Page 134 of The Love Position

Jessica clinked her bottle against Sophia’s. ‘Don’t think. Don’t feel. Let the alcohol do its job.’

The liquid burned Sophia’s throat and warmed her stomach. Almost immediately, she felt it enter her bloodstream, heating the back of her neck and melting the sharp edges of her emotions.

In the distance, Isaac was carrying Grace along the dock, Anisha by his side. Ganapati helped Isaac lift Grace into the speedboat, then Isaac took two bags from Anisha, got onboard, and Ganapati started the engine.

‘What a fucking shitshow,’ Jessica murmured as the boat roared away.

Sophia nodded, a tiny part of her brain glitching, as if she’d forgotten something really important.

Jessica turned to her. ‘I thought the statue had been moved away from the door?’

Oh my god, yes!

She nodded. ‘It had. And last night, during Satsang, it was still against the back wall. I always check.’

‘Hoo-ee… I bet Grace moved it.’

‘No!’

‘Aw, come on, Soph. All the girls can talk about is our day off tomorrow and how it’s open season on Mohan and Hanuman. Grace knows she hasn’t got a chance against Paisley or Khloe-Narcisse. I bet the farm she snuck in last night and moved it so she could recreate your accident, just with more screaming and less blood.’

‘You really think she would do that?’

But even as Sophia asked, she knew it was a logical explanation.

‘Grace isn’t a klutz and the ashram bell went off at the right time, so there wouldn’t have been a crush entering the temple. She knew what she had to do to get Isaac to take her off the island.’

Sophia sighed. ‘This actually makes me feel a little better. I hope it means she hasn’t hurt herself badly.’

‘Nah. I think a few scrapes on her hands is all she’ll have. There was almost no blood compared to when you fell, but she was still doing her best to smear it all over herself.’

The rum was wearing down Sophia’s inhibitions, and she let out a little giggle, then slapped a hand to her guilty mouth.

Jessica grinned. ‘That’s more like it. And don’t worry about your man giving in to Grace’s charms. If he didn’t break his vow with you, there’s no way he’s gonna do it with her.’

Jessica’s words sat in Sophia’s stomach, sloshing around like undigested food. Isaac had broken his vow with her. Would he break it again with Grace?

Shut up! You know he wouldn’t! Stop torturing yourself!

But no matter how much her logical mind yelled one narrative, her subconscious reminded her how she’d been clueless about Marcus’s affairs, even though they lived and worked together for ten years, and she’d known every woman he’d slept with.

‘Ooh! Wanna know a silver lining to this morning’s drama?’ Jessica asked.

‘There is one?’

‘Uh-huh. If Ganatwati’s with Hanuman and Grace, he won’t be doing karma yoga with you.’

Sure enough, a few hours later, Sophia entered the temple to find it blissfully empty.

Retrieving her cleaning supplies from the cupboard, she went to the statue, now back against the far wall. Breathing slowly through her nose to calm herself, she rubbed at the stains of blood. Jessica had been right, there wasn’t much, and she couldn’t see any on the floor, either.

When the statue was gleaming, she pushed a dry floor-mop across the white tiles, wholly focused on the job as a form of mindfulness, allowing the rest of her turbulent thoughts time to rest.

‘Sophia!’

Dropping the mop handle in shock at the sound, she whirled around.

Swami Vishnu was standing at the entrance.

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