Without thinking, Cleo shuffled over to Maya and put an arm round her shoulder. Meanwhile, Tash just stared.
Up to this point, Maya had seemed so confident she’d been the least likely person in the group to show vulnerability. Now she’d unexpectedly lowered her defences and made an honest confession, Tash was speechless. Cleo knew how she felt.
‘You’re not nothing,’ she managed to say, casting round frantically for some words of comfort. ‘You’re still young and you’ve got loads of experience. You’ll find something else soon.’
But Maya shook her head. ‘Don’t you see? I don’t want another job. Getting kicked out has made me re-evaluate everything. I feel like I’ve wasted my whole life, chasing after an illusion. I’ve been a fool. I wish I could turn back the clock, but I can’t.’
She straightened up and Cleo’s arm fell to her side. She felt guilty now for all the mean thoughts she’d had about Maya. She was obviously suffering, and it must have taken her a lot to open up about it.
‘I don’t know why I’ve told you this, sorry,’ Maya said, as if reading the next questions on Cleo’s mind –Why now? Whythem?
Cleo knelt up and looked at Maya seriously. ‘Please, don’t apologise. It’s partly what we’re here for, isn’t it? To connect with each other and hopefully get a fresh perspective on our lives. It’s why I’m here, anyway, and I think Tash is the same.’
Cleo and Maya both glanced at Tash, who nodded vigorously.
‘I’m a total mess,’ she said cheerfully, before telling Maya about her husband’s death and the panic attacks that prevented her from working.
‘I’m also completely skint,’ she went on. ‘I could only come here because my son persuaded my mum to give me the money. He said I needed a holiday.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘I guess Ihavebeen quite hard to live with recently.’
Maya gave a laugh. Cleo realised she hadn’t heard her laugh before or even seen her smile much, come to think of it.
Encouraged by the response, Cleo proceeded to précis her own situation, including her divorce, her estranged daughter, her feelings of failure and her lack of purpose.
‘So you see,’ she said finally, ‘you’re not alone. We’ve all got stuff going on.’
Maya let out a soft sigh, like an autumn leaf falling from the tree.
‘Thank you,’ she said, ‘for being kind. I’m not used to sharing anything with anyone, to be honest. I’ve always rowed my own boat. But sadly, my boat’s sprung a big leak; it’s sinking fast.’ She gave a rueful smile. ‘My way’s not working. I’ll have to try something else.’
Her truthfulness was startling, but Cleo also felt honoured to have been entrusted with her confidence. She’d seriously misjudged Maya, and felt she owed it to her now to be supportive.
Tash was clearly on the same page.
‘Life’s a bitch, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘But you know what? At least we’re all here, in this beautiful place, trying to move forwards and do something positive for ourselves.’
She glanced round the silent, shadowy garden and up at the stars once more, twinkling like diamonds scattered across a black velvet canvas. Cleo and Maya followed her gaze.
‘You’re right,’ Cleo said at last, breathing in the crisp scent of night. In that moment, she felt as if the entire universe was holding its breath in quiet anticipation.
The coming days seemed to spread out before her like the pages of a book yet to be written. But where the story would lead was a mystery yet to unfold.
Cleo was sure she’d sleep soundly that night, weary from all the fresh air and exercise. However, she was woken in the early hours by strange noises, like whisperings and mutterings, which made her shiver. She told herself not to be silly, it was obviously the wind, but it took her a while to nod off again. Then she was fast asleep the following morning when her alarm went off.
Opening her eyes, she looked up at the ceiling, round the room and over to the window where sunbeams, like naughty children, were creeping through the chinks in the shutters and dancing cheekily on the wooden floorboards.
She smiled, realising that despite the interrupted night, her head felt light and her mind unusually sharp and clear. What’s more, when she sprung out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror, she noticed a few small but significant changes.
The dark circles under her eyes weren’t as prominent, her eyes seemed more alive and even her complexion looked a little brighter. Was this the first glimpse of what Mark had called ‘The Sparkle Face’? She hoped so.
Today’s schedule was pretty much the same as yesterday’s, with yoga before breakfast followed by two hours of high intensity training outside the villa’s grounds.
Cleo only said a brief hello to Maya over breakfast and they exchanged few words during the classes. Even so, Cleo detected something different about her new friend as well. She seemed softer and less hostile, like winter frost starting to thaw under the warm sun.
Maya sat between Noreen and Lesley at lunch, which was a tasty salad of tomato, kale, quinoa, sliced avocado, chopped walnuts, almonds, pistachios and poached egg.
Cleo would have expected the two alpha females, Maya and Lesley, to find something to clash over but in fact, Maya sat back and let Lesley do most of the talking. She even smiled once or twice but her eyes were sad, not that Lesley would have noticed.
