Page 26 of Past Lives
Mother offers her hand. “Cecilia Banks,” she says, with the regal ‘Banks’ pitched to ensure he knows I descend from old money and even older disappointment. “Welcome, Heath.”
Heath’s handshake is gentle. “Thank you for having me. Maya’s told me a lot about you.”
“I hope the good things outweighed the—” she begins, but Heath cuts her off, a diplomatic ninja.
“All good things,” he says, eyes flicking to me. “Your daughter is the best storyteller I’ve ever met.”
Blair snorts something that wants to be a laugh, but also maybe a snarl. “That is true. She’s also the best liar.”
Heath’s mouth twitches, not quite smiling. “I think the best storytellers usually are.”
Mother claps her hands again, embarrassed by her own delight. “Well, come sit. You’re just in time for—oh, Sonya, would you bring in the canapés?”
We move to the living room, where the mid-century furniture is carefully arranged. Heath sits in the armchair, looking relaxed and confident. Blair and I sit on the sofa, and Mother sits across from us, studying him closely.
Sonya comes in with a tray full of smoked fish, small quiches, and something tiny and carefully made. She sets it down and leaves, glancing at me with a quick nod that feels like a silent ‘good luck.’
“So, Heath,” Mother says, extracting a segment of cucumber, “what is it you do? Maya said you were in… tech?”
Heath tilts his head, as if the question amuses him. “I used to work in tech. I retired last year, but now I mostly develop travel apps.” He reaches for a quiche, but doesn’t eat it. “I’m trying to create something with a lower ecological footprint, so travel isn’t just for people who can afford to ignore climate change.” He glances at me, and I wonder if he’s posturing, then decide he’s just… truthful.
Blair, arms folded, says, “So you’re some kind of eco-entrepreneur?”
Heath shrugs. “That’s generous. I’m mostly obsessed with logistics. I like the idea of getting people from one place to another as efficiently as possible.”
Mother, nodding approvingly, says, “Isn’t that clever. I’ve always thought the airlines could do with a little disruption.” She leans forward. “Do you travel for pleasure, or just for work?”
Heath looks at me so directly that I am forced to meet his gaze. “Mostly for pleasure, lately. Scotland was…” He pauses, and the pause is heavy, freighted with that neolithic gravity still clinging to us. “Transformative.”
Blair is not impressed. “You know, Maya’s never brought a man to this house before. She used to say it was ‘too loaded’—”
Heath, smiling now, says, “I’m honored to be the first.”
I want to die, or at least melt. Mother saves me: “Blair, would you help me with the wine?”
They sweep out of the room in a cloud of sisterly collusion, leaving me and Heath in the chilled silence. He leans over, hand on my knee, voice low.
“How am I doing?”
“Perfect,” I whisper. “You’ve already outperformed every expectation.”
“Your mother makes me nervous,” he says. “I respect that.”
“She’s gone easy on you. Wait for dessert.”
The girls return with a bottle of Sancerre and four glasses. We toast to “unexpected encounters,” Blair’s idea, and to “sustainability,” which I think is a dig at Heath, but he doesn’t flinch. Conversation swerves from politics to art to the concept of soulmates, which Mother introduces with her usual, “I don’t believe in such things, but?—”
Blair cuts in. “I think you do, actually. You just refuse to believe anyone could be good enough for Maya.” Her tone is joking, but there’s a sliver of heat in it.
Mother sniffs, “I want her to be happy, and I want her to be safe. Is that so unreasonable?”
Heath, unexpectedly, takes my hand on top of the coffee table. “I want the same thing,” he says, so quietly it could be a prayer.
Mother studies me. “Well, Maya? Are you?”
I look at him. I look at my mother. I look at Blair, who is pretending not to listen, which means she is listening harder than anyone on earth.
“I am,” I say, and it’s so nakedly true that Blair’s mouth opens and then closes. Mother’s eyes go glassy, then she laughs, swift and sharp, and pours more wine.
