Unexpected Treasure by Susan May (books suggested by elon musk txt) 📕

The day doesn’t feel right

. That was Lucinda’s first thought when she woke up with a start on Monday morning, her stomach sinking as she listened to the wind and rain pelting against the bedroom window. Not a good omen for such a big day.
‘Hey babe, glad to see you’re awake’ Ryan says as he enters the room, a towel around his waist, a piece of bloodied tissue stuck to his chin. ‘I thought you would have been up and dressed by now.’
‘Hmm, why?’ she yawns and stretches, her neck and shoulders feeling tense already. She hadn’t been able to sleep last night and had lain awake until the wee hours, her husband’s snores growing louder with each tick of the clock. ‘What time is it?’ she asks.
‘It’s just gone half eight,’ he replies.
Lucinda bolts upright, now wide awake. She was going to be late.
‘What? Why didn’t you wake me?’
‘Sorry Luce, I thought—’ he starts to respond but she isn’t listening. She barges past him, running to the bathroom. Wincing, she remembers getting up through the night for a drink only to trip over his tennis racket. He asks why she is limping and she wonders how she’s going to be able to wear heels. The big toe on her left foot pulses, feeling angry and bruised, but she doesn’t have time to complain about it now.
‘It’s going to be a good day’ he calls to her as she steps into the shower. ‘I can feel it, you’re going to do well, don’t worry.’
She wasn’t so sure. The interview was set for half nine and she had less than an hour to get there. Anxious, she showers and dresses in record time. Lucinda has to get this job. She can’t afford to fail today, not after all the wangling she had to do to get the morning off work, and this new role would be a step up. She’s drying her hair when Ryan brings her a cup of coffee.
‘I don’t have time for that,’ she snaps. Then seeing the hurt look on his face she reaches for the cup. ‘That’s nice, thank you.’
‘Listen’ he says ‘please don’t stress. Today will be fine.’ He hugs her and she feels her heart melt, wanting nothing more than to crawl back into bed and ignore the world.
‘I can’t believe the rain, today of all days. Where’s my brolly? Maybe I’ll get a cab.’ As she wraps her black pashmina around her neck she balances on one foot, gently easing the bruised toe into her shoe.
‘No chance, babe. Sorry. I tried to call one already but they’re all booked. It’s not rain by the way, it’s snowing. Everything’s covered.’
‘Snow

! It never snows here!’ They’d lived in central London for four years and only once did it snow. And even then it was just a light dusting that had lasted half a day. She was stunned. They’d moved last year and although the suburbs seemed somewhat colder than the city, a large snowfall just didn’t seem possible. Groaning she pulls back the curtains from the front window, disbelieving her bad luck.
‘Yep, look at it! Big Charlie Brown flakes, aren’t they pretty?’ His voice is filled with excitement. She looks at him like he’s daft. Does he not realise how important today is? Lucinda, now panicking, hauls on her coat as she unlatches the door. She has one focus, she can’t be late.
‘Wait, Lucy!’ She hears Ryan calling after her. ‘Maybe you should call them—’
But she was already out, down the stairs and standing on the street. Putting the brolly over her head to ward of the falling snow, she hurries off in the direction of the train station. Luckily, she doesn’t actually have to catch a train as the position is local. She sighs as she thinks of the new job. Not only would it be better pay but she’d be able to ditch the daily commute to London Bridge.

The ground is icy and it’s almost impossible to keep from slipping so she walks on the road, darting back to the safety of the pavement every time a car approaches. The going is treacherous and her progress slow but finally she makes it beyond the station. She looks up, confident she’s on Main Street, but to her dismay she can’t see any numbers on the shop fronts.
‘Three-four-six’ she mutters to herself as she takes a guess and turns right. She passes an off-licence and a hair salon before coming to a jeweller’s at one-seven-two and farther down a flower shop occupies one-nine-four. Although the numbers were going up there was still a long way to go.
Eventually Lucinda reaches the end up the shops where the buildings turn residential. Puzzled, and not sure what to do, she pulls out her mobile. It was nine forty-two. Tears prick at her eyes. She feels sick, how could she have overslept. The mobile buzzes in her hand, giving her a start. Her heart thumps as she realises they’re calling to see where she is.
‘I’m-’ she stammers, ‘sorry, I’m on my way, on Main Street, but I can’t quite locate you.’
‘What’s nearby?’ the woman on the other end of the phone asks.
Lucinda glances around and tells her what she sees.
‘Oh, you’re not on Station

Road are you?’
Lucinda freezes as the penny drops. Yes, of course she’s on Station Road not Main Street. In her panic she’d set off in the wrong direction. The woman on the phone correctly interprets Lucinda’s silence and launches into directions.
‘Right, you need to turn around and head towards the chemist, keep going and continue along the green, then when you get to Main Street go left...’
Lucinda, barely listening, felt her cheeks growing hot.
‘Don’t worry,’ the woman says, ‘one of the interviewers is running late due to all this snow. You’re not that far away so perhaps catch a bus if you can.’
Feeling foolish, Lucinda thanked her and began retracing her steps.

With no buses in sight and the snow falling more heavily, it takes her ten minutes to get to the chemist and it’s almost a half hour later when she finds herself crossing over the entrance to the green. Taking a minute to pause and catch her breath, she brushes off one of the benches that dot the pavement’s edge. Leaning against it Lucinda pulls off her left shoe. Her darkened toe is still throbbing as she wedges it into a clump of snow. Somewhat relieved, she is just taking in the wintry park scene when she hears a sob.
At first Lucinda doesn’t see anyone; the green is empty except for a man walking his dog. She hears the sound again followed by a sniffle and a hiccup and there, curled up in a red parka under the bench, is a child.
‘Hello, are you alright?’ she asks, alarmed. The sniffling pauses momentarily as the parka bundles into a tight ball.
‘Look, you need to come out from there. It’s freezing. Are you hurt?’
No response.
‘What’s your name? Are you lost?’ Worried, she bends down to peer under the bench but as she reaches out, the child rolls over. For a second they both freeze, eyes locked. Then, in a flash, a pink boot lashes out at Lucinda’s discarded shoe.
Startled, she pulls back and as she does the girl scurries out from under the bench and bolts across the green, a blur of red and pink. Lucinda again scans the park; there’s no sign of a parent or any other children. The girl is alone and obviously distraught. Lucinda can’t just leave her. Frantic, she scrambles for her shoe but it’s landed too far away and the girl is moving quickly. Realising she won’t be able to run through the snow and mud in heels anyway, she kicks off her remaining shoe and gives chase. A blast of cold shoots up her legs, her tights become sodden and she can only imagine the spray of mud and slush up the back of her new suit.

As the gap between them closes the girl glances over her shoulder and veers off to the right into a shallow cluster of trees. Lucinda pulls up short and waits, relieved when the girl doesn’t reappear out the other side. Slowly she approaches to where she can see a sliver of red parka huddled behind a large plane tree.
‘It’s alright, don’t be frightened’ she says, out of breath. ‘I just want to help you.’
Two dark eyes fix on Lucinda, accusing. The hood of the girl’s parka has fallen back to reveal dark brown hair divided into two neat plaits. There’s a slight rustle as she bends down, scooping up snow.
‘I’m Lucinda’ she continues, unsure of what to say and wondering where the snowball will hit. ‘Come out, I can help you find your Mummy. She’s probably very worried about you.’
The girl edges out slightly but doesn’t respond. Blue mittens squeeze a ball of snow. The mobile starts buzzing and Lucinda puts her hand up.
‘Stay there’ she orders as she answers. The woman on the other end is no longer friendly. They really can’t wait any longer, there are other applicants. Lucinda starts to explain but there’s no point. Her chance is lost as the woman puts down the phone.
Tears of frustration fill Lucinda’s eyes as she looks up. The girl is standing in front of her now, her curiosity having got the better of her. Lucinda notes that she’s dropped the snowball.
‘I’m Emma,’ she says, her brown eyes wide. ‘Did you just get in trouble?’
Lucinda laughs and reaches into her handbag for a tissue. She blows her nose, her feet are freezing and she’s dreading the walk back for her shoes.
‘Yes, I suppose I did. Are you lost Emma?’
The girl shakes her head.
‘Well we need to get you home, do you know your phone number? Your mother will be worried.’
Emma shrugs her shoulders, her face sullen. Lucinda tries a different tactic.
‘Do you like hot chocolate Emma?’ The girl’s head bobs up, a gleam of interest flickers. ‘If you come back with me to collect my shoes we can find a cafe and have a little talk.’
This seems to do the trick and the girl nods, taking Lucinda’s hand. As they cross the green towards the benches Emma skips, her pink boots kicking up plumes of snow. Lucinda looks at her and smiles, feeling the tension lift from her shoulders. Too bad her feet were freezing, it would be fun to play in the snow, perhaps build a snowman, with this little girl.
When they reach the high street Emma insists they go to McDonald’s and as Lucinda buys two hot drinks, Emma wriggles out of her parka and settles herself in a bright oversized vinyl chair.
They sit in silence by the window with their hands wrapped around cardboard cups. Emma blows on her hot chocolate as