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“What are you up to?” I asked.
She looked at me as though I might have lost the plot. I couldn’t blame her, considering how I would normally say something bitchy. But that jaded, shitty-at-the-world version of me I’d sent packing.
“I’m just killing a bit of time. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment at three.” Her phone went off, and when she read the message, her face dropped.
“Nothing serious?” I asked.
“No.” She sounded disappointed.
“So, congrats, by the way. That’s awesome about you being pregnant.”
“Oh, you heard?” Savanah’s flat response made me wonder if I should have kept that to myself.
We stepped away from a crowd of elderly shoppers wheeling in for their special day out.
“Yeah. Well, um… Drake mentioned something.” I frowned. “Aren’t I meant to know?”
She shrugged. “I guess it’s fine. Everyone knows anyway, and hopefully…” She sighed. “I’ll be showing one day soon.”
Savanah struck me as stressed. “Are you really okay?”
“It’s just that Carson was meant to meet me for the doctor’s appointment, and he’s stuck in a traffic jam.”
“I’m free. Do you want me to come along? I don’t mind. I’d really like to.”
I might as well have offered to deliver her baby. Suspicion shone from her shocked look.
“I…I… tried to call Jacinta… um… but she’s away.”
Her stuttering caught me by surprise. She’d always been so confident.
“We’re family, aren’t we?” I played with my fingers. “And well, you know, I’m over all the fights. And I know I stole some of your clothes, but I returned them. You noticed… didn’t you?” I also stammered. Apologising wasn’t my thing. Or I should say, I didn’t normally admit to doing the wrong thing, but weighed down by all my bad actions, I thought it time to embrace my better half. At least, not steal from those close.
Perplexed, Savanah looked as though I’d fallen out of the sky. “I think so. I generally can’t keep up with my clothes.” A faint smile grew on her face. “I suppose it would be nice to have someone with me.”
She gazed down at her stunning diamante watch, which during my bad days, I might have tried to steal.
“We’ve still got thirty minutes. Care for a juice?” she asked.
I smiled. My heart felt light. I’d always had a soft spot for my aunt. “I’d love that.”
She kept staring at me. “What have you done with Manon, that little smart-arse, light-fingered niece of mine?”
I giggled. “Oh, she’s still here somewhere. But I thought it would be nice to make a few friends.”
Her jaw opened, and her eyes sparked. “It’s because of your party. You want people to come.”
I shrugged. “That hadn’t really crossed my mind. But sure, it would be nicer if people sang happy birthday and not something like rot in hell.”
She chuckled. “Mummy’s cohort are all too well-mannered to do that.”
“That’s a relief. I wondered if they were going to whisper horrible things about me.”
“Oh, they might still do that, but at least not to your face.”
I sniffed. “I guess I have it coming.”
She returned a sympathetic smile. “Who are you inviting? And please don’t say your mother.”
