by Brandon Witt
Shit. You really can’t keep a secret in this family! “What did Luke tell you?”
She waved her hands in the air. “Not a lot. Just that you were all fussy over this blind guy at the pub, and that this guy seemed to be mightily interested to hear all about my brother. I figured he was your employer, and I’ve been waiting for you to say something.”
It was my turn to blush and I could feel the heat steal across my cheeks. “There isn’t much to tell you at the moment. He’s great—in bed and out of bed. But I don’t know if we’re having an affair or something more.”
I had managed to scandalize and embarrass my sister—which is what I was aiming for—and she turned bright red. “Jacob Troy Manning! Don’t tell me that you’ve been messing around with your employer in his bed when you should’ve been making it.”
I laughed loudly. “No. I’d never fool around on paid time. But let’s just say that I’ve been having to wash his sheets daily for the last week.”
Ellie cackled loudly with amusement. “Right! That’s it, then. If it’s been longer than a week then I need to meet him.”
“What? No!” I was horrified by the idea.
But Ellie was stubborn. I don’t know where she got that from. Not from me, anyway. I left her house promising to bring Patrick over Saturday for lunch. Ellie promised to invite Luke as well, which virtually guaranteed my acceptance. I needed to grill the guy about his intentions toward my sister.
Strangely, Patrick was okay about going, eager even. I expected a big fight from him like we’d had when I forced him to go to The Tav and to the café. Instead he just smiled and said that it would be a nice outing, and should he take anything?
It confounded me.
I tried to work out what it meant. I thought about it while I was scrubbing his shower on Thursday, and thought about it even more as I was drifting off to sleep that night with him curled up asleep behind me. I still hadn’t worked it out as I grocery-shopped for him on Friday, and it annoyed me so much that I put back all the canned, salted crap that he ate and instead bought fresh food. He could complain if he wanted to, but I had been doing all the cooking at his house and I preferred fresh.
I’d told him that I’d leave a casserole in the fridge for him to pop in the oven when he got home on Friday night because I would be out delivering papers, and he’d smiled radiantly at me and even managed to thank me without prompting.
My Tav shift flew by, and before I knew it I was herding the late crowd out the door and cleaning up.
“So where’s Prince Charming tonight, Jake?” Charlie boomed at me across the empty bar where I was collecting glasses.
“Who?”
“Your boyfriend—Patrick,” Charlie replied with a smirk.
I stacked a few more glasses in my tray and hefted it onto my shoulder. “Who said he was my boyfriend?”
Charlie was wiping down the surfaces of the bar with hot, soapy water and gave a bark of laughter. “Happy and Sleepy say so. You’ve gone from Dopey to Happy, so I’m just wondering how long he’s planning on sticking around before Grumpy shows up.”
I flicked him a finger. “Piss off.”
Charlie laughed and polished up a tap. “He seemed a nice enough bloke. I was surprised he hasn’t come down again.”
“He’s a bit shy. Thinks that people won’t like him if he knocks a drink over or trips on a step,” I explained. “I don’t think he meant to get drunk when he came here last, just that he was nervous and tried for some Dutch courage.”
Charlie waited while I fetched a broom to sweep up. “Does it matter to you? About him spilling things and tripping up?”
“Nope,” I said emphatically. “I mean, I get upset if he’s upset, and pissed if someone laughs, but I don’t care if he has six fingers on one hand and turns purple with every full moon. He is who he is and that’s who I like.”
Charlie clapped me on the shoulder solidly as he sidled past me. “Good for you, Jake. I always enjoy seeing new love. Makes my old heart hope there’s a chance for me after all. I hope things work out for you both.”
He lifted an empty crate and disappeared out the back, leaving me stunned and oddly breathless. There was that love word again. Was it true? Was I in love with Patrick?
Nah. You can’t be. You’ve only known the guy a little while. How can it be love?
Patrick had told—ordered!—me to come to his house after work. I tried to refuse, telling him that I would wake him unnecessarily, but he had been firm. So at 2:03 a.m., I quietly unlocked his front door and re-armed the alarm before sneaking into the second bathroom for a shower. I had begun to leave a number of items of clothing at his house, washing my uniform in his machine along with his clothes so that I had clean jocks the next day after staying the night. Naked, I padded from the bathroom into the guest room where I had stowed my clothes in an empty drawer, and slipped into some boxers. Then I crept into Patrick’s room where he was breathing heavily, soundly asleep, and slipped under the covers next to his warm body.
His breathing didn’t once break its rhythm and two minutes later I was asleep too.
WE ARRIVED at Ellie’s house a little later than the specified time of noon, only to find that we were the last ones to arrive. Ellie had not only invited Luke, but also Lizzy and Maria, so it was nearly a full family meeting for poor Patrick.
“Jake! Late as usual I see,” cried Ellie as we came around the back with Gregor in the lead.
“Steady on, Ells. We’re only a few minutes late and that was because we had to wait for the taxi to arrive.”
My explanation was cut short when Skylah squealed and came running. “He brought a dog. He brought a dog!” She rushed toward us and grabbed Gregor by his ears, placing kisses on his doggie forehead. “Oh, I love you, dog! You are just the most gorgeous thing! Mummy, can we get a dog like Patrick’s?”
All the adults laughed and Patrick leaned down to release Gregor from his harness, patting him on the head and explaining to Skylah that Gregor was a special dog who helped blind people get around. Skylah didn’t care and dragged an eager Gregor to the small patch of lawn, where she played merrily with him.
Soon we were seated around the backyard table with beers in our hands. Ellie fussed over Patrick, making sure he had everything he needed, asking whether he needed any special food items for lunch and offering to dash to the shops if he did. Luke shook hands enthusiastically with us both, giving me a bit of a nervous look. I squeezed his hand tight and glowered at him, and he looked relieved—as if he’d been waiting for it a while and the waiting was now over. Maria was a bit embarrassed by Patrick’s blindness and made a lot of weird faces at me that I didn’t understand. I pinched her arm and told her to behave.
It was Lizzy who rescued us all. Lizzy, who believed that she was pretty much the center of the universe and acted accordingly. Oh, she wasn’t mean or anything. She just didn’t have much sympathy for disabilities or hard-luck stories and said what she meant, uncaring if people were offended. Toughen up, Princess. Build a bridge and get over it. They were Lizzy’s mottos.
“So, Patrick, tell us. Why are you blind?” I cringed in horror at her bluntness but Patrick took it in his stride.
“Born that way.”
“Huh. Bad luck, I guess.” That was Lizzy’s idea of sympathy. “So do you live off the government, then?”
“Lizzy!” I threw my bottle cap at her to shut her up. “You don’t ask questions like that!”
Patrick seemed to be trying to hide his grin, but he turned to her and answered with a straight face. “No. I’m a very rich man who holds a doctorate in chemistry. I’ve several articles published in journals all over the world, I guest-lecture at a couple of universities occasionally, and I also hold down a job that pays me more than you’ll earn in the next five years.”
I turned and blinked in disbelief, but Lizzy just said, “Cool. So why are you dating a loser like my brother?”
“Hey!” I protested loudly.
P
atrick calmly returned her rude volley. “Because he’s a great kisser. What degree have you just finished?”
Lizzy didn’t even turn a hair but Ellie, Luke, and Maria all turned beet red. I’m sure I did too.
“Law. Do you have any cute brothers I can date? I’d like to have a rich man at my bidding.”
“Lizzy!” This time it was both Ellie and me together. I hissed furiously in Lizzy’s direction. “Shut up now before I make you recite The Truth.”
Lizzy simply poked her tongue out at me, confident that the strangers among us would protect her from anything I could dish out. “Yeah? You and whose army?”
“I don’t need an army for The Truth,” I sniped.
“The Truth?” questioned Patrick, just like I hoped someone would. “What’s The Truth?”
Before I could answer, my three sisters in unison exclaimed in put-upon tones, “You are the best big brother in the whole world. You are strong and handsome and smart and witty. And you are always right. I couldn’t ask for a better brother and that is The Truth.”
I’m sure Luke’s mouth was catching flies on his side of the table since his jaw had dropped so low. Patrick was choking on some foreign object—or maybe it was just his tongue—but I didn’t have time to make sure he was alright. I had a victory to crow over.
I stood and clapped loudly at no one in particular, then took a bow. “See. It didn’t take an army at all.”
Peeved at being had, Lizzy huffed to her feet and stormed off toward the house muttering about needing the loo.
And that’s how our lunch continued. We razzed each other and laughed and grinned at funny stories, continuously strengthening our familial bonds. Lizzy got over her peeve pretty quickly and Maria climbed out of her shell enough to join in. Ellie made Luke cook sausages on the barbeque, and then brought out bowls of salad. Patrick got a bit subdued when it was time to eat.
I grabbed a plate and heaped coleslaw on one side and rice salad on the other and placed it in front of him. Then without making a fuss, I speared a sausage through the middle with a fork and handed it to him, leaning down to tell him quietly, “Two lots of salad on your plate that you can eat with the spoon to the right of your plate. Here’s a sausage on a fork so you can just bite the end off. Napkins to your left and I’ll grab you another snagger when you’re finished.”
No one stared or made any comments; they just carried on their conversations while we ate. When Patrick had finished his sausage, I casually threaded another one on for him from my plate and handed it over without comment. He grinned his thanks and chomped down on the end.
With Christmas only three weeks away, it was inevitable that talk turned to the coming season.
“What do you want for Christmas, Skylah?” asked Maria. “Grandma and I have to buy you a present and we need some hints.”
Skylah immediately began reciting a long list of presents she wanted, much to the amusement of the adults. When Skylah stopped to take a breath, Ellie’s question was a bit less amusing.
“So are we heading to Mum’s house for Christmas lunch as usual? Luke’s invited me and Skylah to his parents’ house for dinner.”
Lizzy grabbed another sausage from the platter and cast doubt over the company. “Mum will be back on the booze by that time. Maybe we should plan somewhere else?”
To my surprise it was Maria who sprung to Mum’s defense. “Don’t be such a drag, Liz. Mum’s doing really well and she’s really trying this time. You could give her a break and try supporting her for once.”
I didn’t know which sister to champion. On one hand, I agreed that Lizzy was being a bitch, but on the other hand, I’d seen Mum slip back on the booze more times than they had. In the end practicality won. I joined the discussion. “Well, we can’t have Christmas at my place or Lizzy’s place, so it’s either Mum’s or here. And if Ellie’s going out with Luke later, then it can’t be here unless she chucks us all out when she’s ready to leave.”
“What about going out somewhere?” asked Lizzy.
I arched a brow at her. “Yeah? When did you win lotto? I have about ten bucks in the bank and you want to go out? No, it’s better to go to Mum’s. Even if she’s drinking again, we’ve managed in the past. Besides, she’d be gutted if we didn’t. Despite everything, she’s still our mother.”
Lizzy merely shrugged, but Ellie and Maria were happy enough with the arrangement. We discussed food for our Christmas banquet. It was bound to be hot as all Hades, as Perth Christmases generally were, so we decided to have salads, cold meat, and desserts.
“I can get you a nice big ham bone for free if you want?” Luke interrupted. “My uncle’s a manager at Dorsogna, and we get a couple free. You can cook it up the day before and slice it cold for lunch.”
Ellie looked at him with puppy-dog eyes. “You could? Oh, brilliant! But only if you agree to come to Mum’s with us on the day. Would that be okay?”
I was amazed at the invitation. Obviously Luke was more than just casual if he got to come to Christmas lunch and brave the day with a possibly drunk mother. Of course, Luke’s family were locals and he’d probably had his own similar Christmases.
Luke stared at Ellie with an expression I can only describe as adoring. Why couldn’t I get a man to look at me like that? “I’d love to come, Ellie,” he replied, then swung my way. “Is Patrick coming too?”
Shit! And just like that, I was in the spotlight. There was nothing more I wanted to do than spend Christmas with Patrick, but we hadn’t discussed that far ahead in our relationship. Would we still be together in three weeks? Were we together now? What did Patrick have planned for the day? Did he want to be with me? With his wealth he could be jetting off out of the country. He hadn’t mentioned any family apart from Max, but it didn’t mean he didn’t have any.
“Ahh….” I was lost for what to say when I felt Patrick’s warm hand grasp mine under the table and squeeze.
He turned Luke’s way and calmly stated, “Jake and I haven’t discussed it yet, but I think it sounds like a great day. I’d love to contribute something to the table, but I’m really bad at cooking so I’ll have to get Jake to make it for me. I don’t have any family, so I usually spend Christmas alone with Gregor and the radio.”
“What?” Ellie’s motherly instincts were horrified. “You spend it alone? Jake! Why haven’t you invited this man already? No one should have to spend Christmas alone. Jake is fabulous at making dessert, so how about the two of you bring two different types of dessert for the day? Lizzy can bring soft drinks and chips, I’ll bring two different types of cold meat and some nibblies, and Mum and Maria can make a couple of salads.”
And like that we were all organized.
After lunch Lizzy and Maria disappeared with Skylah to watch some kiddie movie, and Luke helped Ellie take plates into the kitchen. I scraped some plates, gathered another armload of dishes, and took them inside. Unfortunately, I disturbed a passionate embrace happening up against the kitchen counter.
“Oh, knock it off you two! A man has just finished eating,” I joked as I dumped the dirty plates.
Ellie didn’t bother to move away from Luke. She just looked at me calmly and said, “Piss off and go and kiss your own man.”
I laughed and walked outside to where Patrick was sitting, absentmindedly stroking Gregor’s head. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Oh, just Ellie. She told me I had to come outside and do this.” And without further ado, I leaned over the back of Patrick’s chair and kissed him. He tasted of beer and sausage and that essential flavor that was uniquely his. I got lost a bit and sent my tongue into his mouth, forgetting our whereabouts. It wasn’t until I heard someone clear their throat near me that I looked up in a daze and met Luke’s disconcerted expression.
He was holding three beers and flushing red, but to his credit he didn’t have any trouble meeting my eyes. “Huh,” he scoffed. “I always thought I’d be completely revolted if I saw two guys making out, but it’s not that di
fferent, is it?”
I had to laugh. “Luke, it’s completely different. If you weren’t dating my sister I’d tell you to go out and find a man and give it a go. You’ll never go back once you’ve tried it with another bloke. But since you’re seeing Ellie, I’ll instead tell you that if I ever catch you making out with anyone—guy or girl—other than my sweet sister, then I’ll take your balls and feed them to Gregor while you’re still attached to them. Got it?”
He grinned. “Got it.”
WHEN WE arrived home, I made us coffee, took it out front, and we sat in the shade of the veranda, our two cushioned chairs pulled close to each other so we could casually touch when we wanted to. Summer had started, and it was already in the low thirties, but the sea breeze brought relief by early afternoon.
“You don’t have to come to Christmas if you don’t want to,” I started off, the thought weighing heavily on my mind. “I mean, you were kind of put on the spot and Christmas is nothing fancy at home.”
With accuracy that continued to amaze me, he reached over and grasped my hand, threading our fingers together in a firm grip. “Do you not want me there?”
“Of course I want you there! I want to spend all day with you, but I’m not sure if you know what you’re letting yourself into. I’m not some great catch, Patrick. My family life sucks and you don’t have to be exposed to it if you don’t want to.”
He smiled gently over at me. “I want to come.”
I kissed him lightly on the cheek, the warmth of love spreading through my body. And it was love. I couldn’t deny it for much longer. “Okay, as long as you know that you can change your mind at any moment, and if you get uncomfortable on the day, then you just let me know and I’ll get you out of there.”
“Okay.” We sat back and I idly watched a few birds dart through the branches of the fully flowering jacaranda trees. I had about another hour before I had to take off for my shift at The Tav and it was nice to sit and chill. I wondered what I could put together for Patrick to eat for dinner, because he really couldn’t cook all that well. His idea of cooking was opening a salt-laden can of something.