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She stood across the street from Kendra’s flat and studied the fairy lights in the window as they flicked from one colour to another. It would be typical of Kendra to pick multi-coloured bright lights, flashing loud and proud. Her heart thundered. She started across the road with a commitment to knock on the door and face Kendra head on when a man appeared on the other side of the pane with a small child in his arms. From what she could see before he closed the curtains, the furnishings inside weren’t Kendra’s.
Consumed by heaviness, her excitement dulled, and she made her way to Kendra’s parents’ house. She stood at the door with clammy palms. The cold air caused her teeth to chatter, and she froze when the voice in her head questioned her. She lifted her hand slowly. What the hell was she doing here? She scanned the road for reporters, her heart racing and her head spinning. She turned back towards the front door, took a deep breath, and knocked firmly then held her hands in front of her body and rehearsed her opening line. This was much harder than any speech she’d ever given. The fleeting thought that there was no one home, despite the lights being on behind the curtains, brought some relief to the thundering in her chest and then the door opened, and she could barely breathe.
“Sarah,” Vikram said. He scanned the road, blocking the doorway with his body. “What do you want?”
She winced at his irritated tone. “I’d like to talk to Kendra.”
“She’s not here.”
She lowered her gaze. It had been too much to hope that it would be as simple as knocking on the door and being able to chat with her. She took a deep breath, but the thundering in her chest hammered harder. “Where is she?”
“That’s really none of your business now, is it?”
She deserved that. She put her hands on her hips and pressed her lips tightly together. This wasn’t going the way she’d hoped at all. “You’re right. But I need her to hear it from me that I didn’t know she was going to be fired. I tried to contact her.”
Vikram frowned, and his lips twitched as he inhaled deeply. “She was told not to speak to you.”
“Yes.”
The silence stretched out between them.
“But I have to talk to her. Please, Vikram. It’s important.”
He sighed, stepped back from the door, and relaxed his shoulders. “Come in.”
Sarah’s heartbeat slowed. She stepped over the threshold, and he closed the door behind her. The comforting and inviting smell of home cooking and the ambience that she’d experienced around Kendra’s family touched her.
Vikram nodded. “Come through. Can I get you a drink?”
Sarah shook her head. “I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
He poured them both a whisky and handed one to Sarah. “Take a seat. Audrey’s in the kitchen.”
Audrey came through as he spoke. “Oh, Sarah. What do you want?”
Sarah looked from Vikram to Audrey, engulfed by the distance between them and her. “I’m sorry about everything. I need to talk to Kendra.”
Vikram lowered his head.
“She’s not here,” Audrey said. “What do you want with her? Why can’t you just leave her alone? She’s happy now.”
Vikram put his hand on his wife’s shoulder then went to the cupboard and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Sarah. “This arrived at her flat after she’d moved out. The landlord passed it on to me.”
“It’s from me,” Sarah said.
“I assumed so.”
“She’d already left the country when it arrived here.”
Audrey scowled at him, and he nodded as if to reassure her. Audrey sighed and left the room shaking her head.
He took a drink and sat. “She was devastated, you know.”
Sarah sat and held the glass in both hands, her shoulders curled forwards and her knees tightly pressed together. “I was too,” she whispered.
“It’s not me who needs to hear that,” he said.
“It was in the letter,” Sarah said and took a sip of her drink. She swiped at a tear that had slipped onto her cheek. “How is she?”
