Losing Touch

It took Cassandra several moments to realise her phone was ringing, ripping her out of her reverie, and another several moments for her shaking hands to negotiate it out of her pocket. By the time she was able to hold it without dropping it, it was only to see she had six missed calls. Then the phone started ringing for the seventh time, making her nearly drop it all over again. "Hello," she choked out, "Karen?"

"Told me what?" Karen quoted impatiently down the line. "And why are you not picking up? I expect that from Zach, but not you."

"Claire didn't show."

There was a long silence. "Fuck," Karen then hissed, all her strictures on swearing immediately out the window, "fuck-fuck-fuck. I knew she would do this, I knew it!"

"What else did you expect, man!?"

Karen didn't answer, Cassandra only hearing the sound of her harsh breathing down the phone, sounding as if she was trying not to cry.

"What did you tell Zach about Morgan's father?" Cassandra said suddenly, straightening up. "What did you say?"

"What!?"

"Morgan's father, what did you tell Zach about him?"

Karen exhaled sharply, trying to make sense of what Cassandra was saying. "I… I never said anything to anyone," she said, bewildered, "you know that – I never even asked you about him and anyways, I knew it couldn't be David. I just welcomed Morgan with open arms. I don't give two flying monkeys about her father or who he was or where he is."

"Was it Scott, then?"

"Scott, what?"

"Zach just slung me the line that Morgan's father fucked off because of me."

"What, you drove him away?"

"In a nutshell, yeah."

"And you're saying Scott put that idea into his head?"

"Who else?"

"Well, somebody else in the family might have been putting the poison in" –

-"Like who?"

"Well, Mom for starters – things have never been right between you after the scholarship fiasco and then your divorce and you taking up art again" –

-"Okay, Mom, I get, but who else? Who else hates my guts?"

"Cass, please, I didn't mean it like that" –

- "C'mon, Karen, who else in my family is gunning for me" –

-"I'm trying to save my marriage here, Cassandra!" Karen snapped, silencing her sister. "I don't need you phoning me, saying Scott said this, and Scott said that, when you've got no proof" –

Cassandra cut the call, before switching the phone off for good measure. She stared at the blank screen, her mind painting the canvas of her memory with pictures of the past, of a man with grey eyes who would never hold the hand of his child. Exhaling sharply, she then put the phone away in her pocket, forcing herself to focus. With great difficulty, she made herself move, brushing past strangers as she went up the steps that led to the main entrance of the Innovation Centre.

She hesitated before going inside, edging around the various exhibits until she found the children by a life-size hologram of a diplodocus, the trio circling it with awed faces. Nearby, the PA was pacing in front of the enormous T-Rex skeleton exhibit, yelling at somebody down her phone as she did, anger rendering her striking features ugly. Cassandra hung back, watching the children without them knowing, heart twisting in her chest. They were so innocent, only living in the moment, never thinking of the future. Yet for all this innocence, they could be deadly, wounding with a string of words pitched precisely the right way.

Gritting her teeth, Cassandra finally came forwards, the children too distracted to notice her. Gray was now rooted to the spot, gazing up at the hologram with a rapt expression, almost like he was on the edge of falling to his knees and worshipping it. Getting tired, Morgan slowed to a stop beside him, studying the diplodocus with wide eyes before suddenly poking it in the leg, making the hologram flicker, much to Gray's annoyance. As they began to fight, Zach came over, face bored as he separated them, like he had a thousand times before, having to lift Morgan out of the way to stop her thumping Gray in the face.

"Hey, kids," Cassandra said with forced cheerfulness, making the trio turn around, Zach's face paling as he dumped the struggling Morgan down on the ground again, "how's it hanging?"

Morgan immediately ran over Cassandra, wrapping her arm around her mother's leg. "They've got dinosaur ghosts," she then said, pointing at the hologram, brow furrowing. "Why are they not in heaven?"

"It's a hologram," Gray said, rolling his eyes, "and dinosaurs don't have souls, everyone knows that"-

-"Cassandra, is that you!?"

They all turned around, startled, a flash of movement making them glance up, only to see a tall, elegant woman dressed in white frantically waving down at them from where she stood on the steps of the spiral staircase hanging high above their heads. Her other hand clasped the railing for support, her long skirt billowing in the faint breeze, making her cut a conspicuous figure against the vivid green artificial foliage that formed a dramatic background behind her.

"Claire?" Cassandra said, doing a comedic double-take.

"The one and only!" Claire chirped, her blue gaze travelling over the rest of them, something like alarm flickering oddly behind her eyes, and then it was gone. She leant over the railing, brow furrowing. "Whoa, Zach, you've shot up like a beanstalk since I last seen you," she said, sounding taken aback, "I mean, it is Zach, right? Not Zachary or Zachariah?"

"It's Zach," he called up, eyes narrowing, "and it's not short for anything."

Claire's smile faltered, before returning to its former full wattage, Claire using it as armour to hide behind. She gracefully descended the rest of the steps, before sauntering like a supermodel towards them, turning numerous heads as she went past, Cassandra watching as she approached, jaw tightening. Her sister had always been striking and self-assured, being born blessed with glowing skin and glossy red hair now cut into a chic bob, her nails as perfectly French manicured as ever. She was immaculately attired in a white linen skirt suit and matching pale designer heels, making Cassandra feel like a hobo in her holiday ensemble

"You're looking good for your age, Claire," Cassandra said with saccharine sweetness as Claire drew level, "really holding your own."

"And you suit a little weight, Cassandra," Claire said just as sweetly, "I wouldn't have recognized you without the kids."

"It's nice of you to swing by," Cassandra drawled, "I hope we're not inconveniencing you."

"What, and miss meeting my little niece?" Claire flung back, stooping down so she was eye-level with Morgan. "I'm your Auntie Claire, Morgan," she sing-songed, "I haven't seen you since you were a baby. You've gotten so big!"

"Why haven't you seen me since I was a baby?" Morgan frowned, straining away from Claire.

Claire got to her feet, cheeks now flushed. "Are you having a good time, guys?" she beamed, trying to save face, even as her lips trembled.

Gray glanced between his two aunts, unnerved by the tension between them, before suddenly flinging himself forwards, nearly knocking Claire down, who caught him in her arms. She looked down at him, surprised, before smiling again, a real smile this time.

"Gray!" she exclaimed, hugging him back, before suddenly hesitating, brow furrowing. "It's not short for anything either, is it?"

"Grayscale?" Cassandra hazarded, Claire ignoring her.

"Can we go now, Mommy?" Morgan whined, wrapping her other arm around Cassandra's leg.

"You can't go anywhere without your wristbands," Claire said, signalling her PA forth, who had been watching the entire interlude from a respectful distance, phone now nowhere to be seen.

"Wristbands?" Gray said, confused, now hanging onto Claire's hand. "What are they for?"

"One second, little man," Claire said with a wink, only for her phone to start ringing loudly, startling them all. She checked the screen, only to hurriedly cut the call off, instantly raising Cassandra's suspicions. "Chop, chop, Zara!" she ordered, stowing her phone away. "We've not got all day!"

Zara hurriedly handed the wristbands out, almost dropping them in her haste. "Sorry, I forgot," she said in an apologetic undertone to Claire, "this wedding is becoming the wedding from hell."

"Keep your private life separate from your professional one, Zara," Claire sing-songed again, making Zara turn red.

"Forsooth, she has a name!" Cassandra declared dramatically, rolling her eyes.

"Pardon?" Claire frowned.

"Your PA didn't introduce herself," Cassandra explained innocently, making Zara glare at her, "I was just glad that I know her name now, that's all."

Claire looked at Cassandra for a long moment, before shaking her head. "Now, back to your question Gray - these wristbands are like your own personal passport to having a great time," she said conspiratorially to the kids, making Gray jump up and down with excitement, whilst Morgan looked mildly intrigued, Zach remaining resolutely bored, "because they show you're a VIP. Plus you need these," she gestured to Zara again, who stared at her, confused, before recovering herself, pulling out a set of embossed cards from her handbag and hastily handing them round. "You require these for food," she explained, "so don't lose them."

"You better give me yours to keep safe, Morgan," Cassandra said, reaching for it, only for Claire to shake her head.

"No, Zara can take it," Claire said, jerking her chin at Zara, who instantly obeyed, whipping the card out of Morgan's hand.

"Whoa," Cassandra objected, taken aback. "I can carry it for her, I'm not senile yet."

"No need," Claire beamed again.

"What?"

"Zara's taking the children," Claire smartly, "and you're coming with me."

You sold your soul like a Roman vagabond

And about how you got lost

But you made your way back home

An allegiance dead and gone…