Page 70 of All the Right Words
If she hadn’t overthought it, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. If Gina had been a born liar, she would have just said, ‘Yeah, I’m allergic.’ And then Harper might have said, ‘That’s funny, so is Olivia.’ Gina would have replied, ‘That’s a weird coincidence.’ That would have been the end of it.
But instead of being smooth and easy, Gina had acted like a guilty person. Probably because she was one. She’d seen Harper see it, her guilt-ridden face. She didn’t know whether it mattered. How the hell would Harper put the pieces together? It was one story, told one time. It was nothing, she told herself.
But a little voice, maybe the voice of Gina’s shame, whispered something else into her ear. ‘She’s rumbled you.’
Gina was lucky that she didn’t have time to fill with paranoia and fear. She had an author to unblock. And it took the entire weekend. Sarah needed a lot of help; she was truly stuck in the mud. Even though she knew how the story ended, figuring out the best way to tell it was fucking her up. Having it based on a true story might have made it worse. The responsibility to represent the facts while keeping it entertaining was the mud her feet were stuck in.
They talked all day and into the night. Gina was given the sofa at one in the morning. At seven the following morning, Sarah woke her up with a fresh set of worries. Another day of talking, planning, more talking, a lot of cake, and many post-its followed. But about five, Sarah said, ‘OK. You can go now.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yeah. The sooner, the better. I’m itching to start work,’ Sarah said, rubbing her hands together.
Gina was out of the flat in under two minutes. As she let herself out of the door, she heard typing. It sounded decisive and determined. She shut the door quietly and went home smiling, gratified to have done some good.
But underneath that satisfaction, she worried about the Harper thing.
Harper called her that evening. It wasn’t unexpected, but it jangled her nerves all the same. ‘Hi,’ Harper said.
‘Hello,’ Gina said, trying to sound breezy. ‘So, I assume you want to know if Sarah’s banging it out?’
Harper laughed nervously. ‘Yes, please.’
‘I left her going at ithard. I’d give her a few days and then call her. I think you’re gonna be happy.’
Harper let out a moan of relief. ‘Thank fuck.’
‘What happened with her publishers?’ Gina asked.
‘They’ve extended the deadline. She’s got a few more months to finish the first draft. Do you think that’s going to be enough?’
‘I’d say she’s got a good shot. I think we broke the back of her problem.’
‘That’s good to hear,’ Harper said. ‘I don’t know how to thank you.’
‘Cash is fine,’ Gina replied. She felt like a dick for saying it. It had just come out. ‘Plus, she gave me an absurd amount of cake,’ she added quickly, hoping to take the edge off what she’d just said. The comment was met with a pause so long that Gina thought she’d hung up.
But eventually, Harper said, ‘But not the pineapple upside-down cake, right?’
Gina’s stomach turned over. ‘No. Not my cup-’
‘…Of tea. Yeah. You said. Shame. I had some yesterday. It was delicious.’
‘I’ll have to take your word for that,’ Gina said quickly.
‘Mm. Hey, you know what’s funny? Olivia’s allergic to pineapple. She told me this crazy story about it.’
Gina’s lips went dry. ‘Oh?’
‘Yeah. Maybe she told it to you?’ Harper asked. It had the tone of an innocent question and it probably was. But when Gina tried to answer it, her throat had gone dry, and a weird little squeak came out.
‘Sorry, did you say something?’ Harper asked.
‘Umm, yeah, I was just saying no. I don’t think she ever told me about… that.’
‘You should ask her. It made me laugh. While I’ve got you, I guess we should set something up for next week? The artwork’s ready, right?’
‘Ah, yeah. I’ll email you about that.’
