by Tillie Cole
I moved further into the room, which still smelt of fresh paint, and admired the sky-blue walls and framed family photos that adorned the walls. As I moved to the rear of the room I gasped and stopped at a large glass ornament of a sunflower.
I reached out my hand to touch it, and Boleyn came and stood next to me, announcing in a small voice, "Tudor gave me that today; it's beautiful, isn’t it? He said if I get upset or I can't cope that I should look at this flower and remember that I can get through anything.”
Boleyn met my gaze with sadness in her eyes, her sleeve once again in her mouth. "Tudor said that you are like a sunflower to him; strong, bright and beautiful, and a reminder to everyone that the sun will always shine again, no matter what happens” she admitted, smiling shyly.
"He really said that?" I whispered, staring at the way the light reflected off the coloured petals, and she nodded.
"Yeah, just today," she replied, and she moved to sit on the sofa under the window.
At least I now know why he calls me Sunshine.
I finished nosey-ing around her new room and sat beside her. She curled up her legs on the couch and moved to face me, bottom lip trembling and water filling her sad eyes. I took her hand in support.
"Ms. Munro, I'm so sorry for shouting at you in class and for what I said."
I shook my head. "No, darling. Don't apologise–"
She gripped my hand tighter. "Please, I need to say this. I just want you to know that I wish I had never said those things. I don't want you to leave, and Tudor told me that he loves you. Please don’t leave him because of me."
I squeezed her hand. "Now you listen to me, young lady, I never, ever want you to apologise again." I bent my head to meet her lowered gaze. "You can talk to me about anything, and I mean anything, okay?"
She lowered her head and wiped her nose with a tissue she took from the coffee table in front of us.
I continued, "What happened to you was despicable, Boleyn; someone your age should not have to deal with it, and for that I am so angry and upset at the universe. But I also know from experience that feeling so low and scared over something you’ve been through won't last forever if you don't let it.
“When I was young, I was very poorly, and in theory I shouldn't be here today talking to you, but I am. You are strong and will get through this, even if it doesn't seem like it at the moment. You will have days when it’s harder than others, but on those days you rely on your family and friends to get you through. You can even talk to me."
I took both her hands in mine and made her look up. "You're strong, Boleyn, you are going to get through this, and when you do and you come back to school, I am going to help you in any way I can. Oh, and you are soo gonna be singing again. Now you've shown the world your talent, they're going to want you to keep going, to keep showing off them pipes."
She giggled a little at that. "Thank you, Miss," she sniffed.
I stood, pulling her off the sofa and giving her a cuddle. "Don't thank me yet, hun. I brought Tink with me this evening, and you won't be too grateful to me after a few hours in his company!"
She giggled again, with more energy this time.
"Now come on, let's go downstairs – I'm bloody starving!"
Boleyn and I entered the room, her arm linked in mine, and everyone seemed relieved at the sight. As we began making our way through to the dining room I felt a tug on my arm.
“Everything okay with Bee?” Tudor asked, turning me around and bending his knees so he was level with my line of sight.
I pressed a kiss to his inviting lips and nodded. “Yeah, she apologised, but I told her there was no need.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “The room is lovely, babes.”
He kissed me on my cheek, my lips and my neck. “Thanks, we just wanted her to be happy, you know? Well, as happy as she can be after what she’s been through.”
I placed a hand on his cheek in comfort. “She will be, in time.”
He looked off to the distance, clearly fighting the horrific images of his sister being attacked. I pulled his face back to mine. “She showed me something else too.”
He looked intrigued. “She did?”
I smiled and reached back, taking one of his hands and entwining his fingers with mine, his other hand lying flat on my back. He looked down, content at the feel of our hands playing together. I met his questioning eyes. “She showed me the glass sunflower you gave her today.”
“She did?” he whispered.
I pursed my lips. “Mmm… Hmm.”
“And?” he pushed.
“And, she told me what you said about it… about me.”
I could see his blush rising up his body, smothering his face, and he buried his face in my neck in embarrassment. I let out a loud laugh at his reaction, my big softie getting all coy, and I stroked the back of his head.
Putting a hand under his chin, I forced him to look at me; he was rubbing his lips together with nerves. “What you said, it… it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” I whispered.
He lifted his lip in a lopsided smirk and shrugged, glancing up at me shyly, “You’re the most beautiful thing in my life. It’s all true. I… I just love you, that’s all.”
My gaze softened, and I teased. “Soppy, Cheddary Tudor!” and wasted no time in crushing my lips against his, losing myself in his taste. Tudor groaned at my sudden attack and pushed me to the corner of the room, a large cabinet hiding us from view. He stepped back and leered at me before he opened the top few buttons of my shirt and launched his tongue at the tops of my super-pushed-up-boobs currently spilling over my black lace balcony bra.
My eyes rolled back in my head as I whispered, “Tudor, what the hell are you doing?”
He mumbled around a mouthful of flesh. “Just having a little taste to get me through the night.”
“What if someone comes in? Boleyn’s here for god’s sake!”
“She’s with my mother and we’re hidden, no-one will see. Now be quiet, I can’t talk with my mouth full.”
Screw it. No-one will miss us for five steamy minutes!
We were wrong. Dead wrong.
We heard a surprised cough, and I pushed Tudor’s puckered mouth off the top of my slightly exposed Ta-Tas to see Henry with his hand over his eyes, facing the opposite wall. “Not again! Tudor, Mom said can you stop making out with your girlfriend for once and please let her eat and actually spend time with other people?”
My hot and bothered boyfriend never looked back at his massively embarrassed big brother and instead pounced on my lips, ignoring the intrusion.
I giggled against his mouth when I heard from the next room. “Mom!!! I can’t go back in there again. I think I just got knocked up from watching them! There are just some things you shouldn't see your little brother doing - heavy petting being top of the list!”
That did it; I burst out laughing and rushed to fasten my gaping top. I grabbed Tudor’s hand and led him to the door. “Come on, my horny man. We need to go.”
He stopped and turned, adjusting his trousers. “Erm… you go ahead, I’m just going to need a few minutes.”
That made me giggle some more, and as I was walking away I heard, “This is going to be a real long friggin’ night!”
Pamela brought out the first course, and my stomach rumbled in appreciation of the cantaloupe melon wrapped in Parma ham. Tudor was sitting beside me and Tink opposite.
Once everyone was settled and tucking in, Pamela began the grilling. “So, Tink, how are you finding Calgary?”
He tipped his head and smiled. “Well Pam-Pam, I’m loving it! It’s colder than a witch’s tit, but at least I have this gorgeous guy here to keep me warm at night, and he can make me hot in no time!” He put an arm around his Pookie’s neck and planted a wet smacker on his cheek. Tate didn’t at all see the inappropriateness of his beloved boyfriend’s comments and continued to smile sweetly as if the fairy had just spouted something profound and with substance.
The rest of the Norths gaped. Tink, being Tink, didn’t have a clue that most people around the table weren’t yet accustomed to his ways, and he carried on shoveling his starter into his mouth.
Pamela just stared at me, and I grimaced and shrugged. That was Tink – direct and unapologetic.
She continued. “So how did you two meet?” smiling at both me and the other Geordie gobshite.
Shit! I hate this story.
I went to speak, but Tink beat me to it. “Well Pam-Pam, funny story. We were twelve, it was a typical hard Northern winter, and we were both getting bullied. We met in the school’s ‘Beat the Bullies’ group.”
Tudor looked at me in shock. “You got bullied in school? Why?”
I opened my mouth to explain, but once again Tink dived in. “Because she looked like the arse-end of a truck, that’s why! Can you say ‘Wide-Load’?”
I dropped my fork and it clattered on the plate, making everyone freeze. I glared daggers at my soon-to-be-dead bestie. He looked back at me blankly.
“Thanks, Tink, why don’t you tell them why you were there?” I challenged. His eyes narrowed. “Because the kids at school were homophobic,” he delivered regally, a smug expression on his face.
“Oh, really? Nothing to do with you strutting your stuff in a bikini, fairy wings and a tutu, hiding in the rugby team’s shower offering baby oil rub-downs with guaranteed happy endings?”
He let out a soprano shriek, making everyone flinch in their seats – well, apart from Tater-Tot, who was gazing lovingly at his boyfriend, chin supported on his hand.
“You bitch! At least I wasn’t tied to a goal post and prodded with a stick!”
I laughed sarcastically. “You bloody wish you got prodded with a stick, in fact, you dreamt about it didn’t you?”
He put a hand across his chest and opened his mouth in shock before snapping it shut and nodding in agreement. “True, Boo. Loves ya.”
I winked and smiled lovingly. “Loves ya, too,” and we carried on eating our food.
I looked up after a few silent seconds and noticed several sets of eyes frozen on us, especially Boleyn’s – whoopsy! I just shrugged. This was normal, they had better get used to us, and what’s a family dinner without a bit of friendly banter?
As the night went on, we chatted about all sorts of things. Pamela was very easy to get on with. For the mother of my boyfriend, she was pretty awesome. I think she even got used to Tink and his…unique personality.
Henry proved to be an excellent story-teller, and he was regaling us with a tale about the time he had taken Samantha to Mexico for her thirtieth birthday. At the mention of that, Tudor swung his chair around and gripped my arm. “Shit, Sunshine, I don’t know the date of your birthday. How did I forget to ask that?”
I shrugged and patted his leg. “It’s okay, I don’t know yours either – though I could probably Google it. I’m sure the Tudor Chicks have that date tattooed on their weirdly obsessive little hearts,” I teased.
He leaned towards me, narrowing his eyes and dismissing my dig. “Mine’s April nineteenth.”
“Okay, mine’s January ninth.”
He shot back in his chair, nearly taking the tablecloth with him. “That’s in a couple of days.”
I grimaced. “Ugh, I know; I’ll be twenty-nine, last year of my twenties,” I said in a grumpy mood.
Tink butted in. “Mine’s February fifteenth in case you wanted to put that in your calendar too. And I like diamonds, FYI.”
Tudor held in a laugh. “Oh, yeah, thanks Tink, that was my next question.” The fantastic fairy nodded his head, face smug, completely not getting that Tudor was being sarcastic.
Tudor took my hand. “What are you doing for it?”
I looked at him like he was crazy. “Erm, nothing, except probably crying myself to sleep at the loss of my youth.”
Tink took a swig of his Zinfandel and whistled low. “I hear that sister, I’d be worried too with titties that size. Gravity will not be your friend, and you’ll be tucking your droopy nipples into your socks in no time, hey Pam-Pam?” He held up a hand for a high five. Pamela paused for a moment before clapping Tink’s hand in an awkward fashion and mouthing 'sorry' to me.
I took a deep, calming breath. Tudor kissed the back of my hand, pulling me from my Tink-induced mood. “We’ll do something nice, Sunshine, and you’ll have a good time.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
We all finished at the table, and before long everyone was ready for bed. It had been one hectic week.
I found out that Henry and Samantha lived two doors down in a smaller three-bedroomed house, and Tate was going to go back to ours with Tink.
Pamela said her goodbyes and headed off to bed, taking Boleyn with her. Tudor whispered in my ear and asked me to stay with him, and I agreed, although I really didn’t need much persuading. Tink’s ‘surprise’ for Tate had arrived that morning, the box reading, ‘Premium Plug Pleasure Pack’. Staying at Tudor’s that night was something I deemed to be essential.
Grabbing a bottle of wine and two glasses, we headed down to the basement and curled up on the sofa, listening to Newton Faulkner on the iDock. Tudor placed me on top of him. I had come to realise that he couldn’t be near me and not touch me, and most nights he wrapped me around his body like a curvy Geordie blanket – which was absolutely fine by me!
He had also shown me his newly organized room, which caused the butterflies in my stomach to go all Cirque Du Soleil. Tude, being the sweetie that he was, had cleared some of his closet and drawers and had bought me toiletries and basic clothes for the nights I would stay. I was so beyond happy with everything in my life at that moment – especially my big cuddly bear.
We were snuggling in each other’s arms when he spoke. “My mother and I spoke to Boleyn’s doctor today. He’s recommended that she goes to a retreat in Toronto for abuse victims for a few weeks, to help her deal with everything that’s happened. Mom takes her tomorrow – the sooner the better.” He paused. “My agent also called this morning, and I need to go to LA a weeks’ time for read-throughs and costume fittings on The Blade Reaper II. I knew I’d have to go soon, unfortunately."
I nodded slowly against his stomach, and my heart fell at the thought of him leaving for a prolonged period of time. I had gotten so used to him being here twenty-four seven and sleeping with him every night. I guessed this would be the start of the reality of our relationship: me being here and him being wherever it was that movie stars needed to go.
He lifted me up to his face. “Is that okay?”
I kissed him and smiled. “Of course, babes, it’s your job.”
He frowned. “I don’t want to go without you. I’m already dreading leaving to shoot this friggin’ movie. I wish I hadn’t signed on to do it and just taken a year off or something to be with you.”
I put my hand on his cheek. “Tudor, don’t be daft. You agreed to this before you even knew I existed, it’s your job. This is how our lives will be, and sooner or later we would’ve had to deal with it.”
He pecked a chaste kiss on my head. “I’d rather it would’ve been later,” he sulked.
I sighed. “I’ll be okay with the Tinkster; he’ll be pining for Tater-Tot too, but we’ll come and visit you guys any chance we get.” That made him somewhat brighter. I hated seeing him all sullen and down, but at the same time, it was reassuring that he was dreading being without me. But he will have a lot of… distractions out there.
Tudor shuffled down to meet my worried eyes. “What is it, gorgeous?”
I tucked my hair behind my ear, fidgeting. “I just worry that I’m not cut out for Hollywood. It’s a bit daunting for a northern girl from England to wrap my head around. But at the same time, I’d do anything to be with you.”
Tudor seemed to go rigid. I grabbed his arm. “Hey, I’m not running, I swear, I’m just opening up, telling you how I feel. No secrets, remember?”
“That’s not the problem.”
“What is it,
babe?” I asked cautiously.
He reached into his bag beside his bed and pulled out a folded piece of A4 paper and gave it to me to open. “It was released tonight.”
I pulled a curious, confused face and opened the folded paper. It read:
'Press Release on behalf of Tudor North: A photo was leaked to the press several weeks ago showing Tudor North with a mystery woman. There was speculation at the time that said woman was romantically linked to Mr. North. The claim was denied due to private family circumstances, but he is now able to confirm that the woman in question is his significant other. Mr. North would like to affirm that he is in a committed and serious relationship and he requests privacy and respect on this matter.'
I dropped the paper and it floated to the floor.
“I called Kate yesterday. It will have been issued to all the major entertainment channels and public relations reps by now. I did it because I remembered a conversation that we had that stuck with me, before we were even together. You said that it would mean everything to you if someone loved you so much that they would declare it for the world to hear. Well, I thought actions would speak louder than words.”
For once in my life, I had nothing to say. Literally nothing.
Tudor fidgeted with his hands at my silence, seemingly doubting his statement release. “There will be a price to pay for this, the press will want to know all about you and they will want pictures, interviews – oh and a piece of your soul,” he tried to joke, looking incredibly worried.
I shook my head. “I… I don’t care about them, I-I just can’t believe you did that.”
He lowered his eyes and shuffled on the mattress. “Was it wrong? Did I fuck up?”
I shifted towards him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Wrong? Bloody hell, I’m speechless. I thought you wanted off the radar, not to be the bloody bulls-eye target?”
He hunched his shoulders. “I want everyone to know we’re together, that I belong to you and you to me. A quiet life is nothing if I don’t have you.”