Page 29 of See the Stars

The heart looks into space to be away from Earth.

RICHARD JEFFERIES

‘ G od, I needed this,’ said Hugo. He was sitting in the jacuzzi, water pummelling his shoulders.

‘It’s lovely,’ said Alice. Her mum had sent her an urgent message saying that she’d looked online, and extremes of temperature were bad for people who’d had a stroke, so she was perched at the edge of the tub dangling her feet in and trying not to think about the appearance of her thighs.

‘I’ve been so tense,’ he said. He caught hold of one of Alice’s feet and rubbed it. ‘Thinking I might lose you.’

Alice lifted her other foot out and looked at it. Her toes had gone all wrinkly from the water. ‘I’m going to dry off for a bit,’ she said.

‘Stay with me,’ said Hugo. ‘This is romantic.’

She pulled both feet out of the water and folded her knees to her chest. The bikini Hugo had packed was a little tight and she tried to adjust where it sat on her belly so it didn’t cut into her. Hugo looked up at her. ‘You don’t seem very relaxed,’ he said, his voice rather critical.

‘I’m a bit cold,’ said Alice. ‘I think I’ll get dry and lie on one of those day beds.’

‘I’ll join you.’ Hugo pulled himself elegantly out of the water and shook himself off, sending splashes of chlorinated water onto the towel Alice had just wrapped around herself.

She slid her feet into the terrycloth slippers the spa provided.

They were already soggy from where she’d trodden in a puddle at the poolside. She shuffled over to a day bed.

‘This is lovely,’ she said, lying down. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re worth it,’ he said, stretching luxuriously and settling down at the foot of the bed.

Alice moved her foot away from him and looked at the pile of magazines, but unless one of them was Astronomy Now , she realised she wasn’t really interested.

‘So, what have you been up to out here?’ asked Hugo. ‘Plenty of rest, I hope?’

‘Yes,’ said Alice. ‘And remember that comet I told you about? We’ve been hunting for it.

’ She felt strangely shy about talking to him about the comet.

‘It might be coming back soon. Well, I say soon, but it’s hard to tell because we’re missing the last logbook.

’ She paused. ‘I kind of want to stay till we see it.’

There. She’d said it. She wanted to stay longer. If she could find the comet, it felt like she could also reclaim a part of herself that had been lost for so long.

‘I thought you might be feeling a bit worried about coming back,’ Hugo said. ‘That’s why I’ve booked us train tickets. First-class for tomorrow afternoon.’

Alice rubbed her face with her hands. It felt oily from the treatment earlier. Buying the train tickets was a sweet gesture, even if it wasn’t really what she wanted.

But it was what she had to do. This had been a break, that was all. She needed to get back to her real life. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’ He leaned in for a chlorinated kiss. ‘There is one thing you can do for me,’ she said.

‘Name it.’

‘You need to break the news to Basalt.’

*

Alice lay in the king-sized hotel bed that night, watching Hugo snoring gently next to her.

Her body did feel good after the spa day: relaxed and moisturised.

She could sense tension in her jaw and tried to stretch it, opening her mouth wide like a lion yawning and then relaxing it again so her teeth didn’t grate against each other.

London was where she belonged. They could always take a holiday later in the year.

Maybe they could even go to the astronomy centre in Hawaii that she’d had her eye on.

Callum worked there now. It would be great to see him again, and even greater to gaze at the stars through a proper telescope.

The comet was a dream, that was all. It hadn’t been seen in twenty-seven years.

Most likely it had been drawn into the sun’s gravity and destroyed a long time ago.

Stars were her past. The earth was her future.

Yes, it was the right thing, but she had to put her tongue between her teeth to stop them grinding, as if chewing imaginary gum. Sleep was what she needed now, but she found her hands reaching out for her phone.

She blinked at the glare of the screen, before noticing a slew of missed calls. She’d put her phone on silent when she’d had a facial and forgotten to turn it back on.

Missed calls from Berti.

Alice sat upright. There was a message too. I think we’ve seen it. The latitude matches.

She hurried to the window. It wouldn’t be visible with the naked eye, but she found the location, following the stars like an ancient navigator.

The thought that it was there, her grandfather’s comet, and she couldn’t see it was too much. She looked at the time. She could make it back before the sun rose, if she was quick.

She shook Hugo awake.

‘What the . . . ’ he muttered. ‘What time is it?’

‘We have to go,’ said Alice.

Hugo sat up and looked at her in alarm. ‘Is it another stroke? I’ll call an ambulance.’ He reached for his own phone.

‘No,’ said Alice. ‘I’m fine.’ She grinned at him. ‘I’m more than fine. My grandfather’s comet is out there. We need to go see it. Right now, before it’s too light.’

Hugo lay back down. ‘God, Alice,’ he said. ‘I thought you were dying.’

‘We need to go,’ said Alice again, collecting up the belongings that were strewn round the room. ‘Come on.’

‘Why are you packing up? Can’t you just look out of the window?’

She stopped a moment. ‘Of course not,’ she said. ‘It’s not visible with the naked eye. We need to drive home so I can look through my telescope.’

‘No way,’ said Hugo, pulling the blanket over his head. ‘You need your sleep. Breakfast is included in the morning. And I’m booked into Pilates at eight thirty.’

‘Fine,’ said Alice. ‘You stay. I’ll drive home myself.’

‘You’re not allowed to drive,’ said Hugo. ‘Go back to sleep.’

‘Hugo, I’m not missing this.’

‘Well, I’m going to sleep.’

‘See you tomorrow then,’ said Alice, pulling on her clothes. ‘I’ll get a taxi.’

Hugo sighed. ‘No you won’t,’ he said, climbing out of bed. ‘I’ll drive you.’

‘Come on,’ said Alice. ‘Hurry.’

‘I’m coming, I’m coming. But you owe me breakfast tomorrow. And a Pilates class.’

‘Done,’ said Alice. ‘Now move it!’

‘Finally!’ Matt was hurrying towards them as they pulled into Sheila’s driveway, as fast as his walking stick would allow.

‘You’re here too?’ queried Alice. ‘It’s five o’clock in the morning.’

‘Of course I am!’ said Matt. ‘I’m not missing this. I came with Berti earlier this evening. We were just going to do a quick audit of the sky, and then he saw this,’ he gestured vaguely upwards, ‘and I don’t think either of us have ever been so excited. Come on, before it gets light.’

‘Hello,’ said Hugo loudly, holding out a hand. ‘I’m Hugo, Alice’s boyfriend.’

‘We have to hurry,’ said Matt.

‘Sorry, who are you ?’ Hugo frowned at Matt.

‘I’m Berti’s uncle. Come on.’

Alice hurried past them and raced through the house and out to the back garden, where she found Berti staring through the telescope. ‘Careful of the tripod,’ he warned without looking up. ‘Don’t kick it.’

‘I’m not going to kick it,’ she said, stumbling on something and coming dangerously close. ‘Watch out, Basalt,’ she told the cat, who was snaking around the tripod legs. She looked at Berti and took a deep breath. ‘Let me see.’

Berti got to his feet and backed away. ‘It’s all yours.’

Alice looked. She could see it, a faint patch of white light, looking for all the world like a distant comet.

But no. Something wasn’t right. The shape was wrong. And she felt as though she’d seen it before. ‘I’ll need to check a star atlas,’ she said, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. ‘But I think that’s the Crab Nebula.’

‘What?’ Berti sounded like he was about to cry.

‘The Crab Nebula,’ Alice repeated. ‘It’s an easy mistake to make. One even my grandfather made.’

Matt put his hands on his nephew’s shoulders. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I’m disappointed too.’

Berti shook him off. ‘Take me home,’ he said. ‘Right now.’