Chapter 68
Kitty and Antoinette’s Airbnb, West Hollywood, Los Angeles
Back in the kitchen, Antoinette, Agnes, Lauren and Charlie are waiting for me before they start eating.
Lauren has made another round of lemonade.
She pours me a glass.
‘It’s my own special recipe,’ Lauren says. ‘Cort used to love it.’
‘Thank you,’ I say as I pull out a chair next to Charlie. ‘So I guess the question is, what are we going to do with … you know.’ I gesture towards the cellar.
‘Actually,’ says Charlie. ‘We’ve just been talking about that. And Agnes has an idea.’
Antoinette looks at Agnes and I’m not lying when I say that she absolutely glows. My sister is totally smitten. I wonder if I look like that when I look at Charlie.
‘What’s your idea?’ she asks.
Agnes smiles shyly. ‘Well, you know how my parents still live out in Newport Beach? That I grew up there?’ Antoinette nods. ‘I thought maybe we could swing past and say hi before Kitty and Charlie fly back to London.’
Antoinette looks puzzled. ‘While I would absolutely love to see where you grew up,’ she says, ‘I don’t really understand what that’s got to do with our body problem in the basement.’
Agnes leans in closer. ‘My parents own a yacht,’ she says. ‘And the Pacific gets pretty deep out there. Like seven, eight thousand feet.’
‘Ahhh,’ Antoinette says with a smile. ‘You’re so clever.’ She kisses Agnes on the cheek.
‘So, what do we think about a little day trip?’ Agnes asks.
‘I think that sounds incredible,’ I say.
Agnes claps her hands together. ‘I’ll give my parents a call and let them know we want to take the boat out.’ She turns to myself and my sister and adds, ‘You’ll love Newps. I can’t wait to show you.’
‘I’ll make more lemonade,’ Lauren says.