Carla blew into her cheeks in exasperation. “He’s not back from America yet and it’s unlikely we’ll get married.” She absentmindedly took a coin from her pocket and fed it into the slot. Vadim did his thing and she plucked out a ticket, clutching it in her hand.
“Because of the funeral date?” Jess said. “I suppose you think that’s my fault?”
“I’m not blaming you for anything, Jess.” A drop of rain trickled down Carla’s forehead. “We won’t be getting married because I don’t think Tom will still love me after he discovers the full story behind my travels. I’m not the perfect person you seem to think I am. I’ve made a mess of everything.” She shrugged and looked down at her soggy ticket.
A man appeared wearing a yellow high-visibility jacket. “Come on, ladies, we’re closing now.” He pulled the plug on Vadim, tipped the box and wheeled it inside. Vadim’s head wobbled, as if mocking them.
“Please, let’s get out of the rain.” Carla looked down at her stomach. “I’m getting cold.”
Jess looked at it, too, and her harsh expression slipped a little. “Yes, let’s go somewhere else,” she agreed.
Carla took off her coat and held it over their heads as the two sisters scurried along the street looking for shelter. Shops and cafés were closed for the day and a group of men stood outside a pub, smoking and laughing. Carla shook her head, not wanting to push her way inside. “The pier,” she suggested. “There’s seats and shelter there.”
She and Jess headed toward the Victorian wooden structure that stretched out to sea. The waves churned hypnotically, and their red hair weaved and tangled as they walked toward a café with its shutters down. Some of the tables and chairs were under cover, and the wind dropped as they turned a corner. Carla sat down while Jess remained standing.
“So, you have a father?” Jess asked, looking at Carla then quickly away. “I’m guessing he’s not mine, too?”
“Sorry, I don’t think so.” Carla shook her head. “Diego and Mum met while she was traveling. She kept me a secret from him for a long time.”
“So, we are only half sisters,” Jess confirmed, staring ahead at the waves.
“We’re full sisters,” Carla countered firmly. “We share the same mum and we grew up together. It’s been me and you together for our entire lives. We even picked yellow wallpaper with peach birds when Gran wanted us to have something pink and floral. Do you remember we used to talk about them before we went to sleep?”
Jess swallowed, remembering. “I used to say there was a king and a queen bird...”
“And princes and princesses. And lots of aunts and cousins.”
“Just like our own family.”
“I used to plait your hair and tell you bedtime stories.” Carla gave a small smile.
“You said that Cinderella couldn’t possibly wear glass slippers, because they’d break.”
“Maybe I was wrong. I was certainly wrong about other stories, like our family curse.”
Jess sat down beside her, hugging her own arms to keep warm. “Why did mum keep you a secret from Diego?”
Carla wrapped her coat around her sister’s shoulders. “She told him about our family curse and that she didn’t want a relationship. Diego didn’t know Mum was pregnant and she only told him about me when she found out she was dying. By then I was nine years old,” she explained. “Babs can’t have children, so Diego didn’t disclose that he’d had a child with Mum.”
Jess twisted her mouth. “So many secrets and lies.”
“Secrets, yes. Though I think they’re stories rather than lies.” Carla reached out to touch her sister’s arm and was relieved when Jess didn’t pull away. They sat together for a while, listening to the sound of the sea swirling. “What happened with Mr. Forty-Nine Percent?” she asked softly. “I went to your apartment and saw you’d ripped up his photograph.”
“You mean Mr. Zero Percent? He dumped me last night.”
“Oh, Jess. I’m sorry.”
“What chance does love have in our family?” Jess tutted and looked down. “Sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean everything I said to you.”
“It’s okay,” Carla soothed, feeling apologetic, too.
“I’ve been thinking about everything Myrtle told me,” Jess said. “She said I’d meet someone and I did, but we split up, so I won’t be getting engaged. She said she could see me holding a baby, but it’s probably yours. I’ve been offered a new job, but I’m not going to take it, so I won’t be working near water anytime soon. I’ve interpreted all the things she said in the wrong way. So maybe you have, too...”
“It’s possible.” Carla stared along the pier to where Myrtle’s hut sat in the distance. “Why don’t you want the new job?”
Jess shrugged a shoulder. “I love working at Logical Love, but I also want to do my own thing. I’ve lived in your shadow since the day I was born.”
“That’s not true,” Carla said. “You got all the love and attention, while I was the big, brave sister having to fend for myself.”
Jess glanced at her. “I never thought of it like that.”
“I didn’t mean for you to feel overshadowed at work,” Carla said. “I need to make lots of changes.”
“Like what? Did you see the report I left in your office? Most couples I investigated are happy.”
“Traveling and meeting people has made me see things differently.” Carla took hold of her sister’s damp hand. “Please stay at Logical Love to help me fix this business. It could be a joint project, not just you working for me.”
Hope glimmered in Jess’s eyes. “You really mean it?”
“Yes.” Carla realized she was still holding Vadim’s ticket and held hers up. “Perhaps we should read our fortunes before they disintegrate.”
Jess opened her ticket and read her fortune aloud. “‘You are creative and thrive on ideas. Pay close attention to details and you will fly, finding the answers you seek.’” She stared at it for a long time. “Were they always this vague?”
“Probably.” Carla smiled as something caught her eye, a flicker of light inside Myrtle’s hut. She pointed toward it. “Perhaps we should visit Myrtle and have our fortunes told properly. It looks like she’s there now. We can get out of the cold.”
Jess shivered and she blew a droplet of rain off her nose. “I think I’m going to go home and get warm. I’ve had enough of fortunes for some time.” She removed the coat from her shoulders and passed it back to Carla.
“Let me call you a taxi,” Carla offered.
