Page 103 of The Sun Sister

‘Hi. Am I disturbing you?’ I asked him across the fountain.

‘No, to be honest, I could use some company.’ He stood up from his bench and walked over to mine. ‘If that’s okay?’

Sitting down as I was, he rose above me and I had to crane my neck to make eye contact.

‘Yeah, take a seat,’ I said.

He sat down next to me. ‘Want one?’ He offered me the packet from the pocket in his shirt.

‘No thanks. It’s one addiction I’ve never started, and I don’t wanna come out of here with a new one.’

‘For me it was the first of many, and the one I’ve fallen back on as the rest aren’t available,’ he said as he dragged on the cigarette, then stubbed it out with his foot. ‘A few years ago, around this time of night in New York, I’d have been out at a bar, hearing the clink of ice going into that glass and the Grey Goose pouring over it like a mountain stream.’

‘That sure is poetic,’ I chuckled. ‘Me and the Goose were great pals as well. Now it’s some dried ginger in hot water.’

‘I haven’t been to that bar in about five years now,’ he said as he lit another cigarette. ‘My old dealer probably still hangs out there.’

‘How long were you on all the stuff?’

‘I did my first line nineteen years ago at Harvard.’

‘Wow! You went to Harvard? You must be real smart.’

‘I guess I was once,’ he shrugged. ‘I was a total geek – you know, debate club and all that. I was on an academic scholarship; even though I’m tall and black, I sucked at basketball, which I think the WASPs at that place found tough to wrap their minds around. I felt like a total alien, you know? Still...I got a law degree then started with one of the biggest firms in New York. And that’s where I really became dependent on liquor and drugs.’

‘It’s interesting you felt like you stuck out at college. I was raised in a multi-cultural family. We were all adopted from various countries in the world, so because we were all “different”, I never thought about it. Then I went to boarding school and, well, things changed. I’ve been thinking about that time a lot – you know they like to take you back into your past here.’

‘I do, Electra. Clearing out the debris you have stuck in your mind is as important as clearing out the stuff from your body. Go on, sorry, I interrupted.’

‘Well, what I’ve been mulling over is that because I didn’t feel any different to the rest of my sisters, I wasn’t aware that I was “black”, so when I got to boarding school and bad things happened, I never associated them with that. Like you, I was in a predominately white school, and yeah, some stuff happened, but I don’t know whether it came from that or just being a pain in the butt.’

‘Maybe it just came from being different to them. Kids can be so cruel.’

‘Yeah, they can, and they were, but what’s the point of talking about it now? It’s done.’

‘Seriously?!’ Miles gave a deep chuckle. ‘You can’t have been in here for long if you’re asking me that. Sounds like I’m the other way round from you; I always had trouble with the physical withdrawal, whereas you’ve gotta get your head around the mental aspects and find the reason you became an addict in the first place.’

There was a silence between us as Miles finished his cigarette.

‘You got someone?’ he asked after a while. ‘A significant other?’

‘Nope, and no insignificant ones either,’ I joked as I sipped my tea. ‘I thought I did a while back, but he dumped me.’

‘Yeah, I think I read about it. Sorry.’ Miles looked embarrassed. ‘Did that set you back?’

‘Big time! Can you imagine how humiliating it is to have the whole world know you’ve gotten thrown over and the love of your life is engaged to someone else?’

‘The love of your life up to now, Electra,’ Miles put in. ‘You can’t be much older than most college kids. But no, in answer to your question, I can’t imagine. I’ve gone a few rounds in court with the media for some high-profile clients, but that’s the extent of my brushes with the paparazzi.’

‘Did you win?’

‘Nope,’ he grinned.

‘Were you high in court?’

‘Probably. You been high when you’ve been modelling?’

‘Probably.’ I looked at him and we shared a wry smile.