Nine Letters Long by J.C. Burke Read Free Book Online

what’s going on. But I am almost sure there’s something Caz is holding on to. There’s a strong sense that she needs to tell someone something, and, for whatever reason, she won’t tell me. I feel she’s looking for someone her own age.’
    â€˜So what makes you think Evie’s the one?’
    Victoria lifts her shoulders ever so slightly. ‘I … just know.’
    Nick comes to the rescue. ‘I think what Robin’s trying to say is that we want to be really sure about this. We don’twant to set Evie up for something that she maybe doesn’t have to go through.’
    â€˜I understand that,’ Victoria tells them. ‘I’m a parent too.’
    â€˜Could it be a coincidence?’ Theo sits forward in his seat. ‘I mean, with Athena there was no mistaking it. But this time it seems not as … clear.’
    Evie sits quietly, their voices drifting around her. So many questions. So many concerns. Can Evie handle this? What could happen to her? Does she have to do this?
    Their words collide in the air but they are wasted. They mean nothing to her. Don’t they know there is no choice?
    For, at this very moment, the knowledge tingles in the soles of her feet. She feels it creeping up her legs and into her guts. For a moment, it sits there rumbling until it ascends into her chest, her throat and into her mouth. Evie tastes it – the knowledge. The knowledge that there is no choice. She has to do this. It’s as simple as that.
    â€˜So what do you propose we do?’ Robin is asking Victoria. ‘You said on the phone you had some ideas.’
    â€˜Yeah,’ Nick nods. ‘For Evie’s sake, I’d like to be really clear about how we’re going to approach this.’
    â€˜I haven’t told Nora Cuza what’s happened. Like I said, I only see her twice a year and this must be handled with care. Nora likes to have things go her way. She can be … difficult if they don’t. She wasn’t very happy that her daughter couldn’t be contacted, and she’s not the type to just accept things. I’m half expecting her to ring me and ask to try again,’ Victoria explains. ‘This is what I wanted to discuss with you and, of course, see how Evie feels about it.’
    Robin recrosses her legs and sits up straight on the couch. Evie senses her mother struggling to prepare herself for the answers to the questions she has asked.
    â€˜I think the best way to go about this –’ Victoria’s words are slow and measured, ‘– is probably for us to arrange a meeting with Nora. Try to be the ones in charge. If she agrees, and she will, and, of course … if … Evie … and everyone … is comfortable with the idea, then perhaps Evie and I should try to … contact Caz. Nora will insist she’s present. There’s really nothing I can do about that. It is her daughter, after all.’
    Over and over, Nick nods. His wife presses her lips together, gently rocking in her seat. Their pain and anguish cannot be hidden from Evie.
    â€˜But Victoria, with all due respect,’ Theo says, ‘if you and this Mrs Cuza are there, then wouldn’t it be less likely for Caz to speak to Evie?’
    â€˜Possibly,’ Victoria sighs. ‘But I think for the first time it’s better if we play it this way.’
    â€˜So Caz’s mother …?’ Nick frowns.
    â€˜Yes, Nick. Me and Nora and Evie. That’s all.’
    â€˜Evie?’ The strain is audible in Robin’s voice. ‘How … how do you feel about this? Will you be more … comfortable having Victoria there?’
    â€˜Yes,’ Evie tells her.
    â€˜And what about Caz’s mum?’
    Evie shrugs.
    â€˜Are you okay about having her there?’
    â€˜I don’t –’ Evie blows the air from her mouth. ‘I don’t –’
    â€˜Don’t what?’ Robin asks.