Chapter 16
16
STEVIE
Stevie pushed her hands into the pockets of her black capri trousers, so that Moira wouldn’t see that she had her fingers crossed. She figured they needed all the help they could get, and she so wanted some kind of win for at least one of them. After dinner last night, Carina had filled her in on what had happened on the night of her anniversary, and wow, her husband sounded like a prize dick. And not in a good way.
It was hard to imagine that anyone would cheat on this woman. Sure, it was impossible to know what went on behind closed doors, but she was gorgeous, smart, and by all accounts she’d dedicated her life to supporting him and bringing up their family. And then the utter scumball turns around and does this? A similar thing happened to her pal, Keli – equally as gorgeous and smart – a few years ago, when it turned out her actor boyfriend already had a live-in partner and was out scouting for other hook ups too. It was enough to make you lose faith in relationships. Or maybe that was just Stevie’s way of justifying her decision to stay single all these years. There had been a couple of long-term relationships. She’d been with her ex, Dan, for over six years after meeting him at a pub quiz. Thanks to him, she now knew the answer to, ‘Is it possible for a man to love football and motorbikes more than he loves his girlfriend?’ And, ‘Is it a red flag when your boyfriend thinks “commitment” is a swear word?’
After that, there had been Anthony, a nurse on the psychiatric ward, who’d analysed everything she did. And Dexter, a cop she’d met when he brought in a cumulative total of two broken jaws, a skull fracture and seven cracked ribs after a bar fight in Glasgow city centre. Maybe she should stop dating guys that she met at her place of work, but when you slogged twelve-hour shifts, often six days a week to cover sick leave and holidays, it was hard to meet guys anywhere else. The last thing she felt like doing on a weekend night was getting all dolled up and going out on the hunt for a bloke. So no. If she was going to meet anyone, it would have to be a burglar who broke into her house on a Saturday night and gatecrashed her ‘Pizza and Movie’ night with Caleb.
Sometimes she’d wondered if her mum felt the same, and that’s why she’d never met anyone after her dad left. As far as Stevie knew, there hadn’t been a single date in all those years. And if there had been, it didn’t seem to have turned into any kind of permanent relationship – unless of course, her mother had been keeping that a secret too. Nothing would surprise her now. Or make her sadder than she already felt. She kept coming back to the same thought – who was the real Lisa? Was it the wild one that Moira and Carina described as their friend here? Or was it the quiet, reserved, cautious woman who had brought her up? Either way, it seemed that her mum had acted completely out of character for a large chunk of her life, and that chipped a piece off Stevie’s heart.
Maybe that’s why she was listening to Moira’s call now and praying for a positive outcome. If there was any karmic justice in the world, Nate Whateverhisname would remember Moira immediately, he’d declare that he’d been pining for her all these years, and they’d fall madly in love again and live happily ever after.
‘It’s Moira Chiles. Yes, I’ll hold,’ Moira was saying now. Stevie caught Carina’s eager expression and was touched again by how much they had supported each other, and her, since she’d met them.
The other person had obviously come back on the line, because Moira was re-engaging. ‘Yes, hello again. Oh.’
Oh, what? Stevie couldn’t read her tone. Although that might be because she was getting heatstroke standing in this doorway.
‘Right then. Yes, if I could leave a message that would be great. Please tell him that Moira Chiles called and ask him to call me back at the Harbour Lights Hotel in Wanchai. I’ll be there for a few more days. Thank you.’
She put the phone back in her bag. ‘He’s travelling on business, and she doesn’t know when he’ll be back, but she’ll pass on my message.’ There was no escaping how crestfallen she looked for just a few moments, but then she pulled her shoulders back and shook it off. ‘Right, I’m not getting my size sixteen M&S knickers in a twist over a bloke when I have you two ladies and the prospect of Peking duck pancakes tonight to keep me going. Shall we get moving then?’
‘Gladly,’ Carina answered. ‘MTR or ferry over to the other side?’
Stevie answered first. ‘Can we take the ferry again? I just want to see it going the other way too.’
‘Done,’ Moira proclaimed. They retraced their steps down Nathan Road, turned right on to Salisbury Road, then walked back along the harbour front to the ferry terminal, Stevie feeling more exhausted with every step. The ferry ride back over was as stunning as the first one, and this time, as she watched the buildings on Hong Kong Island come closer, she pictured her mum sitting in exactly the same spot, taking this in.
‘No matter how many times I cross this harbour, it never gets old,’ Carina said, and Stevie knew she’d feel that way too. This was so far removed from her life back in Scotland, and she wasn’t ready to go back to the daily drive, usually in the rain, to Glasgow Central Hospital for her shift.
They’d fallen back into an easy silence, when Carina pointed to a tall glass building almost directly ahead of them. ‘That hotel there is the Grand Hyatt. There used to be a nightclub in there that had a soul band, and sometimes, on our night off, we’d go there and as soon as your mum walked in, they’d invite her up on the stage to sing with them.’
The shocks just kept on coming. ‘How did they even know her?’
‘Everyone knew Lisa because she was an incredibly talented singer who put on a great show, and like we said earlier, she was always the centre of every party.’
‘I can’t imagine that,’ Stevie said, honestly. ‘I know I keep saying it, but I honestly have no idea who you’re describing. And I can’t tell you how much I wish I knew her then. How much I wish she’d told me about her life here.’
‘Maybe it was just a moment in time,’ Carina offered. ‘It’s hard to describe what life was like here back then. Millions of people, yet our world was small because all the entertainers and nightclub managers and DJs and door stewards… well, we all knew each other.’
‘And we mean, really knew each other,’ Moira interjected. ‘Not like all those Facebook friends and Internet pals you have nowadays.’ She laughed as she nudged Carina. ‘Could you imagine if we’d had all that social media stuff back then? We’d have been cancelled. Struck off. Those were different times. No Internet. No mobile phones. Too expensive to call landlines. And those photos I showed you yesterday… the only reason I had those was because my mother bought me a cheap camera before I came here because she’d never been further than Blackpool and she wanted to see the sights. I had to run around on my last day taking pictures of landmarks because all I had up until then were photos of us lot partying and she’d have been furious. It cost me a fortune to get them all developed when I got home. Anyway, the thing about having none of that Internet stuff was that we were free. We made loads of mistakes. Oh God, so many. But the difference is that there was no one there to capture it for posterity, so we didn’t have to spend a whole lifetime looking back with regret or living in shame. We forgave ourselves and each other, because we could. And no one ever had to know.’
Stevie registered that that was the second time Moira had mentioned that they’d made mistakes back in the day, but she didn’t feel she had the right to pry so she let it go. For now. ‘So what made you leave, then?’ Stevie asked, genuinely curious. ‘It sounds like you were all living your best lives.’
Carina shook her head. ‘In some ways, maybe. But we were also just figuring ourselves out. Strange really… We all left for different reasons, and not to be all deep and meaningful, but sometimes I wonder if I knew then what I know now, would I still make the same decision?’
Before she could answer her own question, the ferry bumped into dock, and they followed the crowd off the boat and through the terminal to the street. Moira suggested that they get a taxi back to the hotel, but Stevie wasn’t ready. ‘If it’s okay with you, I’m going to walk. I need some fresh air.’ It was cooler now that the afternoon sun had begun to go down, and she knew if she went straight back to the hotel, the jet lag and tiredness would kick in and she’d end up sleeping for the rest of the day. She wasn’t ready for that yet. Not when there were still streets to explore and thinking to be done. ‘You’re very welcome to join me, though,’ she added, suddenly worried that they’d be offended. She should have known better.
‘Stevie, I’ve had a lovely day with you today,’ Moira replied, ‘but I’d rather stick forks in my eyes than walk in this heat. I’d have heatstroke and hair the size of a motorcycle helmet by the time I got there.’
‘But thank God you wouldn’t be dramatic about it,’ Carina deadpanned, sticking her hand out to flag down a passing taxi, then turning back to Stevie and giving her a hug when the cab stopped. ‘Call us when you get back to the hotel if you’d like to have dinner. No pressure though. We’ll totally understand if you’d like a night off from our scintillating company.’
‘Never,’ Stevie said, laughing. ‘But thank you. For that and for today.’
Carina slipped into the car, while Moira gave her a hug too. ‘See you soon, pet. And you know we’re here if you want to talk, day or night.’
‘Thanks, Moira.’
She waved them off, then pulled out her phone, put the hotel address into her maps, and then started walking. A twenty-two-minute walk, her app informed her. Plenty of time to clear her head. But first, she wanted to share everything that had happened with the one person she knew would be up at… she checked her watch and did a quick calculation… just after 6a.m. in Scotland.
He answered on the first ring, and she could hear him panting. ‘Wild sex or jogging?’ she teased.
‘Jogging, sadly,’ Caleb replied. ‘I wouldn’t have answered if it was wild sex. Even for you.’
Passers-by probably wondered why she was wandering along the street laughing to herself. ‘Good to know your love is conditional. Anyway, I’m phoning to give you the latest on the never-ending revelations of the secret life of Lisa Dixon.’
‘That sounds like a book I would read,’ he said, and she could hear the amusement in his voice. ‘Okay, shoot.’
‘Well, apparently she was a well-known singer and a bit of a star…’ She began, then recounted everything else the ladies had said today.
‘That’s incredible. Sounds like she was a badass.’
Stevie was nodding now. ‘I think she definitely was. And her friends are beyond kind, and cool. Hilarious too.’
‘But?’ he said. ‘I can hear the “but” coming.’
He was as perceptive as ever.
‘But…’ she repeated. ‘I still think there’s something about my mother that they’re not telling me. And I think I need to stay here until I find out what that is.’