Chapter 34
‘This case is absurd! It barely moves on these wheels and the zip already disintegrates whenever I touch it!’
It was the next morning and the airport was busy. But they had successfully managed to sashay around the TUI queue and had cleared security. There was no need to go through passport control as they weren’t leaving Greece. Cara had barely slept and now, bizarrely, they were about to get on a flight to Athens and then another to Santorini.
‘At least it doesn’t have the potential to explode,’ Cara said, looking for any spare seats near their gate.
‘Ssh! What have I told you about saying that? And you certainly can’t say things like that when we’re in the middle of an airport. Ah, there’s a couple of seats, near a bin, but never mind, needs must.’
Cara followed her aunt, sat down and got her phone from the zipped pouch on her case. There was a half-written text she had started composing last night. It was about the fourth or fifth version now, because everything she wrote was either too simple or not simple enough.
I’m going to Santorini. Just for a few days. We will be back for the wedding. But I won’t be able to rehearse with you.
She deleted the last line. They weren’t rehearsing. Rehearsing meant she was definitely going to perform at the wedding and the thought of that was still making her feel sick. She sighed.
‘What are you doing?’ Margot asked, suddenly giving Cara her attention.
‘Nothing.’ Cara hid the screen on her phone away.
‘It’s Seb, isn’t it? Trying to crawl his way back to you like the last time,’ Margot blasted. ‘Slimy, slippery, treacherous weasel.’
Cara jolted. ‘What last time?’
‘Well… that was just an assumption. It’s what men do, isn’t it? Take what they want, not stick around for the day-to-day grind, think it’s going to be all champagne and reverse cow-girling for the rest of their days.’ Margot took a breath. ‘Much better to just have something temporary; everyone knows where they stand and no actual feelings get hurt.’
Cara took a good long look at her aunt. She had never known her have anyone special in her life. It had always been about business, making money and spending it almost as fast. With only very small exceptions, Margot put Margot first. But there was a fragility about her now, like a loose hem on a Chanel skirt; everything was ultimately in place but there were tiny suggestions of the first signs of an unpicking.
‘Like you and the dancer,’ Margot continued before Cara could say anything else.
‘Akis,’ Cara corrected, ensuring Margot could definitely not see her phone screen.
‘Yes. I am all for lusting them and leaving them. You should do more of that. Maybe in Santorini Raj will have a rather nice personal security guard you can get your teeth into.’
‘I thought Santorini was business,’ Cara said. ‘We won’t have time to sink our teeth into anything but getting Raj to invest, right?’
Margot waved a dismissive hand. ‘Sometimes you have to schmooze to not lose, remember. It can take time and tactics.’
‘We have a couple of days. I’m coming back for the wedding.’
‘To sing? Because I’m remembering that announcement didn’t go down so well.’
‘I don’t know yet,’ Cara said.
‘Well, don’t go accepting any life advice from your mother if she phones. She wrote you off as… what did she call it? Ah yes, “a classic avoider of reality”.’
‘What?’ Cara asked, nerves pinching.
‘Oh, don’t take it to heart, that woman actually wouldn’t know reality if it was waving a placard at her with its name on. She’s the one living some trippy fantasy making out she’s trying to save the planet when in reality she’s just living her gap year dream a few decades too late. Probably still dressed in hemp.’
Cara swallowed. Her mum thought she avoided reality. Is that what she thought at the beginning when she had started her singing career? That it was something she would never be good enough at to be a success?
‘Meanwhile,’ Margot carried on. ‘You and I are about to make the Maxi-Go a household name all over the world. And we’re going to Santorini! Who needs Corfu now?’ Margot laughed. ‘I’m going to take a quick peek at Duty Free.’
As Margot left her seat, Cara looked back to her phone. With a couple of taps, the message was deleted.