Chapter 14 Anna
Chapter 14
Anna
I’m learning never to underestimate Liv. This isn’t what I expected when she suggested the three of us spend the weekend together at a spa. I expected a country hotel with a sauna, steam room, swimming pool and a few treatment rooms. But the moment Liv pulls up on the gravel driveway of this country estate and we enter reception, I know I’m out of my depth.
I slip off my sunglasses to take it all in. The arrow-like design of the charcoal-grey floor directs us to a grey and white marble reception desk adorned with two glass vases arranged with dozens of white peony roses. The desk is manned by two women, immaculate in appearance. Dark hair scraped back tightly, they wear identical black dresses and bright red lipstick, as though they’ve stepped out of that 1980s music video for ‘Addicted to Love’.
Above us is a mirrored ceiling and a crystal chandelier with more lightbulbs than I can count. Behind the reception desk is another mirror, one that runs from floor to ceiling. We’re constantly being reflected, no matter at what angle we stand. It adds to my self-consciousness.
‘Oh,’ says Liv, ‘isn’t this just gorge ?’
Margot’s phone rings to the tune of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ – a bit on the nose, I think – and I spot Nicu’s face flashing up on the screen. She declines the call and rolls her eyes. Nicu calls back immediately, and this time, she turns her phone off.
‘Everything alright?’ Liv asks.
‘It is now,’ she says. ‘Nicu and the kids have gastroenteritis, so I don’t want to be anywhere near that house.’
Liv and I look at each other. Margot can’t help but notice.
‘It’s okay,’ she assures us. ‘They’ll be fine. And there’s nothing I can do there apart from rinse out a few sick bowls. I’m much better off here.’
It hasn’t crossed her mind that she too might be contagious.
Soon after, we arrive at our bedrooms – two located next to one another, the other adjacent.
‘Sorry,’ says Liv, ‘but I could only get two deluxe suites and one executive.’
‘There’s nothing to apologise for,’ says Margot. ‘Anna, you don’t mind, do you?’
I’m about to nod because of course I don’t mind. I wouldn’t complain if I was told I was sleeping in the janitor’s cupboard.
‘Actually,’ Liv says, ‘I was thinking Anna could have one of the deluxe suites, as it’s her first time at a spa. What do you think?’
Margot blinks quickly as her demotion registers. ‘Of course,’ she says, gritting her teeth so hard they might give off sparks.
‘Well then,’ Liv continues, ‘why don’t we settle in, freshen up, then reconvene in the relaxation room in say an hour?’ We all agree.
Before I’m even inside my suite, I think I can hear the door of Margot’s minibar opening. I WhatsApp photos to Drew, but he doesn’t reply. I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me, as he already made it clear he didn’t want me coming here.
‘It’s not your world,’ he argued. ‘You’re a tourist.’
Only now do I accept his point.
As I slip out of my jeans, I rub my hand over the raised scar on my left thigh. I’m gentle at first, but gradually, I place pressure upon it until eventually I’m kneading it roughly like a fistful of dough, trying to bring my pain receptors to life. Then, once I do, I stop as quickly as I began and take a breath. No , I tell myself, not today . After slipping on my shorts and a white towelling dressing gown, I make sure to tighten the cord around me so it won’t fall open.
Margot is already in the relaxation room when I arrive. It’s comfortably warm in here and soothing piano music plays quietly. She’s sipping from a pink metal flask. I doubt it contains water.
‘Got to stay hydrated, haven’t we?’ she says with a wink.
‘No Liv?’ I ask, taking one of two sunbeds Margot has reserved for us with towels.
‘Not yet. She’s probably having a top-up.’
‘Of what?’
She mimes a needle jabbing her forehead and the pushing of a plunger.
‘I don’t see Liv being a fan of Botox. She’s all about healthy living and a healthy lifestyle.’
Margot rolls her eyes. If they go far enough back , I think, they might just find a human version of herself .
‘A few sun salutations, a downward dog and a flaxseed smoothie don’t give you a forehead as smooth as a baby’s arse.’
‘Well, that’s her business. It’s nice of her to have invited us.’
Margot moves closer to me. I can smell alcohol on her breath.
‘Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that she asked you? She has all those rich, stuck-up Made in Chelsea friends she could be hanging out with and instead she asks me and a neighbour she barely knows to join her. No offence, but this is hardly your scene, is it? You’d have been just as happy with an inflatable garden hot tub and a clay face mask?’
‘She knows you about as well as she knows me, but you still got an invitation,’ I point out, a little heatedly.
‘I think she’s trying to impress me. She knows you’ll be easy to reel in, but she forgets places like this were ten a penny when I was in the band. They were an absolute must after a gruelling tour. You’ve no idea how stressful it can be.’
‘Try telling that to a single parent working for minimum wage.’
‘Well I’m hardly likely to know any of them, am I?’ she asks. ‘My point is, Liv wants us to think she’s better than us.’
‘Why do you always have to try and find a negative to focus on?’ I ask. ‘I understand there’s been a lot of awful, awful things thrown at you over the years, and I get why it might make you suspicious of people when they try and offer you something nice. But not everyone has a hidden agenda.’
Margot rises from her bed and drops her flask back into her bag.
‘You don’t have the first clue what it’s like to be me,’ she snaps, then leaves the room.