Cally swallowed. She was doing more than dwelling on the bad stuff. She waslivingit. She always had done, and it feltveryunfair. Her life hadn’t been full of Lovely days. It had been hard, messy, complicated, full of twists and turns and unexpected things as she’d struggled to hold up the sky. She pretended to agree with a false chuckle. ‘It is indeed.’
‘Right, you are. Well, nice to see you.’
‘Yep, you too.’
Cally retreated into herself, her mind spinning. She closed her eyes and tried to shut out the world as her brain continued to swirl and churn. Things were not good.
Cally walked up the path to Eloise’s house and let herself in. She called out and found Eloise in the kitchen with a bottle of wine on the table and a glass in her hand.
‘Hiya.’ Eloise smiled.
‘Hey. How are you?’
Cally hugged Eloise just a little bit too hard. Right away, Eloise frowned and squinted.
‘What’s wrong? You okay?’
‘Yep, I’m fine.’
‘Worried about the races?’
Cally rolled her eyes. The races were the last of her worries. It was what was going to happen after the races that was bothering her. ‘No, not at all.’
She leaned against the kitchen worktop as she tried to gather her thoughts, and Eloise chatted about her outfit for the races. A warm, cosy scent of garlic and herbs filled the air as Eloise poured her a glass of wine.
Eloise frowned. ‘What’s wrong? You’re doing the voice thing.’
‘Am I?’
‘You are.’
‘Nothing’s wrong.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘Just tell me.’
Cally considered whether or not to tell Eloise about the secret marriage certificate. She felt stupid and embarrassed. She sighed. ‘I don’t even know where to start.’
‘Try me.’
Cally took a deep, shuddering breath and let the words come pouring out in a rush. 'I found something that changes everything. I can’t believe it.'
‘What? You found something? Like what? What do you mean? What did you find?'
Cally swallowed. 'I found a wedding certificate.’
Eloise wrinkled her nose. ‘What of your grandma’s? I thought you got rid of most of that stuff.’
‘Not my grandma! Logan's wedding certificate. From a previous marriage that he never told me about!'
Eloise's eyes widened, her hand stilled mid-stir over the pot on the hob. 'Sorry? What? Are you serious? What the heck? Are you kidding me?’
‘Oh, how I wish I were.’
‘Sorry, wait, how did you find it?'
Cally let out a bitter, humourless laugh. 'The decluttering job.’
