Chapter 10:

"I've gone into partnership with Pete," said Jez, when she rang a few days later.

"Pete from the pub?"

"Yeah. I showed him the earrings and he thought they were really cool. Thought we could do something with them. He's really into computers and he's got all this kit which he only uses for fun, so he suggested we set up a website and see what happened."

She sounded so casual. I could imagine her at the end of the line, rubbing one lock of hair between her finger and thumb as was her wont, her head tipped to one side, an eco-chick from the renegade hairs on her head to her dirty toenails.

"And what did happen?"


"Well, we've got a few orders."


"How many?"

I waited. Nothing more was forthcoming. In the background I heard a burst of raucous male laughter, and I lost Jez for a moment as she turned around to try and find out what she'd missed by being on the phone to her sister.

"Jez?"

"Yeah?"

"How many orders?"

"Oh, a few. I don't know. We've sent out about twenty, thirty pairs..”

"That sounds brilliant! How long have you had the website?"

"About ten days? Two weeks maybe?"

"Jez, that's absolutely fantastic! You've got your own business! What are you doing about distribution and stuff?”

"You what?"

"Sending it out. What are you doing about sending it out?"

"What do you mean? We put it all in boxes and send it out. How complicated can it be?"

My sister the businesswoman. I could only hope that Pete from the pub had more idea of what they would do if they actually found themselves in the position of having some success.

"So what do you do? Are you checking the orders as they come in? How are you working it out?"

Jez sighed.

"Toni, look, I have the creative drive. Pete looks after all the other shit. Come on, can you see me in front of a computer all day? No, I'm hanging out in the tepee making the stuff. I've got some new ideas as well, it's going to be really cool."

“And how's Pete, then?"

"He's good. We work well together. He gives me space."

"He gives you beer, too, I guess."

She laughed.

"Yeah, right, loads of it. And cider. I tell you. I'm in heaven here! Hanging out making beautiful things during the day and then coming to a friendly pub and getting uninhibited every night. It's good to be single again."

I knew she'd be waving her arms around, her head swinging ecstatically. Jez was good at ecstasy.

“Just be sure and practise safe sex, Jez."

"Oh, I am, I am. It's nice to be having any sex at all actually. Steve wasn't that keen most of the time."

"Really? I always imagined you'd be at it like rabbits."

"No, no, 'fraid not. But hey, I'm rediscovering my enthusiasm for the whole thing!" Another burst of laughter interrupted us, "Look, Toni, I gotta go. I'm missing all the fun. See ya!"

And she hung up.

Sometimes I missed Jez. Not all that often, we were very dissimilar, but now and then it would occur to me that she was the person in my life who knew most about me. I remember reading in some women's magazine in a dentist's waiting room the very obvious but nonetheless remarkable observation that one's relationship with a sibling is the longest relationship in life, longer than those with parents, partners or children, spanning in the normal way of things practically the whole of a life. When we were children we fought constantly. She was always content to be herself, giving into whatever urge moved her. I was always on the road to somewhere; towards school, towards big school, towards university, into a career, upwards in my career. I embraced my duty and my duty was to make others proud of me. Jez just wanted to like herself, and she succeeded in that, never really doubting for one moment that things would be ok, that her mother goddess would take care of her. I envied her her liberation. I don't think she ever envied me my 'success'.

The phone rang again. I picked it up straight away.

"Hello?"

All I could hear was the pub noise and then Jez's laughter and away from the receiver, "Barry - you're such a tosser!" and a guffaw.

"Jez! Hello!" I bellowed into the receiver, "Hello!"

"Oh, hi sis, Sorry about that. Look, I was just wondering, would you like to come down for the weekend, you know, chill, enjoy the sunshine, listen to the birds, bond with your sister?"

I was touched.

"I'd love to. That'd be great. When were you thinking?"

"Well, I don't have a very full agenda. What about this weekend?"

"I'll come Saturday. I don't know if I can stay."

"Cool. Come to the pub. See you then." Another burst of laughter interrupted us and Jez decided she'd surrendered enough fan time to me and hung up.

"Well," asked Simon, "What did she say?"

"It was Pete's idea. The chap from the pub. He thought they could do something with the jewellery and he sorted out the website page."

"Good for him." Simon was flicking through the paper thoughtfully, "Didn't strike me as an obvious entrepreneur, I must say."

"No. But he had expanded into B&B."

"Yes, there is that," he turned a page, "Nice chap too, didn't you think?"

"Stop it!" I laughed, "She's only just out of one relationship, don't start plotting another for her. She can manage her own life."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes. She has ideals. I admire her for sticking to them."

"So do I. I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about her ability to search through a barrel of perfectly healthy apples and select the one really maggotty one. Did I gather that she is currently sexually active?"

"Very, from the sounds of it."

He nodded "I think that's a healthy development for a woman who's been locked up in a relationship with a Steve for seven years."

He came over and sat next to me, putting his head on my shoulder.

“Aren't we lucky, baby bird?"

"We are." I turned and planted a kiss on his warm forehead. He smelled of garlic from our supper. He insinuated his arms around my waist and I threw mine around his shoulders. We sat like that for a while. I bestowed kisses on his forehead while he nestled against my breast until, uncomfortable, I gently pushed him and he moved away and went back to his paper, quiet, accepting, entirely secure within the marital cocoon. I watched him surreptitiously as I tidied away for the evening, feeling an urge to talk to him about important things but not quite knowing where to start.

“I'm going up there on Saturday."

"That'll be nice. Do you want me to come?"

"No, not really. I'd quite like to have a proper chat with her."

"Fine. I'll do beans on toast for when you get back then, shall I?"

"That'd be lovely."