My Aunt smiles sympathetically. “Never mind, love. It won’t be for much longer. I’ll be back to work soon with any luck and take up some of the strain.”
My heart sinks as I see the worry lining their faces. I’ve only been here for one day and even I can see they’re struggling. Tracey looks worried. “You know, I could leave college and get a full-time job to help out.”
My Aunt snaps. “Over my dead body. Your education is too important to throw away so easily. No, we’ll be fine, things will just be a little tight around here for a while.”
She smiles warmly. “Anyway, Summer doesn’t want to hear our problems. I’m pretty sure they’re small fry compared to hers.”
I feel bad as I see their sympathetic looks and shake my head sadly. “We all have our problems and mine are no worse than yours, just different. You must allow me to pay my way and give you some money for my keep.”
My Aunt looks at me fiercely. “I won’t hear of it. I promised your mum I’d look after you as my own if anything ever happened to her and I’ll honor that promise until my last breath. You’re one of the family, love and I won’t hear of it.”
She purses her lips and looks a little offended and I feel bad. Uncle Jimmy winks and says softly, “Don’t mind her, darlin’. She’s a proud woman my Kim and I wouldn’t change her for the world. No, she’s right. We aren’t on the breadline and can manage between us. You just sort yourself out first and we’ll help out where we can.”
Tracey nods. “Of course, we will. Now, we need to get ready if I’m to show you around. Leave the washing up, mum, we’ll sort it before we head out.”
Aunt Kim rolls her eyes. “If I did that it would still be there in the morning. No, you girls go off and have fun. Make sure you look after Summer, Tracey. You know how rough it can get at Honey’s.”
Tracy rolls her eyes and drags me from the room, whispering, “You’ll love Honey’s, Summer. It’s full of fit guys and usually rammed of an evening. The best bit though is Joey Carter owns it. Who knows, tonight you may be one step closer to meeting your father.”
She bounds up the stairs leaving me with a strange feeling inside. How will I feel if I do see him? Will I just walk up to him and say, ‘Hi, dad. I’m your long-lost daughter you never knew you had.’ Or does he know about me and yet chose to forget? There are lots of questions flying around that need answers and as I follow Tracey upstairs, I feel a little excited about the night ahead.
“Man, you’re hot.” Tracey whistles as we finish getting ready. I look down at the skinny jeans I’m wearing paired with a white off the shoulder top. My hair is brushed and hangs straight down my back and I’ve applied my make up to match my blue eyes. She whistles and I smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Tracey looks pleased, but I wasn’t kidding. She looks amazing in a short dress with heels and some amazing jewelry that sets off the outfit nicely. Her dark hair is swept up in a top knot and her eyes are made up dark and mysterious.
She says excitedly, “I can’t wait to show you Honey’s. It’s such a great place to start your tour of London.”
It doesn’t take us long as there’s a Tube station nearby which almost takes us to the door. The Tube is like the subway in New York which I never really cared for when I visited. This is much the same, and I feel stifled by the stale air as we walk to the various platforms we need.
It’s a busy place—London, and it fascinates me. I see everything I’ve ever seen on films and in magazines. The bright red buses move slowly past closely followed by black cabs. The Tube trains are eerie and crammed full of city dwellers all eager to get to their destination. Buskers fill the tunnels with soulful music and accept any change thrown into their open cases with gratitude. London is a vibrant city that appears to never sleep.
The bright lights illuminate buildings that tell a history that can’t be read in a book. Lights shine on monuments and the river Thames sparkles in the moonlight. By the time we reach our destination, I’ve fallen head over heels in love with London. That alone surprises me because I’ve never cared for cities. I’ve always preferred the small towns and suburbs but this place—well, it takes my breath away.
I see Honey’s as we turn the corner and its name is lit up against the dark sky. A long line snakes around the building and as we approach, I see it’s made up of various nationalities all around the same age as us.
As we join the end of it, Tracey shivers. “Great, I should have brought a jacket, but I didn’t want to pay for the cloakroom. I hope this line moves fast because I’ll catch my death out here.”
She looks up in horror and says hastily, “I’m sorry, Summer, I didn’t mean…”
My heart sinks as harsh reality stops by and takes a look. I just smile shakily. “It’s fine. I know you don’t mean anything by it. Please don’t worry, it’s really no big deal.”
The line inches forward and I notice several people go straight to the front and the guys on the doors let them through. Nudging Tracey, I ask, “Why do they get preferential treatment?”
She strains to look and shrugs. “Usually they’re celebrities or friends of the management. They get to party in the VIP area where the rest of us can only dream of going.”
I watch as more arrive and notice the young women looking glamorous and immaculate. The men look smart and confident and I think back to California and immediately know the score. It’s no different there. There are always those who skip the lines and never sit on a waiting list. These people sail through life without the restrictions set on the rest of us.
By the time we reach the front of the line, I’m so cold I think my teeth chatter as I produce my ID and the guy waves us through.
Honey’s appears much like the clubs at home. Loud music and various bars all set around a huge dance floor. The noise is deafening and Tracey pulls me across to the bar and shouts, “What’s your poison?”
“Just a soft drink, maybe an orange juice.”
She looks at me in surprise. “Come on, surely you can stretch to adding a vodka to it.”
I shake my head. “I’m not drinking tonight.”
She shrugs and orders the drink along with a rum and coke for herself. Grabbing the drinks, we set off on a tour of the club and I look around me with interest.
As clubs go, it’s impressive. I like the décor, the music’s good and the people appear to be having fun. As I look up, I see another area above a staircase that’s roped off at the bottom. Nudging Tracey, I say, “What’s up there?”
She looks up and sighs. “The VIP area. Only invited guests and celebrities get to party up there. They look down on us little people as they sip their champagne and congratulate themselves on being above us in every sense of the word.”
She grins and then grabs my hand. “Come on, I love this song. Let’s dance.”
I have no other choice but to follow her and just for a minute I forget. I am that carefree girl with no emotional baggage weighing her down. The music erases the present and transports me to a happy place. As I dance with Tracey, I am Summer again and not the sad girl who lost everything. Here, I have everything and it feels good.