Page 44 of The Sun Sister

‘As I said, you have nothing in your diary, so you can stay on—’

‘And I’m telling you I want you to book us back to New York, okay? My bags are already packed and I’m ready to leave any time from now.’

Mariam took the hint that I wasn’t in the mood to be argued with, and an hour later we were on our way to the airport. I sent Maia a text thanking her for last night and saying that I’d see her at Atlantis for Pa’s water memorial in June.

As the jet soared upwards, I felt a sense of relief that I’d escaped. No one was going to lock me away anywhere.Ever.

Spooked by how out of control I’d been in Rio, I was determined to make a serious effort to stay clean over the weekend. I drank tons of water, and ordered in an array of smoothies laden with vitamin C. The first day back, I managed to get to lunchtime before pouring myself the tiniest vodka. Knowing I would pour another without some distraction, I stepped out across the road to take a run in Central Park.

‘You okay, Electra?’ Tommy asked me as I jogged towards him on my way back.

‘I’m good, yeah. How are you?’

‘I’m okay, thanks for asking. Y’know, when you were in Rio, a woman came by who looked a whole lot like you.’

‘Really?’ I raised an eyebrow as I slowed to a standstill. ‘Well, if she comes by again, please tell her I’m out, even if you know I’m in. She’s just another crackpot who’s convinced she’s related to me.’

‘Yeah, well, she sure didlooklike she could be related to you. See you tomorrow, Electra.’

Up in my apartment, I peeled off my sweaty running gear and was just about to take a shower when the concierge phone rang.

‘Hi.’

‘Hi, Miss D’Aplièse, a couple boxes have arrived down here for you. Can we bring them up?’

‘Yeah, sure, as long as you’ve checked them for explosives first!’ I half joked.

Five minutes later, the porter and his lackey appeared pushing a trolley loaded with two large cardboard boxes, which they then dumped on my living room floor.

‘Who brought these? They look like the kind of boxes you’d use to move house.’

‘Some delivery guy in a van dropped them off. With this.’ He handed me an envelope. ‘Want help unpacking them, ma’am?’

‘No. Thanks, though.’

Brimming with curiosity like a child presented with a gift, I took the lid off one of the boxes. It was full of clothes –myclothes. On the top of the pile sat a shoebox, which I opened to find my silk sleeping mask, lip balm, ear plugs, a pair of sunglasses...andbeneath all the crap, I glimpsed the thick cream vellum of Pa Salt’s letter.

Fishing it out, I realised immediately what these boxes were: everything I’d left behind at Mitch’s house in Malibu. The shoebox was the contents of the nightstand next to the bed I’d once shared with him, thinking it would be where I’d sleep forever...

‘No, Electra! You. Will. Not. Let. Him. Hurt. You. Any. Freakin’. More!’

Calling down to the concierge, I asked him to send the trolley back up to collect the boxes.

‘Anything that your wives or girlfriends want from them, it’s all theirs. And send the rest to Goodwill,’ I instructed the porter when the trolley had been reloaded.

‘Okay, Miss D’Aplièse, will do, thanks.’

I stepped out onto the terrace, holding the envelope Mitch had sent with my stuff, along with a book of matches. I set fire to his note without opening it. Then I went to the drinks cabinet and fixed myself a vodka tonic with some ice. I deserved one afterthat. And even though I tried to rein back my mind from thinking about it and to concentrate on the good news – that Pa’s letter had turned up – I couldn’t help myself. I could only picture Mitch arriving home from his tour. Knowing his fiancée was to join him there any day soon, he’d cleaned out all of my stuff from his house and erased me from his life.

I took another great gulp, then gave myself a top-up. As long as I kept off the coke, that was okay, wasn’t it? Then I stared at Pa’s letter, sitting like a ticking time bomb on the coffee table.

‘Do I open you?’ I asked it.

Thinking how all my sisters seemed to have found the golden ticket to future happiness within theirs, I took another mega-slurp of vodka, grabbed it and peeled it open.

Atlantis

Lake Geneva