A Date with Fate by Cathy Cole

are a darling .”
    Eve tried not to stare at Caitlin’s reflection in the lift mirrors as they descended to street level. She was flawless from every angle. Her clothes, her hair, her skin. It was like she had a light glowing inside her. She made Eve feel dull, childlike. The school uniform didn’t help.
    Down at street level, Caitlin waved her keys haphazardly in various directions until a gleaming red soft-top car started blinking some way up the street.
    â€œI can never remember where I’ve parked,” she said, striding towards the car.
    Caitlin’s car was almost as gorgeous as Caitlin.
    â€œWhere are we going?” Eve asked, sliding into the passenger seat.
    Caitlin patted Eve on the leg, making her jump. “To a great little place I know. Believe me, it’s guaranteed to get us in a party mood.”
    Eve fiddled with her shirt collar. “Caitlin?” she said. “Do you mind if we stop at my house first? I really want to get out of my school clothes.”
    â€œBut that little blazer is adorable,” said Caitlin in surprise. “So chic.”
    â€œI’d really like to change,” Eve said, laughing.
    â€œWhatever you say.”
    The little car roared away from the kerb with a squeal. Eve leaned her head against the headrest, feeling the cool air buffeting her face.
    She felt suddenly alive with – something. Hope, maybe.

EIGHT
    Feeling a lot more comfortable in a pair of jeans, a light-green V-neck, and a soft white cardigan from Paris, Eve relaxed as Caitlin urged the little red car along the coast, away from the town. The houses grew fewer and further between as the road switched and snaked up and down, through hills and down to the sea and back up again. She wondered curiously where they were going. Surprisingly, she found that she didn’t care.
    Caitlin was chattering at full speed about the last party she had organized. “Chic” was her favourite word.
    â€œEverything was unbelievably chic. We put long silver birch twigs inside a dozen tall glass vases, filled the vases with water and put floating candles on the top. The whole place glowed . Such a good idea. I impress even myself sometimes.”
    â€œHow long have you had your party-planning business?” Eve asked.
    â€œAbout eight months now,” said Caitlin, changing gear smoothly. “I have a storeroom filled with the most delectable things imaginable. Decorations, candles, crockery.”
    â€œBalloons?”
    â€œI adore balloons,” said Caitlin happily. “Have you read that Sylvia Plath poem about balloons? Oval soul animals, she calls them. Have you ever seen the glittery helium ones with lights inside? They look amazing gathered in bunches on the ceiling. So much of a party atmosphere comes down to good lighting.”
    She took a sharp left, the car wheels crunching over gravel. Eve sat up curiously. Caitlin seemed to be heading towards the cliffs themselves. The only thing up there that Eve could think of was a spooky old abandoned lighthouse.
    The lighthouse loomed over the brink of the hill. It was even taller and more forbidding up close than it was from a distance. Eve felt the first flush of unease as Caitlin brought the little car smartly to a halt and jumped out.
    â€œCome on!” Caitlin said, laughing.
    Eve gazed at the selection of expensive cars parked carelessly on the grass around them. She got out of the car very slowly and looked at the lighthouse with apprehension. The crumbling brickwork was stained with salt and lichen. It wasn’t the kind of place to put anyone in a party mood.
    Caitlin was already at the weather-beaten red door. Eve hung back as she lifted her hand and rapped smartly on the salt-stained wood.
    The door opened a crack. A well-dressed man with a heavily crooked nose frowned through the gap. “Yes?”
    He looks like a boxer , thought Eve. A well-dressed boxer, but a boxer nonetheless. What was going