Page 104 of The Sun Sister

‘Well, there are a heap of lawyers I know who rely on a quick line of cocaine before entering the courtroom and giving their summation. But don’t tell anyone I told you that,’ he grinned.

‘Oh, it’s the same in my business too. We’re both giving a performance, like actors.’

‘The problem is, when you’re feeling like you’re king of the world, you just don’t know when to quit. I probably lost a few cases because of it. And as I’m working in a predominantly white man’s world, I can’t afford to do that.’

‘You never know, we might just be getting ourselves our first black president,’ I said, having glanced at the news on the TV in the canteen earlier that day. ‘Obama’s doing well in the primaries.’

‘And won’t that just be something,’ Miles smiled. ‘We’ve still got a long way to go but at least the world is finally changing.’

‘I just feel lucky I was brought up by a father who never differentiated between any of us. We were just all his girls. And if he ever had cause to reprimand us, it was because of our behaviour, not our colour. And I got reprimanded a lot.’

‘Yeah, I can imagine that, you seem like a feisty lady. Where do you come from originally?’

‘I...don’t know for certain,’ I said, thinking about what Stella had told me.

‘Shame you don’t have parents, and grandmas and great-grandpas who can tell you stories of the past. Mine never stop telling me theirs.’

‘I told you, I was adopted.’

‘And you never asked your father to tell you about your birth family?’

‘No.’

Miles was beginning to irritate me now by asking questions I couldn’t deal with. It was like having a speed dating therapy session and my head was spinning. I stood up.

‘You know what? I’m real tired tonight. See you around.’

Back in the safety of my room, I climbed into bed, wishing I’d never gone out to sit on that bench. My head felt screwed up and suddenly I fully appreciated why people went to therapy – it was a safe space with someone who didn’t air their own opinions, only asked you gently and slowly about yours.

For the first time since I’d arrived at The Ranch, I felt truly grateful that I had Fi to talk to the next day.

I was out on the trail again the next morning, having woken even earlier and needing the pounding of my feet on the earth to ground me. I was on my second circuit when I glimpsed Miles begin his first. The good news was, there was an entire lap between us, and it was impossible for him to catch me up. Nevertheless, I upped my speed just in case and concentrated on clearing my mind and taking in the nature around me. A few minutes later, I saw him in front of me – not behind – and realised to my horror that I was actually catchinghimup. I slowed my pace right back, but unlike yesterday, he was travelling at the speed of the elderly joggers I always overtook whenever I ran in Central Park.

‘Fuckwit!’ I mumbled, using one of Lizzie’s favourite words. I slowed down to a walk, but I could see that unless I left the trail, we were about to come side by side.

‘Okay, you win,’ I murmured under my breath as I stepped over the bricks that marked the trail and headed at a jog for the main entrance of The Ranch.

‘Hey!’

My jog turned into a run as I looked behind me and saw he was now sprinting towards me.

‘Stop!’

Swearing under my breath, I raced to the entrance and was just about to fly through the sanctuary of the door when a strong hand landed on my shoulder.

‘Get off of me!’

‘Electra, whoa!’

I turned and saw his hands were up in the air like he’d just been caught by the cops.

‘I didn’t mean to scare you, I just wanted to apologise for last night. The last thing I want to do is screw up your head with stuff that isn’t a problem. I’m so sorry; I realise that I was placing my own issues on you.’

We were both panting after the race to reach the door. I bent down and put my hands on my knees.

‘Really, it’s okay,’ I managed.

‘No, it’s not.’