Page 6 of Here in My Heart (Here Together #2)

CHAPTER SIX

Alone. Check. Heart rate. Not too bad. For the first time in a couple of weeks, Ade had bagged the evening shift at the lab, and the silence was a soothing balm.

Other people were too chaotic and loud. She checked off the last of the feeding stations and prepared the water testing.

At the unexpected click of the latch, she looked up.

Greg poked his head around the door. “Hi, Ade. I don’t want to bother you, but I was wondering if… Could I help you tonight?”

She clenched her jaw, biting any sign of frustration which threatened to show itself. “Sure. Come on in.” Ade shuffled over to the second stool and passed Greg the tablet. “You can record all the values in the columns. Keep up, because I don’t want to have to repeat myself.”

Of all the students in her care this year, Greg had impressed her back in Monterey.

Despite her supervisors’ protest, she’d avoided leading any seminars, not wanting to engage face to face with a room full of enquiring young minds, but Greg had sought out lab time with her and always pulled his weight.

“I was thinking of specializing in husbandry when we get home,” he said, swiping the tablet to the next window. “Do you think I’d be any good?”

“Good at what?” She looked away from his searing eye contact to the syringe of water she’d drawn from the tank.

“Husbandry. You know, looking after the animals and all that stuff. You’re pretty amazing at it. Do you think I have potential?”

Ade considered his question carefully, wanting to answer him truthfully but with the tact and nuance that her pops constantly reminded her about.

She scanned though the back catalogue of Greg’s successes, revealing gaps in her files.

“I think you show great potential for looking after the animals, Greg. You’ve got an eye for detail and a sense of what they need.

” She turned to face him. “But I don’t know you all that well.

I mean, how much time have we spent together? Twenty-two hours at the most.”

Greg frowned like he didn’t grasp what she meant.

“I can’t vouch for you on that basis. You need to build up your lab time, on the record, so you can prove it to someone back in Monterey.”

“I could spend more time here this year. Maybe you could teach me some of the techniques?”

She ran through all the possible reasons not to agree to his suggestion. She preferred alone time with the animals rather than with an audience. But someone who was so eager to learn, like Greg seemed to be, shouldn’t get in the way.

She thought of the time she’d shared with Sylvie in the lab at the beginning of the week.

That had been a pleasure rather than a chore.

She’d enjoyed Sylvie’s straightforward pattern of conversation, and the way her English was stilted enough not to be camouflaged by floral language and misconstrued sentences.

When she’d seen her at the beach a couple of days ago, she’d made a beeline for her, eager to extend their talk.

The urge to pursue another’s company, rather than retreat from it, was a break from her norm.

Maybe she should open herself up to more opportunities like that.

She glanced sideways at Greg and followed a line of acne healing on his jawline.

It might do her good to have a few people around her this year.

Not that she was missing Steph and her dads.

Out of sight, out of mind as her pops would say.

But it might be nice not to spend the whole year alone.

“I’ll be here most days, Greg. Let me know what free periods you have, and we’ll work something out.

” She forced a smile, knowing he’d be expecting one .

On the tram home, she adjusted her headphones, suppressing as much of the background noise as possible.

Cocooned in a world of predictable melody, her thoughts drifted back to Sylvie’s glowing skin and wide smile, the way her shirt had fallen open as she leaned back on her beach towel.

She must be a few years older than her, but Ade found it hard to age people based on their looks.

But Sylvie’s essence had stuck with her. Her presence had slowed the rhythm of her heartbeat, in a way no one had really done before. She was attracted to all sorts of folks, given the right conditions. Usually, alcohol and a dark room. And a lot of fumbling.

She fiddled with her spinning ring, pushing aside the memories of bad sex and awkward goodbyes.

By the time she opened the door to her studio, the single room was dark, and her worn-out brain welcomed the absence of light, noise, and clutter. Although the southern Mediterranean summer had held out as long as it could, autumn was settling, and with it came chilly nights and sudden sunsets.

Ade turned on the floor lamp with her heel. She hadn’t decided whether it was too bright for her, but it was the only alternative to the glare of the spotlights in the ceiling.

Her phone buzzed. Steph . Right on time.

Time for a video call?

She pressed the camera icon and waited for the call to connect.

“Hey you.” Steph’s wild red hair escaped from the bun she’d pulled on top of her head.

“Hey, yourself. Where have you been?” Ade settled on the sofa bed in her living room.

“Barcelona. I’m about to hit a bar in the old town. It’s gorgeous here; you’d love it.”

“Would I?”

“Well, maybe not.” Steph laughed. “It’s brash, loud, and proud of itself. I love it.”

Ade grinned. She realized how much she missed her twin sister now she was staring her right in the face. “Have you been to any Gaudi stuff?”

“There’s a ton of Gaudi shit in Barcelona.

I’ve been everywhere, Ade. My feet are hurting so much from pounding these streets.

The metro is unreal. The cars and bikes blast their horns every few seconds.

But it’s pretty incredible. The Sagrada Familiais a real beauty.

I wish you were here with me. How are things there? ”

“It’s all good.” Ade knew she should give her more. “I’ve settled in at the lab. The students are finding their way through their schedules without much fuss.”

Steph beamed. “That sounds awesome. I’m really pleased for you, Ady-baby. Have you made any friends yet?”

Ade wriggled under her scrutiny. “I have a student called Greg who wants to come to the lab more often.”

“Well, he sounds pretty dedicated.” Steph sat on the edge of her bed. “How about anyone else? You seen any more of your boss? What was her name? Sylvia?”

“Sylvie.” Ade couldn’t help her lips from twitching into a smile.

“She seemed really friendly when we met.”

“I saw her at work on Monday. We had a good conversation. She’s easy to talk to.”

Steph smiled broadly. “Fantastic. It’s good to make friends.”

“I saw her at the beach too,” Ade said.

“Oh, you did? Well, maybe you should see if she wants to go out sometime, show you some more of the town?”

“Maybe.” Ade’s tummy fluttered at the thought.

“You know, I heard from Dad and Pops last night.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Ade said.

“Well, we talked about them coming over for Thanksgiving.”

Ade couldn’t really think that far ahead. She braced herself for the onslaught of information that Steph was about to throw her way. Eventually, as was her playbook in these situations, she’d ask for an email to remind her what was happening.

“They arrive the week before, and they’ve booked a hotel nearby. I’ll come back so I can help prepare everything. They’re really looking forward to seeing us. Pops is beside himself.”

Ade pictured her pops and how his beard scratched against her cheek. “He messaged me earlier this week. Asked me what I was eating.”

Steph laughed. “He worries.”

“And Dad?”

“More worried about when I’m getting back to my internship.”

Ade groaned. At least Steph had a trajectory for her nursing career. “Well, it gives him a break from talking about what a disappointment I’m turning out to be.”

“He’s never said that, Ade.”

“He said ‘you can’t spend all your time hiding in the lab, Adelaide. You’ll need a real job sooner or later.’”

Steph huffed. “He’s just anxious for us to make something of our lives. Anyway, you’ve got him off your back for a whole year while you’re in France. That’s gotta be a good thing.”

Ade screwed her nose up, noticing herself in the little video pane on her phone. Does my forehead always crease that way? “It’s a long way to travel just to shut Dad up.”

“True. But you’ll love it. And I’ll love it. It’s the gap year of our dreams, sister.” Steph got up and spun around the room. “Make the most of it. Push your comfort zone. Drop Sylvie a little message and ask her to show you some sights.” She winked.

Ade bit her lip. Maybe she would.

“I’ll give you a call this weekend. See you in a few weeks so we can get ready for Thanksgiving. Save me a big squeeze.”

“Will do.”

“Love you,” Steph said.

“Sure.” Ade coughed. “Love you too.” She did love her sister. More than anyone else, really, if she admitted it. She’d spent her whole life basking in the confidence of her slightly older twin. In the sudden silence, she missed her voice already.

It would be a lonely year if she didn’t fill it with something. Her animals gave her so much, but they weren’t the same kind of company. She craved the easy, low-key sense of self she had when Steph was by her side.

Maybe she should give Sylvie a call? Isolation was simpler, and sitting at the edge of her comfort zone did not come easily, but the idea of a whole year overseas with nothing but her own thoughts left her cold.

Sylvie had already proven herself a worthy conversation partner; she wasn’t too chatty either, which was a real bonus.

Ade typed a quick text and studied her cell for a count of ten, weighing the pros and cons of sending it.

At home, she’d stuff her hands in her pockets and put it off. Today, though, something in the air gave her a newfound confidence. She lifted her chest with an unknown boldness. Maybe Sylvie would be good for her.