PART ONE
Chapter OneCLARA
‘I’M HERE, EVERYONE!’ I announce with a flourish to a hallway-full of surprised faces. ‘CLARA! THE ONE YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!’ I laugh dramatically, slamming the front door behind me as loudly as possible, and yanking on Harry’s arm. ‘C’mon,’ I hiss at him before turning back to the room. ‘And – drum roll, everyone – this is my gorgeous fiancé, Harry! Can you believe it?! We’re engaged!’
Great-Aunts I barely know gasp, gathering and clustering around me as they cluck excitedly. I take in the array of quivering handbags, all in different ancient colours and textures.
‘Oooh, isn’t he handsome?’ one squawks, as another fusses, ‘Another family wedding! I can’t wait!’ A third at the back wails, ‘Please have the big day soon, before I die!’ A tall Great-Aunt I don’t recognize at all seizes me and Harry by the wrists, her steely eyes burning into mine. ‘Show usthe ring,’ she demands with something closer to fury than excitement.
I flick long hair off my shoulder, slightly regretting my grand entrance. ‘It’s being resized in Hatton Garden,’ I tell her excitably. ‘But it’sgorge. Three huge mega diamonds, right, Haz?’ I shoot him an encouraging look and he nods dumbly, eyes wide as he takes in the older relations swarming around us. He’s probably wondering if this is how I’ll look when I’m eighty-odd. But no fear, Haz, I plan to have literally all the available surgery the verysecondsomeone calls me madam.
‘Right, uh-huh,’ he swallows and I squeeze his hand reassuringly. Poor Harry. I mostly love attention, but I understand it’s a lot for him.
‘Let’s go get a drink,’ I say, pulling him through the throng of handbags to many shrieks of protest from the Great-Aunts.
The kitchen hasn’t changed a single tile, I note, as we head for an array of bottles lined up along the counter. I help myself to a too-yellow wine, sloshing it into familiar wine glasses.
Huh, I thought I’d broken all of these as a teenager, but it seems at least a couple survived.
I hand Harry a beer and he takes it silently as I regard the room. Yet more weirdos – otherwise known as my extended family – mill about, sipping drinks and picking at bowls of orange crisps.
No Jemma, though.
I suppress a frustrated sigh. I’ve been gone for five yearswith barely a postcard or a WhatsApp exchanged in all that time and my own twin sister doesn’t care. She’s abandoned me, hiding away in my hour of need.
I turn to Harry, who still looks overwhelmed. ‘Hey, sorry about the relatives,’ I tell him, laughing. ‘Look—’
Another Great-Aunt throws herself at me from out of nowhere, ruffling my hair like I’m five, instead of twenty-eight.
‘It’s so good to have you home, Clara,’ she says in a baby voice, bending down to speak to me, even though we are roughly the same height. She frowns disapprovingly now. ‘You know your mummy has beensoworried about you, running off like you did all those years ago. You’ve barely been home for a visit, it’sveryselfish.’ She tuts. ‘I’m glad you’ve at least returned to celebrate your mother’s big day.’
‘Um, yeah, that’s totally why I’m home – Mum’s engagement party.’ I feel a thump of fear in my chest as I take in the banners and balloons around us. For half a second I consider blurting out the real reason I’m back; part of me would love toreallyshock this judgemental woman. Instead, I turn to wave in Harry’s direction. ‘And speaking of engagements…’ I clear my throat, ‘this is my fiancé.’
In milliseconds, her disapproval transforms into delight.
‘Fiancé?’ she howls at the moon, like I have achieved top life level. ‘Howwonderful! Your mother didn’t tell me! So this is adoubleengagement party!’ She beams. ‘You and your mumbothgetting married!’ She gasps. ‘You should have a joint wedding!’
‘I haven’t told her yet,’ I say quickly, waving my hand likethis is unimportant, as I squeeze past. ‘Come on, Harry, let’s go find Mum and tell her the big news.’ I grab his hand again, striding past the open-mouthed Great-Aunt and through into the living room.
Still no Jemma. Ugh, where the absolute fuckery fuck is she?
Actually, I know exactly where she is. She’ll be hiding in the loo, like she always did at family parties when we were kids. She’s always hated parties. But what’s not to like? Booze, food, loads of people having fun? She’s such a killjoy sometimes. I picture her now, sitting up there in the upstairs bathroom, trousers around her ankles, reading her latest novel and pretending she can’t hear the noises of rowdy relatives hitting the sherry too hard downstairs.
I spot my mum across the living room, nestled in among the hallway aunts and arm-in-arm with her new fiancée, Angela.
I haven’t met Angela in person yet. We’ve done some awkward waving through FaceTime and she seems… OK? She’s a bit weird, but so’s my mum. They’ve only been dating a few months, so this engagement is almost as much of a surprise as mine and Harry’s.
I sigh internally, thinking Angela probably already hates me. After all, I’m the terrible black sheep daughter who ran away to the States five years ago and barely even rang home, never mind visited.
I watch Mum for a second across the room, and catch her squeezing Angela’s hand. They exchange a look that makesmy heart happy. I glance at Harry and then impulsively kiss his cheek. He looks surprised as I grin up at him and say, ‘Let’s go introduce you to my mum!’
As we approach, I spy a spotty teenage girl hovering moodily behind the couple. She must be Angela’s daughter, I realize, studying her closer. She’s pouting around the room, looking furious at the world. I feel you, sister.
I feel you,step-sister.
I brighten, thinking about winning this teenager over. I’m the cool, new, big sister, fresh from New York with a bag full of makeup and a fiancé on her arm. She’s totally going to think I’mawesome. I’ll finally have a sister I have stuff in common with. A sister wholikesme.
‘THERE SHE IS!’ That tall Great-Aunt from the hallway is yelling across the room at us now, gesturing excitedly for me and Harry to approach. I meet Mum’s eyes and her eyebrows shoot up. She cocks her head, giving me a perplexed look and I grin. Time for Harry to meet his brand new mother-in-law. The Great-Aunts giggle and trill about veils and venues as I make my way over.
