car before, or certainly one like it. Cars like that stood out: sleek and black, with tinted windows. The door on the driver’s side opened, a man got out wearing a dark suit, and for a brief moment Eloise thought he looked directly at her. She pulled back out of view, a flash of irrational fear passing through her. But five minutes later he was gone, and even if it was the same car from last night it really wasn’t that remarkable. So what if the man had caught her eye? The old woman walking past now was looking right at her, as was the child running along behind. The group of students just did it too. This was a café; people looked in all the time.
***
The smell of cigarettes immediately hit her when she got home. As soon as she opened the door, in fact. Chrissy hated smoke, it made her wheezy, and Eloise had never had any desire to take up the habit. The only thing she could think of was that someone had been to see her mother whilst she had been at work. ‘Hello?’ she called, telling herself she wasn’t frightened, even though her voice felt trapped inside her throat and her stomach muscles were so tight she thought they might snap. ‘Mum? Are you in?’
She could be out running, or sometimes she liked to do the charity shops on a Saturday.
Checking in each of the rooms she discovered that the window in her bedroom wasn’t shut properly. Strange for Chrissy to have missed this: her security checks were always so thorough, and really she ought to have been extra vigilant after last night’s break-in next door. However, as the whole place was untouched, and nothing to suggest that anyone had been in, the simple explanation must be that, for once, the window had been left slightly open, the man next door had been puffing on his cigarettes out on the walkway, as he sometimes did, and the smoke had drifted in.
Eloise closed the window and switched on her computer, continuing to look around as she waited for it to boot up. The only thing missing from her room was the yellow bear from her dad, which, she was almost certain, was back on top of her bookshelf when she had left for work. But Chrissy had no doubt hidden it again somewhere. She would ask her about it when she got in.
Meanwhile The Exclusive World of Ricci was coming to life on her screen. Eloise gazed longingly at the gorgeous clothes, then clicked again on the picture of Juliet and her Italian husband, the furry white cat entwined in his legs. If she didn’t mess this up, kept a level head, Eloise could be a part of this world too.
On impulse, she sent Juliet another text:
‘Can’t wait for Monday!
Eloise xxx
PS What’s your cat called? It’s very sweet’
She didn’t hear the key being turned in the lock. Or the door opening. And when she did she panicked, dropping her phone onto the floor with a thump. Then it was too late to zap the website off the screen.
As soon as she heard the noise, Chrissy came rushing in.
Eloise saw the way her body stiffened. How her hands turned white gripping the back of the chair. The shock of Juliet smiling back at her after all of these years.
‘Erm. I wasn’t sure which Juliet it was at first, Mum. But after what you’ve told me I’m pretty sure it’s this one. What do you think?’
She felt the chair sigh as Chrissy removed her hands. Her fingers were trembling, moving slowly towards Juliet’s face. But she withdrew them again quickly, as though it was too painful even to touch the screen.
Then she gasped and put her hand over her mouth.
‘What is it?’
‘She married Luca. I don’t believe it.’ Her voice was far away. She began to laugh but in a peculiar way.
‘Who’s Luca?’
‘Turn it off. Get rid of it.’
‘But she was your best friend, Mum.’
‘I’m going for a run.’
Fortunately, Chrissy had already left the room when the reply came through:
‘Me neither. See you soon, Eloise.
xx
PS Our cat is called Chrissy!’
***
Eloise snapped her book shut. Whilst her mother was out running she hadn’t been able to read a single word. Her head was pounding with too many questions. Was it right to be encouraging this? She thought of the impenetrable darkness in her mother’s eyes every time Juliet’s name was mentioned. If only her mother had other friends, then perhaps Eloise could ask them for advice. But apart from Juliet, there was no one.
‘Phew, that was tough going,’ she said, leaning on the doorframe, hunched over to get her breath back. She came up sniffing the air. ‘Smell of smoke to you in here?’
‘Oh. Yeah, it was the bloke next door, smoking outside my window.’
‘Charming,’ she said, heading for the kitchen.
Water ran off her hands like sparks as she waited for the tap to run cold, then she filled up a glass and drank thirstily. ‘Wow,’ she said, banging it down on the unit, swiping the drips from her chin. ‘Needed that.’ She turned the tap on again, this time dousing her cheeks with cold water, burying her face in the towel.
‘Who’s Luca, Mum?’
Chrissy screwed up the towel and dropped it onto the unit.
‘Come on, Mum, you practically had a fit when you saw him. Why won’t you tell me?’
‘I’ve been telling you haven’t I?’ Chrissy said, reaching for another glass to fill it up with wine. ‘About Juliet, how we met? Just not … I can’t … There are some things you’re better off not knowing, okay?’
‘I can take it, Mum. I’m tough, remember. Like you.’
She felt her mother’s hand on her cheek.
‘You’re young, Eloise.’
Eloise flicked it away again. ‘I’m not a child. And anyway, you had me when you were nineteen. You probably wish you hadn’t. And Dad.’ Her words tailed off at the end.
‘Don’t you ever say that,’ said Chrissy, pointing her finger in her face. ‘Ever. When you know it’s not true.’
Eloise backed off. She didn’t know what to expect from her mother since Juliet had appeared on the scene. Receiving one slap was more than enough.
‘The last thing I want is for you to get hurt,’ said Chrissy, her voice softening again. ‘Please, let’s not fall out.’
‘You didn’t care about that when you were drinking yourself to death after Dad died, did you? So why do you care so much about me now, eh?’
The neighbour’s dog started barking. Eloise could feel tears pricking her eyes like pins. She blinked them away. Chrissy walked across to the window and peered through the slats of the blinds.
Then she spun round.
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Okay. Show me the website again.’
‘What? Are you serious?’
Another text came through on her phone but Eloise ignored it. This was more important.
***
In a matter of seconds Juliet was back in the room with them.
‘Can you zoom in? I need to see that thing in her hair.’ Chrissy’s face was almost touching the screen. ‘My god,’ she said in a whisper.
‘What? What is it? Is it that silver slide thing in her hair?’
‘It’s not a slide, it’s a brooch.’
‘Let’s see.’ Eloise peered at it. ‘It’s got something on it but I can’t really see.’