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Cara’s heart beat a little faster. She’d never met a celebrity before, and possibilities flitted through her mind about who it might be. ‘Male or female?’ she asked.
‘Okay, one clue. Female.’
‘A television host? Model? Politician? Actress?’ Rebecca shot some options from her mouth.
‘Ah,’ Liz pointed with a scolding finger. ‘I see where this is going, trying to play Celebrity Head are we?’ She smiled. ‘I don’t know when she’ll be visiting yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know. Or maybe I’ll just surprise you one night.’ She winked.
‘I can’t wait!’ Miranda bounced again.
‘Now remember the form you signed in your welcome pack, just a reminder that whatever happens in the club stays in the club, and that includes anything our celebrity guest talks about.’ Liz made a point of looking at Zoe, even though everyone knew she wasn’t the type to break the rules and leak juicy gossip to her newspaper. Zoe made a cross-my-heart motion with her finger across her chest.
After a lively discussion about potential fame for everyone through Zoe’s newspaper, and a brainstorming session about places they could leave the words of wisdom cards, Cara stood, hooked her bag over her shoulder, and farewelled the women. She was anxious to get home and start her art portfolio, not to mention thinking up more possibilities for who the celebrity could be. As she went to open the door of The Ruby Room, her eye caught something she’d never noticed before. A quote, hand-written in calligraphywas displayed in a small frame on the back of the door:
May the power of the Ruby light your way forward in the direction of your dreams, give you the strength to follow your heart, and guide you to living a life of love, passion, and purpose.
Cara read the quote a second time to absorb it, and it was as though the words were carried by her smile as she walked out the door with a confident stride.
It was time to start climbing the proverbial fruit tree.
NINETEEN
“The mind and the body are like parallel universes. Anything that happens in the mental universe must leave tracks in the physical one.”
~ Deepak Chopra
The urgent buzzing of the alarm clock sheared through Gina’s skull, pain and pressure mounting, like the clock was inside her head. She reached and fumbled on the bedside table, knocking the clock to the floor. Her eyes strained to focus, squinting as the morning sun intruded into the bedroom, but everything remained a blur. She brought her hands to her head in an effort to stop the dizziness.
‘Gina? Are you okay?’ Marvin leaned over, tapping her on the shoulder.
‘Argh, don’t touch me!’ she cried out.
‘Are you having one of your migraines, is that it?’ He hopped out of bed and over to her bedside table, pulling thedrawer open. ‘Where do you keep your medication?’ He lifted romance books, hand creams, and various gadgets around, messing up her neat arrangement.
‘Bottom drawer,’ her voice croaked. ‘It won’t do much good, this one’s already in full swing. Argh!’ She covered her eyes, pain bursting through her eyelids. ‘Just ... have to ... ride it through, till it passes.’
‘Here, take one anyway.’ Marvin pushed a tablet into her mouth, lifting a bottle of water to her lips. She managed a brief sip, then dropped her head on the pillow, her face scrunching up.
The migraines had been occurring more often lately, mostly mild, but this was a shocker. She’d be out of it all day, possibly tomorrow too. ‘Can you call ...’
‘Call work? I’ll do that now.’ Marvin unplugged his mobile from the charger and called the M2M offices, leaving a message. ‘Will you be alright? Need me to get your mum over? I’d stay, but I’ve got an important meeting at nine this morning.’ He unplugged her phone from its charger too, placing it within easy reach on her bedside table.
‘It’s okay ... just need to stay in bed ... nothing anyone can do ... you go.’Please go, and please stop talking. Your voice, it’s like needles in my ear...
‘Well, if you’re sure. I’ll call later, okay?’ He turned away.
Gina reached for her phone, and turned it to silent.
If it wasn’tfor her bladder urging her awake, she would have stayed there all day. Annoyed at the inconvenience, she crawled out of bed and wobbled to the ensuite. Relieved, she splashed her face with water, shuddering at the cold sting.Her stomach grumbling, she held onto the wall for support, sliding herself along until she reached the kitchen. Gina wished she’d been alert enough to ask Marvin to leave some food on her bedside table, or that he’d been thoughtful enough to do it of his own accord.
She turned on the kettle and grabbed a couple of bowls from the cupboard, pain shooting to her head as she bent down. She tossed nuts, crackers, and fruit into a bowl, inhaling the comforting scent of peppermint as she poured boiling water on a tea bag and filled the mug. Gina struggled back to her room with the items on a tray, not sure what she’d let go of first if she stumbled – the tray, or the wall – and longed for this day to be over.
Next thing she knew, it was.
Marvin came into focus in front of her, his voice sounding distant. ‘I’m off, you staying home again today?’ he asked.
‘Huh?’ Gina blinked, looking around the room. ‘Is it tomorrow already?’
‘It’s Tuesday. When I got home yesterday you were still in pain, so I gave you another of your pills, plus the sedative the doctor said to use if it gets too bad. Knocked you out for the rest of the night.’
