‘Poor Martin,’ Becky said with a sigh. She felt nothing but pure white-hot guilt.
‘Yes! Poor Martin and stupid, stupid you!’
Perhaps this was for the best. She would be sacked from It’s A Wrap and Megan would hate her and she would never have the chance to inform Megan that her sister’s whole life was based around the fact that she had never grieved properly for their dad and she was planning a life with Becky’s ex-boyfriend. Maybe Megan didn’t need to hear how Becky’s concoctions had kept It’s A Wrap afloat for so long, or that she had often told people Megan was the genius behind the flavours…
But that wouldn’t be being true to the new her. The her that wanted Megan to know that she was more than a simple bread-butterer. The her that had been the glue holding Megan together since they lost both their parents from their everyday lives. She wanted her sister to realise that she had feelings and needs and apparently a new penchant for a Greek aperitif and a Greek guy…
‘Just tell me what wrap he ate?’ Becky asked, watching Megan sip at her water glass.
‘God! Is that all you’re interested in? What it was that sent him spiralling towards unconsciousness?’
‘Well,’ Becky said in matter-of-fact tones, ‘it would be nice to find out what he was allergic to, because in all the time I’ve known him he hasn’t mentioned any allergies and I’m very careful about asking that.’
‘Really? Are you? Because you hand out ingredients without labelling and completely hide this from your boss!’
‘And why do you think I did that?’ There was no shying away now. If Becky was going to be dismissed in disgrace, then it may as well be all out in the open. She raised a glance to the olive tree providing them with some much-needed shade and internally she whispered an apology to it. All these years standing in this garden, all the conversations it had overheard and now it was about to be witness to a Rose Family smackdown.
‘I have no idea! No idea at all! And Dean has no idea either. He actually suggested you had early-onset dementia.’
Becky closed her eyes and simply tried to keep breathing. Dean had never known her at all. But now was not the time for stopping…
‘I hid it from you because I knew you wouldn’t approve.’
‘Damn right I don’t approve! I mean who in their right mind would?!’
‘Someone who realised that their sandwich flavours weren’t inspiring enough. Someone who could see that other local businesses offering cous-cous and healthy grains were going to swallow us up if we didn’t do something different.’
‘Rubbish!’
‘It’s true, Megan. Don’t you think I did the research? I ate at every one of the nearest sandwich places like ours and I tried to think what it was we could offer that they weren’t offering. And yes, it was a little out-there and quirky, but it worked! I made the herb garden – I told you about that—’
‘You think I’m so dumb I wouldn’t have seen a load of plants in the garden?’ Megan shook her head. ‘Dean thought it might be weed.’
Again, Dean wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box. But Becky wasn’t going to let Megan cut through this conversation like she did all the time.
‘I experimented for weeks in my kitchen at home. What flavours went together. Things people wouldn’t expect. I researched what was the best for overall health and energy and what additions could help with certain conditions like… lack of iron or arthritis or indigestion. I made suggestions to customers, I went out with sample trays, I…’
‘Took over the spare phoneline with an answerphone you hid from me.’
‘I had to Megan. I couldn’t tell you the business was going to go bust if we didn’t try something a bit out there. I didn’t want to upset you. I wanted to take on that responsibility and help out.’
‘Like you always do!’ Megan spat. She stood up then, fanning her jumpsuit, sweaty patches appearing under her boob line. Megan was actually sweating.
‘Yes!’ Becky countered. ‘Like I always do! Like I always have! Like I’ve been doing for so long without any thanks for it!’ She got to her feet too.
‘Oh, so you want thanks now, do you?’ Megan snapped, her face a picture of fury. ‘Thanks for always taking over… when it came to Dad being ill… when Mum was moving… being first with the man I’m planning to marry… now having taken over my business!’
‘I… didn’t completely take over when Dad was ill or when Mum was moving.’ Except a creeping sensation was travelling over her shoulders now. She hadn’t entirely taken over, had she? She had needed to step up quickly, make arrangements, ensure their dad got a place at the best nursing home and make sure their mum was completely sure about the area of Blackpool she was moving to. All Becky remembered was Megan’s disinterest. But… what if she had translated that wrong? Maybe disinterest was simply distance because of fear. Had her sister just been so scared about what was happening to their family that the only way to cope was to emotionally run away?
‘The business is all I have!’ Megan was truly raging now and tears were spilling from her eyes like someone had opened the release on a dam.
‘That isn’t true,’ Becky said. ‘You have Dean.’
‘And Dean loved you first!’
‘Megan, he absolutely did not love me.’
Megan let out a sob, the anger seeming to diminish just a touch and Becky moved towards her, feet still squelching. She tentatively reached out and put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. ‘Dean adores you! Anyone can see that. We merely… shared a few pizzas together and a few awful films and…’
‘Sex.’
‘That was pretty awful too if I’m really honest.’ Becky swallowed, a flashback of her and Elias on the boat earlier coming to mind. That had been nothing like what she and Dean have ever shared. With Elias it had been almost otherworldly. Then she caught herself. She had said out loud that the sex with Dean had been terrible. Her sister was planning to marry him… She spoke quickly. ‘Awful because… we never matched. Not like you and Dean match.’
Megan sniffed, lifting her head and looking at Becky. Her eyes were black with half-washed away eyeliner, shadow and mascara. It looked like she had been making up in a coal-yard. ‘I don’t know if we match,’ she said sadly. ‘I just agreed to go out with him because I knew you would hate it.’ She snivelled. ‘And how sad does that make me?’
‘Oh, Megan!’ Becky exclaimed. She was shocked. That couldn’t be true, could it? Megan loved Dean. They were a gloriously perfect power couple on the networking scene – Megan the sandwich entrepreneur and Dean in charge of bringing the outside in with the conservatory business.
‘You think that I don’t care what happened to Dad. But you’re wrong.’ Megan sniffed hard. ‘I cried for him. I just didn’t do it in front of you or Mum.’ More tears were falling now. Megan continued, ‘I know you’re better at me with the sandwiches. You’re better than me at everything. You always were! And although I should be grateful to have someone so talented running the kitchen, I’m not. I’m jealous and I hate it. I really hate it!’