Chapter 8
8
Dora had never been to the airport before. She had an irrational fear of flying and she had no idea where it stemmed from. When she was younger and Lenny had tried to get her to go on a holiday she’d scream and cry, begging her not to make her fly. As much as Lenny must have been frustrated about missing out on a trip abroad, she had never pushed her. They’d had some lovely holidays in the UK. Dora loved Edinburgh, had been fascinated with the castle and the gothic monuments, so Edinburgh was where they went when it all got too much for Lenny.
Now, as they were lining up to go through security, Dora was beginning to get all clammy. Her stomach was in knots, and she wanted to throw up the bagel she’d eaten for breakfast. Lenny, who was staring into the distance, turned to look at her.
‘Dora, you look as if you’re about to commit some terrible crime. Why are you acting so shifty? I thought we were over this fear of flying, you had enough hypnotherapy to cure a whole busload of fearful flyers.’
‘I’m fine, it’s just a little bit of nerves.’
‘A little, my dear? If they pay any attention to you, they’ll cart you off to get strip searched to make sure you’re not concealing a kilo of heroin.’
Dora smiled.
‘Look at me. This, all of this, is the reason why it’s safe to fly. We are going on a seven-hour direct flight to Boston, it will pass quicker than you could imagine. By the time they’ve brought the drinks cart around, then the food, then the coffee, then more drinks, you’ll be nicely chilled, and we’ll be landing at Logan before you know it.’
‘I know.’
Lenny grabbed a plastic tray off the conveyor belt, took off her shoes and placed her hand luggage inside it. Dora copied her, kicking off her trainers and dropping her backpack in her own tray. They passed through security without a glitch.
‘Come on. I think a stiff drink might help you calm down a little and then a spot of duty-free shopping.’
Dora didn’t disagree although she had no money to waste on duty-free. Lenny had given her a credit card and told her to buy what she wanted. Dora thought that she was the sweetest woman on earth underneath her rather grouchy exterior, but she wouldn’t take advantage of her aunt’s kindness, she would only use it when she needed it. She followed Lenny into the huge waiting area and found herself staring at the multitude of designer shops. Lenny was striding ahead to the rotunda bar and Dora followed, feeling more like a small child than a thirty-three-year-old woman. She tried to avoid looking at all the people and kept her head down, her gaze directed at her feet.
Although her feet seemed to have other ideas. They felt as if they didn’t belong to her and at one point when she was trying to keep up with her aunt she thought for just a moment that they were no longer touching the floor, but that was wild, she wasn’t levitating in the middle of Terminal 3, it was impossible. Lenny found two seats at the bar facing away from the gates and Dora wanted to kiss her. She didn’t though, knowing her aunt wasn’t fond of public shows of affection. She sat on the high stool next to her and before she could open her mouth Lenny had ordered a bottle of rosé champagne and a Welsh rarebit toastie.
‘What do you want darling, you need to eat something in case the food on the plane is terrible.’
Dora shook her head. ‘I’m good.’
Lenny shrugged. ‘Make that two toasties, thanks.’
The waiter smiled and went to get their champagne.
‘Trust me, a bit of stodge in your stomach will help quell those nerves. The fizz will help too.’
Dora didn’t think it would, but she did trust her aunt more than anyone else in the world. She had nobody else. Her parents had died a few days after she’d been born, in a tragic car accident. Lenny had stepped up and taken over. Her aunt had always been there for her, taking care of her, teaching her, supporting her and loving her when no one else would. She’d taught her everything she needed to know, but the subject of her parents’ deaths had always been out of bounds. Lenny had said it was too painful for her to talk about it, but one day she would when the time was right. Even though this part of Dora’s life had been blocked since she could remember, she wouldn’t press her aunt too much, not if it was so hurtful for her. Dora was respectful of everything Lenny did for her and tried her very best not to upset her too much.
When the waiter popped the cork and passed her a glass, she began to sip it, pretending she hadn’t seen the price of the bottle and food on the menu. Lenny wasn’t usually so extravagant, and she wondered if she was nervous about flying too. Lenny’s emerald-green eyes settled on Dora’s slightly paler ones, and she shook her head.
‘I’m not nervous, I’m celebrating finally getting my niece on a plane to go on holiday. It’s been a very long time coming, Dora, I’m proud of you.’
Dora stared at her aunt. Her normally wavy, wild, silver hair was in a sleek chignon, and she was wearing a black trouser suit. She was the essence of pure style and Dora thought that she’d look quite at home in a Vogue photoshoot. It was then that she realised her aunt had read her mind, something Lenny was annoyingly good at.
‘Did I say that out loud?’
‘No, you really need to work on hiding your emotions. You’re like an open book, Dora, anyone can see what you’re thinking.’
‘They can?’
Lenny tipped her glass to her lips and drained it, then lifted the bottle out of the ice bucket and refilled it.
‘Yes, they can. It’s such a lovely innocent trait but it’s going to get you into trouble when you don’t want people to see inside your soul who have no business looking. And, my dear, there are people out there who love to look into innocent souls, they thrive off it and take great pleasure from trespassing into our most intimate selves.’
Dora took a sip of her champagne. ‘See into my soul. You say the strangest things sometimes, Lenny, where do you get this stuff from?’
Lenny laughed. ‘I do, when you’ve been around as long as I have you get a little muddled, it’s to be expected. Sometimes I forget how little you remember. I can’t wait to show you Salem. Thank God it’s a gorgeous place now, it wasn’t always. At one point it was a pit of human depravity and bitterness, but those days have gone. I have some, actually, we have some family over there who I want you to meet.’
‘We do? Since when? And why have you never mentioned this before? Who are they?’
‘I didn’t mention it because there was little point when you wouldn’t travel on anything other than a bus, car or train.’
Dora felt a stabbing pain inside her heart at this somewhat casual revelation. Why had she not known she had other family members? Why had Lenny felt the need to keep this important information from her? She had missed out on so many years of getting to know them. But it did explain the feelings she’d had since she was a child of never quite being alone, the occasional flashes of her doing impossible things she knew she never had. When she had told her aunt about the two women who looked like Lenny that she sometimes saw in her dreams, Lenny had told her it was her overactive imagination. But had those been actual memories she’d blocked out now resurfacing?
This time it was Dora who drained her glass. ‘You really are full of surprises, Lenny; all this time I thought it was the two of us and now you’re telling me I have more family. Who are they?’
Lenny smiled, reaching for the bottle and refilling Dora’s glass. ‘Honey, you have no idea. You have another aunt.’ Dora raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘But that’s all I’m saying until we get there, okay?’ Dora nodded her head, intrigued. ‘It’s far easier for you to meet them in person than me try and tell you about them,’ Lenny said.
The waiter interrupted them with their toasted sandwiches and Dora’s stomach let out a loud growl. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was. Maybe the fizz had loosened her up, or had it been Lenny’s revelation that they had family out in Salem? She had thought it had been her and Lenny against the world, no one else but the two of them. As she nibbled her toastie she glanced at her aunt, wondering how many more secrets she had kept from her and what this other aunt was like. She knew better than to keep asking Lenny because she would clam up and not say another word. If her aunt was anything it was stubborn.