Chapter 10
10
Dora followed Lenny off the plane, through the airport and customs with minimal fuss, as if they were invisible. She’d thought it would be a long, drawn-out process, but it wasn’t, at least not for them. She turned her head and saw the huge queues behind them, wondering how they had managed to get to the front so fast. Neither of them spoke, the row of cubicles with the customs agents sitting in them waiting to approve the arriving passengers’ entry into the US was the most daunting thing Dora had ever seen.
She leaned forwards and whispered into Lenny’s ear, ‘What if they don’t let me in?’
Lenny turned her head to face her and muttered, ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Dora, you’ve faced far worse than this. Just smile and don’t make any jokes. Unfortunately these people have no sense of humour.’
‘Next.’
Lenny snapped her attention to the guy calling her forwards and strode towards him. He scanned her passport, looked up at her and smiled, then asked her reason for visiting before telling her to put her fingers on the electronic pad so it could take her fingerprints. Then he curled his finger and beckoned Dora forward. Lenny thanked him and walked away. Dora gave him her passport and he did the same although he didn’t smile at her like he did her aunt. He handed it back and she heard Lenny hiss, ‘Come on girl.’
She did, walking away amazed at how easy it had been. She couldn’t believe it, she was in the States after all these years of dreaming about what it would be like. If she hadn’t been with Lenny she’d probably have squealed with delight, but her aunt wouldn’t take kindly to her making a fool of herself.
Next was the baggage collection. Lenny had insisted they take one case only, so they weren’t waiting around forever. They found the carousel and, like a dream, the first cases to come around were theirs. Lenny grabbed them both in the blink of an eye and Dora marvelled at her aunt’s strength, considering she never went to the gym as far as she knew. Passing Dora her case, Lenny smiled at her.
‘Sorry if I’ve been grouchy. I’ve never really liked flying or at least not this kind where everything is so damn complicated.’
She turned and walked out towards the exit, then stopped dead. Dora was worried something terrible was wrong, but a huge grin broke out on her aunt’s face.
‘We have a visitor waiting for us. I told her we could manage but she’s come anyway. I wanted to prepare you before you met her, but I guess the best thing for you to do is see her for yourself.’
‘Who?’ Dora’s imagination was running wild, who was Lenny talking about? Some friend, or was it her aunt that she had only discovered lived here just before they boarded the flight?
‘It’s complicated, probably best not discussed here where we are blocking the exit for thousands of tired travellers. Come, you can see her for yourself and, trust me, you will know it’s her.’
‘Who are you talking about, Lenny?’
‘Your Aunt Seraphina.’
Dora felt her mouth fall open. Her aunt? Before she could say another word, Lenny was out of the huge frosted-glass doors and walking into the arrivals hall. Dora rushed to catch up to her – it was so busy, there were so many people waiting for loved ones and friends to walk out – but then she saw her. Standing alone, her hands crossed in front of her, a tall woman with hair the same colour of spun silver as Lenny’s. She was dressed from head to toe in black, with a cape around her shoulders, her hair hanging down in soft curls, whereas Lenny’s was much wilder when loose. Lenny was walking towards her, and the woman was jumping up and down, her reflective pink boots looking as if they were hovering off the floor. Dora thought she was the most beautiful, striking woman she had ever seen. She was the image of Lenny but somehow softer around the edges.
‘Isadora.’ The woman squealed her name and Dora couldn’t help but grin, despite the fact that she had never met her before. Seraphina ran towards her, arms open wide, and scooped her into a hug so warm and loving that Dora felt as if she was melting into them and she felt a happiness settle over her that she couldn’t explain. Dora hugged her tightly. She smelled of caramel apples, cinnamon and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Then it came to her: she smelled like home. But not Lenny’s apartment. No, this was a memory buried deep in the depths of Dora’s mind. One she had hidden away and being so close to Seraphina had woken it up, or at least a little because Dora still had no idea where exactly home was.
‘Let her go, Sephy, you’ll scare her to death.’
Sephy bent forwards and kissed Dora’s head. She whispered, ‘She’s such a grouch and a sourpuss, take no notice.’
Dora laughed, not meaning to, but it was true that Lenny was a sourpuss at times. Her aunt let go of her and suddenly Dora felt lost. She wanted to stay wrapped up in those soft arms forever. Sephy smiled at her, and her emerald eyes that were identical to Lenny’s crinkled as they lit up. She stepped forward, closer to Lenny.
‘Come on sister, you know you want to.’
The two women hugged briefly and huge tears began to form and fall down Sephy’s cheeks. They were a sight to behold, both women were stunningly beautiful and tall, and every single person who walked past them turned to stare. It was Lenny who drew away first, but for the first time in her life Dora thought that her aunt looked relaxed. Sephy sighed, then reached out and took hold of both Dora and Lenny’s hands.
‘Come on, we have so much to catch up on and I’ve missed you both dreadfully, it’s been far too long. Don’t you ever do this to me again, I want you both to promise that it won’t happen next time. I’m not waiting a lifetime to see you both, ever again.’
Dora didn’t understand what she meant but nodded, realising that now she had met this glorious woman she didn’t want to ever let her go. As they walked along hand in hand, Lenny and Dora pulling suitcases behind them she caught sight of their reflection and smiled. She was like a raven in between two white doves, her black hair and tattoos making her the complete opposite of her silver-haired, beautiful, unblemished aunts. They had one thing in common though: they were all dressed from head to toe in black, except for Sephy’s pink boots. People were still turning to look at the trio as they made their way outside to where Sephy had parked.
The white van was almost identical to the one Dora had for the shop only much bigger. All the cars parked outside in the pick-up area were huge. Sephy ushered them towards the van, opening the rear door and releasing a strong scent of lavender into the air. She threw their cases inside then led to them to the front cab, which had three seats. Dora climbed in and sat in the middle of her aunts, still a bit shocked to have discovered that Lenny had a sister who was so beautiful and that it wasn’t just the two of them against the world anymore. She had so many questions for Lenny, but they could wait, she didn’t want to embarrass her in front of her sister.
‘Seraphina, that’s such a pretty name.’
‘It is, thank you. But it’s also a huge mouthful so everyone calls me Sephy. I want you to call me that, Isadora.’
Dora laughed. ‘On one condition.’
‘What’s that, dear?’
‘You call me Dora.’
Sephy laughed, so loud it filled the cab of the van. It was an infectious laugh and even Lenny joined in.
‘Same old Dora. I’m glad to see you haven’t changed too much, although the tattoos and septum piercing were a little unexpected. But I like them, they’re modern and you’ve put a stamp on yourself that means something to you.’
‘Same old Dora… I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but I don’t remember you at all. Have we met before?’
Lenny glanced at her sister, who gave the slightest nod of her head.
‘I realise this is all a shock for you, honey, so we’re going to take it slow. I haven’t seen you since you were a baby. You were a feisty little thing then, born with a head full of black curls and skin the colour of beetroot. You practically came into this world shaking your tiny fist in the air.’
Dora closed her eyes; she didn’t understand. How had Sephy been there when she was born? Why had Lenny kept everything such a huge secret? When she opened her eyes, Lenny was looking at her with what she thought was trepidation. Was her aunt worried about how she was going to respond to all these secrets and lies?
‘Can we maybe talk about this at some point? Why I had no idea about you, Sephy, why it’s all been some big secret?’
‘Of course, my darling, we will talk about it until you know everything and feel as if you have the answers you seek. First, let’s go home and relieve Mrs Pitcher who is watching…’ She paused, glancing at Lenny, who gave a slight shake of her head.
‘She’s watching the house for me. Hades will be so happy to see you, he’s missed you so much.’
‘Hades, is he your son?’
Sephy giggled. ‘He is most certainly not my son; he feels like an errant child at times but he’s far wiser.’
Lenny was still watching Dora’s face and she didn’t know if her aunt was expecting her to have some kind of medical episode. Sephy composed herself.
‘Sorry, that really made me giggle. I’m so childish at times. I was hoping you might have remembered him, it would have at least been something. Hades is our pet crow; his wings are the colour of your hair and you two were inseparable when you were a baby. He is just the best watcher that we could have ever asked for.’
‘We have a pet crow, one that used to watch me? How did he watch me? Didn’t he want to peck my eyes out? I thought they were vicious things.’
‘Good Lord not at all, Hollywood has given birds such a bad name, that film especially. I mean, some birds are not very nice, but it depends how you treat them. Not Hades, he’d sit on the end of your crib, or your stroller when I walked you, he’d fly above us, sometimes he’d sit in the stroller with you. He would chatter away to you, and you would babble back to him. He always brought you little gifts too, a sprig of lavender if you weren’t sleeping too good, rosemary to make you smile if you were upset. He’s such a sweetheart, we are lucky to have him as our watcher.’
Dora didn’t speak. She couldn’t have even if she’d wanted to because she was too busy trying to recall if she remembered a pet crow that would sit on the end of her crib and bring her gifts when she was sad. She should remember that, surely, she should. Why would she want to block it out and repress those memories? None of this made any sense to her. An overwhelming urge to close her eyes made Dora feel exhausted. She felt so drained she could have curled up in a ball and gone to sleep. The confusion was weighing heavy on her too, and her stomach was in knots, making her feel queasy.
Sephy glanced at her. ‘It’s okay, we’re almost home. The tiredness will wear off once you’ve been here a couple of days. It’s always this way when we’ve been somewhere and return. People talk about being homesick and missing the place where they live, but this is what real homesickness is. I’m afraid the longer you’re away the worse it is, but I have some tea that will help soothe the sickness and exhaustion.’
Dora smiled at her aunt. She was so like Lenny, it seemed they both had the ability to know everything she was thinking or feeling, and it was beyond weird. Her brain felt as if it had been overloaded and she decided to keep quiet until they reached home, wherever that was.