“Some,” replies Jess, frowning thoughtfully. “I like films that say something. That have some sort of message.”

“Me too,” I agree fervently. “Every film should definitely have a message.”

Which is true. I mean… take the Lord of the Rings movies — they’ve got loads of messages. Like “Don’t lose your ring.”

“More coffee, anyone?” says Mum, looking round. “There’s another coffeepot ready in the kitchen—”

“I’ll go,” I chime in, leaping up from the sofa. “And, Luke, why don’t you come and… er… help me? In case I… can’t find it.”

I know I don’t sound very convincing, but I don’t care. I’m just dying to talk to Luke.

As soon as we’re in the kitchen I shut the door and look at him eagerly. “So? What do you think of my sister?”

“She seems very nice.”

“Isn’t she great? And there are so many similarities between us! Don’t you think?”

“I’m sorry?” Luke stares at me.

“Jess and me! We’re so alike!”

“Alike?” Luke looks flabbergasted.

“Yes!” I say, a tad impatiently. “Weren’t you listening? She likes pecans, I like pecans… she likes walking, I like walking… we both like films… ” I make a whirling motion with my hands. “It’s like there’s already this amazing understanding between us!”

“If you say so,” he says dubiously.

“Don’t you like her?” I say, crestfallen.

“Of course I like her! But I’ve hardly spoken two words to her. And nor have you.”

“Well… I know,” I admit. “But that’s because we’re all so stilted in there. We can’t chat properly. So I thought I’d suggest the two of us go out together somewhere. Really have a chance to bond.”

“Like where?”

“I don’t know. For a walk. Or… a little shopping trip, maybe!”

“Aha.” He nods. “A little shopping trip. Good idea. I’m assuming this would be on your daily budget of twenty pounds.”

What? I cannot believe he’s bringing up the budget at a time like this. I mean, how many times do you go shopping with your long-lost sister for the very first time?

“This is a one-off, extraordinary event.” I’m trying to control my impatience. “Clearly I need an extra budget.”

“I thought we agreed, no one-offs,” says Luke. “No ‘unique opportunities.’ Don’t you remember?”

I feel a surge of outrage.

“Fine!” I say, folding my arms. “I won’t bond with my sister.”

The only sound in the kitchen is the ticking of the wall clock. I give a huge sigh and glance surreptitiously at Luke, but he seems unmoved.

“Becky!” Mum’s voice interrupts us. “Where’s the coffee? We’re all waiting!” She comes into the kitchen and looks from Luke to me in alarm. “There isn’t a problem, is there? You’re not arguing?”

I turn to Mum.

“I want to take Jess out shopping, but Luke says I’ve got to stick to my budget!”

“Luke!” exclaims Mum reproachfully. “I think that’s a lovely idea, Becky! You two girls should spend some time together. Why not pop to Kingston? You could have lunch, too.”

“Exactly!” I’m shooting resentful vibes at Luke. “But I haven’t got any money except twenty quid.”

“And as I say, we’re on a budget,” says Luke in implacable tones. “I’m sure you’d agree that successful budgeting is the first rule of a happy marriage, Jane?”

“Yes, yes, of course…” says Mum, looking distracted. Suddenly her face brightens. “The Greenlows!”

The who?

“Your cousins in Australia! They sent a check for your wedding present! I’ve been meaning to give it to you. It’s in Australian dollars… but even so, it’s quite a lot… ” She roots around in a drawer and pulls it out. “Here we are! Five hundred Australian dollars!”

“Fantastic!” I take the check from her and examine it.

“So now you can treat yourself and Jess to something nice!” Mum squeezes my arm with a smile.

“You see?” I say in triumph.

“OK. You win. This time.” Luke rolls his eyes.

Suddenly excited, I hurry into the living room.

“Hi, Jess!” I say. “D’you want to go out somewhere? Like to the shops?”

“Oh.” Jess looks taken aback. “Well…”

“Go on, love!” says Mum, coming in behind me. “Have a little spree!”

“We can go and have lunch somewhere… really get to know each other… What do you think?”

“Well… OK,” she says at last.

“Excellent!”

I feel a zing of anticipation. My first-ever shopping trip with my sister! This is so thrilling!

“I’ll go and get ready.”

“Wait,” says Jess. “Just before you go. I brought you something too. It’s not much, but…”

She goes over to her rucksack, opens it, and takes out a parcel wrapped up in paper printed all over with the words happy new year 1999.

That is so cool!

“I love kitsch wrapping paper!” I say, admiring it. “Where did you find it?”

“It was free from the bank,” says Jess.

“Oh,” I say in surprise. “Er… excellent!”

I rip off the wrapping and find a plastic box, divided into three compartments.

“Wow!” I exclaim at once. “That’s fantastic! Thank you so much! It’s just what I wanted!” I fling an arm round Jess’s neck and give her a kiss.

“What is it, love?” Mum asks, looking at it with interest.

To be honest, I’m not actually quite sure.

“It’s a food saver,” explains Jess. “You can keep leftovers in it, and they all stay separate. Rice… casserole… whatever. I couldn’t live without mine.”

“That’s brilliant! It’ll be so useful.” I look at the three compartments thoughtfully. “I think I’ll keep all my lip balms in it.”

“Lip balms?” says Jess, clearly taken aback.

“I’m always losing them! Aren’t you?” I put the lid back on and admire it for a few more moments. Then I pick up the wrapping paper and crumple it into a ball.

Jess winces as though someone just trod on her foot.

“You could have folded that up,” she says, and I look at her, puzzled.

Why on earth would I fold used wrapping paper?

But then, maybe this is one of her pet habits that I’ll have to get used to. We all have little quirks.

“Oh, right!” I say. “Of course. Silly me!”

I uncrease the crumpled paper, smooth it out, and fold it carefully into quarters.

“There we are.” With a cheerful smile I drop it in the wastepaper bin. “Let’s go!”


Eleven


IT ONLY TAKES fifteen minutes by car to get to Kingston, which is the nearest big shopping center to Mum and Dad. I find a meter, and after about twenty attempts manage to park the car vaguely in a straight line. Jess sits stoically beside me in the passenger seat, saying nothing. Not even when the lorry driver starts hooting at me.

Anyway, never mind. The point is, we’re here! It’s a fantastic day, sunny but not too warm, with tiny clouds scudding across the blue sky. As I get out, I look around the sunlit street, feeling all buzzy with anticipation. My first shopping trip with my sister! What shall we do first?

As I start to feed the parking meter, I go through all the options in my head. We should definitely get a free makeover, and check out that new underwear shop Mum was talking about…

“How long exactly are we planning to stay here?” Jess asks as I shove in my sixth pound coin.

“This should take us up to six o’clock… and after that, parking’s free!”

“Six o’clock?” She looks a bit stunned.

“Don’t worry!” I say reassuringly. “The shops don’t close at six. They’ll be open till at least eight.”

And we have to go into a department store, and try on lots of evening dresses. One of my best times ever was when I spent a whole afternoon trying on posh dresses in Harrods with Suze. We kept putting on more and more outrageous million-pound frocks, and swooshing around, and all the snooty assistants got really annoyed and kept asking had we made our choice yet?

At last Suze said she thought she had… but she wanted to see it with a Cartier diamond tiara just to make sure, and could Jewelry possibly send one up?

I think that’s when they asked us to leave.

God, Suze and I used to have fun together. She is just the best person in the world for saying “Go on! Buy it!” Even when I was stone broke, she’d say “Buy it! I’ll pay! You can always pay me back.” And then she’d buy one too, and we’d go and have a cappuccino.

But anyway. There’s no point getting all nostalgic.

“So!” I turn to Jess. “What do you feel like doing first? There are loads of shops here: two department stores…”

“I hate department stores,” says Jess. “They make me feel ill.”

“Oh, right.” That’s fair enough. Loads of people hate department stores.

“Well, there are lots of boutiques too. In fact, I’ve just thought of the perfect place!”

I lead her off the main high street, away from the pedestrianized shopping precinct, and turn left down a cobbled side road. As we walk, I hitch my Angel bag higher on my shoulder, admiring its reflection in a shop window across the street. That bag was worth every single penny.

I’m slightly surprised Jess hasn’t said anything about it, actually. If my sister had an Angel bag, it would be the first thing I’d mention. But then, maybe she’s trying to be all cool and blasé.

“So… where do you normally shop?” I ask.

“Wherever’s cheapest,” replies Jess.

“Me too! I got the most fab Ralph Lauren top at this designer outlet in Utah. Ninety percent off!”

“I tend to do a lot of bulk buying,” says Jess with a little frown. “If you buy large enough quantities, you can get pretty good savings.”

Oh my God. We are totally on the same wavelength. I knew we would be!