Page 58 of Good Sisters

‘You’re doing great, Dad. We love you and we’re here for you.’ Sophie sniffed.

‘You are a good granddad.’ I tried to reassure him.

Beside me, Sophie fished around in her bag for a tissue. She pulled one out and a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She reached down to pick it up.

She looked at it and frowned. ‘Hotel Dolce Vita in Rome.’ Then she gasped. ‘Oh, my God, Louise!’

Everyone turned to look at her.

‘What?’

Sophie handed me the piece of paper. It was headed paper –Hotel Dolce Vita. On the paper was the name Marco and a phone number.

I stared at the piece of paper and then my heart skipped a beat.

‘What is it?’ Julie asked.

‘Louise, you’ve gone as white as a ghost,’ Dad said.

My heart was pounding. The bag. The Prada bag. I’d bought it in Italy on that work trip. I’d gone into the Pradashop and treated myself to it. I’d had it with me that night … the night I’d been made partner … the night I’d drunk way too much … the night I’d had unprotected sex with a stranger. Turns out the stranger’s name was Marco.

‘Is it him?’ Sophie asked.

Julie grabbed the paper from my hand. ‘Oh, my God, is this the hotel?’

I nodded, unable to speak.

‘What the hell is going on?’ Gavin asked. ‘What hotel, who is “him”?’

Sophie turned to them. ‘This Marco guy is Clara’s dad and there’s a phone number.’

‘Oh, my God, this is huge.’ Gavin’s eyes widened. ‘You can find him now.’

‘Unless he’s changed his number,’ Julie said.

‘I’m sure you can track it back or find an address or, I don’t know, get an investigator to do it for you,’ Sophie said. ‘Quentin once hired a private investigator to find out if his boyfriend was cheating on him. He was very good. I can get his name, if you like?’

Julie leaned over. ‘Hey, Louise, are you okay? This is a lot.’

I was in complete shock. I didn’t know how to feel. On the one hand, it was easier not having had any way of finding Clara’s dad, but Clara was so insistent and so obsessed with finding him, I owed it to her to try. And now I could find him, but did I want to? Would it be wise? Would he be a bonus in Clara’s delicate life, or a hindrance?

‘I … I don’t know. I have to protect Clara but … but I should … I …’ I stuttered.

‘Louise,’ Dad said gently, ‘Clara has asked me several times recently about her dad. Why don’t you find this Marco fellow, meet him and then decide? We’ll all help you. We’re all here for you. I’ll be with you every step of the way.’

‘If he’s a douche bag, we’ll see him off. But if he’s a good bloke, it could be great for Clara,’ Gavin pointed out.

But did I really want to open this huge can of worms? I knew my family would support me, but at the end of the day it was me and Clara. The others all had their own families to look after. Clara and I had always been two peas in a pod. How would this affect my fragile daughter? Then again, Clara was obsessed with finding her dad and she did deserve to know him –ifhe was nice and accepted her and loved her. Oh, God, it was so complicated. My head throbbed.

‘Take some time to process it all,’ Julie told me. ‘You can’t work it all through here and now.’

Sophie chewed her lip. ‘I’m not trying to be hippie-dippy here, but it kind of feels like a sign.’

‘What do you mean?’ Julie asked.

‘Louise lends Mum her bag years ago and forgets about it. It’s in the attic and in the charity pile. I take it because I love Prada. And here we are at dinner together and I’m using the bag for the first time. I go to get a tissue when we’re all talking about how much we miss Mum, and the piece of paper falls out.’

‘Jeez, you’re right, it is a sign,’ Gavin whispered. ‘It’s totally a sign from Mum.’

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