Epilogue
DAY ONE THOUSAND AND FIFTY-FIVE
The Not-Too-Distant Future
Minnie Byrne and Ida Lightning stood at the panda enclosure and watched Xing Er chew bamboo while Mao Sun pawed at a ball swinging from a tree branch.
‘Panda poo is teardrop-shaped,’ Ida said. ‘A greeny yellow.’
‘Wow,’ Minnie said, looking more sharply into the foliage. ‘I wonder if we’ll spot any today.’
Jesse came back from the kiosk clutching two coffees and a slushie for Ida.
They hadn’t made it in time to see Yang Guang and Tian Tian at Edinburgh Zoo before they went back to China, but for Ida’s tenth birthday, Jesse took Ida and Minnie to Copenhagen so Ida could see a giant panda in person.
Jesse had also decided to put a panda in the next Remy book: a cute story about identity when Pom-pom the giant panda arrives at Paris Zoo and confuses the hell out of little Remy, who had been expecting a bigger version of himself. He was planning to press on with an early idea, a book about all the monochromatic animal friends of Remy. Lenny the Lemur was proving popular, and Jesse knew he needed to up his part.
The Amazing Adventures of Remy the Red Panda series was now a number-one children’s bestseller, dominating the charts and, more recently, the children’s TV schedules. And although Lars Lightning’s name hadn’t been on the cover since the first original edition, every Remy book bore a photo and dedication to the man who came up with the idea, inside every single jacket.
‘Ooh thanks,’ Minnie said, as she took the cup and kissed Jesse on the lips. He looked at her, as mesmerised as he had been the day he’d put his palm to the window of Bondiga’s Books. He then handed Ida the slushie, who beamed at the prospect of a blue drink, before the family continued towards the bison and elk.
Ida linked her arm inside Minnie’s and huddled in.
‘Is that not too cold on a day like today?’ Minnie said, wrapped up and toasty in a scarf and hat. Ida shook her head and slurped happily.
‘Nuh-uh.’
‘Excuse me, miss,’ a Danish woman with wide brown eyes and a hearty, friendly voice said. ‘My kids – and I – we’re big fans.’
‘Oh!’
‘I’m sorry to disturb your family time…’ The woman nodded to her daughter and son, as if to say I get it . ‘But, can we get a picture with you? And maybe an autograph please?’
Minnie stopped, startled. She still wasn’t used to this.
Marvel didn’t ever call back, but just as Summer of Siena aired three years ago, Minnie was offered the part in a kickass new superhero franchise, Artemis , based on the Greek goddess whose twin brother Apollo was out to wreak havoc on a world she was trying to save. More emotional than Black Widow ; more striking than Wonder Woman ; and as strong and clever as Shuri. It was directed by Xanthe Dabiri, the hottest female director in Hollywood, and a dream to work with. Minnie learned so much from her, every day.
Xanthe Dabiri had also been one of the early voices calling out her mentor, Wim Fischer, for sexual assault. She had worked with journalist Zahara Zaman, on an exposé about Wim Fischer for the New York Times , and he was currently awaiting sentencing. Minnie slept better at night too knowing that Wim Fischer was behind bars.
Critics said casting Minnie Byrne and Timothée Chalamet as twins was perfect and she loved working with him, and the older Hollywood heavyweights in the cast – but even more than that, she loved going home to Jesse and Ida at the end of a shoot.
For the past two years, Minnie’s face had been everywhere , and given that she was about to start filming the third instalment, Artemis: Ascent , in Morocco next week, her star didn’t seem to be waning any time soon.
While Minnie was on location or lucky to be shooting in a UK studio, Jesse would keep everything ticking over at home, which was now a much nicer and more spacious apartment in King’s Cross. Ida even got to visit her stepmother on set a few times, the way her father had visited film sets when he was a child.
‘Of course,’ Minnie said, smiling to the woman and her children, who seemed to be cowering behind her, either desperate to meet Minette Byrne or dying of embarrassment, Minnie couldn’t tell. ‘Do you have a piece of paper? We can do a picture after.’
The woman took out her Copenhagen Zoo tickets, printed on one side of a sheet of A4, and a Sharpie she had nestled at the bottom of her bag, while Ida stared at the children, who looked at Minnie in awe. Actual Artemis in the flesh!
‘Here, can you take this?’ Minnie handed her coffee to Jesse who looked on, proud, bemused, accommodating.
‘Who do I sign it to?’ Minnie paused, Sharpie poised.
‘Oh if you could make it to Alina and Alex, that would be amazing, thank you!’ the woman said, happily flustered. ‘They can fight for whose bedroom it goes in.’ She gave a loud and nervous laugh. ‘Guys! Don’t be so shy! Say something!’ the woman admonished. The kids shuffled out from behind their mother, flushed and shy but happy. Ida smiled at them.
Their hero.
Minnie signed the paper, a blousy scrawl, and looked at each of the kids, before shooting her husband a quick smile.
‘Nice to meet you, I’m Minnie.’