This Book Made Me Think of You(19)

She reaches into the bag slung over her shoulder and pulls out a battered-looking paperback copy of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

“Sorry for all the dog-eared pages. But I loved it and thought you might too. There’s a lot in it about video games, but stick with it—I’ve now got into gaming because of how beautiful the book was.”

She reaches out, the book floating in the gap between them until Tilly takes it and slips it into her satchel.

“Thanks.”

“Let me know what you think when you finish it.”

In the past she used to message Rachel immediately after finishing a particularly good book, Joe sometimes asking her if she had to do it right that second if it was particularly late at night and she’d already stayed up working, but Tilly saying she had to get her thoughts down while they were fresh.

They say a stilted goodbye, and Tilly turns one way and Rachel the other. After a few paces Tilly allows herself to pause and glance over her shoulder, watching her old friend walk away and trying to ignore the feeling that, despite it all, she misses her.





Eleven




Tilly lugs her large yellow suitcase through the revolving doors at Heathrow Terminal 4, her eyes searching the crowds for her sister. Queues snake back and forth, the sound of hundreds of conversations and the trundle of baggage trolleys making Tilly’s head spin. But then she hears a familiar voice calling her name and Harper is running toward her, harem trousers billowing and strappy sandals slapping against the ground despite the gray clouds outside. She is wearing a loose shirt, a pair of sunglasses pushed up on her head and has a neck pillow and eye mask strapped to her backpack. She beams at Tilly, pulling her into a hug.

“Nice hat,” she says, tugging the brim of Tilly’s sun hat.

“It wouldn’t fit in my bag.”

“It might not fit on the plane. Or on Bali, come to think of it. You do know it’s only a small island?”

“Yeah, sorry, you’re actually taking a different flight,” Tilly teases. “I’ve chartered my own plane to accommodate me and my hat.”

“Nooo. At least tell me you upgraded me to first class.”

Tilly adjusts the hat slightly on her head and in a more serious voice adds, “Joe liked this hat.”

At the sound of his name from her mouth, she feels her stomach tighten. Is she really about to do this? Is she really going to go on their honeymoon without him? If Harper notices the shift in Tilly’s mood, she doesn’t mention it. Instead she wraps an arm around her shoulders and squeezes her.

“We’ll drop our suitcases and then go get a cocktail. Let’s start this trip the way we mean to go on.”



* * *



—

As they sip cosmopolitans in the airport bar, Tilly quickly checks her email while Harper scrolls through photos on the resort’s Instagram page.

“Ooh, look, they do yoga lessons on the beach!” she says, showing Tilly a photo of yoga mats stretched out on white sand beneath a peach sunrise and toned people contorting into intimidating-looking shapes.

“That might be more your thing than mine. You know how bad my flexibility is.”

“Don’t be so boring, you have to do yoga in Bali. And maybe you’d get more flexible if you…oh, I don’t know…did some yoga?”

As Harper continues to scroll through the feed of images, Tilly spots a new email thread in her inbox.

To: [email protected];

[email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: An idea

What do you think about trying to write the memoir in rhyme? Internet poets are soo hot on socials right now.



To: [email protected] From: [email protected]

Subject: Hell no

Poets might be hot

But your idea is, frankly, NOT

Plus there’s not a word out there

That rhymes with Esmerelda

R xx

Tilly chokes on her cosmopolitan.

“Are you OK?” says Harper as Tilly wipes her mouth with a paper napkin.

“I’m fine, just work.” She bites down on her bottom lip to contain her smile as she types a quick reply.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Hell no

I can’t believe you came up with that masterpiece so quickly. Maybe this idea does have legs after all…

How did your meeting go with her today, by the way? It was your first information-gathering interview, wasn’t it?

The reply comes in quickly.

It was…interesting. When E eventually turned up. She was 45 minutes late. Then there was lots of chat about her celebrity “friends” that we probably won’t be able to include for libel reasons.

But I’ve worked with plenty of Esmereldas. It will be fine! xx Tilly’s thumbs dart across the phone’s screen.

I’m sorry she kept you waiting. I’m actually going to be away for ten days now but do message Sade if there are any problems.

I hope you’re going somewhere nice. No one deserves a holiday more than you. xxx “OK, time’s up!” Harper says, plucking Tilly’s phone from her hand. “The holiday officially starts now. No more work. Only fun.”