"Callie, we're just wondering where you are. It's Lucy, from the office? Jonathan's starting to get really mad, will you please call in and say where you are? We've got a big photo shoot tomorrow, it's big money stuff. We need you here, not on another planet or anywhere but within a ten mile radius of your flat. Okay? Give me a call as soon as you get this."
"Callie, darling, it's me, Ade. Where are you? Everyone's up in arms about it at the office, why haven't you turned up for work today? Look, if you want to talk you know where I am. And if… if there's anything wrong you will call, right? I'm free all day, I'll keep my mobile with me. Love you honey, call me back."
"Callie, where are you? Look, I'm sorry, babe, I didn't mean to do that, you know that. I'm really really sorry. If you come home tonight we can sort this out. I've called everyone we know and no one's seen you all day. You can't run off like this all the time, I'm getting a bit sick of it. Call me when you get this."
"Callie, it's your mum. Listen, Ed's been calling here all day trying to get hold of you, and I've had Ade on the phone for the last twenty minutes. Where are you? If you're in any trouble you know we'll come and get you. I'm really worried about you. Call me as soon as you get this."
Callie deleted the pile of voice messages that were on her phone when she switched it on the next morning. She'd slept badly on the lumpy mattress at the bed and breakfast, and even when she did occasionally drop off to sleep, her dreams terrified her and made her wish she was awake. The bags under her eyes had got bigger yet again.
As soon as she heard Ade's voice, Callie wanted to phone her best friend. She glanced at her watch. It would be early evening in London, he no doubt had some fancy party to be going to. But he had said phone him at any time. She hesitated before dialling his number which she knew by heart, and waiting for him to answer.
"Callie!" He sounded both surprised and delighted. In the background she could hear a lot of people talking and laughing and the clink of champagne glasses. The line crackled as Ade moved and she heard a door shut behind him.
"Callie, honey, how are you?" Ade asked when the noise had died down.
Callie bit her lip. "I'm… okay."
"Where are you?" Ade fired questions at her. "Do you need me to come and get you?"
"No, I…" Callie hesitated before replying. "I'm okay, Ade, I'm… in Australia."
There was a long silence. Then Ade spoke again. "You're where?"
"Listen, you know I said that my real dad lived in Australia and that one day I wanted to go and meet him?" She was aware she was babbling, but she continued anyway. "Well, I did it. A bit late as it turns out, but I'm here, I'm…"
"Slow down!" Ade interrupted her. "You're in Australia?"
"Yes!" Callie laughed. "And it's lovely."
"And what was that about your dad, about…?"
"My dad died a few weeks ago," Callie explained. "He… he was in a plane crash. His wife and daughter died too. But his dad's still alive and his niece…my cousin I guess." She was aware she was speaking too fast, and she deliberately took a deep breath to try and calm herself.
Ade took the opportunity to say something. "Cal, are you crazy?" he said eventually.
Callie was surprised. "What?"
"You've just left everything in a huge mess back here!" Ade's voice rose and then fell again. Clearly he wasn't alone in this room. "You had work lined up, Callie! Big bucks work! I've bumped into Jonathan God knows how many times already this evening, and he does not look happy!"
"It was only a photoshoot and a commercial," Callie replied, secretly feeling pretty guilty. "It can be rescheduled, it's for next summer anyway!"
"You know that's not how it works though," Ade reminded her. "And you said you'd do some work for me, model a few of my designs for the show next week? It's a really big thing, Cal, I need to try and break into the US market."
Callie remembered and felt even worse. She'd always supported Ade in his every design, ever since he'd turned from model to designer. She'd been there for his first show, a small affair with only a few junior agents even vaguely interested, and she'd been there at London Fashion Week two years ago when his designs had almost caused a stampede. She'd seen him sell his first collection to a high street store, and bought seventy copies of the magazine featuring his first celebrity wedding dress. She'd promised him she'd help him out at this meeting months ago, he hadn't even had to ask twice.
"I know," she murmured into the speaker.
"So you'll be back in time then?" Ade sounded hopeful. "You can always go back again afterwards, Cal, straight after the show if you like."
"Is there no one else?" Callie asked, hating herself even as she said it. "Can't Alissa or someone do it?" Alissa was Ade's flat mate, a tall and imposing raven-haired beauty. Whilst Callie had always traded on her smile and personality to get her by, Alissa only had to walk into a room for people to stop talking.
"Alissa's way too tall!" Ade replied. "And her feet are too big! I made this stuff for you, Cal, you promised you'd do it."
"I know, and I'm really sorry!" Callie started to protest and then she heard beeping. "What's that?"
"My battery's dying," Ade explained. "Look, I'll have to go, I'm missing valuable networking time as it is." Another stab of guilt. "I'll call you later, okay? You better ring that jobsworth Lucy, actually, explain where you've got to. And your mum. And you might want to check the internet while you're about it."
"The internet?" Callie frowned. "Why? Ade, why would I want to check the internet? Ade?" But the line was dead. Callie felt a sense of dread flow through her. She shivered in her thin silk nightdress and told herself not to be stupid and to think rationally. The internet. Where would she get on the internet here? If Ade had suggested she look it must be important.
She showered quickly, giving her hair the cursory wash and bundling it into a messy and loose bun. She didn't like the look of the hairdryer in the room; the wire was tattered and frayed. She pulled on a slightly flared mini skirt she'd bought in Greece two years ago and a plain white t shirt. It made her look younger than she was, like a girl on holiday without a care in the world. She wished it was true.
Picking up her phone again, she called Lucy's extension number at the office. No doubt everyone would be at the same party Ade was at, supping champagne and talking about the next big thing to hit the catwalk. If she'd been there, someone (probably Jonathan) would have nudged her before pointing to an impossibly thin skeleton of a girl with some sort of edgy bob cut.
"You should watch her," he'd say, as the girl moved effortlessly from group to group, shepherded by a crowd of men. "She's your competition. We can't rest on our laurels, Callie, can we?"
The phone rang. Callie jumped as it was answered unexpectedly.
"Hello?" Lucy sounded equally as alarmed. Callie imagined the blonde girl sitting at her desk, wearing the glasses she liked to think made her look intelligent and important, but really dwarfed her delicate bone structure. Lucy wanted to be a model more than anything, you could see it in her eyes. She bought outlandish clothes and pranced around the office in stacked heels, trying to get Jonathan to notice her potential talent. But he'd never see past her height. Maybe that was what made her such an embittered twenty-five year old.
Callie faked breeziness. "Lucy, hi, it's Callie."
"Callie?" Lucy yelped. "Um, well, where are you? Jonathan's not in at the moment, he's…"
"At a party, I know." Callie couldn't help teasing the girl, who was no doubt gagging to be at that very same party. "I only just got your message, I'm really sorry I couldn't make the shoot, only I've had to go away for a bit."
"What? Where? For how long?" Callie could hear Lucy dislodging piles of papers on the desk, no doubt looking for book all Callie's appointments were written down in. "You've got loads coming up, though, shows and shoots and commercials and you're supposed to be meeting with a new client next week…"
"Yeah, is there any chance we can reschedule?" Callie asked, sounding much more confident than she felt. She'd never have dared take these liberties if it were Jonathan on the other end.
"I… where are you?" Lucy sounded outraged. "Jonathan won't like this, you know, you can't just wander off, Callie! You should have booked some time off, organised this all properly. You've got a week off in May, couldn't you have waited until then?"
Callie could barely believe what Lucy was saying. May was over five months away! And she knew Jonathan would have filled her week off with interviews and magazine cover shoots by then. "It was unavoidable," she said carelessly. "Something just… came up."
"Things can't just come up!" Lucy sounded like she was having a coronary. "Callie, you can't just take holidays when you like." There was the sound of fast breathing as Lucy hyperventilated. Then a pause. And then, "Look, where are you? You've only missed one appointment so far, we passed you off as sick. When do you think you can get back? Tomorrow? You've got a shoot at three and a show at nine."
"I won't be back tomorrow," Callie replied firmly. That was an impossibility even if she wanted to make the effort and try.
"Okay," Lucy was no doubt drawing a line through those appointments, making a note on a sticky label to ring those clients and photographers. "How about the day after? That's an easy day to come back to, just a meeting with a potential client."
"No, not then either." Callie grimaced as she thought about that. All they did was look her up and down, assess her vital statistics and then show her the door.
"Well, when?" Lucy sounded annoyed, and Callie could half see her point. Jonathan wouldn't have been easy to be around for the past couple of days when his star client had gone missing.
"I might be a while," Callie admitted. "There's a… family crisis."
"I phoned your mother yesterday and she didn't say anything about it," Lucy sounded dubious.
"On my dad's side," Callie added hastily, knowing she'd gained a victory there.
"Oh," Lucy was clearly wrongfooted. "Well, where are you? Maybe we can rearrange some stuff, get it nearer to there."
Callie nearly dropped the phone in alarm. "Erm, I'm afraid you're breaking up, Lucy," she said. "Yeah, can't hear a word you're saying. It's going to…" She hung up and dropped the phone like it was on fire. Almost immediately it rang back, Lucy clearly having found the redial button finally after six months of hunting. Callie let it ring as she nipped back into the bathroom to use the small mirror. She shoved all her stuff back into her suitcase and, out of force of habit, made the bed. Having left the room practically as she'd found it when she came in last night, she headed downstairs to settle the bill.