I frowned.
“Because her brother’s here. I said she could come rather than hanging out at her parents’ house alone. Plus I thought she would get on well with Oakley, and I was right. ”
Jesus it wasn’t liked I’d asked her on a date.
“Right,” she replied. “Are you going to introduce me too?”
Shrugging, I nodded my head and walked into the conservatory after them. Abby’s mood swings were beginning to piss me off. In the car over she was okay, minus the headband thing; when we arrived she was a loving wife, but now she was acting pissy.
Page 9
“Holly,” I said, “this is my wife, Abby. Abby this is Brad’s sister. ”
Abby stepped forward. “Nice to meet you, Holly. ”
“You too. ” They shook hands, and Holly took the cocktail from Oakley’s hand, thanking her.
“Drinking today?” I asked.
She shook her head. “It’s a non-alcoholic cocktail. ”
“You don’t drink?” Abby asked as she poured herself a glass of red wine.
“Not much. ”
“How do you survive uni without alcohol?”
Holly laughed. “I have no idea. Did you go too?”
“Yeah, to study teaching and English Literature and Language. Now I work at the high school. What about you? What do you want to be after uni?”
“A pharmacist in a hospital,” she replied.
“Wow, that’s great,” Abby replied. I was glad they had something in common because if they hadn’t Abby probably wouldn’t have tried that hard to get along with her. She could be kind of selfish like that. She wouldn’t necessarily ignore Holly, but she wouldn’t have bothered to make her feel at ease.
Holly smiled shyly and, I realised the men were outside, cooking the meat on the barbecue with a cooler of beer beside them and I was inside chatting to the women who were drinking girly drinks. I shook my head and backed away. “I’ll be outside. ”
I walked to the man area and grabbed a beer.
“Tell me there’s Jack Daniels in that?” I said to Cole.
“Just coke,” he replied, and I raised my eyebrow.
“Well since my wife is now on her third cocktail I’m guessing I’ve been nominated the designated responsible parent for today. ”
“She’s getting drunk?” I frowned. She never got drunk, drunk. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, Jasper. ”
I didn’t like it. Oakley didn’t drink until she got drunk, just tipsy. The last time she was drunk was when that bastard sperm donor we were supposed to call Dad sent her a letter from prison. It was almost two years ago. She got in such a state that Mum and Miles took Everleigh for the night so she could calm herself down. I hated seeing her like that. I’d wanted to kill him more than ever.
“Seriously, Jasper, she’s fine. It’s Miles’ birthday, and she wants a few drinks. She’s twenty-four, old enough to have a few cocktails. ”
My shoulders relaxed. If Cole wasn’t worried, I wasn’t going to be. He knew her better than I did now, and he was a real worrier when it came to my sister. If he was cool and not concerned, then everything was fine.
He smiled sadly, understanding exactly why I freaked out. Oakley had dealt with a lot, but as strong as she was it would always be there. Therapy couldn’t take away the memories of what those bastards did to her when she was just a few years older than Everleigh.
“So everything okay between you and Abby now?” he asked, flipping over the burgers.
I shrugged. “I guess. Women drive you crazy, right?”
He laughed and shook his head. I could tell that was just for my benefit. Oakley didn’t drive him as insane as Abby drove me, but he didn’t want to disagree and leave me feeling bad. I wanted to pull my damn hair out. What the hell was going on with my wife? I knew I was going to have to do the mature thing that Oakley suggested and talk to her, but in my experience, ninety per cent of the time talking to a woman left you no less confused than before. I think they enjoyed it. They loved messing with our heads; it was like a damn hobby.
“You up for going out tomorrow?” Cole asked.
Was he trying to keep my busy?
“Can’t. Doing something with Abby. Soon though?”
He nodded. “Sure. ”
“Jasper, refill the cooler, please?” Miles said, handing me a bucket of water and balancing Everleigh in his other arm. Miles was her hero; she worshipped him. He had more right to be her grandad than that bastard rotting in prison did. She didn’t even know about him, and we had to keep it that way for as long as we could – forever, if that were possible.
I took the cooler from him and curtseyed, earning me an eye roll.
“So when am I getting my second grandchild?” Mum asked me, smiling like a psycho as I walked into the house to get some more beers.
I shrugged. A baby seemed so fucking far away now. I wanted to be a father and have a tiny person call me Daddy. Whenever Everleigh called Cole Daddy it put a smile on my face, she worshiped her dad – I wanted that too.
“Dunno, ask your daughter. ” I replied.
Page 10
Oakley frowned. “We’re not trying for another one until Everleigh’s settled in school full-time. ”
“What?” Cole whined, walking through the door and pouting at my sister. “Not now?”
She laughed and threw her wadded up napkin at him. “Sorry but you’ve gotta wait at least another year and a half for baby number two. Unless, of course, you want to give birth?”
He smiled and then his mucky paws were all over her.
Mum pouted at me and Abby, more effectively than Cole.
“Come on, you two, I’m not getting any younger. ”
I wrapped my arm around my wife. “We’re happy with the way things are for now,” I said, not wanting to put Abby in an awkward position if I said I wanted tons of them but she was more focused on her career.
She smiled up at me, and I felt like she’d jammed a knife into my heart. She believed what I said, even though we’d had a few conversations where I said I was ready, and so did she. What the fuck was wrong with women? How could you go from being ready one month to suddenly wanting to focus on other things the next? The last time she said she was excited to have a baby of our own was less than six weeks ago. What had changed so drastically in six weeks?
“We’ll give you another grandchild one day, Sarah, but we’re just enjoying being together right now. ”
Just enjoying being together? When the hell were we ‘just together’? If we hadn’t committed to Miles’ birthday she would probably be out with her colleagues, and I would be at home. We hadn’t enjoyed ‘just being together’ in months.
I wanted to tell her she was being unfair, but I didn’t want to get in the way of what she wanted. If she wanted to wait another five years for kids while she concentrated on teaching that was fine, but she shouldn’t have told me otherwise.
My smile – which probably looked like a pissed off grimace – fooled everyone except my nosey sister.
“Uncle Jasper,” Everleigh screamed, and I wanted to thank her for interrupting right when I could sense Oakley asking for my help with something in the kitchen. “Come and help me and Leona make daisy chains! You said you would!”
I held my hands up. “Alright, diva, I’m coming. ” How the fuck do you make daisy chains? I filled the cooler with beer and we headed back outside. “You have far too much attitude for a three-year-old. ”
“I’m almost four,” she replied as if that made all the difference. Everleigh growing up sucked. I had no idea what I would do on my days off when she was at school. Me and Oakley rotated our shifts at The Centre, the place Oakley opened after the trial was done so we could look after Everleigh. I loved spending time with her, so it was going to suck when I couldn’t do that as much.
>
After handing Miles the refilled cooler, I let Everleigh lead me to the corner of Cole and Oakley’s perfectly cut lawn where Cole’s niece, Leona and Holly were sitting cross-legged on the grass. I frowned.
“They’ve not left you to be babysitter?”
She smiled up at me. “No, it’s okay. I like hanging with them. ”
“You can join the adults when you want. ”
“Really, it’s fine. I love spending time with kids. ”
I sat down and prepared to bullshit my way through making a necklace out of flowers.
“You know how to do this?” I asked.
“Daisy chains? Everyone knows how to make daisy chains,” she replied, brushing her light blonde hair out of her face.
“Uncle Jasper don’t,” Everleigh said and sighed.
“Wow, really?”
“I’m a man. ”
Everleigh giggled. “Remember when you wore Mummy’s dress? You looked like a girl. ”
“Yes, thank you, Everleigh. ” I winced as I watched Holly try not to laugh.
“Hey, I’m comfortable with my masculinity, that’s how I’m able to put on a dress and not have it shrink the boys,” I replied, giving myself a mental high five at changing my balls to the boys before I’d started saying it.
“Of course,” Holly said wryly. “Perhaps the stories I’ve heard about you were less about a broken heart and more about hiding in a closet. ”
My mouth dropped open. Sweet, shy, innocent little Holly made a joke like that – and a good one. If it wasn’t aimed at me, I would have laughed.
“There’s nothing PG I can think of to reply so just imagine my response. ”
She laughed and shook her head as Leona tried to figure out what we were talking about. She was at that age where she was starting to understand what we didn’t say.
Page 11
“Will do. Ready to make a daisy chain, girls?”
Leona and Everleigh nodded. I was sure Leona knew already, but she looked up at Holly like she wanted to be her.
“Okay, take your daisy and with your nail make a small slit in the stem. Everleigh, do you want me to help you?”
I looked on at them, picking grass because I would rather boil my own head than make a daisy chain. Holly was great with kids; she would be an awesome mum one day.
“How come you’re so good with children?” I asked. “You don’t have younger brothers or sisters, right?”
“No, but I have a lot of younger cousins. ”
“You want kids when you’re older?”
She beamed and looked prettier, even with the overly dark eye make-up.
“Definitely. ”
Why couldn’t Abby be that sure? She had already taken back saying she wanted them now, and had postponed our family. What the hell was I going to do if she decided in a couple years that she wanted to wait another couple of years?
“You do too,” she said overly confidently. Did it show that much? I didn’t really care, having children was so important to me now. A few years ago I would have laughed if someone told me I would end up desperate to be a dad.
“Yeah, I do. ”
“When do you think you will?”
I shrugged.
“I would tomorrow but apparently that’s not an option now. ”
It was a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. Pissing never satisfied, mind changing, evil, heart breaking women!
Chapter Four
Abby was already out of bed when I woke the next morning. I groaned. It was only seven in the morning and on a Sunday. What the hell was she doing up?
“Abby?” I called to see if she was just in the bathroom before I forced myself to get out of bed.
She poked her head around the corner of the door.
“Oh, you’re awake then?”
No, I’m sleep talking!
“Yeah. ” I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up. “What’re you doing up so early?”
“I’m meeting Carol and Brett at Wendy’s Cafe to discuss the Thorpe Park trip. Two parents have pulled out, and we’re having trouble with the coaches now too. We’re grabbing breakfast and sorting through the issues. I won’t be long, and then we can do something. Want me to bring you bacon rolls back?”
Sunday. It was the official day of rest, and she wanted a working breakfast. Leaving your bed before ten on a Sunday should be illegal and here was my wife dressed and ready to leave the house at seven.
“Right. Bacon rolls would be awesome. ”
She blew a kiss and grabbed her handbag off the dressing table. “Only be a couple hours. Love you. ” And then she was gone.
I wanted to call someone to complain, and normally I’d call Oakley but she was getting bored of me complaining and not doing anything about it. I was scared of doing anything about it. Actually I was fucking terrified. If Abby was cheating we would have to get divorced, sell the house and divide everything up. I would be a divorced man. I would have an ex wife. Abby would be fine with her new man, but I would be screwed. No one wanted to be the one left behind. I didn’t want to be in love with someone that left me for someone else.
The only thing that I knew would take my mind off what was possibly going on – yes, I was a fan of burying your head in the sand – was Everleigh. I dialled my sister’s house knowing they would already be up.
“Hello,” Oakley said down the phone.
“Can I have Everleigh for a couple hours? Pancakes at the diner. ”
“Good morning to you too, Jasper. ”
“Please?” I said.
She paused. “Sure. Any reason?”
“She’s my favourite person, and I want to take her to breakfast. ”
“That’s the only reason? Is Abby going too?”
“I’ll pick her up in twenty,” I said and hung up. Damn mind-reading sister. There was going to be a lecture. There was always a lecture. I should speak to Abby about it; that’s what she’d say. Of course, she was right, but I wasn’t gonna do it.
I dressed and grabbed my keys. Abby had left one of her many handbags on the kitchen table – the one the watch was in. We had nothing coming up – not my birthday or an anniversary – so if the watch was gone that meant she took it with her today. To this Brett twat? I backed away, needing to trust her.
Oakley opened her front door as I pulled up. Great, she was ready to preach. She raised her eyebrow as I walked towards her.
Page 12
“Don’t start,” I said.
“I’m not starting. I just don’t get many early morning phone calls from you on a Sunday. Actually, I’ve never received an early morning phone call off you on a Sunday. ”
“Abby’s working for a couple hours, so I thought I’d use to the time to treat my niece. ”
“Abby’s working?”
“Something about sorting out school trip shit. ” I shrugged my shoulders. “I dunno. Everleigh ready?”
“Cole’s just putting her shoes on. Do you want to talk about it?”
I glared. “There’s nothing to talk about. ”
Oakley smiled one of her smiles that made me want to throw tomatoes at her.
“Seriously, it’s fine. If she wants to waste Sunday morning talking about work, that’s her stupid choice. ”
I could see in my sister’s eyes she was thinking but what about spending time with you, blah, blah, blah. Would I prefer to spend time with my wife in the morning, yes, of course, but she had stuff to do. I’d survive.
“Everleigh,” I shouted past Oakley, ignoring her questioning look. If she kept raising her eyebrows at me, I was going to shave them off.
“Uncle Jasper!” Everleigh screamed, jumping up and down as she made her way to the front door. “Pancakes! Can I have chocolate?”
I grinned. “You can have whatever you want. ”
“Yeah,” she cheered, jumping o
utside in one big leap that made Oakley tense up. “Let’s go, Uncle Jasper. ”
I unlocked my car and she ran to her door, letting herself in. Cole appeared behind Oakley, wrapping his arms around her.
“No kiss goodbye?” he said to Everleigh. She turned, shook her head, waved and got in the car.
“Too eager for food. She takes after you,” Oakley said, kissing Cole’s cheek over her shoulder. That was my cue to leave. I didn’t need to be seeing any of that soppy crap right now.
“So what’s wrong, Uncle Jasper?” Everleigh asked, leaning her elbows on the diner table. She barely reached so it looked more like she was just laying her arms out, but I knew the effect she was going for – ‘tell all’.
“Nothing’s wrong, Noodle. I promise. ”
She sighed and shook her head. “Uncle Jasper, you just told a lie. ”
My three-year-old niece was disappointed in me. Wow.
“Just grown-up stuff. Nothing for you to worry about. ”
“But I love you. ”
There was nothing that could keep me down when she said that. I smiled like a fat guy locked in a McDonalds overnight. I was suddenly so glad Oakley didn’t have anything planned and let me take Everleigh for a bit. This kid was my antidepressant.
“I love you too, but you don’t have to worry about me. ”
“Are you sad?”
“If you ask your dad. . . ”
She frowned, my joke going over her head.
“Never mind. I’m not sad. ”
“Is it Aunty Abby? Are you in the dog house?”
I laughed, my eyebrows shooting up.
“What?” Where the hell did that come from?
“Mummy said Daddy was in the dog house when he broke her favourite mug. Did Aunty Abby break your favourite mug?”
I loved her weird little innocent mind.
“Yeah, she broke my favourite mug. ”
She nodded. “Don’t worry, Uncle Jasper, I’ll buy you a new one. Ooh, can I have a chocolate milkshake? I promise won’t tell Mummy and Daddy. ”
“Sure. You can have whatever you want. ”
She grinned a face-splitting smile and pushed her empty plate away.
Oakley informed me that she and Cole had popped to The Centre to sort out an air conditioning issue in the ballet room, so I was to take Everleigh there. Going into work on your day off felt wrong.
“Where’s Mummy and Daddy?” Everleigh asked as soon as we got out of the car as if I had some radar.
“Office, probably. Let’s go find them. ”
Players, Bumps and Cocktail Sausages Page 3