Bella seems to consider the point. She has the apology she wanted. Anna waits for her to decide if anything further is needed. Finally, Bella sniffs.
“I don’t know why not,” she says.
Anna keeps quiet. She could explain. Because he’s a narcissist. Because he never listens. Because he’s a low-achieving layabout.
“John could have his pick of women.” Bella pouts as she speaks.
“I’m sure he could,” Anna replies. More fool them. Some women like to run around after a handsome, self-obsessed arsehole and Anna is happy to let them. They will work it out, eventually.
Her answer seems to satisfy Bella. She seems to take it as an acknowledgement of John’s wonderfulness rather than an indictment of people’s inability to discern true worth when a pretty face is involved. She wonders why Bella is so blind to her brother’s faults, especially as she is dating James, who is the epitome of a handsome soul wrapped in a not-so-handsome package.
“Where is James this morning?” Anna tries changing the subject.
“Ugh!” Bella frowns. “He’s such a morning person. It’s driving me nuts. Six o’clock and he’s fidgeting. No matter how late we went to bed. I had to have a nap yesterday. Like a toddler!”
That explains why Bella was so bouncy last night. Although, from Anna’s recollection, Bella had always been a night owl and seldom rose before midday when she had the choice. Anna always wondered how Bella would cope with the world of shift work. It would be a cruel mistress to her.
“So I’ve sent him out for a run this morning,” Bella continues. “Hopefully, he’ll get coffee on the way, although it might be lukewarm by the time it arrives. But at least I got a bit longer in bed.”
Anna catches sight of a bright ginger head, stark against all the muted blondes, browns, blacks and greys. She nods towards it. “He’s here now.”
Bella turns. Her face morphs. Brightness comes into her eyes, a smile lifting her expression. She looks eager to see him. James spots her. His whole being lights up. Anna watches the two of them for a moment and then looks away as they kiss. None of Bella’s earlier discontent is evident.
James places a disposable cup in a neoprene sleeve printed with a brand name drug in front of Bella. He holds another in his hand.
“Where’s mine?” Anna teases.
“Oh!” James looks discomfited for a moment. “Take mine,” he says, sliding his cup over to her.
Anna slides it right back. “I was only joking. Besides, I know how you take your coffee.” With a ton of cinnamon. She grimaces.
James looks perkier than she expects. Given their late night, the six am start, and his three- or four-mile run in the rising heat. He gazes at the two women, who are visibly less pert. “What are we doing tonight? I was thinking about it on my way back. Perhaps we could go line dancing?”
“Not me!” Anna is quick to decline. “I’m meeting my cousin tonight.”
“Your cousin?” Bella echoes, and Anna hears the implied doubt.
“Yes, she messaged this morning. She works for one of the movie production companies. Although she’s based here in LA, she’s often abroad for her work. I didn’t know if we’d overlap. But it turns out she’s home and she’s offered to make me dinner tonight.” All true and all sufficiently personal to avoid having to invite her companions along.
“Guess it will just be John and us.” James turns back to Bella.
“We’ll see.” Bella’s non-committal reply seems to be taken as agreement by James, but Anna is reminded of Bella’s request the previous night to run interference with John. It seems even his adoring sister is less enthusiastic about having to spend another night in her brother’s company.
Having escaped the prospect of another evening with John, Anna’s good humour returns. She and Bella appear to be okay despite their differences over John. As it is the last day, the conference will finish a little earlier. She might take a leaf out ofBella’s book and have a nap before she meets Serena. The day is panning out to be just fine.
If only she could stop thinking about Tolly Hyde.
Lady Sings the Blues
When Anna was eleven years old, her cousin Serena had come to live with the family. Serena’s father, Uncle Gus, was the favourite of all Anna’s uncles, and the arrival of his family normally coincided with festivities and celebrations. Even though this time Serena was to stay on her own, Anna still looked forward to an entire summer of her cousin’s presence, the way she looked forward to Christmas and birthdays.
It hadn’t quite worked out like that. Serena became Eleanor’s best friend and Anna was demoted. Still, Serena was generous-hearted enough to make all her cousins welcome and the two years she spent as part of their family forged bonds between them all.
When Anna arrived at boarding school, she was guaranteed an easy passage protected by the two popular older girls. Although Anna’s own tongue was sharp enough that few would risk it being turned on them, she was grateful for Serena’s unthinking friendship. She is not as close to her cousin as she is to her sister, but that is only to be expected. She is, though, certain of a warm welcome.
Having followed her plan for a nap, Anna is in good spirits as she leaves the hotel. She forgets her annoyance with John, James, and Bella (in that order) as she climbs into a taxi and heads off to meet her cousin. The taxi stops outside of a high-rise block. Stepping out of the air-conditioned taxi, she is assaulted by the heat of the streets as she stands on the sidewalk. She has to crane her neck to see the sky above, although the buildingis further dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers. The light of the setting sun reflects off the plate glass frontages in a blinding display of orange and gold.
With one last glance around at the traffic, the cluster of towering blocks, the endless concrete, steel and glass, Anna enters the cool quiet of the foyer. It feels like a transition to another world. When Serena opens her door and hugs Anna, her genuine pleasure at seeing her cousin warms Anna’s soul. Serena tows Anna behind her past shut doors and into an open-plan kitchen-dining-living space, all glossy surfaces and minimalist furniture. It is rather soulless, although Anna would never say it aloud. The view redeems the space. A host of tall buildings stretch skywards, like a giant crystal growing kit. Serena is uncorking a bottle of cava before Anna can stop her and carrying glasses to a white melamine coffee table – the sort that looks like it comes from IKEA but undoubtedly costs two orders of magnitude more.
