Original Sin

by Tasmina Perry

  She joined the long line snaking up the steps, which seemed to comprise mainly of intelligent–looking twenty–somethings, killing time by scrolling through her BlackBerry, hoping for a message from Dom. At the pay–booth, she put down a twenty–dollar bill distractedly, her eyes still on the BlackBerry.

  ‘Excuse me, ma’am. Are you the parent or guardian of this boy?’

  At first she ignored the voice, assuming it was directed at someone else.

  ‘Ma’am?’ a cinema attendant said more forcefully, and she looked up to see a tall boy in jeans and a stripy T–shirt standing next to her.

  ‘Come on, Aunt Liz,’ he said, looking straight at Tess, ‘Can we get some popcorn?’

  Confused, Tess looked back to the attendant in the booth. ‘Is he with you?’ she asked Tess again, with a perfectly balanced mixture of disinterest and impatience.

  ‘Aunt Liz!’ said the boy. ‘Come on.’

  He was about twelve or thirteen and she had certainly never seen him before, but there was something about the pleading look on his face that made the words tumble out of her mouth without thinking.

  ‘Hmm. Yes. Yes, he’s with me,’ she said, pushing more money into the slot.

  ‘Fine,’ sighed the attendant, sliding two tickets across and looking around Tess. ‘Next in line?’

  Tess and the boy walked further into the lobby.

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said archly, handing him his ticket. ‘I take it you’re my long–lost nephew? Which is a neat trick considering I don’t have brothers or sisters.’

  ‘Look, I’m sorry,’ said the boy. ‘They’re real age–Nazis here, but I really need to see The Pact. Some kids from my school came last night and paid for the Woody Allen movie, then slipped into the horror. I tried it for the one thirty showing but they caught me.’

  ‘Ah, so you’d thought you’d use some poor mug?’ said Tess, attempting a stern voice.

  ‘Come on, you must remember what high school’s like?’ said the boy. ‘There’s an in crowd and an out crowd. I’m pretty new at my school, I need all the help I can get.’

  She couldn’t resist a smile; she knew exactly how that desire for social acceptance felt. She’d moved to Suffolk from Edgware when she’d been sixteen, and her first month at her sixth–form college had been awful. Everyone was already in their tight little friendship groups from their respective schools. Tess had been what her mother kindly called a ‘late developer’: awkward, introverted, and a little mousy. Even her exotic background – coming from sophisticated ‘London town’ – didn’t cut much ice with the country set. Out of desperation, she had signed on with the college magazine and, to her surprise, it had been her salvation. Shielded by her notebook and Dictaphone, Tess found she could talk to people, even boys, even good–looking ones. In fact, she found she was actually rather good at it and, quickly, her confidence grew. As if to reward her courage, Mother Nature gave her an overdue makeover, giving her shiny raven hair, clear skin, wide green eyes – and admiring glances from all angles. And to think she owed it all to journalism.

  ‘Popcorn?’ said the boy, falling into step with her. ‘It’s the least I can do,’ he said, handing her a huge bucket.

  She wanted to tell him to just bugger off.

  ‘I’m Jack by the way,’ he added. ‘Can you just stick around until we get into the theatre? That woman in the booth keeps looking at us. Do something, maybe ruffle my hair?’

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Or give me a dollar to get some gum. You know, something aunt–like.’

  She rolled her eyes as Jack kept chattering. Finally they filed into the dark theatre. Tess wondered whether it was nerves or whether he was like this all the time. He certainly had a lot more to say for himself than she’d had at his age.

  The film quickly started and it was exactly what Tess had been looking for – pure escapist fun, the sheer luxury of letting two hours slip by without thinking about anything much. Still, during the more gruesome bits, she found herself glancing over at Jack with concern. She had almost zero experience with children and had no idea whether this was irreversibly damaging his young psyche, or whether this was actually quite tame to a modern thirteen–year–old with access to a PlayStation and the Internet. By the time the credits rolled, Tess was starting to feel a niggling sense of guilt.

  ‘I can’t believe I let you watch that!’ she whispered as they walked out together. ‘All that violence and swearing. I hope you closed your eyes when, you know, the man and the lady were kissing.’ Tess was surprised at how protective she felt.

  ‘Kissing? I think they were doing a bit more than that,’ smirked Jack. ‘Thanks for bringing me anyway, Aunt Liz,’ he added. ‘I thought it rocked.’

  ‘Yes, it was pretty good actually,’ she admitted. ‘Worth us almost getting thrown in jail, in fact.’

  They filed out into the street, both screwing their eyes up in the bright sunlight. After a couple of seconds she realized he was following her.

  ‘So where is your mum this afternoon?’ said Tess, rummaging around in her bag for her sunglasses.

  ‘In Greenwich.’

  ‘London?’ said Tess, surprised.

  ‘Connecticut,’ said Jack casually. ‘She lives there now with her new boyfriend. Is that where you’re from? London?’

  ‘London? Yes, I moved here a few weeks ago.’

  ‘And does your husband live there?’

  Tess winced at the assumption that she’d be married. She thought she was so hip in her new ring and her bags full of Marc Jacobs shopping, but in Jack’s eyes she was probably ancient. She shook her head.

  ‘I’m not married.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Jack, tagging along with Tess as she walked off along West Houston Street. ‘But don’t you miss your friends?’

  Tess felt another sudden flush of guilt. The truth was she hadn’t really missed anything about London. Packing for the move, she had felt bogged down with anxiety and nostalgia; she had expected to feel terribly homesick being stranded thousands of miles from home, but, as it had turned out, she really hadn’t missed any of it: not the buzz of the newsroom, nor even her old flat opposite Battersea Park.

  ‘A little, I suppose,’ she shrugged.

  ‘What’s England like?’

  ‘Rainy.’

  ‘So was Buffalo,’ said Jack enthusiastically. ‘I used to live there with my mum and dad. My dad was in the army and got stationed in Iraq. When he came back my mum left him for someone else.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

  Jack shrugged. ‘I like New York and, anyway, I think my mum is happier where she is. I go up to Greenwich every coupla weeks; she comes down here, but today she cancelled on me.’

  ‘There’s a lot of it about,’ said Tess with an ironic smile. They were passing a park and she sat down on a bench, turning her face up to the sunshine. Jack sat next to her and peered at her sideways.

  ‘So your mum and dad are split up too? Is that what you mean?’

  ‘No, my dad is dead, I was actually talking about my boyfriend. He was supposed to be out here this weekend.’

  ‘What about your mum? I bet she’s sad you live all the way out here now.’

  ‘She doesn’t know.’

  ‘Why not?’ asked Jack, amazed.

  Tess puffed out her cheeks, exhausted by his relentless questioning.

  ‘Don’t you have somewhere else to be?’ she asked.

  Jack just blinked at her. ‘Nope.’

  ‘Well, I do and I’ve got to be heading home, so it’s been nice meeting you, but–’

  ‘You gotta let me walk you home,’ interrupted Jack quickly. ‘It’s a tough city on your own, all kinds of lowlifes everywhere. Where do you live?’

  There was just no shaking this kid.

  ‘Perry Street in the Village.’

  ‘Hey, that’s just by me,’ said Jack, delighted. ‘I’m on Charles Street, we’re neighbours. Perry Street, huh? One of those fancy red houses, I bet
.’

  Tess smiled, thinking about her top–floor apartment. Jack was right; it was one of the smartest buildings in the area. It was only small but it was picture perfect.

  ‘Nice,’ said Jack appreciatively. ‘Our place is kinda a rat–hole. My dad has three jobs but we’re not rich. You like pizza?’ he added, shooting off on a tangent. ‘Let’s go to Joe’s on Carmine Street. Best pizza in New York … Oh no.’

  Tess looked up, following his gaze. Across Bleeker Street she could see a tall, stocky man in jeans walking purposefully towards them.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ frowned Tess.

  ‘My dad.’

  He looked like a soldier, thought Tess. Sandy hair cropped close to his head. A crisply ironed khaki shirt and a nose that looked as if it might well have been broken a few times. He wasn’t particularly good looking but there was something strong and solid about him and right now something a little frightening.

  ‘Where the hell have you been?’ demanded the man.

  ‘The movies,’ muttered Jack, suddenly much quieter now.

  ‘And what did you see that couldn’t wait until tomorrow? You know we said we were going to go together tomorrow.’

  Jack’s cheeks flushed and he looked down at his feet.

  ‘The Pact,’ said Tess, her voice trailing off as if she was also about to be punished.

  ‘Sorry, who are you?’

  ‘Tess Garrett,’ she replied, feeling very naughty. ‘We just met today.’

  Jack’s dad raised a brow. ‘And what did he do, tag behind you in the line?’

  She gave a slight shrug, not wanting to get the kid into too much trouble.

  ‘For an eleven year old he’s sure gotta lot of guile,’ Jack’s dad said flatly.

  Tess glared at Jack. ‘Eleven! You said you were thirteen!’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Jack sheepishly.

  ‘He is eleven years old and shouldn’t be watching any R–rated movies,’ said Jack’s dad sternly.

  Tess winced. ‘I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. As you might have guessed, I’m not used to kids.’

  The big man sighed and shook his head. ‘Listen, Miss Garrett was it? I’m Kevin Donovan, Jack’s dad, and I’m sorry if I sounded rude. It’s not just the movie thing. Jack was supposed to be with his mom, but she cancelled and I managed to get a baby–sitter at the last minute.’

  ‘I don’t need a babysitter,’ said Jack sulkily.

  ‘Obviously, he gave the ’sitter the slip,’ said Kevin, ignoring his son. ‘She didn’t even notice for an hour. By the time I got a call at work, he’s been missing for nearly three hours. I was about to call the cops.’

  Tess looked at Jack disapprovingly. ‘Your dad is just worried about you.’

  Jack nodded, his head down. ‘I didn’t like that baby–sitter.’

  ‘I didn’t have much choice,’ said his father wearily.

  Tess felt a sudden pang of sadness for this little family unit. A poor single dad overstretched with his three jobs and a clever, easily bored son looking for fun. As an only child she knew exactly what it was like to be lonely and in need of things to do.

  ‘Listen, I’m just around the corner, if you’re ever stuck again,’ she found herself blurting out.

  Jack looked up, a broad smile on his face. ‘That’s great,’ he said brightly.

  What have I just said? thought Tess. Panicking slightly, she back–pedalled. ‘Of course, I’m not home all that much and I work crazy hours … ’

  ‘Well thanks,’ said Kevin, clearly not overexcited by the idea. You can hardly blame the guy, thought Tess. I haven’t come across as the most responsible adult in Manhattan. Kevin put his hand on the back of his son’s head and pushed him gently along the street. ‘Come on, pal. Time to go.’

  ‘Bye Tess.’

  She watched as they walked away, Jack’s back bowed, Kevin’s erect. She didn’t doubt that he was reading Jack the riot act. When they turned the corner, Jack glanced back and gave a little wave. Tess slid her shades back on and smiled. The glamour, the glamour. Her first new friend in New York was a child.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Employees of Yellow Door publishing company had become used to seeing paparazzi loitering outside their East Forty–Second Street offices. Many would mutter under their breath or complain about the inconvenience that it brought to their calm, genteel world, but just as many secretly enjoyed the reflected glamour, the excitement of imagining themselves on the red carpet for a few seconds every day. That evening, however, the sidewalk outside the office was clear. Brooke let out a sigh of relief as she pushed out of the revolving doors and on to the dark street. Ever since the ‘home–wrecker’ story had broken almost two weeks earlier, not a day had gone by when she hadn’t been snapped either on her way in or coming out of work. Perhaps the press had lost interest in her, she thought hopefully. More realistically, it was probably down to the late hour – it was now almost nine p.m. and the photographers and reporters plaguing her would expect a glamorous woman like her to be at some party or opening rather then still in the Yellow Door offices. At least a twelve–hour working day has some benefits, she thought, feeling a fog of tiredness roll over her.

  She looked around for her driver – it was funny how fast you became used to luxuries. She’d always resisted having a car on call; somehow it had seemed far too ostentatious and arrogant for a junior editor at a publishing company, as if she was saying ‘I’m an important person’, when she was just the same as everyone else. But when the paps had started to trail her, Meredith and David had pressured her to take what they called ‘sensible measures’, to which Tess Garrett had added certain ‘rules’. Brooke now had to change her cell–phone number every fortnight. Friends and family were discouraged from leaving messages on her answer–phone; Tess had told her how easy it was for reporters to hack into her phone and access sensitive information. The idea of a bodyguard had also been mentioned with increasing regularity, but she shuddered at that idea. That was all a bit too diva–esque for her. It was for the same reason that Brooke had always asked her driver to park a little way from the building, which was why she now found herself standing in the cold street, looking around for the car. It was then that she noticed a man looking at her from the other side of the street. Damn, she thought, turning to walk towards the corner, putting her sunglasses on quickly, the paparazzi are here, after all. The man kept pace with her on the opposite sidewalk, one hand raised as if hailing her. The usual routine, trying to get a reaction, a more interesting shot. They were shameless.

  ‘Brooke! Hey Brooke!’ he shouted over the traffic. She glanced across again as he began to cross the street towards her, his jacket flapping behind him as he dodged speeding yellow taxis.

  ‘Brooke. Wait. It’s me!’

  He was better looking than the usual hack, she noticed that much; and there was something vaguely familiar about him.

  ‘Brooke, it’s Matt!’

  The name made her stop. At first, she wasn’t sure if it was him or if it was some well–informed pap trying to trick her, but as he leapt away from a blaring truck, she could see it was him.

  ‘Matthew Palmer,’ she said slowly, shaking her head before beginning to walk on. In many ways she would have preferred it to have been a tabloid photographer. At least they responded to threats.

  ‘Why haven’t you returned my calls?’

  ‘Because I don’t want to speak to you,’ she said crisply. Brooke always tried to be scrupulously polite, but when Matt had phoned her office, twice, in the past three days after Danny Krantz’s column, she had instructed Kim to field his calls. She was too angry; she felt too betrayed.

  ‘Please Brooke, just give me a minute.’

  He followed her along the pavement and grabbed her elbow. She averted her eyes, wanting to be anywhere but here.

  ‘Listen Brooke, I read the piece in the Oracle. I know how it must look.’

  She rounded on him angrily. ‘How it looks? Matt, do you know how muc
h trouble that story’s caused? How much did they pay you? I hope it was worth it.’

  ‘Pay me for what?’

  ‘Leaking the Jeff Daniels story to the Oracle. I assume that’s who told them.’

  She looked at him. His college boy hair had been cropped closely around his head.

  ‘Why the hell would I do something like that? ‘

  Brooke frowned in puzzlement and Matt nodded towards the Helmsley Hotel across the road. ‘I think we’d better sit down and talk about this. What about a drink?’

  She shook her head. She suddenly wanted to hear what he had to say for himself, but she certainly wasn’t going to go into a public bar with him, not when the press had labelled him her ‘old flame’. Paparazzi aside, everyone in New York had a camera phone these days. She glared at him for a moment, then let out a long breath.

  ‘All right, two minutes. This way.’

  There was a small Italian restaurant on the next block. Brooke was a regular here and could always count on their discretion. Luigi, the owner, greeted her warmly and led her to a quiet booth at the back, out of view of other diners. Luigi hovered and Matt ordered a beer. Brooke asked for still water, but pointedly did not unbutton her coat.

  For a second, she imagined they were back in college, in dingy bars and student parties. It had been at one such party, at a big house on Prospect Street in Providence, that she and Matt had met for the first time. Brooke had drunk rather too much of a potent cocktail someone had branded ‘Love Punch’ and Matt had found her having a power–nap on a pile of coats, where someone had sprinkled her with rose petals.

  ‘Rise and shine Ophelia,’ he had said, dragging her into the kitchen to give her his ‘patent hangover cure’: force–feeding her a banana for potassium, adding a couple of Tylanol and making her drink a large glass of water. Then he’d walked her slowly home, promising her that, despite the cold, a long walk would make her feel ten times better. He’d been right, of course. He was a doctor, or was going to be; a third–year med student at the Brown Alpert Medical School. As he’d helped her weave back to campus, it had begun to snow, and she remembered her tiredness and drunkenness dissolving as they’d ambled along talking about everything and nothing, her feet slipping in the slush.