G.o.d, it just shows. Genes will out. We were brought up miles away from each other in different families . . . but we still have the same tastes!
"Jess, why didn"t you call from the station?" Dad says, taking a cup of coffee from Mum. "I would have picked you up. You didn"t need to take a cab!"
"I didn"t get a cab," says Jess. "I walked."
"You walked?" says Dad in surprise. "From Oxshott Station?"
"From Kingston. I took the coach down." She gulps her coffee. "It was far cheaper. I saved twenty-five pounds."
"You walked all the way from Kingston?" Mum looks appalled.
"It was no distance," says Jess. "And the bus would have been three pounds fifty."
"Jess is a very keen walker, Becky," explains Mum. She smiles at Jess. "It"s your main hobby, isn"t it, love?"
This is too much. We should be on a doc.u.mentary or something!
"Me too!" I exclaim. "It"s my hobby too! Isn"t that amazing?"
There"s silence. I look around at the bewildered faces of my family. Honestly! What"s wrong with them?
"Is walking your hobby, love?" Mum says uncertainly.
"Of course it is! I walk round London all the time! Don"t I, Luke?"
Luke gives me a quizzical look.
"Certain streets of London have been pounded down by your feet, yes," he agrees.
"Do you do power walking, then?" Jess asks, looking interested.
"Well . . ." I think for a few moments. "It"s more like . . . I combine it with other activities. For variety."
"Like cross-training?"
"Er . . . kind of." I nod, and take a bite of biscuit.
There"s another little silence, as if everyone"s waiting for everyone else to speak. Why are we all so awkward? We should be natural.
"Do you like . . . films?" I ask at last.
"Some," replies Jess, frowning thoughtfully. "I like films that say something. That have some sort of message."
"Me too," I agree fervently. "Every film should definitely have a message."
Which is true. I mean . . . take the Lord of the Rings movies-they"ve got loads of messages. Like "Don"t lose your ring."
"More coffee, anyone?" says Mum, looking round. "There"s another coffeepot ready in the kitchen-"
"I"ll go," I chime in, leaping up from the sofa. "And, Luke, why don"t you come and . . . er . . . help me? In case I . . . can"t find it."
I know I don"t sound very convincing, but I don"t care. I"m just dying to talk to Luke.
As soon as we"re in the kitchen I shut the door and look at him eagerly. "So? What do you think of my sister?"
"She seems very nice."
"Isn"t she great? And there are so many similarities between us! Don"t you think?"
"I"m sorry?" Luke stares at me.
"Jess and me! We"re so alike!"
"Alike?" Luke looks flabbergasted.
"Yes!" I say, a tad impatiently. "Weren"t you listening? She likes pecans, I like pecans . . . she likes walking, I like walking . . . we both like films. . . ." I make a whirling motion with my hands. "It"s like there"s already this amazing understanding between us!"
"If you say so," he says dubiously.
"Don"t you like her?" I say, crestfallen.
"Of course I like her! But I"ve hardly spoken two words to her. And nor have you."
"Well . . . I know," I admit. "But that"s because we"re all so stilted in there. We can"t chat properly. So I thought I"d suggest the two of us go out together somewhere. Really have a chance to bond."
"Like where?"
"I don"t know. For a walk. Or . . . a little shopping trip, maybe!"
"Aha." He nods. "A little shopping trip. Good idea. I"m a.s.suming this would be on your daily budget of twenty pounds."
What? I cannot believe he"s bringing up the budget at a time like this. I mean, how many times do you go shopping with your long-lost sister for the very first time?
"This is a one-off, extraordinary event." I"m trying to control my impatience. "Clearly I need an extra budget."
"I thought we agreed, no one-offs," says Luke. "No "unique opportunities." Don"t you remember?"
I feel a surge of outrage.
"Fine!" I say, folding my arms. "I won"t bond with my sister."
The only sound in the kitchen is the ticking of the wall clock. I give a huge sigh and glance surrept.i.tiously at Luke, but he seems unmoved.
"Becky!" Mum"s voice interrupts us. "Where"s the coffee? We"re all waiting!" She comes into the kitchen and looks from Luke to me in alarm. "There isn"t a problem, is there? You"re not arguing?"
I turn to Mum.
"I want to take Jess out shopping, but Luke says I"ve got to stick to my budget!"
"Luke!" exclaims Mum reproachfully. "I think that"s a lovely idea, Becky! You two girls should spend some time together. Why not pop to Kingston? You could have lunch, too."
"Exactly!" I"m shooting resentful vibes at Luke. "But I haven"t got any money except twenty quid."
"And as I say, we"re on a budget," says Luke in implacable tones. "I"m sure you"d agree that successful budgeting is the first rule of a happy marriage, Jane?"
"Yes, yes, of course . . ." says Mum, looking distracted. Suddenly her face brightens. "The Greenlows!"
The who?
"Your cousins in Australia! They sent a check for your wedding present! I"ve been meaning to give it to you. It"s in Australian dollars . . . but even so, it"s quite a lot. . . ." She roots around in a drawer and pulls it out. "Here we are! Five hundred Australian dollars!"
"Fantastic!" I take the check from her and examine it.
"So now you can treat yourself and Jess to something nice!" Mum squeezes my arm with a smile.
"You see?" I say in triumph.
"OK. You win. This time." Luke rolls his eyes.
Suddenly excited, I hurry into the living room.
"Hi, Jess!" I say. "D"you want to go out somewhere? Like to the shops?"
"Oh." Jess looks taken aback. "Well . . ."
"Go on, love!" says Mum, coming in behind me. "Have a little spree!"
"We can go and have lunch somewhere . . . really get to know each other. . . . What do you think?"
"Well . . . OK," she says at last.
"Excellent!"
I feel a zing of antic.i.p.ation. My first-ever shopping trip with my sister! This is so thrilling!
"I"ll go and get ready."
"Wait," says Jess. "Just before you go. I brought you something too. It"s not much, but . . ."
She goes over to her rucksack, opens it, and takes out a parcel wrapped up in paper printed all over with the words happy new year 1999.
That is so cool!
"I love kitsch wrapping paper!" I say, admiring it. "Where did you find it?"
"It was free from the bank," says Jess.
"Oh," I say in surprise. "Er . . . excellent!"
I rip off the wrapping and find a plastic box, divided into three compartments.
"Wow!" I exclaim at once. "That"s fantastic! Thank you so much! It"s just what I wanted!" I fling an arm round Jess"s neck and give her a kiss.
"What is it, love?" Mum asks, looking at it with interest.
To be honest, I"m not actually quite sure.
"It"s a food saver," explains Jess. "You can keep leftovers in it, and they all stay separate. Rice . . . ca.s.serole . . . whatever. I couldn"t live without mine."
"That"s brilliant! It"ll be so useful." I look at the three compartments thoughtfully. "I think I"ll keep all my lip balms in it."
"Lip balms?" says Jess, clearly taken aback.
"I"m always losing them! Aren"t you?" I put the lid back on and admire it for a few more moments. Then I pick up the wrapping paper and crumple it into a ball.
Jess winces as though someone just trod on her foot.
"You could have folded that up," she says, and I look at her, puzzled.
Why on earth would I fold used wrapping paper?
But then, maybe this is one of her pet habits that I"ll have to get used to. We all have little quirks.
"Oh, right!" I say. "Of course. Silly me!"
I uncrease the crumpled paper, smooth it out, and fold it carefully into quarters.
"There we are." With a cheerful smile I drop it in the wastepaper bin. "Let"s go!"
Eleven.
IT ONLY TAKES fifteen minutes by car to get to Kingston, which is the nearest big shopping center to Mum and Dad. I find a meter, and after about twenty attempts manage to park the car vaguely in a straight line. Jess sits stoically beside me in the pa.s.senger seat, saying nothing. Not even when the lorry driver starts hooting at me.
Anyway, never mind. The point is, we"re here! It"s a fantastic day, sunny but not too warm, with tiny clouds scudding across the blue sky. As I get out, I look around the sunlit street, feeling all buzzy with antic.i.p.ation. My first shopping trip with my sister! What shall we do first?
As I start to feed the parking meter, I go through all the options in my head. We should definitely get a free makeover, and check out that new underwear shop Mum was talking about. . . .
"How long exactly are we planning to stay here?" Jess asks as I shove in my sixth pound coin.
"This should take us up to six o"clock . . . and after that, parking"s free!"