‘Can I now? Tad presumptuous of you.’
‘You’re astockbroker.’
‘I’m actually an investment banker. And I might be a bad one, for all you know.’
‘You’re not a bad one.’ She laid her menu down and folded her arms over the top of it. ‘You ooze competency.’
‘I think that’s a compliment even if it sounds disgusting.’
‘There is something inherently oozy about bankers – deal with it.’
‘And with the fact that I have to pick up the cheque for all manner of refreshments and bribery? I should deal with that, too?’
‘Yeah.’ She flicked a mischievous look up at me and went back to reading her menu. I watched her for a moment as she was reading. A curl of red hair had escaped her clip and was brushing against the curve of her neck.
‘I suppose,’ I said, clearing my throat as she lifted her head again and caught me studying her, ‘I wanted to do it myself because…it’s my last opportunity to do something for my mum.’
Her eyes were very clear as they regarded me, and a smile touched her lips. ‘Well then, I’m honoured you’ve let me help you.’
The waitress brought our drinks over, saving me from having to think of a response. She left us to choose our food. My glass was icy cool, and I pressed my thumb and forefinger to the stem, the condensation on the outside running off and pooling against my skin. Half the tables were full outside. I couldn’t see through the window to my left, the reflections and the golden writing made the people inside nothing but ghosts. I sighed.
‘It’s not probable he’s going to be working here anymore, is it? And how likely is it they’ll remember him, even if he did, once upon a time?’
‘Oh my God. So defeatist, Stephen. I know we hit a bump in the road yesterday, but this is not the attitude I expect froma city high-flyer.’ She took a long drink from the wine and groaned. ‘Wow. You really can taste the difference when you buy the expensive stuff. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’ I was tempted to order a full bottle since she liked it so much but who knew what would happen if I kept drinking in this heat, with her groaning like that – I’d most likely end up behaving exactly the way she’d prohibited.
‘Right.’ She spread her hands on the pristine white tablecloth. ‘Here’s the thing. You gotta stop thinking we’re going to find the exact answer you want straight away. Life isn’t that simple, and you’re right, it’s been a long time. But New York is the kind of city that is built on gossip. Millions of people came together with their different heritages, clinging to their stories, and using them as a foundation to judge everyone –whydid they trust each other andwhythey did hate each other? They needed to know and remember. The city rose up out of that.’
I nodded. I understood what she was getting at. ‘It’s like that in London, too.’
‘Of course, London isancient. But the difference here is most Americansliketalking. They are just dying to impart their wisdom and God bless them for it. It’s a city of stories. It’s a goldmine.’ Her eyes suddenly widened. ‘Oh hang on there.’ She dived into her bag and grabbed a notepad scribbling a note down to herself. ‘Right, where was I? What I’m saying is, don’t despair, cynical Englishman. If this doesn’t work, we’ll find another angle and, in the meantime, we’ve had some lovely wine and a nice meal. Things could be worse.’
‘I haven’t got an endless amount of time to do this, though.’
‘You’re here for another couple months, right?’
‘I go back home at the end of August but ideally, I’d like to get this done before Nick comes out in July.’
‘Yeah.’ She took another sip of wine and raised an eyebrow at me. ‘Why is that?’
How to explain without telling her it was my absconding father we were searching for? That I couldn’t risk that messiness touching my brother.
‘He’s just…it’s been really hard for him…and I’d prefer not to derail that by making him get embroiled in mum’s will.’
Elle tapped her finger gently against her bottom lip as she regarded me. ‘Maybe it’ll help him? Seeing it as a final act of service, the way you are?’
It was only a different way of saying what I had earlier, but somehow hearing it back made me feel cold despite the hot weather.WasI blocking Nick from doing something that would help him? Had I done that the whole time when he’d been trying to get a handle on his grief? Just thinking of myself and howIfelt, rather than what was best for him?
I swallowed hard and forced myself to speak. ‘That’s not the impression he’s given me when we’ve talked about it.’ Which was true. He’d said he wanted to help me deal with finding my father, he’d not mentioned mum.
But wasn’t that the whole problem with how he did — or did not — deal with his grief? How he avoided and denied things?
She nodded slowly, like she wasn’t fully convinced but of what, I wasn’t sure.
‘Well, we’re on the case now, so what will be, will be, I suppose. Pick what you’re gonna eat. We’ll enjoy it. Make a lot of positive compliments, pay, leave a massive tip for the waitress and then ask to see the owner. They’ll come out, eager to hear some good feedback – which we’ll obviously give. In fact, I’ll leave that to you Mr Silver Tongue. And then we just slide in there with some questions about how long they’ve owned it. Whether they knew someone who worked here, way back when, et cetera, et cetera. You can show them your photo. Where did you get that by the way? You never said.’ She stroked her fingers over the napkin, folded around the cutlery, trying her best tolook only mildly interested. She wasn’t fooling anyone – her curiosity was sparked and the fact it would drive her mad was as much of a reason for me to keep it under wraps as for my privacy.
‘Mum’s best friend had it,’ I lied. ‘This still feels like it’s mainly about you getting a free meal. I’m sure we could’ve approached them more directly.’ I smirked to show her I was joking – for the most part.
