Seeking Crystal (8 page)

‘Nice to meet you.’ Xav offered Lily his hand. She gave it a quick shake before clapping her hands to her blushing cheeks.

‘And you too. Ignore me: I have this terrible thing where I go like a beetroot even when I shouldn’t be embarrassed. I thought age would cure me of it.’ She flapped at her face.

Signora Carriera returned from her search for the various boxes she had packed for Lily and placed them on the counter. ‘That is everything, I think, Lily. Do you want to check them?’

‘I’ll take a quick peek.’ Lily went through the boxes, humming her approval. Xav loitered at her shoulder to get a preview. She held one up to his face. ‘Fabulous.’

Did she mean the mask or Xav? I wondered.

Lily put the mask back in its box. ‘You know, Xav, you could come along with Crystal on Sunday if you like. Casting are having difficulty finding enough extras who are tall enough for what the director wants. They’d love to have you, I’m sure. You might find it interesting.’

Selfishly, I had thought of the film as my special experience; I rather hoped Xav would turn down the chance, but no.

He rubbed his hands. ‘Hey, I’ve only been in this country a few hours and I’m already starring in the movies—I love this place.’ He addressed the last remark to Signora Carriera, cementing his reputation as her favourite.

‘I take that as a “yes”?’ Lily put the boxes in one of the shop’s large bags decorated with Carnival masks. ‘Crystal knows where we’ll be. Early start, I’m afraid. Make-up call at six.’

Xav beat me to the door and opened it for her. ‘We’ll be there.’

‘Thank you for these, Maria. See you two on Sunday then.’ Lily swept out, the bag swinging jauntily in her grip.

Rocco scampered out of the workroom, fighting a long piece of gold braid. Signora Carriera gave a cluck and untangled him with difficulty.

‘It is high time this dog had his supper,’ she said in Italian. ‘Will you take him home and feed him for me, Crystal? I’d better see what mess he has made in there before shutting up the shop.’

‘Of course, signora. C’mon, Xav. Home time.’ I fetched my coat and clipped the lead back on Rocco’s collar.

‘Goodnight, signora!’ Xav called as we left the shop.

‘
Arrivederci
, Xav!’ The door locked behind us and the shutters snapped closed.

‘That’s an amazing place to work.’ Xav turned to go in completely the wrong direction. Rocco and I headed towards home, the beagle looking mournfully over his shoulder until Xav realized we weren’t with him.

‘I’m sure we came that way,’ he said, catching up with me and pointing to the other side of the bridge.

‘Maybe you did, but that isn’t the quickest way back. Follow me.’

My gift had proved useful in Venice in the first few months here, as the network of streets was bewildering. Still, it didn’t help with the sudden blind alleys or streets ending at a canal, which thwarted you from carrying on in a straight line; only local knowledge could solve that problem. Many streets here are so narrow you have to proceed single file, but on the maps they are drawn as main routes. Tourists can be forgiven for hesitating before marching along a path that in any other city would only lead into someone’s backyard or wheelie bins. I was rather pleased to be able to display my expertise to Xav, threading our way without making a single mistake, until we reached the Accademia Bridge, the southern-most of the three over the Grand Canal.

We paused at the top of the arch to admire the view. Even after more than a year in Venice I always stopped to remind myself of the incredible city that had become my home.

‘This place is extreme.’ Xav leant on the parapet, watching the gondoliers pass under with a cargo of Japanese tourists. I stood beside him. I love this view of the church of Santa Maria della Salute, the very one that I ran to daily. It sat at the end of the Grand Canal like a very fat question mark. While Venice is mainly about horizontals, long, low islands and winding river channels, here the view emphasized the verticals: tall palaces rising directly out of the jade green water, candy-striped mooring poles, wooden piles driven into lagoon mud. I’ve often thought it would make the good basis for an abstract fabric print—just the hint of Venetian colours and lines. I should sketch it sometime and show the signora.

‘So, how did the visit to the doctor go?’ Xav tapped the parapet restlessly.

‘It didn’t. I didn’t go.’ I tugged Rocco away from a fallen ice cream cone and started down the opposite slope of the bridge. ‘I’ve been feeling fine.’

‘You, Beauty, are enough to drive a boy to drastic measures.’

I let the pet name pass on this occasion; Lily and Signora Carriera had helped change my mind about that. ‘What can you do? It’s my body.’

‘I could tell your sister.’

‘And what happened to doctor-patient confidentiality? You may have the spidey sense, as you called it, but that comes with responsibility—I’ve seen the movie.’

‘Rocco, bite her. Someone needs to make her see reason.’

The beagle looked up at Xav, puzzled to hear his name.

‘Don’t bring him into it. That’s not fair.’

‘I seem to remember someone promising to see a doctor when they left Denver.’

‘Well, I changed my mind. Let it go.’

‘Will you let me take a closer look then?’ He made a step towards me but I dodged his touch.

‘So do you think Steve Hughes is the greatest actor of his generation or not? Personally I’m a big fan. I’m hoping we’ll get to meet him.’

‘Good try but changing the subject won’t work with me. You saw Rocco with that gold stuff in the store—that’s me with the little matter of someone’s health.’ He grinned, expecting me to appreciate the self-mockery.

I was not in the mood for his brand of charm. ‘I’m not a child; it’s my life: I can make my own decisions.’

‘Like that’s turning out so well for you.’

I felt he had just cut me off at the knees. Xav had teased me frequently but he’d never been cruel before. I looked away before he saw that he had upset me. ‘I repeat: it’s my life; if I want to make a mess of it then that’s my decision.’

He sighed, reaching out to me then dropping his arm when he saw me move away. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, but you drive me crazy.’

‘So it’s my fault you were rude? Oh yeah, I get it. My little life here isn’t enough for the amazing Benedict family—or my own family for that matter. Basically you all despise me for not being a high achiever like you lot.’

‘No!’

‘Yes!’ I echoed back, using exactly the same tone. ‘You might wish you’d not said it but at least I know what you really think under all that charming gloss of words you spray over everyone you meet. You’re the equivalent of a verbal water cannon.’

‘Crystal, I only meant that you weren’t taking care of yourself as you should.’

I accelerated, leaving him lagging until he matched my pace.

‘I’m sorry, really sorry.’

‘Just shut up, Xav. I don’t want to talk to you.’

‘Cupcake … ’

‘I’m not your cupcake, your beauty, your anything! I’m not even a proper Savant so just butt out of my life!’

He held up his hands. ‘OK, OK. Message received. Sorry for caring.’

I shoved open the courtyard door. ‘Come on, Rocco, let’s find your supper.’

Even Diamond, absorbed as she was by her soulfinder, sensed that all was not well between Xav and me. She and Trace carried the burden of the conversation at dinner until it became awkward for everyone. I had been pleased to see her but the way she looked to Trace over the dining room table, speaking with glances, underlined how she no longer belonged with me, if she ever had.

‘So how’s your new job, Crystal?’ Trace asked kindly after he had entertained us with an account of his investigation into a recent financial fraud. His gift enabled him to track where things had been and it had led them right to the door of the guilty party who had taken to the old fashioned crime of printing his own money.

‘It’s fine, thanks.’ I twiddled spaghetti on my fork. The poor man didn’t have much to go on with that answer. Manners made me elaborate. ‘We’ve been busy doing the costumes for a film company.’

‘That must be really interesting.’

‘Yes, it has been.’

Silence fell again. I could sense Xav seething on the other side of the table. ‘Crystal’s hiding something.’

I looked up sharply: he wasn’t going to betray me, was he?

‘What she hasn’t said is that they’ve asked her to be an extra—me as well.’

‘Oh, Crystal, that’s wonderful!’ Diamond latched on to the good news with embarrassing enthusiasm.

‘It’ll just be a very short scene—a few seconds if that—bit of Venice atmosphere.’ I shrugged. ‘Probably end up on the cutting room floor.’

‘Still, but the experience will be fascinating. It hardly matters what they do with the footage.’

‘I s’pose.’ I wondered if I should mention the modelling thing. ‘There’s this costume designer who’s taken an interest in me.’

Xav helped himself to more Parmesan. ‘I thought it was me she has a crush on.’

‘Cute.’ I grimaced at him. He returned the gesture—we were acting as if we were in the primary school playground in our treatment of each other.

‘Xav,’ Trace said quietly. Why did I get the impression his whole family spent half their life reining him in?

I didn’t need telepathy to hear him think ‘well, she started it’.

‘Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted,’ Xav gave me a mocking bow, ‘Lily—that’s the designer—thinks I might photograph well. She’s going to get a friend to take some shots on set so I can send them to modelling agencies.’

Diamond looked at Trace, her brow furrowed. What had I said?

‘I’m not joking: she said I had a face that would, you know, be memorable. She thinks I could go the whole way—become famous and everything.’

‘Oh dear.’ Diamond pushed her plate away.

‘What? You don’t think I could do it?’

‘No, no, nothing like that. I think you could—that’s the problem.’

‘You’re worried I’m going to succeed? That doesn’t make sense. You’ve been pushing me to do something—well, here it is.’

Xav stepped in. ‘That’s not the issue, cupcake—sorry,
Crystal
. It’s the kind of success you’d be aiming for.’

‘What do you mean?’ I examined their faces—they all knew something I didn’t but I had no idea what.

‘We Savants can’t become famous—not in ordinary circles,’ Trace explained. ‘We have too many enemies and people would use us if they knew we had certain gifts.’

‘But I’m not trying to be famous for being a Savant.’

‘We understand but the same still holds true. If you are well known, people will start digging for dirt and asking questions. There is no one more examined than a celebrity. If they find out about you, you’ll become a target. At the moment you’re safe because you are unknown.’

‘Sorry, Crystal, better not take off that mask on Sunday.’ Xav pulled the bowl of spaghetti towards him to help himself to seconds.

Diamond, sensing the explosion about to come, held up a hand to silence him, but it was too late.

‘I can’t believe this!’ I shoved my chair back and leaned both fists on the table. ‘I finally find something I could do—somebody who thinks I’ve got a future—and you’re telling me to forget it! Oh, it’s all right for you with your shiny gifts and your reputations in the Savant world, but what do I have? Nothing!’ My head started to pound, eyesight blurring. ‘You all know I’m worse than useless in the Savant world so why the hell should I let that hold me back?’

‘You’re not the only one who has to make sacrifices, Crystal.’ Trace managed to make me sound like a child in a tantrum. ‘Xav here has had to turn his back on a promising skiing career.’

‘Yes, but he has something worthwhile in its place—his healing. I want this—I want this new life. If it means cutting myself off from the Savant way of doing things, then fine, I’ll do that.’

‘But your family belongs to that world. You haven’t thought this through.’

I folded my arms, gulping against the lump in my throat. ‘I’m not the one saying I have to choose.’

‘Crystal, please.’ Diamond rested her forehead on the back of her hand. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t deal with this now—what with the wedding and everything else on my mind. Can’t it wait? We’ll talk it over when that’s out of the way.’

‘You know, you might not get anywhere in any case. No point driving a truck through the family harmony for something that might not happen. It’s a competitive industry.’ That was Xav’s brand of peacemaking; he should leave it to Diamond.

‘Thanks for the support, guys. Really, I’m overwhelmed.’ I took my plate to the counter, scraping the uneaten food into the bin. ‘I think I’ll go for a walk. I expect you’ll want an early night as you’ve been travelling. I have to get up at dawn for work so, well, see you sometime.’

I made sure the door banged loudly when I went out. One benefit of sharing the flat with others again was that my temper had an audience so the gestures were worth making.