Sequela

by Cleland Smith

  'Yes. Yes, I suppose I am. You're right.'

  'And this Alexis, are you having her along? I mean as a friend.'

  Kester laughed and sighed. Wandering across the room to the front window, he leaned forward and put his forehead to the glass.

  'Mum, I don't know. I just don't know how they'll mix. She's older and –'

  'Nothing wrong with being a bit older. How much older?'

  'She's in her mid forties. Mid-to-late forties.'

  'So ten years.'

  'A bit more than that thanks, Mum.'

  'Kester, that's nothing when you get to this age.'

  'She just seems much older.'

  'You want to stop saying "older" son; she won't appreciate it.'

  'Well, maybe not older – more mature.'

  'I don't know, Kester. I can't tell you what to do, if that's what you're after. If you like this girl, then you should give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure she's fun and I'm sure she can handle herself at a dinner party for god's sake.'

  Kester laughed at her calling Alexis a 'girl'.

  'Thanks, Mum. Truly you are wise.'

  'Yes. I am.'

  'Mum, I have to go I'm afraid.'

  'The dog's fine now, by the way. I know you were worried about him. I'll speak to you tomorrow then – see how everything went.'

  'Sorry, Mum. I'll have more time to speak to you then. We can have a proper catch-up.'

  'OK, darling, I'll speak to you then. Good luck.'

  'OK, bye.'

  'Bye, love.'

  Kester hung up and dropped his Book back into his pocket.

  -o-

  'You're early,' Kester said with a fixed grin as he opened his apartment door. John, Betta and Sienna filled the doorway.

  Kester took a deep breath. He had hoped that Alexis would arrive first so that he could brief her on what to expect from them. Though this way round had its advantages too.

  'Come in, sit down.' Kester ushered them in. As they entered the apartment they exploded into a chorus of 'wow's and laughter.

  'Kester, this is amazing!' Betta wheeled around, pointing at things with an open mouth.

  'Good call, man,' John said. He had already found the couch and the PS controller.

  'Glad you all like it. Can I get you a drink?' Kester ran across the room to his bar and stepped in behind it. 'A drink from my bar? The bar in my living room.'

  'Calm down, mate,' John said, 'it's pretty cool but don't get above yourself – it's basically a bedsit, isn't it?'

  'Is Dee coming?' Sienna said.

  'Sienna,' Betta hissed.

  'What?'

  Kester tensed. Should he have asked Dee? Had he missed his chance? As far as he knew she still wasn't talking to him. John had been keeping him up to date. She had split with Sebastian but she was mostly hiding in her lab being bitter by all accounts.

  'Dee wouldn't come if the main course was Kester's balls on a silver platter,' John said.

  'Eeew, John.' Sienna made a face. 'You're disgusting.'

  'Nice. Right everyone,' Kester said, concerned at the premature nosedive in the conversation. 'I've got a friend coming tonight.'

  'He means a lov-errr,' John said.

  'Her name is Alexis – you all met her at the bar the night of my leaving do –'

  'Your boss?' Betta said. 'Kester, you beast!'

  'So she's not seen you at your best. Just…' Kester was unsure what he was getting at – he wanted to say be professional, but it didn't make any sense. 'Be nice.'

  The door buzzed. Kester rushed over, then paused and took a deep breath before opening it.

  The sight of Alexis warmed him. She was dressed as casually as he had ever seen her. Jeans and a spiral knit top, logo tags hanging round her neck. He recognised the top as one she'd bought in Paris. Her hair was tied loosely in a pony tail, the ends curling over one shoulder and down her back. Her makeup was subtle and flattering.

  'Alexis.' Kester felt a stupid expression appearing on his face but he couldn't stop it.

  'You were expecting…?' Alexis smiled and raised her eyebrows.

  'You look great.' Aware he was setting himself up for a jibe, Kester said, 'I was worried you wouldn't be smart enough, you know.'

  Alexis gave a soft laugh. She put her hand up to his neck and pulled him forward for a kiss. It was the first time she had greeted him like a lover. So that's who she was tonight.

  'They're a bit hyper, I'm afraid,' Kester said, 'but there are only three of them so I think we'll be OK.' He led her into the room by one hand. 'Everyone, this is Alexis. Alexis: Betta, Sienna and John. You may remember them from a certain bar incident.'

  'How could I forget?' Alexis said, shaking hands with Betta and Sienna. 'But I'd be surprised if this one remembers me.' She met John as he stood up from the couch and took him by the hand. 'Actually, I owe you thanks. I had been looking for an excuse to get rid of that Cameron character –'

  'Davis, wasn't it?' Betta said.

  'Yes, Davis that's it. Betta, you'd be so much better at this management stuff than me. Anyway, I'd wanted to get rid of him for ages.'

  'Why?'

  Alexis made a face that might have meant I don't know, I just didn't like him, anything. Betta laughed. Kester felt himself relaxing. The room, which had seemed too large with four of them, adjusted itself to the right size. Things started to match again, blend into the background, and he started to see normally.

  'OK,' Kester said. 'Who's hungry?'

  'Well, I am,' Betta said, 'but I notice that you don't seem to have a kitchen.'

  John frowned and looked around.

  'I don't.' Kester laughed. 'We've got a catering department that does special "home cooked" food as well as everyday stuff. I may not have cooked it but I decided what to ask somebody else to cook.'

  'Even better,' Sienna said. 'I shouldn't have had that burger on the way over.'

  'She's joking,' Betta said, too quickly.

  'It's just you haven't hosted one of our parties for so bloody long that we thought you might have forgotten how to cook,' John said.

  'I have forgotten.' Kester held his head high and then stooped in a long bow.

  'He's worked very hard at it,' Alexis said.

  She placed a hand on Kester's shoulder. It felt different to the usual Alexis power touch. He tried to give towards her hand, let her know what it meant to him.

  They went through to Kester's office. Once they had stopped crowing about the view and mucking around pretending to fall through the windows, he called in the first course. Everyone sat ill at ease while the waiting staff appeared and served their scallop starter from a silver platter. Betta looked like she could barely contain her giggles. This was catering's idea of casual. Right.

  'You've all heard of The Itch, I take it?' Alexis asked them collectively. Her relaxed manner brought the room back to life.

  'Yes, I've got all their albums,' John said. 'The guitarist's hot.'

  'Not my type.' Alexis wrinkled up her nose. 'That's great that you're a fan though – you'll get to see them at Kester's fashion show.'

  Kester's eyes popped.

  'What's wrong, darling?' Alexis asked.

  'Nothing,' Kester said, not even noticing that she'd called him darling. 'But you're kidding, right?'

  'Worried that it'll get out? I can tell your friends – they won't spill the beans, will they?' She looked around the table, puckering her lips. 'Will you?' As if blackmailing children with the prospect of sweets, she added, 'You won't get tickets if you do.'

  'Tickets,' John said. 'Awesome.'

  'You're serious?' Kester asked.

  Betta and Sienna laughed in unison.

  'I've been dying to see The Itch,' Sienna said. 'It'll be amazing!'

  'And it'll be brilliant to actually see your viruses,' Betta said. 'There's a real buzz amongst the student wearers.'

  'I saw this little punk the other day,' Sienna said. 'He was wearing tartan trousers with a see-though crotch.
You could see all the sores on his thingy – it was disgusting.' She made a face and took a swig of wine.

  'The Itch. Wow.' Kester said, daunted.

  Alexis was starting to look disappointed at his reaction. Angry disappointed. She knew they were his favourite band. It must have been hard to get them. He should be leaping about, punching the air.

  Kester pushed his plate away. 'Are you guys finished with your starters?'

  He got up to a chorus of nods and walked through to the other room to call the caterers up with the mains. He leaned on the bar for a moment. He shouldn't have had a drink before they arrived. He already felt steaming.

  'Any more drinks?' he heard Alexis saying.

  She arrived in his living room just as he finished the call.

  'The Itch?' he said, chucking his Book aside.

  'We got them,' she said, skipping over, looking younger than ever, cheeks flushed from the wine. Her complexion was as clean and healthy-looking as he had ever seen it. 'I hope you're pleased. It's going to be incredible.'

  'Yes, I know – I just can't imagine it,' Kester said. 'They're so…cool.'

  'Look at yourself Kester,' Alexis said, staring straight into his eyes. 'You're so cool. Everybody wants a piece of you. Have you forgotten what it was like in Paris, Milan, New York? Listen to your friends – they're chattering about it through there like teenagers – you're like a rock star. You've seen this, right?'

  Alexis took out her Book and held it up to him. At first he thought he was looking at an album cover, or a film poster. Slowly it dawned on Kester that it was him, an image from his photoshoot. There he was, standing feet apart on the glass shelf, gazing out over the sunrise, a giant on top of the world, chilling out, not giving a shit. Looking cool. He looked cool.

  'Tell me that doesn't make you feel good. Tell me you're not cool enough for The Itch to play at your show.'

  Kester broke into a smile. She was so convincing. He picked her up and hugged her tightly. It felt strange. It felt friendly in a way their physical contact never had before. Their time together on tour had changed something. She slid back down out of his arms, laughing.

  'You're right,' he said, 'it's going to be amazing. I love it. I'm sorry, I'm such a tool. I love it, I love you. You're too good to me.'

  'I'm having a special catsuit made,' she said, pushing away from him, eyelids suddenly low; her predatory look. 'It has a panel down the front that I can take off to show Touché once the models have been on.' She traced a V with her fingertips, from her shoulders down to two inches below her belly button.

  'Sounds good,' Kester said, reaching out for her hips and pulling her back towards him.

  'Get a room,' John said, striding through the doors from Kester's office. 'Oh, sorry, this is your room. Well, get on the bed and at least pull the curtains will you?'

  Alexis wiggled her way out of Kester's arms, smiling as coyly as was possible for her and reached under the bar. She picked up a bottle of red and one of white and rushed on tiptoe back through to the other room.

  'Well, well,' John said.

  'Well what?' Kester asked.

  'She's not quite how I remember. The fire-breathing woman from the bar.'

  'John, can you even remember the bar?'

  'I remember arriving.'

  'You see where I'm going with this?'

  'I mean it in a good way. I like her. I like her sense of humour. I like her, eh –'

  'Good.' Kester leaned back against the bar. 'I'm glad…I'm relieved.'

  'And there's obviously a bit of, you know. I mean it's not just like, you know how you said everyone sleeps with everyone.'

  'Who knows?'

  'And frankly, who cares? She's getting The Itch to play for you at your own personal fashion show, man – that's so fucking cool I can't even tell you. You'd better get me tickets. I'll be getting myself a new chastity belt if I have to stand in a crowd of diseased City loons, but there's no way I'm missing your show. Now why did I come through?'

  'Toilet?' Kester asked.

  'Good call! That could have been unfortunate. Back in a mo.'

  John walked across the room into the bathroom and started laughing to himself, presumably at the arse-height shelf.

  -o-

  Over the main course of venison, Kester sat back and let the conversation free-wheel without him. He watched Alexis. She looked natural, unaffected, a different Alexis to the business Alexis. Not Mrs Farrell and not Alexis the samurai-edged seductress, more like the little girl she became in the PlayPen. There was a soft-shouldered laugh that he had only ever seen before in that orange playsuit. He was drawn to her in a new way, a natural way. This was very unlike the push-and-pull of their usual relationship with its tricksy boundaries. Yes, she was Lex from the PlayPen, he decided. He couldn't handle there being four of her.

  After the main course they rested, leaning back in their chairs to make room for their bellies, relaxed by conversation and wine. While the catering staff cleared the table, they talked nonsense, planning out the different levels of the imagined PlayPen Scientifica, and offering Kester helpful ideas for new viruses.

  'I think its main fault is that you'd have to buy a whole new set of shoes,' Betta said.

  'But that's the whole point of YetiFoot!' John banged his hand on the table. 'You wouldn't have to wear shoes! You guys. You've got no vision. Am I right, Kester?'

  'John, are you ever wrong?'

  'OK. Forget it. What's for dessert?'

  'I didn't think you'd want any,' Kester said.

  Betta sat bolt upright and John looked like he'd been slapped.

  'Just kidding,' Kester said. 'It's chocolate mousse though – nothing fancy.'

  The chocolate mousses arrived. They were served in small heavy cut-crystal bowls, perched on the top of fluted silver stems the length of forearms. Each was decorated with chocolate filigree and gold leaf.

  'I like it,' John said. 'Nice and simple, like you said.'

  'I think I might have to stand up to eat this,' Betta said, peering over her bowl, which came almost up to the height of her eyes.

  They picked up their spoons and began eating.

  'Setting aside YetiFoot, how's your personal research going, Kester?' Sienna asked, picking some of the lacework off her mousse and biting into it. It fell to pieces.

  'My…' Kester's face blanched.

  'Yeah,' John said, too soon for Kester to intervene, 'your new screens – did you get them working? I think you were torso testing…' John looked up and stopped when he saw Kester's face.

  Kester looked round at Alexis.

  'Yes, Kester,' she said. A barrier had gone up around her. 'Do tell us how you are getting on.'

  How to explain? Kester imagined himself battering against her shield like a bird against glass, desperate to reach her, injuring himself with each shambolic attempt. He had been meaning to tell her. He knew it would have to come out sometime, somehow, but his plan had been to stall until he decided what he was going to do with it.

  'My research?' Kester decided to brazen it out. 'Yes. I don't think I've told you about my private research, have I, Lex?'

  Alexis shook her head, a forced smile on her lips. Kester's friends glanced at one another, spoons still suspended halfway to bowls, halfway to mouths. The room was quiet. Kester realised that the music had stopped.

  'I've been working on a new type of screen. One that doesn't rely on drugs to work. It's based almost purely on viral technology – soft nanotech rather than the sort of hard nanotech that the old one uses, though there's still a bit of that of course. It works with the body and you don't need to take drugs to use it.'

  'I still think this is awesome,' Betta said. 'This is what you were made for. I mean don't get me wrong, the fashion stuff is cool, but this is what you'll be remembered for.'

  Out of the corner of his eye, Kester could see the colour rising in Alexis' cheeks.

  'It's in the torso testing stage now,' he said.

  'You've got
it working?' John asked. 'That's amazing – woohoo!'

  Kester couldn't help but look excited by this. He looked straight at Alexis.

  'I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Lex. I thought it was safer that you didn't know for now. I didn't want you to get in trouble with Chen. But the company could really –'

  'This is a real thing?' Alexis asked. 'You've got it working?'

  Kester nodded. She looked conflicted. Was she angry, impressed, what? She took a slow sip of wine, eyes focused somewhere out on the City skyline.

  'We agreed I could work on my own projects in my own time.' Kester started to defend himself.

  'John's right,' Alexis said, looking up at Kester. 'That is amazing.' She stood up. 'Come on, then – take me to the lab – show me. I'll call security and get these guys on a group tour pass – they're on the system anyway. It'll take seconds. You can show us all.'

  Alexis started tapping on her Book.

  'But…dinner…' Kester said. Was she serious? What was she going to do to him? He cast a distressed look at John.

  'Watch out, Kester, she's going to steal it for the company!' John said and made a comic suspicious face at Alexis.

  'Come on – it's mousse, it's cold, it'll keep – the lab is right here,' she said, walking towards the door. 'Don't you want to show us?'

  'The lab is right here?' John asked.

  'Come on – can we see your lab?' Betta said.

  'You live in your lab?' Sienna asked.

  Before he knew it they were all standing at the door with Alexis, clutching their drinks.

  -o-

  'You know I'm angry,' Alexis said as she lay in Kester's arms.

  'I know,' he said, slurring a little. 'You know I'm sorry.'

  'I know.'

  'Are you going to tell on me?'

  'Kester, this is too big to even think about right now.' Alexis sat up and looked down at him.

  'I'm aware of that,' he said sleazily, propping himself up on his elbows, 'but what about the screens?'

  'Seriously.' Alexis suppressed a smirk. 'We need to focus on the show. Keep a lid on it. Carry on, but keep a lid on it.'