The Truth about Ruby Valentine

by Alison Bond

  ‘We’re cool,’ she said.

  ‘Fantastic! Top up?’

  *

  Sofia’s life was as colourful as a rainbow. Anybody who thought spoilt Hollywood princesses led vacuous and empty lives would be sorely disappointed with the reality of being Sofia Valentine.

  ‘I call myself a model but only because I’ve got to say something. Nobody has a word for what I do.’

  ‘I still don’t get it,’ said Kelly. ‘What do you do?’ She giggled. The second glass of champagne had gone right to her head.

  ‘I do a tiny bit of product endorsement and then the rest of the time I party. I’m under contract to three different venues and I pick up plenty of one-offs.’

  ‘Under contract?’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Sofia. ‘Like a new club opens up, they want to make sure they get in the right columns and stuff, I show up twice a week, bring a few girlfriends.’

  And they pay you?’

  ‘Usually we cut an investment deal on ownership of the club. The one-offs pay cash.’

  ‘You part-own three nightclubs?’

  ‘Two nightclubs and a restaurant. I’m thinking of opening a bar in Santa Cruz.’

  ‘But why…?’ Kelly couldn’t think of a way to phrase her question. Sofia was a gorgeous-looking girl but there must be thousands of them. She had a Hollywood heritage but no discernible talent.

  ‘Why me, right?’ Sofia laughed. ‘I couldn’t tell you. I try not to get too deep into that. Life comes in waves, yeah? You can either surf them or drown.’

  ‘This is your wave?’

  ‘And I’m riding it. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m fun. My friends are a really great bunch of people. We grew up together, you know? We all get it.’

  ‘Get what?’

  ‘This place, a city like Los Angeles, everything is fast – the traffic, the fashion, the food. You have to have the energy to keep up. Los Angeles is a terrible place to be miserable.’

  There was something inherently likeable about Sofia. When she talked about her charity work, Kelly didn’t feel that she was trying to prove she had a meaningful life, it was just something that she did, another way to have fun.

  ‘Especially when it’s kids,’ Sofia went on. ‘But that’s the best part, you get to choose – I mean, leave the obscure diseases and the ballet to someone who gives a shit – I get to take the kids to Disneyland.’

  Okay, so Sofia loved the sound of her own voice. But so what? Self-help books talked about the importance of self-esteem, being happy in your own skin, owning yourself; why shouldn’t Sofia have her moment in the sun? Kelly had a feeling that plenty of people wished they could like themselves as much as Sofia did. Even her weird cat, which had recently uncurled from a nap on its white fur cushion and was licking its naked bits, had an explanation.

  ‘I love watching people freak out when they see him. He makes me laugh every day, ugly little thing.’ She picked the cat up and rubbed her nose into his back. ‘Plus I look good next to him. You can borrow him if you like.’

  ‘Now that I’m famous?’

  ‘I guarantee the press would have found out sooner or later. You might as well enjoy it. You didn’t honestly think you could stay a secret for ever?’

  ‘I’m only just getting used to being a secret at all.’

  ‘You only found out like a week ago, right? When she died?’

  Kelly nodded.

  ‘That’s insane,’ said Sofia. ‘Did you lose it with your dad? All this time you could have been living the high life.’

  ‘It’s not his fault. She’s the one that left.’

  ‘So why are you here? Mom says you want a slice of the family fortune but I’m guessing there’s more to it than that.’

  ‘It was a shock,’ said Kelly. ‘I needed some space. I was running, I guess.’

  ‘From what?’

  ‘My dad, my boyfriend. I get this massive surprise dumped in my lap and I’m just expected to deal with it. Like I deal with everything.’

  ‘And how’s that?’

  ‘Like it isn’t happening.’

  ‘If you wanted to avoid Ruby Valentine’s untimely departure then you’re in the worst place in the world for that. It’s all anyone is talking about right now.’

  ‘I know,’ said Kelly. ‘I wanted to see her – does that sound twisted? Just be a part of her life, even though she’s not here. This is her funeral, you’re her family – this is still her life.’

  ‘I totally get what you mean,’ said Sofia. ‘Plus, knowing Grandma, I bet there’s more drama to come.’ She went to refill her glass but the bottle was empty. ‘Damn.’ She wandered over to an intercom identical to the one in Kelly’s guesthouse and pressed a button. ‘You hungry?’

  Kelly was ravenous. She’d had no breakfast. ‘A little.’

  The intercom buzzed, Sofia pressed the red button. ‘Carmen, hey, hi. Can you bring up some of that salmon stuff with the water chestnuts? And a salad. Great. And some water. Thanks.’ She came back to where Kelly was sitting on the purple couch. ‘You gotta try this Asian salmon thing I’ve been eating. Totally Atkins, high GI, everything. We’ll eat, then a quick freshen up and then we’ll go, all right?’

  ‘Go where?’

  ‘The photo shoot? For the magazine?’

  ‘Today?’

  ‘Come on, you’re in the city now, you’ve got to keep up, remember?’

  Kelly ate her Asian salmon thing, which was delicious, and drank the best part of a litre of water to wash away the champagne. Sofia picked at her food and then at her wardrobe, choosing things to take to the shoot.

  ‘You could borrow some outfits,’ she said, ‘but you’re quite fat around the thighs, aren’t you? I’m not sure anything will fit.’

  Kelly looked down at the offending thighs. Not her best feature, but she wouldn’t call them fat exactly, and there weren’t many people who would. Sofia was as direct as a smack in the face but nowhere near as painful. Her blunt statements were like the bluster of a tipsy maiden aunt. She got away with it.

  They’ll have a stylist, don’t worry, but I like to take a few of my own pieces. Keeps me popular with the designers. More free stuff, right?’

  ‘Right,’ said Kelly, as if that sort of thing happened all the time back home. Why was it only the rich people who got the freebies? She wondered if Sofia even realized how different her life was to a girl like Kelly’s. Did she think the rest of the world had Cristal for brunch and a maid service at the end of the intercom? It was Tuesday, and Kelly thought of where she would normally be on a Tuesday, sitting at her desk and trying to decide whether to have egg or tuna for lunch, cloaked in mayonnaise and shoved in a sandwich, before going home and putting her feet up in front of the television and watching programmes about girls like Sofia.

  On the way to the photo shoot, Kelly gave herself a brief reality check. ‘I’m in LA, in the back of yet another chauffeured car, with Sofia Valentine, on my way to a photo shoot. It was better than working for a living. She felt as if she’d stepped into a special world where people told her what to do, but for once she didn’t mind. She had started her day following Sheridan’s lead and now the baton had been passed to Sofia.

  Sofia was checking her eye makeup in a compact mirror. She snapped it shut and focused on Kelly. ‘Okay,’ she said, ‘this is media training: tell whatever lies you like as long as they’re not about other people. Stay away from the hot topics – you know, abortion, war, gay marriage, the president – but they’re not going to get into all that stuff today. This is a fluff piece – favourite thing about LA, favourite movie.

  ‘They’ll probably want to know about you, your life, your love life, your dad – especially your dad because he slept with her – what you think of Ruby. Do you love her? Hate her? Most of all – how do you feel? Do you have answers for all that?’

  Kelly was dizzy. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t have answers for any of that.’ The truth about who she really was inside cascaded down on he
r like rain and dampened her spirits: up until that moment she had been happily oblivious of what an interview actually entailed. She imagined describing her life to a magazine and was ashamed of its quiet insignificance. Finding out she had a famous mum wouldn’t suddenly make her fascinating. Nerves cut through the fragile excitement. ‘Sofia, I really don’t want to do this, do we have to?’

  ‘Oh, sweetie, of course we don’t have to. Just say the word and we’ll turn the car around. So my tits are in a magazine? So what? I’ll handle it. But…’ she ticked off points on her perfectly manicured fingers, ‘… one, you’d be doing me a big favour and two, it really is better this way. If the exclusive is a done deal everyone will leave you alone for a while afterwards, they know how it goes.’

  ‘No more photographers?’

  ‘There’ll still be photographers, but not hounding you, just when you leave the house.’

  ‘Fantastic.’

  ‘Oh, come on. You can’t be jaded already. You must like it a little?’

  Kelly thought back to that morning, the sound of dozens of photographers shouting her name, Sheridan whisking her off, racing away in the fast car. ‘Maybe a bit.’

  ‘Here,’ said Sofia and passed her a sequinned clutch bag, embroidered to look like a peacock feather. ‘My friend will give me two Gs if his bag turns up in this particular magazine. You take it; if they use it you can keep the money.’

  Two thousand dollars for carrying a handbag? ‘He’s going to want a picture of you with it, not me,’ said Kelly. ‘You’re the famous one.’

  Sofia laughed. ‘Not any more. You’re it. Didn’t you get the memo?’

  The venue for the photo shoot was a club in West Hollywood. They were met by Tatiana, the features editor of Sheep magazine – ‘It’s ironic, yeah?’ – who introduced them to the photographer and his assistant. ‘The concept for this piece,’ said Tatiana with a big white smile, ‘is that you guys are on a girls’ night out, getting to know each other. I thought we’d do a couple of outfits by the bar and then get you dancing in some of the dressier stuff. Any questions?’

  ‘Sounds great,’ said Sofia.

  ‘We change our outfits half-way through our girls’ night out?’

  ‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,’ said Tatiana. ‘Sofia, am I right?’

  Sofia nodded. ‘So many outfits, so little time.’

  ‘Isn’t the club a bit… empty?’

  The smile on Tatiana’s perfectly painted lips faltered. She wasn’t used to people taking her ‘Any questions?’ bit seriously. ‘No, honey. Don’t worry about that. We fill in the crowd later, digitally,’ she said. ‘I know this is your first time, just relax.’

  It was a novelty for Kelly to get her makeup and hair done by a professional, something she’d thought that only brides did on their wedding day. When she looked in the mirror after forty-five minutes she had a pleasant surprise. Her hair, with its tendency towards big, had been encouraged. Some people would say it looked fabulous, some would say it looked as if she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket. She was wearing five times as much makeup as she normally would but her skin looked even and clear, her eyes wide and seductive, she had cheekbones. She looked more like Ruby than ever.

  Next Tatiana helped her to pick out the outfits, taking great pains to explain that she wouldn’t be able to keep all the clothes. When she was ready Sofia took one look at her and said, ‘Wow, my auntie Kelly is hot!’

  They posed and smiled for the camera. ‘Don’t look at me!’ the photographer said constantly. ‘I’m not here, yeah? You’re out, you’re having a wild time.’

  A family member died and here they were having a wild time? It didn’t feel right to Kelly, in fact it felt stupid, and as much as she tried to enjoy herself on the dance floor in a two thousand-dollar Prada dress, she felt like a fake. She doubted that a nightclub like this would even let her through the door if she was wearing her usual clothes.

  Afterwards Tatiana sat down with them and asked them a series of undemanding questions. ‘We’re trying to play down the dead mother angle,’ she said. ‘No offence.’ Kelly thought that she could have phrased that more delicately, but as Tatiana raced ahead with her interview she didn’t have a chance to complain. And if she had, what then? She could already see who was in charge here: Sofia and Kelly were just subjects for observation, Tatiana was running the show.

  Sofia chatted easily and Kelly noticed that she used every opportunity to plug her investments. Particularly the bar in Santa Cruz which was at this point little more than an idea. Sofia made it sound like a going concern.

  ‘We’re gonna book the best bands,’ she said. ‘There’s a party every night.’

  Kelly started to relax when she sensed that the interview was coming to a close. She could handle this, she could be a media personality, no problem.

  ‘So, Kelly,’ said Tatiana, ‘do you have a boyfriend?’

  ‘I, uh… not exactly. Do I have to answer that? Sorry, I mean, I do, yes. He’s called Jez and we’re very happy, we have our ups and downs – doesn’t everyone? – but basically we’re okay. Yes, I do have a boyfriend.’ Kelly swallowed and her mouth was dry. ‘Can I get a glass of water?’

  Tatiana motioned for the assistant without turning around. ‘I see, and Sofia, are you seeing anyone special right now?’

  ‘Everyone I see is special.’

  In a little under three hours they were done and Kelly was in the car on the way back to her new home.

  ‘That wasn’t so bad,’ said Sofia. ‘I really appreciate you doing this for me.’

  ‘It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be,’ said Kelly. ‘And you’re right. I’d rather do a controlled thing like that than blurt out stupid answers to a reporter on my doorstep.’

  ‘Kinda messed up with that boyfriend question though, huh? What’s the deal with you two?’

  ‘He loves me,’ said Kelly. ‘But I think it could be over.’

  ‘Have you told him that?’

  ‘No. I just got on a plane.’

  ‘Been there, done that,’ said Sofia. ‘It won’t work. They don’t understand dramatic gestures, you just gotta tell him straight – it’s over, now fuck off.’

  ‘But what if I’m wrong? What if I’m throwing away something real just because I have this fantasy that some sophisticated, exciting guy is going to sweep me off my feet?’

  ‘Prince Charming?’

  ‘Right. Is that stupid?’

  ‘Hopeful, maybe. Not stupid. What about Tomas? You guys looked pretty tight the other night.’

  ‘He’d never go for me. Too complicated. He’s family’

  ‘I know, man. Isn’t that a bummer?’

  Kelly was disappointed that Sofia didn’t correct her.

  They were giddy when they got back to Beverly Hills. Unlike Tomas, Sofia had made full use of the car’s integrated drinks bar.

  Octavia was waiting for them, which somewhat dampened their high spirits. ‘You’re back,’ she said.

  ‘Well, duh!’ said Sofia.

  ‘Kelly, Max Parker called. There will be a preliminary reading of the will tomorrow morning at ten.’

  ‘Right, okay.’

  ‘I’d offer you a ride,’ said Octavia, ‘but I have some errands to run. Will you be able to find your own way there?’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’

  ‘I’m sure you will.’ Octavia was trying so hard to be nice. ‘Sofia darling, could you give us a moment?’

  ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Kelly, I’ll be in my room if you want me. I’m going to a Weezer gig later, wanna come?’

  ‘I don’t think I will,’ said Kelly. Where did Sofia get all her energy? The sun had only just set but Kelly was already exhausted. ‘Thank you for today.’

  ‘Are you kidding? Thank you.’

  Sofia disappeared and Octavia suggested that they went outside. ‘It’s such a beautiful evening.’

  ‘Sit down,’ she said. ‘I have something for you.’

&nb
sp; Kelly perched uncomfortably on the edge of a sun-lounger, tensing her muscles so that she didn’t tip the thing over and end up in the pool.

  Octavia passed her a white envelope. ‘I was going through her things and I found some photos. I thought you might like this one.’

  Inside the envelope was a colour photograph of Ruby sitting at the edge of a pond holding a baby, her bare feet dipping into the water. The giant grey sky and green mountains were unmistakably Welsh and Ruby was laughing at the camera as if at a friend. She turned the picture over but there was nothing written on the back.

  ‘Is that me?’ said Kelly, recognizing the fat cheeks from some baby photos back home.

  ‘I assume so.’

  There was a house in the background of the picture, a white stone cottage with a slate roof and two chimneys. Not Sean’s house but a view she knew by heart and could see every time she closed her eyes.

  ‘I know that house,’ she said. ‘It’s in Wales, near us. My dad used to take me to sail homemade boats on that pond all the time. Not for years though. There’s a bench at the top of our garden that looks down on that view.’

  Ruby looked serene. She was happy and healthy. Had Sean taken this picture? Had Ruby looked at it over the years? She must have kept it for a reason.

  ‘Where was it?’ said Kelly. ‘I mean, was it in a photograph album or hidden away somewhere?’

  ‘It was in her day-planner,’ said Octavia. ‘Next to her credit cards.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Kelly. ‘This is…’ She stopped, a bit emotional. ‘Thanks. I think I’ll, um, turn in now.’ She had never been forgotten then, just forgone.

  ‘Of course,’ said Octavia. ‘You must be tired. Goodnight.’

  Octavia watched Kelly walk to the guesthouse, only taking her eyes from the photograph when she needed to find the doorknob. It was a calculated risk to give Kelly the photograph and tell her the truth about where she’d found it. An emotional tie to Ruby might send Kelly running off to a lawyer, but more likely, she hoped, it would satisfy Kelly and send her home.