a stretch in this day and age.’
‘But it doesn’t have to be. You just have to give it a chance. Like I am with Burim.’
It was such an old-fashioned view she could almost see her sister playing with herSleeping Beautytoy castle now. Dressing the dolls ready for a ball, believing in a first dance ending in a happy-ever-after.
‘If you always think people are going to let you down then you’ll never let anyone in,’ Erin continued. ‘Or, you’ll end up thinking that they’ve let you down when reallyyoumight have letthemdown instead.’
She had fled from Jacques’s bed. Barely unravelled herself from his body before she was looking for an excuse to run.
‘You don’t have to marry him, Orla,’ Erin said. ‘But anyone can see there’s a vibe between you.’
‘Really?’ she asked.
