From Notting Hill to New York . . . Actually (33 page)

‘Not that much, no,’ Jennifer says airily. ‘What’s she been on? Some grotty little cable channels that no one watches, that go out in the middle of the night?’

I hope they don’t have a smoke alarm in here, because the amount of steam coming out of my ears right now is bound to set it off in a minute.

‘Pretty much every prime-time TV channel, talk show and news bulletin,’ Sean says proudly. ‘You can’t have missed her.’

‘Well I’m afraid I did.’

‘I thought you looked familiar.’ Julian, who has been perched on the edge of a desk watching in wonder at all this unfolding in his offices, suddenly pipes up. ‘Weren’t you on
Marsha
the other day? We watched that, don’t you remember, Jenny? When we were waiting for that fabric to be delivered, we had it on in the office.’

Jennifer flushes the same colour as the burgundy velvet she’s been carrying up the stairs. ‘No, can’t say that I do, Ju. I don’t think I was really watching it.’

‘Yes you were, you made a comment about how it looks like TV actually adds more like twenty pounds than ten, and … oh my,’ Julian says, realising what he’s saying.

‘So you did
see it, then?’ Sean asks. ‘Why didn’t you give me a ring and tell us you had the brooch?’

‘Because,’ Jennifer snaps, shoving her roll of fabric to the ground. ‘Because of
her
.’ She points viciously at me. ‘She always gets everything.’

‘Whatever do you mean?’ I ask. ‘I don’t get everything. Far from it.’

‘You got Sean. You took him from me.’

‘No I didn’t, and you know it. He wasn’t yours to take by then, anyway.’

I glance at Julian, who’s looking even more mystified now. ‘Jennifer thinks I stole Sean away from her. The truth is he wasn’t interested in getting back together with her.’ I quickly explain for his benefit.

Julian nods encouragingly.

‘And you took my brother away from me. It’s all “Scarlett this” and “Scarlett that” when you speak to him. At least when he was friends with that other girl he had more time for me.’

‘Do you mean Ursula? Oscar still is friends with her, we both are. You’re just being ridiculous now, and anyway, how can he have time for you? You live on the other side of the world from him.’

Unfaltering, Jennifer tosses her hair back over her shoulders. ‘And then finally you monopolised Jamie at the ball. You weren’t content with having Bradley Cooper fawning over your every move onstage, and
everyone telling you how wonderful you were at helping out with the auction by giving away your own stuff, no: you had to take him away from me too.’

‘I did nothing of the sort! And Jamie’s my brother, for God’s sake.’

‘But you didn’t know that at the time, did you? No, Jamie wasn’t interested in being with me. He kept wanting to know if you were OK, and where you were all night. Do you know what that feels like? Do you?’

I shake my head.

‘No, I thought not. Because everyone wants to be Scarlett’s friend, everyone wants to help Scarlett. Because Scarlett is so bloody well damn-near perfect, isn’t she? Well, just this once I wanted to mess things up for you so you didn’t have your fairy-tale ending. Everything
didn’t
go according to the will of Scarlett. But here you are, claiming your stupid dragonfly back and making me look like the villain of the piece yet again.’ She folds her arms and turns her head away from us.

There’s silence in the room as we all reel a little from Jennifer’s outburst, and I feel something I never thought I’d feel for Jennifer: it’s pity. She must be very insecure to behave like this.

‘I’m sorry to hear you feel like that about me, Jennifer,’ I say in as sympathetic a voice as I can muster. ‘I can assure you, I’m not perfect. Far from it.
Anyone who spends any time with me can vouch for that. Few things I do ever go according to plan. But,’ I glance over at Sean, ‘my heart is in the right place, and everything I do, I do with the genuine intention of trying to help the people around me.’ Sean smiles lovingly back at me. I turn towards Jennifer. ‘So if you have a problem with my actions, I’m sorry, but it’s your problem, I’m afraid. It’s certainly not mine.’

Jennifer scowls at me so ferociously I’m surprised her Botox will allow such a deep furrow to appear in her forehead.

‘Jen, are you going to do the right thing and give me my dragonfly back?’ I ask, again surprised I’m able to remain this calm.

Casting one last vindictive look in my direction, Jennifer swivels on her heels and stomps off downstairs. She returns a few minutes later with a box, which she thrusts at me. ‘Here, take it.’

‘Thank you,’ I say, taking it from her. I open up the box and there inside, winking up at me with its one blue eye and one black, is my dragonfly. I reach into my bag and open up my purse. ‘Please have this,’ I say, thrusting a fifty-dollar bill into her hand.

‘What’s it for?’ she asks, looking at the money.

‘I’m reimbursing you what you paid for the brooch at the
thrift store. I wouldn’t want you to think I’d stolen something else from you, now would I?’

As we thank Julian and leave the offices, I clutch the dragonfly tightly in my hand. It feels as if I’ve been reunited with yet another member of my ever-growing family.

‘The reason I’ve gathered
you all here today is that I have it back again,’ I announce to the table as everyone sips their drinks and makes polite conversation in between courses at the lunch I’ve organised at the Serendipity 3 restaurant.

Everyone turns expectantly towards me.

‘With help from Peter, and of course you, Jamie, and Max, Sean and I managed to locate the dragonfly a couple of days ago. We won’t go into the details now, it’s too complicated.’ I try not to look at Oscar. I don’t really want him knowing too much about Jennifer. ‘Anyway, this is why I’ve asked you all here today, so that I can formally return the brooch to its original owner, Eleanor.’

Oscar claps excitedly as I take the dragonfly in its blue box
and walk around the table to where Eleanor is seated. She smiles as she pushes her chair back and stands up to greet me. As she takes the dragonfly from my hand, she gives me a kiss on the cheek and whispers, ‘Thank you,’ into my ear.

While I return to my seat, Eleanor remains standing. She looks down at the dragonfly now lying in the palm of her hand. Then she holds it up to the light so that its green and blue body shimmers and sparkles under the bright lights of the restaurant.

‘Well, my friend,’ she says, ‘you’ve not changed much over the years, but countless other things have, and now it’s time for you to bring some sparkle to the eyes of many others instead of being kept inside a box where no one can see you.’

She looks up at me. ‘Scarlett, this brooch doesn’t belong to me; I gave it to your father many, many years ago. Really, it still belongs to him. And if I’m not mistaken, he recently gave it to you to do as you wanted with it.’ She turns to Dad. ‘Am I correct, Tom?’

My father nods. ‘You are indeed, Elle.’ As he beams up at Eleanor, I see a look on Dad’s face when she returns his smile that I’ve never noticed before, and I feel a lump in my throat as I realise the dragonfly may have reunited more than just a family.

‘And so,’ Eleanor continues, ‘I think the best thing my
dragonfly friend here can do is to continue living with you, Scarlett, for the time being.’ She walks over to me and pins the brooch on my top. ‘You don’t need it right now – you’ve already got so many investors wanting to help you out with the Dragonfly Trust – but if you ever should, this little chap will bring you plenty of dollars to help you continue your good work.’

‘Are you absolutely sure, Eleanor?’ I ask, looking down at the brooch.

‘Scarlett, I couldn’t ask for a better home for it to go to. I know you’ll take good care of it. Just like your father has, all these years.’

As Eleanor and I hug, the dragonfly, so good at reuniting others, is pressed firmly between the two of us.

The rest of the lunch is a lovely, light-hearted affair with much laughter and jokes. I notice when we’re finishing dessert that Sean has been missing for a while.

‘Have you seen Sean?’ I ask Oscar, as he scrapes the last remnants of ice-cream sundae from his bowl.

‘Er … he said he had to pop out a while ago. Something about some business, I think,’ Oscar replies, licking his spoon. ‘Oh my days, that was the best sundae ever!’ he says, checking his bowl to make sure it’s all gone.

‘Do you want to put that bowl down on the table and lick it out
with your tongue like a dog?’ I ask. ‘You look like you’re going to anyway.’

‘Do you think anyone would mind?’ Oscar says, actually looking around him.

‘Yes, I do! And when did Sean say he had to pop out? I don’t remember seeing him go.’

‘I think you were talking to Jamie and your dad at the time,’ Oscar says, pushing his bowl away from him. ‘He said he didn’t want to disturb you.’

‘Oh … oh, right.’

‘Scarlett,’ Peter says, walking around to my side of the table. ‘Thank you so much for this fantastic lunch, but I really have to be going now.’

‘So soon?’ I say, standing up.

‘Yes, I’m afraid so. The business won’t run itself.’

‘Sure. Thank you so much for coming, Peter, and for all your help in getting the dragonfly back. We couldn’t have done it without you.’

‘It’s very beautiful,’ Peter says, admiring the brooch. ‘Much like its new owner. You two complement each other well.’

‘You charmer,’ I say, giving Peter a kiss on the cheek. ‘Thank you again, for everything. Meeting you has changed my life. You know that, don’t you? I don’t know what might have happened if you hadn’t thought I was choking in that Italian restaurant.’

‘Well, you know what we
always say, Scarlett, don’t you?’

‘
Everything happens for a reason
,’ we chime in unison, grinning at each other.

‘I’ll be seeing you very soon, I expect!’ Peter calls, as he waves goodbye and heads for the door.

‘Scarlett, so sorry,’ Jamie says, appearing next to me now with Max. ‘But we’ve been called away on an urgent story. Gotta go!’

‘Really? That’s a shame, but thanks for coming anyway, guys, and for all your help again.’

‘No worries, it’s been a blast,’ Max says. ‘Who would have thought bumping into you while out doing vox pops would have turned into all this?’

‘Yes, indeed. I thought I’d return to the UK with a few souvenirs of NY, but I didn’t quite foresee a new brother being one of them.’

Jamie grins at me, and I give both him and Max a big hug.

‘Scarlett.’ It’s Dad now, and Eleanor. ‘Elle and I are going to leave you as well, if you don’t mind; we’ve got some catching-up to do. Old times, and all that.’

Dad and Eleanor exchange the kind of knowing look only old friends who understand each other well can share.

‘Sure, you two go and have fun,’ I say, feeling like a
parent sending their child out on a first date. ‘You both deserve it.’

I watch them leave, and turn back to Oscar. ‘Looks like it’s just you and me, then. More sundae?’ I ask, in an attempt to keep at least one member of my party with me.

‘Actually, sweetie, I might already have had a bit too much,’ Oscar says, holding his stomach and pulling a face. ‘I think a little afternoon siesta is in order. I’ll catch you back at the hotel later, though, yes darling?’

Before I have time to respond, Oscar makes a dash for the door.

Great. I sink back down into my seat. Not only am I on my own, but I’ve been left with the bill, too. Some celebration.

One of the waiters comes over to me. ‘Your tab, ma’am,’ he says, holding out a silver tray.

‘Thanks,’ I say, taking the folded piece of paper from him. I hardly dare look at what it says as I open it up. But to my surprise, inside there is not a long list of food, drink and prices, but a typed note.

What on
earth
? I look up at the waiter. ‘What is this?’ I ask. ‘I thought you were bringing me
my bill?’

‘I’m only doing as I was instructed, ma’am,’ he says. He glances down at the piece of paper. ‘What do you think it means? We’ve all been wondering.’

‘You mean, you looked at it before you brought it over to me?’ I ask disapprovingly.

He blushes. ‘Well, ma’am, the gentleman was very specific about exactly when we deliver the note, and we all wondered what it was.’

‘It makes no sense,’ I say, looking at it again.

‘Janet in the kitchen said it read like one of those cryptic crosswords, you know, the kind where you have to read between the lines?’ he suggests helpfully. ‘Try looking at it again.’

I reread the note. ‘Hmm … am I feeling
Home Alone
? Well, all my so-called friends and family have left me sitting all alone in your restaurant, so yes, I am a bit lonely. Almost feeling
Lost in New York
… no, I’m not lost. Wait a minute …’ I think about what I’ve just said; it sounds vaguely familiar. ‘Does it mean the movie
Home Alone – Lost in New York
? Could it be that, do you think?’

The waiter shrugs. ‘I don’t know, ma’am, what else does it say?’

I look down at the paper again. ‘“Imagine” finding a new friend to join your pack … What am I supposed to imagine about the
Home Alone
movie? That one was set in New York, in lots of places around
the city … much of it in Central Park with the Pigeon Lady, but I don’t know where, exactly.’

‘Excuse me for interrupting,’ a lady sitting at the next table says. ‘But I couldn’t help overhearing. May I suggest something?’

‘Yes, yes, please do,’ I say gratefully, turning towards her.

‘What about Strawberry Fields in Central Park? There’s a memorial there to John Lennon, it’s got the word
Imagine
inscribed across the centre of it.’

I reread the clue again.