Bella Osborne - Meet Me at Pebble Beach

She trudged back to her car and sat there thinking. Her phone pinged to indicate she had a message. It was from Alex.

V sorry. Hope UR OK.

Regan shook her head and deleted the message. Worst-case scenario; she could sleep in her car. It wasn’t ideal, but at least she wouldn’t be joining Kevin and Elvis on the streets tonight. Although it would still be a bit chilly in the car. A thought struck her. Perhaps she’d sit it out? Tarty Tara would likely be off home soon. Yes, that was a good plan. Wait for Tara to clear off, then she could try to explain again to her dad what had happened and kip on his sofa. She reclined her seat so it was a bit more comfortable, and she waited.

Two hours later her phone rang, pulling her from a delicious dream about swimming in an infinity pool with a pet hippo and Liam Hemsworth. Her neck was stiff and she wasn’t sure where she was for a moment. Then she remembered, and a little dark cloud seemed to hover above her. She picked up her phone – it was Jarvis.

‘Hi, Jarvis.’ She prepared her resolve.

‘Regan, I just wanted to check you’re not having some sort of breakdown.’

Regan closed her eyes and tried to keep her irritation levels at a manageable level. ‘No, I’m fine thanks, Jarvis. But I am sorry if it was all a bit sudden.’

‘No, not at all. I mean I was a little surprised that it was you instigating it rather than me, because I’ve been considering it for quite some time … I just didn’t know how to broach it.’

Great , thought Regan, another blow to my dwindling self-esteem . ‘Well, I’m glad you finally approve of one of my decisions.’

‘Anyway, I don’t think I should be responsible for giving your belongings to charity. I don’t want to get caught out legally. So I’ve packaged them up for you to collect whenever suits.’

‘Thanks.’ It was a small thing, but at least she had her stuff back even if she didn’t have anywhere to put it.

‘When would you like to collect it?’

So much for whenever suits you. ‘I can come straight over now.’ She glanced up at her father’s front door. There didn’t seem to be any sign of Tarty Tara leaving; her tarty Toyota was still parked outside. Maybe she’d be gone by the time she got back.

‘Great. I’m off to Waitrose, so please lock up properly and push your key through the door.’

‘Will do. Bye.’ It was some consolation that she hadn’t broken his heart with her phone call this morning – although had he been a little more upset, it might have helped her feel a bit more valued than she currently did.

Regan was dashing about Jarvis’s kitchen when Cleo FaceTimed. Her phone was on the counter so she hit the answer button.

‘Regan? You there?’

Regan picked the phone up from the counter. ‘Hiya, I’m just … I’m …’ She realised she couldn’t drop all her woes on Cleo – she’d only fret. And what could she do when she was thousands of miles away? ‘How are you?’ asked Regan, trying to sound bright and carefree.

‘I’m okay.’

‘You at another party?’ It looked like a hotel lobby in the background.

‘Yeah. I’ve stepped out for a bit of a break.’ Cleo looked like she was stifling a deep sigh, or a yawn.

‘What time is it there?’ Regan opened and closed kitchen drawers.

‘Nearly three in the morning.’ She looked tired. ‘I could go but I loathe being in a hotel room alone. I think I might be a bit homesick.’

‘Blimey. Ow!’ Regan was only half listening. ‘Bloody skewers.’ Regan sucked her finger.

‘Are you cooking?’

‘Don’t look so surprised!’ said Regan. ‘No, I’m not cooking, but I could be. I’m looking for a corkscrew.’

‘What else are you doing? Remind me what normal people do.’

‘It’s riveting. I’m having a mug of soup.’ Regan held up the mug as evidence whilst she moved around the flat picking things up and stashing them in a black bag.

‘Soup?’ Cleo chuckled.

‘Yeah. It’s hot and nutritious.’ And I don’t know when I’ll get to eat again , she added in her head. Regan squinted at the screen. ‘Is that Elon Musk behind you?’

‘Oh, I expect so. I’m so bored with celebrities. Oscar wheels me around like a kid in a supermarket trolley introducing me to anyone who might get us more social media coverage. They’re like playing cards. On one side is a pretty picture: bright, colourful and engaging; but on the other there’s very little at all and what’s there is bland and functional.’

‘Wow, that’s deep,’ said Regan, pausing with a gin-scented candle in her hand. It was hers, but did she really need it?

‘Unlike most celebrities,’ quipped Cleo.

Regan watched a parade of beautiful people mill about behind Cleo. That could have been my life , she thought dreamily. ‘Oh, Cleo, you’re so lucky.’ Cleo opened her mouth to protest. ‘No, please don’t get me wrong; I know you’ve worked so hard for this, but to get the chance at a life like yours is millions to one and I’m so happy for you. Tell me how fabulous it is?’ She knew she was staring at her like a child anticipating a bedtime story.

Cleo took a moment to answer. Her smile seemed forced. ‘Yes, of course it’s fabulous. Let me show you the view.’

Regan made a series of awestruck noises as Cleo panned around the sights of Hong Kong harbour. It was quieter outside and Cleo found somewhere to perch.

‘Okay, well you’d better get back to the party,’ said Regan. ‘Have a brilliant time.’ Still holding her soup, Regan moved out of the kitchen and into the hallway – she didn’t have long before Jarvis returned and she wanted to avoid a face-to-face confrontation if she could.

‘Hang on!’ Cleo’s voice sounded a bit desperate and it drew Regan’s attention. Cleo was silent for a moment as if trying to think of something to say. ‘How did it go with the plumber?’

Regan shrugged. ‘Fine.’

‘Er … Any difficulties?’ Regan shook her head. ‘All fixed then?’

‘Yep.’

‘And you locked it all up properly?’

‘Yep. No problems. The studio is all locked up safe and warm.’ Regan frowned as a thought struck her. ‘It’ll be there empty just waiting for you to get home.’

Cleo appeared sad for a moment. ‘I guess so. I miss my little studio. It’s my safe place, where I feel most at home.’

‘Actually you could live there if you wanted to. Couldn’t you? It’s got virtually everything a person could need.’ Regan could feel her eyes widening as she spoke.

‘Not really. It’s against the terms of the lease so I’d get kicked out. And there is a loo but there’s no shower. No cooker, no washing machine, no—’

Regan was waving at her to stop. ‘Right, well, I need to … um … dash,’ she said.

‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Cleo peered at her through the screen.

‘Me? Yes, brilliant. Top banana! Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll check on the studio for you if you like?’ Regan leaned in closer to the camera.

‘No need.’

‘It’s no bother at all. You leave it with me. Anyway, cheers!’ said Regan, holding up her mug and liberally splashing soup over herself and the screen.

‘You’re bonkers! Cheers,’ replied Cleo, holding up her champagne glass. The call ended.

‘Shitterama …’ Regan stared down at her feet and at Jarvis’s beloved rug. The pale cream wool was now liberally doused in tomato soup. A few more trickles dripped from her hand, landing like paint on a new canvas. She rushed back to the kitchen in a panic, knowing that Jarvis would think she’d done this on purpose.

How on earth am I meant to clear this up? she thought, scanning the cupboards for something to clean it with and grabbing a cleaning spray and a cloth. The quicker she acted, the better chance she had of saving the rug. She sprayed the cleaner liberally over the stain but on the third squirt she halted mid-squeeze. ‘Green!’ The cleaning fluid now overlapping the orange soup stain was bright green. ‘What the …’ She checked the label. ‘Oven cleaner.’ Discarding the bottle, she began rubbing the orange and green together in the valiant hope the green would somehow magically eliminate the orange. It didn’t. After a few minutes she leaned back on her haunches and surveyed the rug. It looked worse than when it was just the soup stain. Now, thanks to her vigorous rubbing, the stained patch had a certain fluffier quality than the rest of the rug. She shook her head. This was hopeless. As usual, she was only making things worse.