Lost and Found - Chapter 1

1 - Friday 12^th October 2007

Sol Tanner. 

Amelia Parkin gasped and backed out of the room for a moment needing to breathe. She hadn’t seen him in more than nine years, and if this reaction was anything to go by, it could just as well have been yesterday. Taking several steadying breaths, her hand on her chest in an attempt to still her pounding heart, she leaned against the wall of the hallway and closed her eyes. Fighting the rush of emotions she tried to focus, she was at a party, she had to control herself. She was being ridiculous.

                “You ok?”

Opening her eyes slowly she saw Li her best friend in the world stood beside her, concern on every ounce of her face.

                “You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

Amelia felt like she had. But she couldn’t draw attention to herself, she just needed to get out, to lick her wounds and regroup. “I told you I felt a bit under the weather earlier.”

Li looked at her knowingly, “that was a ruse not to come here, I know that! Now that we’re here,” She gestured around the room, “we have floor to ceiling rich talent, a free bar, and the best canapés outside of the Ritz. Can’t you shake it off?”

There was a pleading look to Li’s face, this night was important to her, and Amelia knew she was here as moral support. It was a book launch party of Li’s potential publisher Helena, and if the afore mentioned publisher approved of Li’s life works, a manuscript, then this would potentially be a life changing event. Amelia hadn’t really wanted to come, and she’d been filled with a sense of ease since they’d entered the large Chelsea town house.

                “I can’t do this alone Amelia, please?”

Amelia shook her head, clearing the fog, “of course I’ll stay, you’re the best mate a girl could ask for! This is the least I can do for all you do for me!”

Taking her hand, Amelia led Li into the lounge. The room was filled with people talking, drinking and socialising, there was a large bar in the bay window, and through the dining room, the French doors opened on to a small neat garden which was also filled with people.

                “There must be a hundred people here,” Amelia hissed, “who’s the one we’re schmoozing?”

Li smiled, her dainty face crinkling into a smile, “you’ll know when you see her, she’s staggeringly beautiful! Let’s head to the kitchen, maybe there’s some food there, I haven’t eaten I’ve been so nervous!”

Amelia chuckled, “come on then!” Putting an arm around her shoulder she led her friend towards the only possible location of a kitchen.

She’d met Li in University, Amelia had studied economics and accounting, Li English and journalism. Despite their differences, academic, physical, family...they’d immediately got on. Their first encounter had been at what her housemates had referred to as a ‘Geek convention’, a debate on the viability of technology used in the Star Wars trilogy. Both girls had loved the films, but admitted that their interest was enhanced by the rather handsome young Harrison Ford, it had taken three meets with Li before Amelia actually admitted that Mark Hamill was the one that really floated her boat. When Li answered, “gosh I thought for a minute you were going to suggest an Ewok!” the friendship was forged.

Li had come to Britain from China via Amnesty International when her parents had been killed in Tiananmen Square. She’d been eight. Old enough to remember the things she heard and saw, yet too young to begin to understand. Orphaned and a product of political discord, the charity dragged her free of the aftermath as soon as they could. A couple of doctors had adopted her, and she’d had a nice life living in the City, but the horrors of those times in the late eighties were still raw in her mind. During their final year at Oxford, Li had, over several bottles of wine, shared with Amelia tales of unfathomable atrocities, things that no child should ever have to see or even hear about.

It had been Amelia’s suggestion that she put her story into writing and over the last three years Amelia had been the sounding board for the story that had now developed in to a fictional interpretation of her early years. This courting of Helena was the ticket to both a cathartic release from the past, and also the break into a career in writing that she craved. Seeing her story in print.

Amelia was so excited for Li, she wanted to be there for her in every way, but the last thing she’d anticipated was bumping into Sol Tanner.

Once Li had secured some food and a nerve easing glass of wine, Amelia excused herself for the bathroom. Finding the downstairs cloakroom busy, she climbed the regal staircase to the first floor and opened several immaculate wooden doors until she found a bathroom.

As the door closed behind her, she exhaled, slumping on to the closed toilet before her legs gave way. Sol. She could think of nothing else, an exotic yet nauseating thought as she remembered the man who’d been her best friend, and first lover.

Standing she looked in the mirror, bracing her hands on the sink. Well she looked normal! She felt anything but. Her shoulder length chestnut hair was still twisted up into a spiky top knot, her makeup was still there. But her eyes had a wild look, she seemed scared even to her own eyes. Flighty! That was the word her father used to describe her mother when she had one of her ‘turns’. Huh, Amelia thought, that’d serve his right if I become as ‘unsettled’ as my mother was prone to be.

She straightened the cornflower blue tunic that she wore over black leggings and her only decent pair of party heels. She’d spent a lifetime battling with her weight; she’d never been thin, curvy at best, but more often chunky, and at five nine you really couldn’t try to be invisible! The last six months of running daily had seen her look better than usual, but she still hated going out for an evening with Li, at five one she was the most petite and beautiful person Amelia knew, her thick black hair fell into an effortless, chin length bob from the minute she fell out of bed, she was slender yet curvaceous, and had the most gracious personality you could ever care to meet.

Amelia couldn’t hate her, but she was sometimes more jealous than she was proud of.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and made for the stairs. As she did, a voice from behind her spoke, her whole body seemed to vibrate at the words.

                “Hot Meal-ia! I knew it was you!”

Despite the words, the use of a nickname he’d invented for her, there was no warmth, humour or welcome in his words. Amelia was struggling to control her emotions.  She wanted to hate him, be as hostile to him as he’d so readily been to her, but there was a tug at her heartstrings at the thought of him.

Slowly she turned, he was leaning against a banister, his ankles crossed as aggressively as his arms. He was older than she imagined, but it’d nine years, he’d be what? Twenty seven? His black hair that had always hung scruffily around his collar was short, neat, he was wearing a suit, dark grey and expensive looking, as was the black shirt and black and silver tie. He had a healthy tan, and those same blue eyes, that had once melted her, but now regarded her with an icy glare.

                “Sol.” She finally managed, nodding her head in some form of greeting. The contact was awkward and she made to move away, she had to find Li. But his harsh words stopped her.

                “Typical, run away?” there was such contempt, anger in his words, and yet she was the aggrieved one here. He was the wrong doer, not her.

Again she turned, slowly, “I think this is as much contact as we actually need, I am needed elsewhere and am not letting a friend down to stand here and tear strips off YOU!”

With as much arrogance as she could muster, she walked to the stairs. Sol moved quicker than she could imagine, and his hand touched her bare arm after just a few steps. It was like an electric shock. She’d read about this in romance novels, the connection, the awareness of a touch, but it had never happened to her before, not even with him.

Amelia whipped around dislodging his hand, and as she glared at him, she noted confusion in his eyes, but with a rapid blink, a head shake it had gone, had she really seen any compassion in this brute?

                “There’s no reason to ‘tear any strips’ off me, you and your family ruined my life, and I only wish your actions had caused you more pain and suffering!”

The snarl was vicious and she recoiled instantly, “oh poor little old me?” She scoffed, but had lost most of her earlier confidence, “it always was that way wasn’t it?”

He tried to stop her moving again, but she batted his hand away, “please leave me alone, I have nothing more to say to you.”

Amelia almost had to run to escape him, and eventually found Li still in the kitchen. She was talking to a stunning woman, long blonde hair, almond shaped green eyes, and a body to die for.

                “Ah here she is! Amelia, meet Helena, she’s the publisher at Heartfelt Books I was telling you about!”

Amelia smiled, a genuine smile, wishing and praying, as she shook the offered hand, that this woman would change her best friend’s life.

                “This is a beautiful house Helena, such a beautiful location for a party!”

Helena smiled, “yes, this belongs to the owner of the company, it’s very stylish, I love entertaining here!” There was an awkward moment when the three women looked at each other and words were elusive.

Amelia smiled slightly embarrassed, “sorry were you both discussing work?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but as she spoke she saw the grateful look pass over Li’s face, “I’ll just circulate!”

Easier said than done! She knew no one there, and despite being fairly confident in crowds, the talk was very literary. Her scientific brain struggled. Talk theorems, maths, anything that required logic and analysis and she was in the room, but this was so difficult for her. Moving out into the garden, a bottle of American beer in her hand, she saw a bench in a darkened corner, and made for it quickly. From her hidey-hole she could observe both the house and the party. The garden was filled with tables and chairs, most were occupied, lanterns and fairy lights hung from trees, it was a beautiful sight. But Amelia was still glad of her isolated spot.

The launch was a non-fiction book, something very ‘respected’, and it was pitched way above her head, and from the end of the garden she could see the pretentiousness of the whole event.  She could just make out Li, being shown around by the elegant Helena, the smile on her friend’s face was priceless, and she deserved this more than anyone.  It was then she saw her being introduced to Sol. There it was, that racing heart, nausea. Her body was really letting her down tonight.

Get out, get out was her internal mantra, but she was here for Li, and she couldn’t abandon her. Making her way back to the house she managed to locate another bottle of beer and was heading back to the garden when she could hear that cold, hard voice. Looking to her left, she saw Sol, the centre of a large group, discussing the upcoming election. It had stopped her in her tracks, and as she gaped at him, his eyes flicked up, harshly looked her up and down in an analytical and displeased way, before returning to the conversation in hand, instantly dismissing her.

I hate him, she thought, really, really hate him!