Live a Little

by Madeleine Reiss

  I kept a journal of our holiday while we were on route. This was quite a long time before I had begun writing novels and I had no idea that one day what I had scribbled down would become the inspiration for one. I rediscovered my account of the trip when I was clearing out my desk (a long-postponed task) and read it for the first time since it had been stashed away amongst half-used diaries, my children’s paintings and instruction booklets for now-defunct electrical goods.

  I was struck by how excited I had been about everything – the smells and colours, the expansiveness of the landscape, the sheer joy of driving down a road when you are the only vehicle on it. I was also interested to see that I had recorded in detail the pleasure and (I have also got to admit) the irritations of travelling with my much-loved sister. It was as if that fortnight emphasised both the differences between us, and the ways we are alike. Being together in a car for extended periods of time made us snipe at each other about small things – a tendency to chew gum loudly or to drive too near to the vehicle in front or the need for astonishingly frequent loo or food stops – but it also made us even closer than we were before.

  Tania is a very adventurous and seasoned traveller, whereas I am timorous and prone to worrying about where we are going to spend the night. Having been to fewer places (Tania also lives in America and is familiar with much of the country), I was more wide-eyed and astonished by everything than she was. Like Lottie and Tina in the novel, what we each brought to the trip enhanced it for the other – Tania experienced everything newly through my eyes, and I learnt not to be so hung up on knowing exactly where we were going. We saw many wonderful things on that trip and we learnt a lot about the places we were travelling through, but it also taught us just how much we valued our relationship.

  Having and loving sisters is the most fortunate thing in the world. It makes both the good times and the bad times so much better. It frees you from having to explain yourself. It gives you the opportunity to behave badly at times, but also to step up when you have to. Above all, it bestows a kind of courage and confidence that nothing else quite can.

  Thank you, Tania, for the road trip and for so much else (I forgive you for trashing my best shoes in Las Vegas), and Thomasina, it will be the three of us next time.

  First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Zaffre

  This ebook edition published in 2019 by

  ZAFFRE

  80-81 Wimpole St, London, W1G 9RE

  Copyright © Madeleine Reiss, 2019

  Cover design by Alexandra Allden

  Cover images © Shutterstock.com

  The moral right of Madeleine Reiss to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,

  Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978–1–78577–093–7

  Paperbook ISBN: 978–1–78577–092–0

  This ebook was produced by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd

  Zaffre is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

  www.bonnierbooks.co.uk