Sway

Chapter One I didn’t know my own feelings. A medley of emotions played through my body, unidentifiable and messy. The wind blew through the open cab window, curling my hair around my face, tickling my cheeks. I listened to the leaves rustle in the Royal Empress trees, the sound like a flute transposed to a lower octave. “We’re here,” the cab driver said, stopping the car. Slinging my bag over one shoulder, I exited the cab and stared at Kellynch Mansion—my childhood home. The camel-colored stucco, stretched windows, even the ridiculous marble fountain were all ingrained into my very being. It had been eight years since I’d been home. Each year that passed felt like stealing a chord from a melody, leaving the song more and more disjointed until eventually, the missing notes didn’t matter anymore. The song was better without them. And yet here I was, back, the melody whole again. The cab driver had pulled my suitcases out of the trunk and was waiting patiently. “Do you want me to help you bring them up?” he asked, eyeing the staircase leading to the oak front door. “No, that’s okay.” I slipped him some cash, enough for the ride and a tip. As he drove off, I left my bags at the foot of the stairs and walked up, finger-combing my hair and adjusting my blouse. I pushed the doorbell. No answer. I peered through the windows. Someone should have been there by now. They’d buzzed me through the gate so they knew I was coming. It took a few minutes before a shape appeared, distorted by the etched glass. The door opened and Aunt Rose stood over the threshold. Her pale gray linen suit looked fresh off the Chanel runway, she had pulled her hair back into a low bun, and the pearls around her neck were as familiar to me as my own name. “Ava.” She smiled, reaching her arms out in welcome. I stepped inside and into her embrace. “It’s so good to see you.” “You too.” After a tight squeeze, she let me go, stepping back so she could assess the damage New York had inflicted on me. “You look tired.” She shook her head, as if disappointed that lack of sleep had the gall to manifest itself on my face. Or that I had the gall not to cover it up. She looked the same as always, except for some new wrinkles by her eyes and deeper lines around her mouth. Her forehead was still twenty-something smooth despite her fifty-two years, and her gaze could still unmask my faults and weaknesses, leaving me vulnerable. I looked away. “It was a long flight.” “Where’s your luggage?” she asked. “I left it on the driveway.” “You’ll have to bring it up. I’ll tell Walter and Beth you’ve arrived.” She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re home.” As she headed for the stairs, I called out, “Wait. Where’s Reynaldo?” Aunt Rose paused, her hand on the railing. “We’ll talk later. You should get settled first.” I hefted my suitcases up the stairs, annoyed that Reynaldo was too busy to take care of them for me. Home all of five minutes and already Kellynch was corrupting me. I’d had eight years of solid practice doing things on my own. I shouldn’t need staff now. My older sister was waiting inside the grand entrance as I lugged in my last piece of Vuitton. “So you’re back.” Beth made no move toward me, no attempt at a hug or even a smile. “Just in time too.” A shorter woman I didn’t recognize stood beside Beth, her oversized chest jutting out of her halter-top like a mountain bluff. “Nice to see you too, Beth.” I grabbed one suitcase and headed for the stairs. “Don’t bother. You won’t be staying long.” The suitcase slipped from my fingers. I stared at Beth. I didn’t expect my sister to exactly gush over my return, but that had been pretty harsh, even for her. “Ava, you’re home.” Dad interrupted our sisterly stare-down. He made his way down the stairs, his face split into a grin. It faded when he got close. “You look tired.” I resisted a sigh. First Aunt Rose, now Dad. I couldn’t help the fact that the last few weeks had been rough. Or the jet lag. “I have just the cream that will get rid of those under-eye circles,” Dad said, pulling me into a hug. I breathed in the familiar scent of his Burberry cologne, a mix of ginger, musk and the scent of woods. To me it meant comfort, and sadness. I stepped out of his embrace and almost knocked into Beth’s friend who was sidling up to me. She puffed out her bleach-blonde hair, her eyes zeroed in on my dad. I stiffened. “You’ll have to take your suitcases up yourself. We had to let go of Reynaldo, I’m afraid.” Dad grimaced. “I’ve barely managed without him. But Rose insisted—” “Let Ava take care of her things first, Walter,” Aunt Rose said. “We can talk later.” The foyer emptied, my family disappearing in a breath, leaving me alone. I stood in the grand entrance. The marble floors, the huge vase of white and green hydrangea’s sitting on a glass table, the Louis XIV chairs. Everything looked the same. Being back even felt the same. Hollow and lonely, full of memories and regrets. If Mom had been alive it would have been different. Yet I still loved the house because of her. I hauled my luggage to my old room but didn’t linger. Memories threatened to consume me there and I wasn’t ready to let them. I found my family in the living room. Their conversation broke off when I appeared. “Okay, what’s going on?” I said, sitting on the edge of a chair. “How was your flight?” Dad asked. I appreciated the fact that he had asked after me, but I wasn’t fooled. Something was up. “It was fine. Why did you fire Reynaldo?” Dad winced. Aunt Rose shot me her warning eyes. She cleared her throat. “Your father has had to retrench.” Beth snorted. “Retrench!” The stacked bracelets on her wrist jangled. “What does that even mean?” It meant Beth and Dad had been seriously overspending. “We’ve done the best we can,” Dad said, his voice teetering on the edge of a whine. “I let go of all our staff, sold my Bentley. Rose won’t even allow me any new suits.” Beth walked to Dad’s chair and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’m not redecorating my room anymore, even though the designs I had in mind were to-die-for. And I’ve stopped giving money to those charities we were supporting. I mean, how can we justify funding homeless shelters when we can’t house ourselves anymore?” Wow. I’d forgotten what a different world my family lived in compared to most people. Dad patted her hand. “You’ve done well, Elizabeth. I’m so proud of you.” Aunt Rose gave me a look that I ignored. Beth had always been Dad’s favorite. If she murdered someone on live television, he would assume she was being framed. “It’s not enough,” Aunt Rose said gently. “You are too far in debt for these changes to have any real impact.” “Not enough?” Dad’s brows lowered, causing a determined crease on his forehead. If he were to look in a mirror right then, he’d stop frowning immediately to avoid the wrinkles. “We have no cook. No maid. No Reynaldo to run my errands, carry my shopping bags. It’s embarrassing.” Beth’s friend leaned forward on the couch, giving my dad a deliberate view down her top. “Why don’t you just sell the house? Buy something smaller? Then you could afford—I mean, rehire all your help.” “We can’t sell the house,” I said, glaring at this stranger who was bold enough to give my dad advice. This was my home. I grew up here. I hadn’t seen it in eight years and the thought of it disappearing forever made my heart clench. “As if, Shelby,” Beth snapped, actually agreeing with me for once. Shelby shrank back into the couch. “I will not sell Kellynch Mansion,” Dad said. “It’s out of the question.” Aunt Rose fingered the pearls around her neck. “I don’t think you should let go of Kellynch. Renting is your best option. You can make a profit and eventually get the house back when your finances are in order.” “Rent? To who?” Dad slapped a hand on the arm of his chair and Beth flinched. “No one would treat the house as it deserves.” Beth shook her head. “We can’t rent Kellynch. This is our house. Our stuff. I don’t want strangers putting their nasty hands on our things. Or sleeping in my bed. It’s absurd!” I sighed. Renting was better than selling, at least. “Is it really that bad?” I asked Aunt Rose. Her mouth tight, she nodded. She wasn’t happy, but she’d always been the responsible one. Dad relied on her. When Mom had died, Dad had coped by throwing himself into his work and ignoring everything else. Including his three daughters. Aunt Rose, my mom’s sister, had stepped in. Despite living in nearby Los Feliz, despite a job, a husband and a life of her own, she took over the running of the house, the finances, my sisters and me. Thirteen years later and nothing had changed. “We’ll screen,” I said. I hated the thought of strangers living in the house as much as Beth, but if there were no other options… “Put an ad in the paper and find someone respectable—” Dad jumped from his chair, knocking it over. “You expect to find respectable people in the paper?” He shook his head in outrage. “I’m not going to advertise to the entire state of California that the Elliot’s are having financial trouble.” “I’ve already made some discreet inquiries. I’m positive I can find someone who will treat Kellynch as you do.” Aunt Rose patted his shoulders, a mother consoling a child. “They’d better,” Dad said, clearly not in love with her plan. They continued to argue but I stopped listening. I knew I shouldn’t be so selfish, but this wasn’t exactly how I pictured coming home after eight years.