to her favourite quaint café for lunch, and for a moment she had peered inside and found herself staring at Eve. A girl resting on the counter, her black hair shading a worn paperback, her small shoulders had lifted and sunk with every line her eyes raced down, like her body was bracing against the book itself. With these small movements, Laura had seen the beginning of a half-covered tattoo on her upper arm. She didn’t even feel the pull of the handle to the record store, she just saw herself walking towards the girl. Laura grabbed a random record off the shelf. She didn’t notice the title was facing downwards. She took the stairs two at a time, trying to read the cover of the book Eve left dog-eared and tattered on the counter, and missed the last step. Laura flew forwards, catching her body in the Blue’s Section shelves. She blushed a bright red and nearly broke the record, slotting it into a nearby shelf before hurrying for the door. Eve watched her leave the store, making sure she was out on the pavement before she started laughing.
Chapter 2: Coffee
Laura strolled down the street with her head down. She found herself feeling grateful in someone not knowing who she was. It was a reprieve. The whole encounter made her feel grounded in a way that was years past for her – like a normal person, despite the humiliation of the whole meeting. Laura quickened her step. Lunch was becoming dinner by the time she finally reached the café. Laura found her friend, Deb, at their usual booth at the back of the café. Deb flicked down her magazine. She never mentioned if Laura was late; for Deb, whenever she arrived was on time for Laura.It was one of the many virtues she loved about her. Deb gave her a peck on the cheek.
‘Doing some light shopping?’ Deb motioned to the small paper bag Laura had forgotten she was holding.
‘It’s just a card.’ Laura leaned in close. ‘Did you know, there’s this lovely record store at the end of the street?’
‘You know me,’ Deb lifted her glossy magazine. ‘This is the heaviest amount of culture I do.’
Laura wanted to tell Deb about Eve and the fool she had made of herself. She took a pause, then realised Deb knew exactly what that pause meant.
‘Come on, out with it,’ Deb grinned. ‘I know that look.’
Laura bit her bottom lip. ‘What do you think of tattoos?’
Deb raised her half-empty wine glass to Laura with a wink.
After the rush of the morning, Eve finally got to take her belated lunch break. She tapped on her sister’s contact, forgetting about the time difference in Australia.
Anna picked up on the fifth ring, her voice groggy and annoyed. ‘What the hell, Eve?’
‘Sorry, I keep forgetting.’ Eve took a pause. ‘You’ll never guess who was just in here. Well, I mean, I think she’s famous, but you know me—’
Anna cut her off. ‘Yeah, yeah, you’re hopeless with celebrities. For your sake, I hope it was Beyoncé or something, because I’m willing to travel across continents to slap you for waking me up this early.’
Eve’s excitement plummeted considerably from her sister’s mood.
‘Well, are you going to tell me or keep me guessing?’
‘Laura Dalton.’
‘Shit, really?’
‘So she’s a big deal, then?’
‘She’s been in every kind of movie. Jesus, kid, how do you notknow movie stars?’
‘I work in a record shop, remember? I don’t have time for TV.’
‘Such the intellect.’
Eve could feel her grinning through the phone. ‘Wait, how do youeven have time for TV? I mean, being a doctor basically means you have no life.’ Eve quipped.
‘Actually, she’s in a show I watch. It’s called Faith Matthews. She’s plays a detective who solves cases with the help of her dead child.’
‘That’s some twisted shit.’
‘Yeah … but she’s really great. Hey, next time ask for an autograph, kid.’
‘I’ll let her know you’re the one who bought those clippings of her hair. You’ll be on Datelinebefore we know it.’
‘Yeah, yeah. Well, I gotta go. Check the hours next time. Jesus.’
Eve ended the call and placed the phone facing down on the lunch table. She dragged a cheap plastic chair, which she had found abandoned on a sidewalk, over to the sole window in the room. She watched a couple walking hand-in-hand down the street. A gust of wind blew a cluster of leaves against a yellow cab, a few stuck to the hood as it disappeared around a corner, a huge ladybug with misshapen spots. A young girl, no taller than a picket fence, was being swung up in the air by her parents. She kicked out with her small feet, trying to reach for the sun. Eve shook the image from her mind like a faded polaroid. She returned to her desk and ate her lunch in a bitter silence. The rest of the day passed in a blur of credit cards, cash and forgettable faces. A sensation kept nagging at Eve, a pulling from her stomach. A mist of confusion had covered Eve’s usually snappy one-liners towards the customers, which placed her in a bad mood for the rest of the day. No matter what she did, she couldn’t shake the woman from the morning.
Eve’s Nike gym bag hit against her thigh; her music blared louder than she needed. She scanned her membership card through the steel turnstile. The pole arm clicked.
Eve rolled her shoulders. Her feet were light as she sized up the punching bag. Eve got into position, blocking out everyone else in the gym, refusing the attention of her own reflection in the mirror than ran the length of the back wall. She landed punch after solid punch until her face became soaked with sweat and her arms ached. Only when she dealt a high striking kick, which hit the bag with blunt force, did the pull in her stomach loosen and curl away. She gave into the fire that ran the length of her body, down to her fingertips, as her movements became faster and more fluid.
Chapter 3: The plan
Laura sank deeper into the pillows that lined the small lip she had installed in front of the windows for a reading place. She looked down at the bikes and pedestrians who weaved through the traffic. The fast pace of it all, blaring car horns, shouts, even the wind seemed to be irritated with time. Laura peeled her eyes away from the window and stretched for her glass of wine. Her mind began to drift back to lunch.
‘So, what are you going to do about this girl?’ Deb asked her, as she downed another margarita.
‘Nothing.’ Laura shrugged. ‘All I said was that she was interesting.’
‘I’ve never known you to show an interest in strangers.’
‘She just … I don’t know—’
‘First, you get all tongue tied. Next, you’ll be acting like a love-struck teenager.’
Laura tried to brush her off. ‘You read too much into things.’
‘Yeah and you don’t? At least try to find out if she’s interested.’ Deb raised her glass to Laura and winked.
Laura
