Free The California Club by Belinda Jones

shakes her head. 'Just that she looked more music video than actress at the moment.'
    'Oh,' I say, disappointed for her.
    'But we can easily sort that,' Sasha notes. (She's learned a fair few styling tips in her time.)
    ‘There you are!’ Helen beckons us over to the bar. 'We're ordering martinis!’
    'I've got a Spudtini!' Elliot looks pleased with himself. 'Pure potato vodka.'
    'You're such a man,' I tease as I peruse the menu, opting ultimately for the alluring Mermaid martini.
    We take our drinks out onto the terrace and watch the sun back-light the waves as they rise up so we can see clear through the pale minty-green water. I'm hypnotized watching them fold over, froth up and then slide in on layers of silver-grey. I'm just about to comment on the idyllic silence when a lifeguard truck barrels along the coastline informing everyone within a mile radius that they are now off duty, so should you enter the ocean, you do so at your own risk.
    I doubt many would venture in now. It's amazing how quickly the temperature drops early evening. I give a little shiver.
    'You cold, La?' Elliot reaches over to rub my bare arm. 'Here, put this on.' He pulls off his sweater in that weird way men do, reaching back and dragging the whole thing over his head for maximum hair-rumpling potential. It's still warm as he heaps it into my lap.
    'But now you'll be cold,' I half protest, slurring rather more than anticipated.
    'I'll be fine,' Elliot assures me. 'I've got this one to keep me warm,' he adds, concertina-ing Elise with his embrace.
    'Careful!' she whines, wriggling free.
    I can't help but snort out loud – I love how Elise makes out she's this fragile little sugar-spun waif who'll snap if you hug her with any kind of sincerity. Oh to set Zoë-The-Human-Pulverizer on her.
    'Shall we go down on to the beach for the sunset?' Helen suggests, noting that all the drinks are now satisfactorily drained. ‘I like to huddle up by the rocks - it feels like you're sitting on the edge of the world looking out …'
    'Won't the sand be cold now?' Elise complains, reluctant to leave her floral cushion.
    'I'll get some blankets.' Helen jumps up.
    'I'll come with you,' I volunteer, eager to compensate for not being one hundred per cent embracing of the new Helen, just in case she's noticed.
    'It's just through here …' Helen leads the way, around to a staff side entrance.
    'I can't believe the changes in you,' I pipe, trying to sound as upbeat as possible.
    'I can't believe I lived like I did for so long,' Helen sighs.
    'How do you mean?'
    'Oh you know, I was putting so much energy into being the me I always saw myself becoming, never really stopping to ask whether I was happy.' She frowns, and for a second I see a flash of the old Helen and I don't want her to go back.
    'So what happened?' I quickly move her on.
    'Reuben took me surfing and I didn't recognize myself out there!' she marvels. ‘It was such a good feeling, in that moment I just let it all go.'
    'How you thought things should be?' I check, wanting to be clear on how the miracle began.
    She nods.
    'We lay out on the beach all night and all these thoughts kept whizzing through my head and I just kept coming back to the same thing: "This is it! This is what really matters – the rest is just a distraction. ''’
    I get a rush of vicarious adrenalin and then ask, 'Is that when you gave up your job in Arizona?'
    Helen nods. 'That night, when I went back to Reuben's apartment, I faxed a resignation letter to work. I didn't want to risk going back on Monday and slipping into my own routine, losing my nerve.'
    'That was a big step.'
    'Yes it was, but I had some help.'
    The California Club, I think to myself. I want to ask more but I'd feel sneaky getting information before the others.
    'Here!' Helen loads my arms with an array of Mexican rugs and throws.
    'Are these all yours?' I admire the streaky ridges of color – pink to burgundy to blue to brown - like a series of woven