Page 55 of Goodnight
‘Goodie is not scared of anything. You don’t know what she’s faced … what she’s done …’
‘I know.’ Nick’s firm declaration hung in the air, silencing Tasha.
‘What did you say?’ Goodie could only just make out Tasha’s whisper through the crack in the door, and felt her chest constrict at the fear she could hear in her sister’s voice. It was Goodie who had put that fear there – her need for secrecy at all costs that made Tasha so terrified of the truth.
‘I know who you are.’ Nick’s voice had softened and she heard him take a step towards Tasha. ‘I know what happened; how you were separated.’
‘Then you know what she sacrificed for me,’ Tasha said, her voice choked with tears. ‘How she went with them willingly so long asI, the older sister, the one who should have been doing the protecting, was adopted into a good family. I had every opportunity, every chance at happiness whilst she was trained to be …’ Tasha trailed off, her sobs filling the library, and Goodie was done. She hobbled forward as fast as she could and both Nick and Natasha turned as they heard the door push open. Goodie paused at the doorway for a moment, her eyes on Tasha’s tear-streaked face.
‘Kotyonok,’ Goodie called softly across the room. Tasha’s shoulder stopped shaking and her mouth fell open in shock.
‘Myshka?’ she asked slowly. ‘What did you call me?’
‘I remember,’ Goodie said simply. Tasha closed her eyes, took a deep breath in and then shot across the room to engulf Goodie in a hug.
‘You remember?’ she asked, pulling back and searching Goodie’s face. ‘Do you … can you rememberher?’
‘Everything.’ Tasha’s body sagged into Goodie’s, which with her bad leg nearly caused them to go down. But just as they were about to stumble Tasha was extracted from Goodie’s arms and Nick was there for Goodie to lean into heavily. To her surprise when she looked up from the floor she saw that a red-faced, clearly furious Bertie had stormed into the room and was holding Tasha, staring daggers at Nick and Goodie.
‘What the bloody hell is going on here?’ he snapped. ‘Why is Tash crying? You lot and your confounded drama that follows you around. I’ll thank you to leave Tasha out of it.’
‘Bertie, you numpty; I’m happy,’ Tasha said through her sobs.
‘You’re … what in the blazes?’ Bertie sighed and held her closer, letting her cry into his shoulder. ‘I will never understand ladies,’ he admitted helplessly.
Goodie looked up at Nick’s concerned face, then stood on her one functioning tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. He frowned in confusion but gave her a small squeeze in response. Her leg had started throbbing again and as if he could read her mind he moved her to the sofa, sitting her down next to him.
Tasha eventually lifted her head from Bertie’s chest and gave him a watery smile, which he returned. ‘Look, I’m sorry but you lot are going to have to explain what’s going on.’
Tasha looked across at Goodie who nodded her head in agreement.
‘Goodie and I are sisters, Bertie,’ Tasha told him as she took his hand and led him to the opposite sofa.
‘Uh … sisters? … But?’
Goodie laughed. ‘I know we look nothing alike … different fathers. But we lived with my mother until I was nine and Tasha was twelve. There were difficulties but …’ Goodie paused and looked at Natasha. ‘Mama was a wonderful woman. She loved us, she cared about us and she did what she had to do to look after us.’
Tasha’s eyes again filled with tears and Goodie felt a shard of guilt for all the cold things she had said about their mama in the past. She realized that it had hurt Tasha to think Goodie couldn’t remember any of the good in their childhood, any of the love the three of them shared. Goodie had shut her down every time Tasha brought it up, not allowing either of them to relive any of the happy memories together. Goodie knew why her mind had shut off that part of her childhood. To know how she was loved and what she had lost would have made her weak. For the last twenty years weakness was not something Goodie could allow. But now …
‘What happened?’ Bertie asked, his eyes darting between Goodie and Tasha. Goodie felt Nick stiffen beside her and she laid her hand on his.
‘Mama died,’ Goodie told him, her voice steady. ‘And we were separated. Tasha went to a family and I … I went somewhere else.’
‘Not just any family,’ Tasha said, her voice breaking with small sobs again. ‘Goodie made it so that I was with the best family available. I had everything whilst she –’
‘We are different, Tasha,’ Goodie told her. ‘I was fine. I’ve always been fine.’
‘How did you find each other again?’ Bertie asked. Goodie noticed that Nick did not ask any questions of his own. No doubt his private detective had rooted all this out as well. Goodie thought that maybe she should have been angry, but how could she really complain whensheknew every single detail abouthimbefore they even met?
‘Tasha had a stalker. She needed protection. I have always known where she was and how she was, but avoided contact. When I found out about the stalker I manoeuvred myself into her protection.’
‘Jeepers! A stalker!’ Bertie looked shocked and concerned. A flash of an image Goodie kept locked away and brought out from time to time when she needed cheering up came to mind. It was how Tasha’s stalker had looked after Goodie had finished with him. She smiled at the memory.
‘Don’t worry, Bertie. I don’t think he’ll surface again.’
‘No,’ Nick said, a small smile tugging at his lips. ‘I don’t expect he will.’
Tasha gave Nick a sharp look. Goodie thought that he probably knew better than she did what had happened to that piece of shit.
