Free The California Club by Belinda Jones Page A

sunsets.
    'Yup, I've got quite a collection going – little tip I learned from your mum: why sit on one thin layer when you could be snuggled in seven!'
    Mum never believed in traveling light to the beach – there was no need. We were so close we could make five trips if we wanted. Everyone else was on damp towels with rolled-up T-shirts propping up their heads, while we looked like some sumptuous bedouin scenario with windshields and cushions and fleece blankets in jewel-bright colors. I feel swimmy with nostalgia and contemplate telling Helen about the B&B, but I don't want to ruin the mood, besides the others will be getting chilly.
     
     
    'Great blankets!' Zoë covets them the second we reach the rocks.
    'I got them at this market in Tijuana, fiver each,' Helen brags.
    'I'd love to go shopping there!' Zoë enthuses. 'I bet Lara could find some real treasures.'
    'The border's only twenty minutes away,' Helen tempts her further. 'My sous-chef actually lives over there.'
    'Imagine commuting to work from a different country every day!' Elliot smiles. 'That's so cool’
    As we snuggle into the blankets Helen deftly rustles up a beachfire and invites us to bliss out as the sun puts on the most spectacular show, melting from hot gold to moody orange and then seeping across the sky, turning the clouds alternately pink and baby blue. Just when we think the maestro is going for a subtle fade-out, a blinding electric yellow streaks the vista and we gasp at the beauty and ingenuity.
    'There's definitely a magic in the air here.' Helen inhales the last breath of sunshine then continues speaking, almost as if in a trance. 'I just feel so free, so happy for every little thing.'
    The rest of us stare at her through the now misty darkness, as one by one she strikes at our Achilles' heels.
    'I feel lighter, not just physically but in my heart. I feel loved, connected, part of the world. So peaceful and yet so energized. So hopeful …'
    There's a silence while we contemplate what it would be like to feel even one of those things wholeheartedly. The want in us is palpable. It's not just me and Sasha.
    'So come on, Helen!' I beg, all out of patience. 'Tell us about The California Club!'
    Elise shoots me a poisonous look but everyone else gives an encouraging, 'Yeah!'
    She beams back at our expectant faces. 'Okay. But I'm going to ask you all to do one thing first.' Sitting up on her haunches she rummages in her rucksack, this time pulling out a little block of paper and a collection of biros.
    'Are we playing some kind of game?' Elise sneers.
    'No, I just need you all to write something down,' she explains, handing out a sheet of paper and a pen to each person. 'Ready?'
    We nod, looking a little wary.
    ‘I want each of you to write down what you'd most like to happen during your vacation here.'
    'Vacation?' teases Elliot in his best Valley Girl voice,
    'Holiday, whatever!' Helen dismisses his friendly carping.
    'Do you mean like a list of activities?' I ask.
    'Stick my hands in cement on Hollywood Boulevard, get discovered by a movie director, get it on with Josh Hartnett,' Zoë offers.
    'Well, you're halfway there but I'm not after a list. This is more of a wish. What would be the one thing that would make your holiday complete?'
    'Get it on with Josh Harnett!' Zoë affirms.
    ‘Don't say it out loud, just write it down. No conferring and no more questions,' Helen sternly addresses our furrowed brows and open mouths.
    Elise is the first to scribble, somewhat aggressively, on her page. Then Elliot, with a casual scrawl, obviously not fretting too much over his choice.
    'Now what?' Elise asks impatiently.
    'We just sit quietly until the others are done.' Helen takes their pieces of paper and then Zoë's, closely followed by Sasha's reluctant offering.
    'I think my wish might be a bit of a lost cause,' she frets.
    'It doesn't matter,' Helen reassures her. 'Just as long as it's heartfelt.'
    Now everyone is waiting for me.
    This is obviously