BooksBarbecue
Back Nothing to See Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

Margaret was not so perfect. No one knew about Margaret. She operated largely as a voice over the phone and if she had to come into meetings with clients, she was quiet and polite and nodded. ‘You know why you’re so successful?’ someone said to her once. She shook her head and they said, ‘You’re like a man.’ She’d nodded slowly. The string of women who still came through Margaret’s bedroom didn’t know, Diane had forgotten, no one at the meetings remembered, and she didn’t talk to anyone else who she wasn’t being paid by. And still, every two or three or five days or a couple of times an hour, the Tamagotchi phone would beep and there would be another message that made no sense to her and she would write it in the spreadsheet she’d started after the notebook had got too full. And every now and then she would get the notebook out and flip back to the first message that came on the day she found the phone. Are u awake? Is there snow there?

Heidi didn’t know she still had the Tamagotchi phone – she hadn’t seen it since the day it had arrived. But Bisi didn’t know about Dell. ‘We’re all doing what we can,’ said Heidi, and Margaret knew that was her way of saying they weren’t going to talk about it anymore, and they didn’t. When Heidi came back after the fight with her mother before Dell’s funeral, Margaret had held back tears and asked her how she was and when Heidi said, ‘Fine,’ she said, ‘Cool.’

Heidi’s phone lit up.

‘Ash says they’re pretty sure it’s not kohlrabi.’

‘Mystery,’ Margaret said.

Heidi picked it up again. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it before.’

‘New tool of play,’ Margaret said. ‘Came in on the update.’

Heidi laughed but in a warning way that said she wasn’t having any of that today.

39

39

Heidi went home and a few hours later messaged that they would bring bread. Bisi had been making bread. They all had, but Bisi had made a new loaf with caraway and linseed and had been working from home all day so had had time to let it rise and proof, and it was looking good. Heidi explained it all in the message. Margaret suspected she’d dictated it. Heidi was a bit in love with the way her phone spoke back to her. Margaret and Bisi called it her friend. Heidi was committed, and she persisted even though it didn’t work as easily as it would one day, for sure.

‘Alexa,’ they’d hear her say in another room, and they’d look at each other, stifling laughs. ‘Alexa, make an appointment.’

‘Alexa, calendar appointment.’

‘Alexa, make a reminder.’

‘Alexa, create a reminder.’