Читать книгу I’ll Take New York - Miranda Dickinson - Страница 14

Bea stepped out of the yellow cab and gazed up at the bay windows of the traditional New York brownstone building. She loved this street and had taken every opportunity to visit since her brother Stewart had moved in here with his girlfriend Celia. The leafy boughs of London Plane trees rustled in the light breeze above her head and gave the street an air of serenity and calm, despite the constant buzz of Manhattan traffic at the end of the block. It seemed a world away from Brooklyn and the perfect place for Bea after the events of the day. Right now, she needed familiarity and comfort – and her brother was the one who could provide it.

‘Bea! Come on up,’ Stewart’s voice crackled through the door intercom and Bea headed inside the elegant brownstone. He was waiting for her as she reached his floor, leaning casually against the doorframe of his apartment. ‘Coffee’s on and I have muffins from M&H Bakers.’

‘Sounds wonderful,’ Bea smiled, taking off her coat and walking inside. The apartment was light and airy, bearing more evidence of her brother’s taste since he and Celia had recently redecorated. In addition to the floor-to-ceiling bookcases that separated the living room from the dining area, a collection of Stewart’s beloved gadgets, games consoles and gym equipment had been assigned a place near the hallway that led to the bedrooms. True to form, his things were arranged haphazardly, more than a little at odds with the ordered regularity of Celia’s belongings. But, much like their unconventional relationship, it worked perfectly.

Bea and Stewart settled on chairs by the table in the large bay window and Bea helped herself to a triple chocolate muffin, the scent of freshly brewed coffee making her mouth water.

‘Have you eaten lately?’ Stewart asked, inadvertently sounding like their mother.

‘Not much,’ Bea replied through mouthfuls of chocolate sponge. Perhaps it was being so far away from Brooklyn – and Otis – but her recently absent appetite had made a sudden return. She laughed when she saw her brother’s amusement. ‘It must be the magic of M&H.’

‘Now, that I can’t argue with. Seriously, Bea, how are you doing? You left so quickly after the meal the other night.’

Bea felt her heart sink. ‘Well, I didn’t want to hang around. Not with Aunt Ruby’s loud damnations ringing in my ears. Public humiliation isn’t something you want to prolong.’

‘You weren’t humiliated, sis. Your boyfriend on the other hand …’

‘He’s not my boyfriend.’ Bea’s sudden admission made her appetite evaporate once more. ‘Not any more.’

Stewart took a few moments to process this. ‘Really? Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’

‘Only you’ve said this before and …’

‘It’s definite this time. I’m done with Otis and his broken promises. I just can’t do it any more.’ She shook her head. ‘Russ thinks I’m being hasty, of course. He’s convinced we’re destined for each other. But he should try dating Otis. I’m tired of the stupid roundabout of my love life, Stew. I’ve decided to get off it for good.’

‘Wow.’

‘I know.’

Stewart refilled their coffee mugs. ‘So what’s the plan now?’

‘Focus on the things in my life that work. Russ is talking about putting a coffee bar into the bookshop and I have lots of ideas for promotions and evening events. Also, I’m thinking of looking for a bigger apartment.’

‘Moving uptown at last, eh?’

Bea laughed. ‘No fear. It’s Brooklyn all the way, baby! I like where I live. I’d just like somewhere with a bit more room.’

‘It all sounds good. But you haven’t answered my question, Bea: how are you really?’

Bea thought back to the night of the doomed family meal – the uniform disappointment of her gathered family members, the sympathy in their expressions that she really didn’t need to see, and the crushing realisation that, once again, Otis had let her down. How was she meant to be after an experience like that?

‘It was mortifying,’ she confessed, staring into the dark depths of her coffee. ‘A whole history of happy-ever-afters around the table and I couldn’t even get my boyfriend to keep a promise he’d made to all of them. It made me feel like a failure, through no fault of my own. And more than anything else, it made me realise that I’m the exception in the James family: I’m destined not to find a decent relationship.’

‘Bea …’

‘I mean it, Stew. Let’s face it, by the law of averages it had to happen to someone eventually. It would be impossible to have so many generations of childhood sweetheart success stories without one blip. That’s just what I am. A blip.’

Her brother’s laugh was gentle but still stung. ‘You’re being melodramatic. This is one relationship, Bea. There’s no unwritten rule that every member of the James family has to find true love at their first attempt. If that were true, I’d have been sunk years ago. The point is we all get there in the end. Otis isn’t The One: that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out there who might be.’

Bea wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t see anything beyond the possibility of years of disappointment stretching into the future. Frankly, there were other things she would rather expend her energies on. Things that had at least a hope of success attached to them.

‘I don’t know if I can be bothered to look for them any more.’

Stewart took his sister’s hand across the table. ‘Then stop looking for now. You need to be good to yourself, sis. I hate seeing you down.’

‘Am I missing something good?’ The door to the apartment slammed and Bea looked up to see the flamboyant figure of her brother’s partner approaching.

‘Hi Celia,’ she smiled, standing to receive a hug.

‘Honey, how are you? I was so worried after that awful dinner.’ She placed her hand on Bea’s forehead as if expecting to find a raging temperature. ‘Are you well?’

‘She’s fine,’ Stewart laughed, rising to fetch another mug from the kitchen. ‘Put my sister down before you strangle her.’

Celia pulled up a chair and sat beside Bea. ‘The man is an oaf, Bea darling! He’s not worthy of you. I hope you tore a strip off him when he finally showed his face.’

‘I did more than that,’ Bea replied, secretly touched by Celia’s overblown concern. ‘I told him we were over.’

Celia’s eyebrows shot heavenwards. ‘Oh? Well, I’m proud of you, honey! Men like that have to learn that women aren’t doormats to be abandoned at a moment’s notice.’

‘Can you abandon a doormat?’ Stewart grinned at Bea, but Celia wasn’t listening. For a full five minutes she launched a scathing attack on Otis Greene’s lack of manhood, complete rudeness and inability to be the man Bea needed him to be.

‘You’re better off without him. Why waste your life on a loser?’

Why indeed, Bea smiled to herself. ‘Enough about that, anyway. How’s everything with your book?’

Celia heaved a dramatic sigh as Stewart kissed the top of her head, placing a fresh mug of coffee in her hands. ‘Exhausting. But I think we’re almost there. My publisher insists on making last-minute changes to my manuscript that make no grammatical sense whatsoever – I swear they think I don’t know how to write. I’m only a senior New York Times columnist for heaven’s sake. What the hell do I know?’

‘When do you publish?’

‘In a month. Of course, I’ll be glad when it’s out on the shelves, but I’m not convinced I’d do it again. Still, if it worked for Nora Ephron, I have to hope it’ll work for me.’

Bea decided to ask the question she had been mulling over for a few weeks. If Celia agreed, it would be the first major event Hudson River Books had ever held – and could be the start of a whole new chapter in the bookshop’s success. If not, it was back to the drawing board.

‘I’ve been thinking – and please feel free to say no – but how would you like to hold the launch of your book at my bookstore? We’d love to have you and I could arrange everything.’

Celia exchanged glances with Stewart and beamed brightly at Bea. ‘Now that is just perfect! I was only saying to your brother last night I thought your place would be ideal. Of course! Pencil it in!’

Bea felt as if the sun had just broken free on a very dark day. ‘That’s wonderful! Why don’t you come down to the bookstore soon and we’ll go through everything you’d like?’

Celia offered a perfectly manicured hand and Bea shook it. ‘You just got yourself a deal, lady!’

As Celia and Stewart began to talk about their respective days at work, Bea gazed out of the bay window to the street below. This was the positive sign she had been longing for – and she was determined to make it a success.