Part 53 (2/2)

Ooh she's a cunning one, always a step ahead.

'Worst-Dressed,' Helen continues apace.

My hiking outfit must be a definite contender but I'm spared the final honor as Alex holds up a photograph of Elise in a flesh-colored leotard doing 'downward dog' in a yoga cla.s.s.

'Eww!' we reel back, 'Who took that?'

'We have our contacts,' Alex smirks.

'Is Martha one?' I ask. She definitely seemed in league at times.

'Maybe., Helen smiles, then announces a tie for Hottest Romance.

'Literally a tie!' she giggles. 'Ty and Sasha with Lara and Joel!'

'What about me and Boris?' Zo complains.

I turn to her and gawp, 'You didn't!'

'No,' Zo chuckles. 'But I very nearly would!'

'And finally,' Alex concludes the ceremony, 'Fish out of Water: Elliot.'

Silence.

'He never really took to the wilderness, did he?' Helen sighs as our mood loses its momentary frivolity.

'Oh I don't know,' I beg to differ, thinking of him grinning like a fool on horseback, nuzzling my neck at the bear talk and, best of all, lying by the big log fire at the wedding reception I'd never seen him looking so content.

'I can see what you had in mind for the rest of us,' Sasha frowns, 'but what was the thinking behind sending him there?'

'What you just said thinking,' Helen explains. 'Elliot is always so busy distracting himself with work or TV or computer games, there's never any quiet time to listen to himself. When he wants a thrill he just plugs in or rattles his bones on a rollercoaster. We wanted him to get some natural highs, to feel good just from being alive.'

'And we thought if he had the chance to really think about some of the decisions he was about to make, um ...' Alex falters, realizing this bit didn't quite pan out.

I stare at the dusty wooden floorboards. It so nearly worked. I wonder what happened to send him back to her? What hold does she have over him?

'I have one more question,' Sasha raises her hand. 'I understand how The California Club knows all about us because you could tell them, Helen, but what happens when you get a new member you know nothing about?'

Helen turns to Alex. 'Is it time?' she asks him.

'I guess so!' he nods, holding her gaze.

'Everyone!' Helen gets our attention. 'I want you to meet Reuben, my boyfriend.'

Sasha and Zo turn around to look for him. I stare straight at Alex.

'And the award for Most Duplicitous Couple goes to ...'

'I thought you were beginning to suspect,' Helen acknowledges my dig.

'Hold on!' Zo sits up straight. 'Alex is Reuben?'

He steps forward and shakes each of our hands. 'Nice to meet you all again!'

'Why did you lie?' Sasha frowns, looking hurt.

Helen pulls a face. 'I thought things would sound more convincing coming from a stranger in a suit.'

'Can I take it off now?' Reuben wriggles in his jacket.

Go ahead,' Helen nods.

He liberates himself quicker than Houdini shedding his chains and rumples his overly prepared hair. 'That's better!'

The truth is slowly dawning. It's not just Alex that doesn't exist.

'The California Club?' my voice quavers. 'Is it real?' I don't know if I want to hear the answer.

'Of course!' Helen laughs.

'Wow!' Zo breathes, relieved. 'For a minute there I thought you were going to -'

'But you're the only members.'

Silence while the information is processed.

'Helen, what's going on?' Sasha looks uneasy.

'I invented it.' Helen shrugs.

'But why?' I protest, exchanging bewildered looks with the others. 'I don't understand.'

Helen takes a breath and then begins: 'In the year since I left, you've all been drifting away from each other. In fact you've just been drifting, full stop. And complaining. Every time I'd want to tell you about my beautiful new life I stopped myself because I thought it would just seem like gloating you were all so down. Sasha, you tried to cover it up but you know you're the world's worst liar. It was breaking my heart to feel you slipping away, I knew I had to do something drastic to reach you.'

Sasha blinks back at her.

'Zo, I know you'll always land on your feet but it sounded to me like you were wis.h.i.+ng your life away, looking at celebrity magazines and feeling incomplete because you'd never been papped coming out of a restaurant on the arm of a footballer. You've got so much to offer and it was frustrating me that all your energy was being put into empty dreams. I remember wis.h.i.+ng I could give you all your dreams so that then you'd realize how much value your normal life had. And how much further you could go with it.'

Zo sits back in her seat, stunned.

'Lara,' Helen smiles. 'When everyone else moved away you stayed put and you've been waiting for us all to come back ever since. I told Reuben that if I had a wish for you it would be that you would get the chance to travel and then maybe you'd understand what pulls people away, and that it's not always personal. And it's certainly not a rejection of you.'

She sighs.

'And then there's Elliot. Who is really half of you, I always think.' She looks straight at me. 'I honestly thought he was about to make the worst decision of his life. Everything he told me about Elise, I kept thinking WRONG! WRONG! You know we'd all love to see you and him end up together but even if that was a wish too far I at least wanted him to have a small break from her. They moved in together too soon, he never had the chance to think ...'

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