Love/Fail

Chapter 21

Annoying Pinspiration Quote #21

"It's not the future you're afraid of. It's the thought of repeating the past that has you terrified."

Suspicious goings-ons were happening, and I wasn't happy being kept out of the inner loop. "What do you mean, I'm booked into a day spa?"

Dad barred the stairway down to the shop. "Exactly what I say. All of us agree you've been working too hard, and you need a day off."

"Who's all of us?"

"The boys and I."

"Rupert and Cody?" There was something very unsettling about my boyfriend and my best friend conferring with my father. Lord help me if they started comparing stories. Rupert's massive mouth meant I couldn't be sure that anything was sacred – including our time tied up in bed, so to speak. Torn between the urge to scream or curdle in embarrassment, I said, "The boys do not get to make choices for me. And neither do you, for that matter, Daddio."

"Daughter, just this once, could you just trust me?" Dad clapped hairy hands on my shoulders. "Take a day away from the café. Go relax. I promise, you'll feel like a million bucks after a mud bath or leeching or whatever it is women do at a place like that. Just stop arguing and go, please."

"Argh! Fine!"

"And take the back stairs, please."

"Anything else?"

"You could act slightly grateful," he harrumphed. "Not many young women have so many people who love her the way we do you."

I relented. "Sorry, Daddy-bear." I hugged him hard. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to watch your own child experience a violent trauma you couldn't prevent. Dad hadn't been able to save Mum either, but he'd always done his best to let me live my life without being overprotective or needy. "I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, child. Now, scoot. There's a car waiting out front."

With silent grumbling, I headed down the backstairs and onto the street. I had no doubt who was funding private cars and exclusive spa dates. Rupert. It was true that I'd told him I loved girly gifts and it didn't get much girlier than facials and pedicures, but I still felt odd about accepting such an extravagant gesture.

The discomfort didn't last long. An hour later, I was wrapped in a fluffy white robe, knitted from angel farts or something similar, with my feet and hands being massaged at the same time while soothing whale songs filled the essential oil fragranced air. This I could get used to...

I wouldn't have believed seven hours could go so quickly. A hot stone massage, an organic body scrub, a mineral spring soak, a hair masque, a brow threading – I lost track of the treatments I was treated to. After a while, I stopped questioning the staff about who was doing what or what was happening next, submitting demurely to their requests to roll over or step this way. By the time I stepped out of the doors, my skin was buttery soft, my ligaments loose, and I felt more soothed than I had in a long while.

The car dropped me back at home where Rupert waited for me outside, beside the door to the storage room where we'd once kept excess store stock. "Hullo, love. You're very shiny."

"It's all the essential oils," I informed him serenely. "I feel amazing. Seriously. If I could do that once a month forever, I think I could cope with anything this world tries to throw at me."

"Good." He drew me close and kissed me softly. "I thought you might have given me a hard time about splashing out on you."

"I was going to," I admitted. "But then I realised... You're not around for much longer. I want memories like these to keep with me, so if I ever miss you, I can pull them up and smile."