Lost and Found

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Amelia walked home in a daze. The sun was still shining, the tourists still flocked around Ground Zero, but in her heart, in her head it had all changed. Back at her home, she sat still dazed. Her severance pay had been extensive, almost a year’s salary, but since the age of sixteen she hadn’t been in a position where she had nothing to do, no agenda, no commitment. She’d made more than enough money in her eight months in the City, especially when she added her redundancy money. But Marc had told her that she didn’t need to work any notice. As of tomorrow she was a free agent, to do as she pleased.

SO with the World as your oyster, what do you do? For Amelia, the answer was, go home.

She was packing an hour or so later when her phone rang. Looking at the display she smiled, since her night of indiscretion Cole had become a good friend. He still wanted more than the friendship she offered, but he admitted to being happier seeing her regularly in any capacity. Many an evening they’d sat down and discussed it, Amelia felt it was her resistance of him that was the issue, she was the first woman to turn him down, and his ego couldn’t take it. Cole couldn’t offer any other explanation. In the aftermath of the discussion with Marc earlier, Cole had been the first person she’d sent a text to.

                “Hey doll, what’s up?”

Cole knew she hated the term doll, but she refused to rise to it...every day! So ignoring it, she told him about her day. He was as stunned as her.

                “You picked the wrong time to come to this financial district then?”

                “It’s happening everywhere Cole, I’m just glad I left Clay before he was arrested. No one there had anything from him. At least I’ve got some money, a safety net.”

                “So what you going to do now? Are we consoling over champagne?”

As nice as the thought was, Amelia knew she was a rubbish companion at the moment, she didn’t want to bring Cole the party man such depression on a night out, so she declined.

Morosely, she found a pizza menu and was just having an internal debate over anchovies or capers...or both, when there was a knock at the door.

Pulling back the door Amelia smiled, there on the doorstep with a pizza box almost bigger than him and a jeroboam of champagne was Cole.

                “You sounded like you really needed pizza!”

Grinning, she waved the menu she’d been perusing before he’d arrived, “Cole Stirling, you know me too well!”

Laughing, he handed her the bottle then pulled a box of tissues from his jacket pocket, “better than you can imagine!”

Sunday 29th October 2008

Other than her trip for Li’s launch, this was Amelia’s first trip back to the UK since leaving almost a year ago. So as she disembarked from the Jumbo Jet at Heathrow, she was anxious, excited, but mostly relieved.

She flew through customs, found her bags, then emerged into the bustling arrival hall to see Li bobbing up and down amongst the hoards of families, business men and chauffeurs with printed names on placards. She squealed as Amelia got closer, and launched herself through the crowd to land wrapped around her friend like a child.

                “I have missed you SO much...I can’t believe you’re unemployed...come and see Daichi. He’s brought the car; I’ve made your favourite Cantonese soup...WITH dumplings...” Her ranting was both incessant and refreshing. Amelia had missed her more than anything else.