‘I can’t believe you’re here.’ Autumn looked at her friend, held onto her hands. ‘I wasn’t sure I’d get to see you again.’
‘Your mother found my number, said you were looking for a new personal assistant. I told her I already had the job,’ Tawanda said, her eyes moving to Alison.
‘We needed someone you could really trust this time, not just someone who looks the part,’ Alison remarked.
‘What are you saying, Foreign Secretary Raine? That I don’t look the part?’ Tawanda asked, acting affronted and lifting up one high-top sneaker.
Autumn let out a laugh, then hugged Tawanda close again. She wanted to keep her with her in case she disappeared.
‘You have lost more weight. This is not good. I will make you eggs, and you will eat them,’ Tawanda ordered.
‘I remember how good they were,’ Autumn whispered, a faint smile on her mouth.
‘I usually burn mine anyway, but look,’ Alison said, indicating her sleeve, ‘I ruined a good blouse in the attempt.’
‘It isn’t ruined, Mother, that will come out with a bit of pre-wash and a forty-degree cycle,’ Autumn stated.
Tawanda grinned at her. ‘My, my, child! You really did listen to Tawanda. I’m impressed.’
‘I should have listened a lot more,’ Autumn admitted.
‘Ah, well, you listen right now, and I’ll teach you how to cook the best scrambled eggs, Jamaican style.’
*
She’d eaten at least four eggs made into scramble and a whole bowl of fresh fruit salad. She was full to bursting, and at the moment, she had no urge to go and lose it all down the toilet. The scene at the breakfast table was bizarre, but, strangely, it worked. There was her mother sipping at an herbal tea from a proper cup and saucer and reading the paper, and there was Tawanda, one of her big hands closed around a mug of coffee, a pen in the other hand, marking at the crossword. She wondered what Nathan would have thought of it.
After the kidnapping, and the death and destruction that had been brought into her life, it was like everything had suddenly stilled. There was quiet here, even with her mother’s constant fussing. There was time to think, time to recollect her feelings and memories. She liked the calm.
With that sentimental thought, Alison caught sight of the wall clock and leaped out of her chair.
‘I have to go. I have a meeting in half an hour, and I can’t be late.’ She slipped her jacket over the fresh blouse she had put on before they’d sat down to breakfast.
Autumn was about to let out a sigh of relief, but she held it in. She was glad her mother was going out, but she didn’t want her to think that she didn’t appreciate her care. She did appreciate it, more than she was ever going to confess to.
‘You’ll be okay?’ Alison asked, putting her purse over her shoulder.
‘Yes, of course,’ Autumn answered.
‘You’ll take care of her?’ Alison directed the question to Tawanda.
Tawanda looked up from her puzzle. ‘That’s the most important part of being a personal assistant, as far as I am concerned.’
‘Right, well I’m leaving then. If you need me, for anything, just call. You’ve charged the new iPhone I got you?’
‘Yes, Mother,’ Autumn replied, this time letting the sigh come out.
‘See you later then. I shouldn’t be later than six. Perhaps we could go to dinner, if you feel up to it.’
‘Perhaps.’
As soon as she heard the front door close, Autumn let out a breath that drifted on and on. It felt as if she had been holding onto a lungful of air for days. She took hold of her coffee mug and drank the black liquid down quickly. She coughed as some of it went down the wrong way then grabbed at her napkin to wipe her mouth.
‘You will end up with indigestion if you aren’t careful,’ Tawanda said. She poured water from a jug on the table into a glass. ‘Here, have some water.’
‘Sorry,’ she apologized, seizing the glass and taking a sip.
‘You have nothing to apologize for, child.’
‘God, Tawanda, I don’t know what to do! I’ve been here for days, but it seems like years. She’s treating me like a baby, and I know I should make the most of it, but, to be honest, it’s driving me mad.’
‘She is a very complex woman, and she has dealt with a lot in her life. I think you should make a few allowances for how she behaves now. She has shared her deepest secret with you… about your father. She told me in case you wanted to talk. I’ve kept more secrets than I’ve made chicken dinners. She wants to make up for all those wasted years when you didn’t understand each other.’
Autumn put the glass of water down and got up from the table. ‘I need to go out, will you come with me? We’ll go shopping. I need to choose something to wear to the IMAs.’
‘Shopping isn’t one of my great loves, child.’
Autumn smiled. ‘I bet you’ve never done it with a platinum credit card.’
Forty-Three
‘Autumn, just a few words. Are you going to the International Music Awards? We hear there’s going to be a tribute to Blu-Daddy. Will you be taking part?’
‘Autumn, have you anything to say about Rockweiler and Janey Jacobs being charged over Blu-Daddy’s death?’
She didn’t even look at the cameras or the reporters shouting questions. Tawanda had positioned herself between Autumn and the paparazzi as they made their way from the cab into the exclusive boutique.
The sales assistant was at the door, beckoning Autumn and Tawanda toward her, ready to let them in and shut the rest of the world out so they could shop in complete privacy.
‘Come in, Miss Raine. Would you like me to arrange some security for the
