When Cat had suggested this weekend away, Ginny’s first thought had been to make up an excuse. Any excuse. Because the last thing she wanted was her perfect sister picking up on there being something not quite right between her and Tristan. Ginny was certain that Cat had never liked her husband. So she had been more than a little surprised when he said he’d been helping her sister plan this hike of hers.
Although, thinking about it more, it wasn’t the first time Cat had misled her over a relationship. There had been that guy they’d both fancied when their parents had taken them to Spain that time. Cat was fifteen and Ginny thirteen. The boy had liked them both, and Cat had convinced Ginny that he wasn’t good enough for either of them, dragging Ginny away from the beach. And then, later, Ginny had gone back to the apartment early and found Cat and the boy in the alleyway outside.
They’d sprung apart as if they’d been electrocuted, and Cat had come up with some bullshit story. Ginny had shrugged it off. It could never have been more than a holiday romance anyway, and she was sure the boy had liked her more. I mean, of course he did – Ginny was much prettier than Cat. She spent far more time making herself look good so that boys would like her, while all Cat did was wash her face with soap and smear on a bit of lip balm.
There’s no way the boy could have liked Cat more . . . clearly Cat had done something to persuade him to be with her instead. But that couldn’t be the same here, could it? Tristan couldn’t possibly be interested in Cat. Was it more likely that Cat had realised that she needed to get on with Tristan for Ginny’s sake?
It was typical of Cat to want a weekend like this. She couldn’t help but do something rigidly planned out. It came from her job, Ginny supposed. Cat was such a planner, when everyone else would have been happy enough spending a weekend in Brighton, drinking beers from plastic pint glasses on the pebbled beach. It was no surprise to anyone that Cat had become an event planner. She was always planning things as a kid. Mapping out her life. Trying to map out Ginny’s too. A lot of the dubious choices Ginny ended up making were purely to prove her sister wrong. Cutting off her nose to spite her face, their grandmother would have said. Even their parents got fed up with Cat’s constant planning. God rest their souls. If only they could see her now.
Thankfully, the fresh air seemed to have calmed her raging hangover and she was finding the first part of the hike quite pleasant. Plus, she thought she was looking quite good in her shorts and t-shirt. Cat had insisted she got proper walking gear and had dragged her into one of those horrendous outdoors shops full of horrible fleeces and ugly shoes; the latter she had flatly refused to try on.
Cat and Ginny had bought almost-identical outfits – navy shorts with side pockets and pale-blue t-shirts. Ginny had done it on purpose, seeing what her sister had hooked over her arm and taken to the changing room – and she’d been slightly miffed when Cat hadn’t said anything. Normally she hated it when Ginny copied her. Clearly Paul had got the same memo, as he was wearing something very similar to Tristan’s beige-shorts-and-black-tee combo. From the back they looked very similar. In fact, the casual observer might think the group was two sets of twins.
She giggled to herself at that, trying to get rid of the dodgy sexual connotations it had conjured up. She pulled her necklace out of her t-shirt, admiring the sparkling green stone. She’d found it in a box when the inheritance had come through, just after her thirtieth birthday four months ago. Wearing it was her little treat to herself. The first of many. Cat hadn’t noticed it yet, despite it being a ridiculous item to wear on a hike – but Ginny was scared it might fall off, so keeping it inside her t-shirt was the best plan. She was planning to casually flip it out later, when they were sitting down. See what Cat had to say about it then.
Anyway, she was feeling a lot better now. After her initial nervous chatter, she’d found herself quietening down and the four of them walked in silence, at peace with their surroundings. She’d already forgotten about the two hikers from the WHO and their portentous warnings of rock falls. In fact, the only thing on her mind was the start of a grumbling stomach. Breakfast was hours ago, and she’d only managed coffee and half a dry roll.
‘Hey,’ Ginny called, picking up her pace a bit to catch up with Tristan, who was striding ahead. ‘How soon until we stop for lunch?’
Tristan took her hand and pulled her alongside him. ‘Jesus, Ginny. We’ve barely started. Another hour. Maybe two?’
‘There’s some snacks in the bags, Gin. Hang on.’