I burst out laughing at the incongruity of the question, choking on the spicy fug of fajita seasoning filling the kitchen. Souki knows me too well. The idea sounds like tacky, tourist heaven. I cannot think of anything I would rather do tomorrow, after the most stressful meeting of my life, than sit in a four-by-four and listen to a tour guide talk complete nonsense while we gawp at A-listers’ houses.
I shoot back an affirmative and pop my tortilla wraps in the oven to warm. It’s early for supper but I want to get an early night tonight. After eating, I’ll lay out my outfit for tomorrow, take a bath, then head to bed to reread the script and hopefully be asleep by ten. That way I’ll be bright-eyed when the alarm goes in the morning.
Belly full and bath running, I select a silk camisole for tomorrow to go under an oversized Ganni suit paired with some sharp heels; I want to look smart. It’s a business meeting, after all. And while I’m sure Kathryn can imagine me playing Cockney Eliza in Galatea, I want to convince her I can play post-makeover Eliza too.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, and I wander over expecting to see Souki’s name.
But as I get closer, my breath catches in my throat. Instead of Souki’s name I see Emily’s. It’s her.
I grab the phone and sink down onto the edge of the bed to read.
Thurs Feb 11, 6:43pm
So, so sorry about yesterday. Long story…Goes without saying, I am a complete disaster. Thank you so much for looking after the car. You are an actual lifesaver. Can I collect my wallet and keys tonight? Xxxx
I stare at her words for a long time. My first thought, though ghoulish, is simply Thank God she’s alive. Which is a strange thought considering that it hadn’t explicitly crossed my mind that she wouldn’t be—not consciously anyway. Not enough for me to raise any kind of alarm or tell anyone what had happened. And yet, there the thought is.
The mind immediately goes to strange places when strange things happen, I suppose. A cascade effect. Our ideas of what’s possible in the world shift up to meet the new reality. But she’s not dead. She’s not even missing. She’s right here talking to me; I’ve let my imagination run wild, untended, over the last two days, when the truth is, I just need to return this woman’s things.
I tap out a response.
So glad to hear from you! Yes, no problem at all. We’ve all been there. Could you pop over to mine and collect tonight x
The dots pulse.
Of course. What’s your address?
My thumb hesitates over the keypad for a second, as I consider whether it might be better to meet her in a more neutral setting, somewhere a bit more public. After all I don’t know her. I don’t know her situation. But then meeting in a public place means getting in the car now and driving somewhere and staying out way too late the night before the most important meeting of my life. The last thing I want to do is head out to some random bar or diner. I don’t think I can reasonably ask her to wait until tomorrow. God knows how she’s managed this long without money or a car. It’s not as if I’m here on my own, Miguel and Lucy are just downstairs. Every inch of this building seems to be covered by CCTV anyway. Seeing her here should be perfectly safe.
I type out my address and hit send.
Her gray dots pulse for a long time. Then finally a response.
Great. I’ll be there in 30 mins. X
I suppose the silver lining to her coming here tonight is that there’s no way I’m going to have time to get nervous about tomorrow’s meeting.
I flick on CNN, watching the minutes count down to her arrival and wondering if I should have changed out of my sweats and into something more suitable for company. But then I don’t really want her coming into the apartment; it’s getting late and while I had thought we could have been friends before now it’s probably best if I don’t get too involved with whatever weirdness is currently going on in her life. To be honest I should have probably handed her things in at the police station or something. Most people would have by now.
I grab her wallet and keys and place them ready on the entrance table, next to the security monitor.
I mute the TV when the intercom sounds, and head out to the hallway to answer the security phone.
“Hi Mia, it’s Lucy at reception. We’ve got an Emily down here to see you?”
It’s strange hearing Emily’s name coming out of someone else’s mouth, and immediately my worry about the whole situation is halved. Emily is just a person, an ordinary person, standing downstairs at reception, talking to Lucy. I’m suddenly certain that whatever happened to Emily yesterday will be something underwhelming and disappointingly banal.
“Okay, great. Thanks, Lucy. Could you send her up?”
“Sure, no problem.”
Only after I hang up the phone do I remember that the rental document I stole from Emily’s car is still downstairs locked away in my car.
Shit.
I dither for a second before dashing into the living room to grab my Audi keys, but just as I pick them up the door buzzer sounds. I don’t have time to go and get them. She’s here.
I see her on the video monitor in grainy black and white. She’s dressed differently from yesterday, which isn’t particularly unusual, but for a microsecond it throws me. Though her hair is tied back in the same loose bun and her same minimalist Nike rucksack is slung over her angular shoulder, just as it was.
I open the door with a smile. “Emily! Hi.”
The words come before I really see the woman in front of me. She was looking the other way on the monitor and now that our eyes meet for the first time I know instantly: This isn’t her. This isn’t Emily.
“Hey! Good to see you again,” the woman says, giving me a broad beautiful smile. I feel my features ease into a smile in reply while my mind races to make sense of what the hell is going on. Her voice sounds exactly the same as Emily’s. Her creaky New York vocal fry. Her hair, her rucksack, her tinkling bracelets all the same and yet…Her face is extremely similar to Emily’s but it’s not Emily’s. What the hell is going on? I study her features—full lips, chestnut hair, thick brows, a smudge of eye shadow, and pale skin—all like Emily’s, but not.
I must be just misremembering what Emily looked like, right? After all, I only spoke to her for a few minutes almost two days ago. I could definitely have misremembered her. She just responded to the name Emily as well. It would be beyond weird if she wasn’t her.
The woman hitches her rucksack pointedly and I realize I’m staring at her.
“God, sorry,” I apologize, having to tear my eyes away from her. “It’s been a really long day. Jet lag!”
“No, no, it’s me who should be apologizing. Seriously. Thank you so much for taking care of my car, Mia. I really appreciate it.”
For a second I wonder if this might just be a friend of Emily’s, but why would she have her bag, her jewelry, her voice. Why would a friend of Emily’s be pretending to be Emily? That’s ridiculous, it’s definitely her.
I shake off the thoughts. Flustered, I grab for her wallet and keys on the table next to the door, giving her a reassuring smile. “Got everything right here.” But I catch myself just before handing anything over. As desperate as I am for this weird situation to be over, I wonder how Jane would handle this and I pause. The woman in front of me hasn’t even told me what happened to her yet. Why she disappeared on me. Where’s she’s been all this time. It’s still all a complete mystery.