Read Online Found by Elle Field - Free Book Online Page B

footwear purchase for this weather as I squint up at the bright afternoon sun.
    ‘Hi Mum,’ I chirp as I exit Gramercy Square and start the very familiar walk to the hospital. ‘What’s up?’
    ‘You need to get on a plane immediately!’
    My heart freezes, fearing that something has happened to Dad.
    ‘Etta has finally set a date for the funeral,’ Mum continues, and I stop short in the street in relief, which earns me a few choice swear words from the guy who was walking behind me. I move to one side to avoid the wrath of any more angry New Yorkers.
    ‘Arielle?’
    ‘When?’ I ask, pulling my attention back to Mum, my heart racing at the thought of finally saying goodbye to Felicity. I’m not sure I’m ready for this, but would I ever be?
    ‘It’s the day after tomorrow,’ she says apologetically.
    That’s better than I thought it would be. I half expected Mum to tell me tomorrow, which would have been impossible. Knowing Etta and her disregard for anyone but herself, it doesn’t surprise me that she’s sprung a last-minute funeral on everyone.
    OK, I can get a red-eye tonight or a plane first thing in the morning, depending on what’s available. I’m going to be like the walking dead, but I can be there. I can process Felicity’s death, and I can say goodbye.
    ‘It’s in London, so that should make it easier for you,’ Mum continues.
    ‘Oh, great,’ I say automatically, even though it’s not great. Let’s face it, what funeral is great – not that I’ve ever been to one.
    ‘Are we OK to stay at yours?’ she asks as I continue on my walk to the hospital. I pick up my pace realising that I’m not going to have much time with Piers if I catch a plane tonight.
    ‘Of course you are,’ I answer, ‘and you know you don’t need to ask that, but what about–’
    ‘Helen’s going to pop in and look after Atlas,’ Mum pre-empts.
    Helen is Ob’s mum; his parents live next door to mine, though who knows for how much longer since they are planning a move to Scotland to be closer to Ob’s grandparents. Ob has been quiet about that with the baby drama, not that he’s been very vocal about the baby situation. I really need to catch up with him. Last time I heard from him, Jade was still thinking about things.
    ‘Fabulous. How is the little monster?’
    Silence.
    ‘Mum?’ I say as I cross over the road. I’m going to pop into Starbucks and pick Piers up a coffee to soften the blow that I’ll be leaving him for a few days. He’s going to take it badly, not because he’s going to miss me – OK, he will miss me – but because he desperately wants to be allowed to travel back home.
    ‘She told me about Ob,’ she answers, and there’s a hint of something in her tone. Annoyance, maybe?
    ‘Sorry,’ I trill. ‘I’ve had a million things on my mind.’
    I wonder if this means Jade has decided to keep the baby or just that Ob has finally told his parents about the situation.
    ‘Her first grandchild!’ she coos.
    Uh-oh! Mum sounds misty-eyed. She’ll be getting ideas in her head and I do not want to go down that avenue at the moment. Sure, I always imagined that I’d have children before Ob, but I’m not going to get pregnant so that my mum can keep up with the Thomas’.
    ‘It must be nice,’ she says wistfully.
    See, there it is.
    ‘Well,’ I begin carefully, though I suspect it comes out a little harsher than I intended. The news of the funeral has put me on edge and I’m feeling strange. I know I have to let go of Felicity, say goodbye, but I don’t feel ready. Being here in New York means I can pretend nothing bad has happened back home. OK, Piers is in hospital, granted, but being here feels like we’re on a rather strange extended holiday.
    ‘It’s not as if that’s for definite though,’ I continue. ‘Jade still might decide not to keep the baby, right?’
    With how up and down she has been with Ob – an utter bitch toying with him – I wouldn’t trust her not to