She inhales sharply, her knuckles whitening as she grips her mug.
“What you’ve done—quitting your job, going to therapy, telling our parents the truth—all of that is stuff you should be proud of,” I say. “And… I would like to take some steps to repairing our relationship. I’ve always thought it would be fun to have a sister.”
Tears stream down her cheeks.
“That means a lot, Harper. Thank you.”
“Thankyoufor coming here to talk to me. Can’t have been easy navigating South London,” I say playfully.
“It is a strange new world,” she grins, opening her handbag to pluck out a tissue and dab her eyes. She takes a moment toregain composure, drinking some tea before giving me a sympathetic look. “I’m really sorry about your job, Harper. I know you loved it.”
“Thanks. It’s been a bit rubbish. But my friend Mimi threw a great leaving party last Friday that involved a piñata with my boss’s face on it. I got to smack the shit out of him.”
“I take it he didn’t attend the party.”
“He had a bowling tournament.”
She laughs. “By the way, I read your Audrey Abbot interview.”
“Yeah?”
“It was brilliant.” She hesitates. “Someone who pulled themselves up from the ground, dusted themselves off, and made it through. She’s iconic.”
“She is. Wait until you read her memoirs. Talk about ups and downs, she’s been through it all,” I inform her proudly.
“I’ve been listening to this great podcast recently about failure and how it can mold you into being the best version of yourself, and how you can use it to build your success. Everyone you’ve admired has failed at some point, or felt like they were failing. There are famous guests on it every week talking about their failures and how they got to where they are now. You should listen to it. Not that being made redundant is a failure, but it might help to give you a new perspective on things. It’s helped me, anyway.”
“Sounds interesting. I’ll give it a try.”
“If anyone can pull themselves up, it’s you,” she says simply.
I glance down at the table. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do,” she replies without hesitation, forcing me to look back up at her. “Change is scary, but sometimes being forced out of your comfort zone is necessary. This could be the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that. A few others have said the same thing.”
“Maybe we’re on to something.”
I smile and offer her another drink. She accepts and I suggest making us honey tea. It turns out she loves it, too, but only has it on the weekends as a treat. We agree to make an exception for today.
“After all, neither of us has a job.” She shrugs. “So I guess every day is a weekend.”
Now that we’ve had the difficult conversation and we’ve cried and laughed, something in the air between us has lifted. We relax, moving away from the heavy topics. Talking about the honey tea Mum would make us when we were sick encourages us to reminisce about our childhood, bringing up memories that the other may have forgotten. It’s cathartic to remember the happier times we shared, before life got in the way and things were expected of us.
We hug when she leaves and she holds on a little tighter and for a little longer than I’m expecting. She tells me she’ll message some dates that we could do lunch. I shut the door behind her and feel lighter, something within me beginning to heal.
I return to my laptop to see very few emails have landed in my inbox while I’ve been busy having a heart-to-heart with my long-lost sister, and I’m just about to slump back on the sofa when my phone rings. I check the caller ID—it’s Isabella Blossom.
“Harper, hi,” she says when I pick up. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” I reply, hearing the baby gurgling in the background. “How areyou?How’s mum life?”
“I’m so sorry about your job,” she says, ignoring my question. “I hope you haven’t been too upset about it.”
“Taking it all in my stride,” I assure her as I head toward the freezer to have my fourth Nobbly Bobbly and wondering whether it’s acceptable to speak to a Hollywood A-lister on the phone while eating an ice cream.
“Listen, I’ve spoken to Rachael and she agreed—I want you to have the exclusive about me and the baby.”
