Page 18 of The Pearl Sister
As I walked back down the alleyway lined with stalls that led to my other life, I realised I was starting to feel defensive about Ace, just like I’d felt about Star when people had asked me if she was okay, because she was so quiet and didn’t say very much.
I arrived back in my room and after showering and creaming – which I was worried was becoming a daily habit I must lose before it took hold for good – and then dressing in my old kaftan, I wandered out onto the terrace. Ace was already there, wearing a crisp white linen shirt.
‘Hi. Good day?’ he asked me.
‘Yeah, except the art’s still going nowhere. I can’t draw a square at the moment, let alone anything else.’
‘It’ll come back, CeCe. You just need to get all the negative stuff they said out of your head. That takes time.’
‘Yeah, it sure seems to. What about your day?’
‘The same really. I read a book, then went for a walk and thought about what it said. I’ve realised that none of these “self-help” bookscanhelp, really, because at the end of the day, you’ve got to help yourself.’ He gave a wry grin. ‘There are no easy solutions.’
‘No, there never are. You’ve just got to get on with it, haven’t you?’
‘Yep. Ready for dinner?’ he asked me eventually, breaking the silence that hung over the table.
‘Bring it on.’
An enormous lobster appeared in front of us, accompanied by numerous side dishes.
‘Wow! Lobster is my absolute number one favourite seafood,’ I said happily as I tucked in.
‘For a traveller whom I met sleeping on the beach, you seem to have seriously ritzy taste,’ he teased when we’d both cleaned our plates and moved on to a dessert of fresh fruit and homemade sorbets. ‘From what you’ve said, I presume your dad is rich?’
‘Was, yeah.’ I realised I hadn’t told Ace about Pa’s death, but now was as good a time as any, so I did.
‘Sorry to hear that, CeCe. So, this is the first Christmas and New Year without him?’
‘It is.’
‘Is that why you’re here?’
‘Yes and no . . . I lost someone else close to me too, recently. Like, my soulmate.’
‘A boyfriend?’
‘No, my sister actually. I mean, she’s still alive, but she decided to go her own way.’
‘I see. Well, we are a pair, aren’t we?’
‘Are we? Have you lost someone too?’
‘You could say I’ve lost just about everything in the past few months. I’ve got no one to blame but myself.’ He took a gulp of water. ‘Unlike you.’
‘It wasn’t my fault Pa died, no, but I think I drove my sister away. By being . . . bossy.’ I finally voiced the word. ‘And maybe a bit controlling. I didn’t mean to be, but she was really shy as a kid and didn’t speak much, so I spoke for her and I guess it never changed.’
‘So she found her own voice?’
‘Something like that, yeah. Broke my heart actually. She was my . . .person,if you know what I mean.’
‘Oh yes, I do,’ he said with feeling. ‘When you trust someone implicitly and they let you down, it’s very hard.’
‘Has that happened to you?’ I watched as he looked upwards and saw real pain in his eyes.
‘Yes.’
‘Do you wanna talk about it?’ I asked him, realising that he was always encouraging me to tell himmytroubles, but whenever he started to talk about his own, he’d suddenly clam up.
