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Kristina dozed for a full hour, and Roula sat, a little awkward in her new home, looking at the late afternoon sky and the pile of suitcases waiting to be unpacked.
Most of them were full of things she had retrieved from hisyaya’s home—though it would seem that wasn’t allowed in this cold, get-ahead world.
Roula’s own phone chimed loudly and, expecting it to be her mother, she swallowed when she saw that it was Galen.
How’s Kristina?
She looked over to Kristina, who had stirred and come awake at the sound of Roula’s unfamiliar and loud phone.
‘It’s Galen,’ Roula said. ‘Asking how we’re getting on.’
‘Shh...’ Kristina put a finger to her lips.
Roula texted back.
Wonderful.
‘Thanks for that.’ Kristina sat up and drank the water Roula had placed next to her. ‘I feel a lot better. I’ll call the driver and head back.’ She nodded when she saw Roula’s worried face. ‘I’ll call my doctor.’
‘Good.’
It was odd but they seemed to be...well, not friends, exactly, but a lot friendlier as Kristina left.
And it was odder still to stand alone in the apartment that was now her temporary home. It was gorgeous, with a beautiful bathroom and a gleaming kitchen, but it was the bedroom she paused in. The bed was high, and dressed in smart white cotton with a shot of silk through it, and the pillows were plump.
It had been a very long time since Roula had slept in a bed. And a whole lot longer than that since she’d enjoyed sleeping in one!
She opened a window and took in the sounds of the city on a Friday evening. Traffic and people—all there on her doorstep. Roula was a little too nervous to venture out, but then her phone buzzed again, and she saw it was Galen.
‘Galen?’
‘Sorry about this... I have dinner with a client tonight. It’s unexpected, but...’
‘It’s fine.’ Roula smiled at his attempt to be polite. ‘I didn’t expect you to entertain me on my first night.’
‘This isn’t a social call. Kristina isn’t available, so you’ll have to come with me.’
She winced at her own presumption. ‘What time?’
‘Now,’ Galen said. ‘Well, by the time you get up the lane the car will be there. Also,’ Galen added, ‘we need to speak.’
