Page 41 of Now and Again

‘I’d just feel better knowing you had backup, Juliet. I could be gone days,’ Amanda said to Juliet.

‘OfcourseI’ll help,’ Riley said.

‘I won’t need it,’ Juliet told her firmly. ‘But thanks.’

Riley nodded. ‘Wait, where the hell is my dad in all of this?’

‘Strasbourg,’ Juliet reminded her.

‘Right. Does he know about the heart attack?’ Riley asked.

‘He’s still on the plane. I’ll call him later,’ Amanda said.

‘He hasn’t touched down yet?’ Riley asked. Juliet detected a touch of suspicion about the question.

Amanda didn’t answer right away. ‘I’m not sure.’ She clapped her hands together. ‘Right. I think that’s everything I need. I better order a cab to the station.’

Amanda dashed out, leaving Juliet with Riley. ‘I don’t need your help,’ Juliet told her.

Riley held up her hands in surrender. ‘I’m not trying to step on your toes. You’re the pro. I know that.’

‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ Juliet said quickly. ‘I just don’t wanna…’ she searched for the right word and found herself using Amanda’s. ‘Impose.’

Riley smiled. ‘Mia’s my sister. No one’s imposing anything.’

Amanda called up. ‘Cab’s two minutes away.’

Juliet and Riley jogged down the stairs to see Amanda holding on to Mia at the door. ‘Mummy! Too tight!’ the little girl said. ‘Mmm? Oh, sorry,’ Amanda said, releasing her tight grip. ‘Be good for Juliet and Riley.’

Mia had other priorities. ‘Will you bring a present?’

‘Of course.’ She took one last desperate look at her daughter, clearly holding back tears, before she stood and grabbed her bag, running out, calling, ‘Bye,’ over her shoulder.

Mia turned to Juliet and Riley. ‘I’m hungry.’

‘Cereal?’ Riley asked.

Mia nodded. Riley went off to the kitchen to fetch her a bowl.

Juliet, in the first calm moment she’d had since finding Amanda in a panic, found herself wondering how this was going to go. Looking after Mia with Riley. She wished she could go back in time and show this moment to her eighteen-year-old self. ‘Look at this,’ she’d say. ‘You may be gutted and heartbroken now, but one day, you’ll be living with Riley and looking after a child together.’

‘We’ll be married with a child?’ Eighteen-Year-Old-Juliet would gasp.

‘No, sorry, you misunderstood. It’s much weirder than that,’ Now-Juliet would have to explain. ‘And much less nice.’

‘What’sthe situation?’ Eighteen-Year-Old-Juliet would ask. ‘I don’t get it.’

‘Yeah, it’s pretty confusing. You know what? Forget I said anything,’ Now-Juliet said to her young self, and she stopped imagining the conversation as she watched Riley give her sister cereal. It was gonna go how it was gonna go. Juliet wasn’t in charge of anything.

Eighteen

‘I justcan’tthis afternoon,’ Riley said for the third time. She was on the toilet. She’d concluded her business on there a few minutes ago but was stuck talking to India.

‘So you keep saying,’ India said. ‘But what family emergency stops you from going to a spin class?’

‘Jesus, India, if you must know, Amanda’s dad had a heart attack.’

There was a pause. ‘I haven’t got the first fucking clue who Amanda is.’

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