by M R Field
“Not sure. Apparently, he’s giving it to me tonight.” I wink at her as Trice gags to the side.
“Nice? Is that all you’ve got?” Trice clears her throat as her eyes narrow at Jules. “I’ve known Aidan since I was a kid. You can do better than that.”
“He’s alright, I suppose,” she adds, her eyes nervously scoping out Trice. I chuckle from my seat, as the normally abrupt Jules is now suddenly gun shy. Her fingers curl under the edge of the picnic rug as she avoids all our eyes. Trice glances around at us for an explanation to her odd behaviour, but we have nothing.
“You alright?” Maxi nudges her with her shoulder gently.
“Yeah,” she nods, as her shoulders sag. Her face tilts up slowly as she takes a deep breath. “We kissed a few months ago, and it was the most amazing kiss of my life.” Her eyes light up briefly, until she continues, diminishing her spark, “then nothing. We have gone from giving each other shit to almost being cordial.” She pushes her tongue against her bottom lip and shakes her head. “Now, he practically talks to me like I’m a colleague or something. I was half expecting him to call me Julia. If he did, I’d kick him in the junk—hard.”
“So you like him now?” Trice asks, shifting on her knees to get more comfortable.
“I liked him from the moment I met him, even if I did think he wasn’t into chicks. There’s something about him … I think I’ve stuffed up.”
“Nah, he likes you, babe,” Trice adds, touching her nose. “I have inside information.”
We all stare at Trice, waiting for her to reveal the sacred gossip. She grins and reaches down towards the dip but Trin is too quick, pulling it back out of her reach.
“Hey!”
“Nope. Don’t be mean. Can’t you see Jules is in pain? Spill, wench.”
Trice huffs and glares at Trin before turning back to Jules. “He likes you. Like a whole heap. He actually thought he fucked up by attacking you against the wall. He thought he was ‘rough’.” She shudders. “Sorry, he’s like a brother. Even as he told me this, I had to cover his mouth. The dude likes you hardcore.”
Jules sits up straighter, her eyes scanning across the top of Trice’s head to Aidan in the distance.
“Really?” She shifts to the side to see him better.
“Oh yeah. He just doesn’t know how to tell you.”
“He could just show me.” Jules bites down on her lip, rolling it between her teeth.
“Or, you could show him,” Trice adds, cheekily.
“Okay.” Jules pushes her hand against the ground to lift herself upright. “Be right back.”
“Um, what?” Trin squeaks, watching Jules make her way over to Aidan.
“Let her go,” Trice warns. Under her breath, she mutters, “Damn, I hope I’m right.”
“About what?” I ask, my eyes not leaving Jules’s back.
“That Aidan likes her. I kinda told a fib.”
The rest of us gasp. Jules is merely metres away from her target.
“No fuckin’ way,” Trin scolds. “You did not just set her up.”
“I had to. I was sick of Aidan moping. His bullshit answers of ‘nothing’ were pissing me off. Robbie told me how he saw them dry humping against the wall. I just went from there.”
“Well, I hope you’re right.” My skin prickles as I watch Jules hold up her hand to pass through the group to get to Aidan. She steps towards him as he holds the football and before my heart has the chance to dive up out of my throat in nerves, she reaches for his shirt collar and pulls him towards her, kissing his mouth as if she owns it. He freezes for a moment before he throws the football down to the ground and wraps his hands under her butt and hoists her up into his arms. Trice lifts her fingers to her lips and wolf whistles, sending the boys into fits of catcalls.
“Fuck, that’s hot.” Maxi sighs.
Jules and Aidan continue to kiss fervently as an elderly couple walking their dog nearby stop and point at them for a moment. The boys stare at the kissy couple for a moment and begin to stroll back over to us.
Alex cups his lips and shouts, “Get a room!” Before laughing and punching Ty lightly in shoulder.
“Those boys just can’t keep their hands off each other, can they?” Trin scoffs as Ty tries to put Alex in a headlock. Alex pushes out of his grasp, jogging the last few steps back to Trice.
“Did you see that?” Ty straightens and points his thumb over his shoulder. “We have live action on the lawns. I bet the codgers at the bowling club are going to need to take their angina tablets.”
“We can still see it, too.” I pick at the crackers sitting on the top of my belly in a neat row, “Trice instigated it. She was our little cupid.”
“Well, I hope they start stripping soon. My money is on them hooking up sooner rather than later.” Ty grabs a handful of chips and attempts to push the entire lot into his mouth. Ugh.
“You guys made a bet?” Trice shrieks.
“All is fair in love and war,” Ty concedes. “Besides, they had that whole tension bullshit going on. Everyone knows that tension leads to sex. I bet for New Year’s Eve, and my date is the closest out of these schmucks’.” he points over to Alex and I. “Which leads to me winning if they bang.”
“You idiot.” Trinity throws a chip at him.
“I was just saying what everyone was thinking.” He chews through his mouthful. Bits of chip spill out the sides of his mouth. “Besides, good on Jules for making the move, but who does that?”
“I said it was hot,” Maxi interjects, smiling over to Jules. “She was a woman on a mission.”
“Yeah, a mission of eventual vaginal destruction,” Ty adds.
“You’re a classless, grade-A dickhead.” Robbie says, bending down slightly to kiss me on the forehead.
“I thought I was funny.” Ty pouts. “Wasn’t I?”
He looks over to Maxi, and frowns as she ignores him and opens another Coke can. I tilt my head back so Robbie can lean forward and kiss me. His warm lips taste mine briefly, and I can smell the salt from his skin. My pulse spikes and his eyes twinkle back down towards mine. Wow. He might actually follow through with his plan later.
He brushes his lips quickly against mine again and heads over to the Esky to grab a Gatorade. By now, the girls are clapping, and I look away from Robbie to see Jules and Aidan smiling and walking hand in hand back over to us. So stinking cute.
“Hey lovebirds,” Trice teases. “Nice to see you come up for air before I had to administer CPR.”
Aidan laughs as he pulls Jules into his side, whispering in her ear. She blushes, but not before she gives him a scolding look. They move to the grass at the edge of the rug, and Aidan sits on his side with Jules leaning against his hip. I rub my belly contentedly as I look around at the group. This is what family is, I mentally tell bubs. These guys will be part of our next adventure.
My moment is broken as the ringtone of Trace Adkins’s “Hot Mama” interrupts us. Robbie put that song on my phone a week ago and I haven’t had a chance to get rid of it. Now that it is blaring loudly and my bag is out of reach, a silence falls across our group as Maxi passes me my bag.
“Don’t ask,” I mumble as I smile in appreciation at her. I grab my bag and dive my hands into it, and miraculously find my phone immediately through the junk. I pull it out and as my eyes focus on the screen, I freeze as ‘mother’ flashes on the screen. I swipe my finger across it, to answer it and bring it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Hazel.” My mother’s excited voice blares into my ear. “So good to hear from you.”
“Um, you called me.” I shrug.
“Well, yes, that’s right … you’re right. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am in town. I’m here for a conference. I need to see you, Hazel. This nonsense has gone on for far too long. Are you free today?”
My chest tightens and my clothes feel even tighter. Today of all days.
“Wh … what?” I stammer.
“Oh Hazel,” my m
other scoffs playfully. “I said, I’d like to see you, today. As soon as possible.”
“Why?” My voice is hollow from shock. “You rang me a few months ago and told me never to contact you again if I didn’t reconcile with Jerry. You said this baby was an abomination, just like he did.” My throat cracks as the bile threatens to rise, stinging my vocal chords.
“Oh Hazel, I was in shock! But, I’ve had some time to think about it. A grandkid will be a good addition. I can explain better in person. What do you say? Can we meet and catch up?”
Has she forgotten what date today is? My gut is telling me this is a bad idea, but my heart is giving her the benefit of the doubt, seeing as she is going to be a grandmother soon.
“Okay,” I murmur. “You can meet me at Robbie’s bar. I will text you the address. See you in half an hour.”
“Excellent.” Her voices strains as she sniffs quickly on the phone. “I will see you then.”
“Oh, and Mother?” I call out to her.
“Yes?” Her voice is tentative.
“This is your last chance. If you insult me, Robbie, or our child, you will never see us
again. Have I made my point?”
For a moment she is silent on the other end of the phone before I hear a strangled “Yes.”
It takes a moment for me post-phone call to realise what I’m doing, and another long couple of minutes convincing Robbie that I need to do this and I need to do this alone. As I head towards the tram tracks, I tell myself that no matter what she has to say, none of it will harm any of us. Especially our baby. I smile and rub my stomach affectionately as I wait by the tram stop. This is going to be life-changing. I concede.
“Skin to bone.”
Linkin Park
ROBBIE
Watching Hazel go and meet her bitch mother was not sitting right with me. The woman didn’t even wish her a fucking happy birthday. She’s still a demanding bitch. Some things never change. Right now, life is stressful enough without any more bullshit. I hope Hazel knows what she is doing. I have to trust her judgement, but fuck do I want to throat punch her family. Now is not the time to suddenly give a shit. That moment was months ago when her mother finally fuckin’ called Hazel. That night, Hazel had told me the horrible things her mother said. How, both parents had been talking to each other and instead of supporting her, their reactions were both very similar. “You should be ashamed.” “You have disgraced us!” It seemed that their divorce had given them a united front when it came to trying to make Hazel feel like shit. No fucking more. If she never spoke to either of them after that fuckin’ call, it would have been too fuckin’ soon.
Hazel has a soft heart and those fuckers know it. Hence, off she’s going to my club to hear what shit her mother is sprouting. She wants to see her? Right before our baby is due? Nope. Doesn’t sit right at all.
I sit with the gang for a while, trying to enjoy the glimmer of sunshine after a frosty winter. Spring is here but being in Melbourne, it still means that the sun can flick in and out like the arsehole it is. The urban backdrop is cleverly hidden in the native trees that surround us. It’s great to be outside and not always stuck behind a desk, working the books, or behind the bar taking orders.
I pull my phone from my pocket and check for messages, but still nothing. The blank screen just stares back at me.
“Should we hit up the pub on the way home?” Ty asks, reaching into a Doritos packet. “There might be a match on or something.”
“Footy finished a few weeks ago,” Aidan says, grabbing the bag from Ty’s hand. “But there could be a match of rugby or something.”
“Yeah, maybe …” I glance down again. “From here, we are ten mins from the club; the other pub is fifteen minutes the other way.” I hold my phone up. “If she calls, I need to make a dash, that’s all. Just in case.”
“Whipped.” Ty’s hands move quickly in a striking motion in front of his chest. “You just need the collar and you’re set.”
“I’ll borrow yours next time, dickhead,” I snap, not caring that my phone is out of my pocket again, and I’m checking it, again. Still no message. No news is good news, right? “I just have a bad feeling, that’s all. Her mum isn’t a nice person.”
“Do your balls tingle?” Ty asks earnestly. “When shit is going down, my balls tingle.”
I stare at him for a moment in disbelief until I realise he is being stone-cold serious. “I don’t give two fucks about your balls, man. Seriously, that’s yuck.”
He flinches as if I’ve punched him and shakes his head. “My balls are offended that you don’t care.”
“Your balls won’t feel anything if I give them a swift kick, thus saving humanity from future dipshits,” Trin pipes up, stacking a few of the last remaining containers together. “Your balls need to pipe the fuck down.”
“I might head home.” Trice stands, wiping off the blades of grass that have stuck to her legs. “Deacon is teaching me how to flair more, so I have a few bottles at home to practise with. He won’t let me light up the bar though.” She frowns for a moment and I raise my eyebrow at her.
“Not gonna fuckin’ happen,” I warn. “You light it, I’ll make you a kitchen bitch. No returns.”
She puffs out a dramatic sigh and tilts her head up to look at the sky. “So unfair!” She pretends to wail. Alex pinches her side and she squeals, hitting him across the chest. They laugh and he hooks his arm over her shoulder.
The others stand and pack up the rug and stacked containers, all the while Aidan and Jules are barely a breath-width apart from each other. Nice to see them get their act together.
“I might head with the boys for a bit, then I’ll see you later, okay? Lily should be over by seven.” Alex kisses her temple before releasing Trice’s shoulders, as she begins to walk away, his eyes not leaving her. The girls and Aidan wave us goodbye before following Trice through the park to the tram stop.
“Lily coming by herself?” Ty asks as he throws the football into the air.
“Yeah. I banned the douche from our house after he inferred that Bea and Hazel were strippers. He was close to getting his nose made into a cavern. Lily doesn’t seem to mind though, being without him at these catch-ups. Now, all I have to do is just put forward ‘operation drop the douche’ into full swing.”
“Introduce her to another guy who’s better.”
“A shoe is better than him. Even with dog shit on it.” They continue to banter while I vague in and out. I feel like an arsehole for not really paying attention to them, but this feeling in my gut is not going away.
A vibration nuzzles against my leg as my hand dives into my pocket, eager to retrieve my phone that is singing “SexyBack” by JT. Well played, Hazel. I glance at the screen and see Mamma and feel a pang of disappointment for a moment, before the Mamma guilt settles in, and then I answer it, bringing it to my ear.
“Hey Mamma,” I greet, causing Alex and Ty to yell, “Hey Feli!”
“Ciao, Roberto, who are you with?” she asks in her rich Italian dialect, making me slightly homesick.
“Just Alex and Ty. We just had a picnic with the girls.”
“Where’s Hazel? I want to say happy birthday.”
“Sorry, Mamma, she just left to meet her mother. I will tell her though.” I hear shuffling on the other end and ask, “How’s everyone?”
“I’m good, your father is good and … Nonna is not bad.” My gut tightens as ‘not bad’ in our family generally means something is up and Mamma is trying to cover for it.
“How’s Nonna?” My voice gentles, and my mamma’s short intake of breath is heard clearly through the line.
“You should come home for a visit.” She stalls. “It would be good if you came home.”
“Mamma …”
“Roberto, not now.”
“Mamma, please.”
“Okay … she is sick, Roberto. Very sick.”
I swallow the lump of lead that has formed at the back of my throat. “What’s wr
ong with her?”
“Ah, she … has cancer.”
“How long?” The words feel like I am gargling barbed wire in my mouth.
“One year … maybe two.” Her voice lowers. “She’s near me.”
My fist clenches around the phone and I fight to control my breathing. Alex notices the tension emaciating around me and lifts his chin in question, but I shake my head to indicate that I’ll tell him later.
“Can I talk to her?”
“Yes,” she whispers. “But you know nothing, okay? No telling Beatrice.”
I hate lying to my sister, but telling the truth would shatter her. I hear muffled murmurs and Mamma’s hand covers the mouthpiece. After a little while, Nonna’s soft voice weaves through.
“Roberto, when are you going to visit me?”
My heart sinks, as even through the phone, I can tell she is not herself. My bubbly Nonna sounds as if she is wasting away.
“Once the baby is born, Nonna. Only a few weeks away and then you can meet the baby.” A lump gathers in my throat, but I push it down.
“Good, good. Is Hazel well?”
“Yes, she is.” But I wish you were too. “Both are doing fine. The baby is very strong,
from what the doctors say.” I try to lighten the mood as the boys signal for me to follow them across the grass. “So, you’re keeping busy? Staying out of trouble?”
“Of course. I got my hair done yesterday. Your mamma drove me out to see my hairdresser.”
For a moment I am relieved. She can’t be that sick, can she, if she is driving an hour to get to her old hairdresser, Kathleen? I can only hope. It was the only hairdresser Nonna trusted, and if you tried to get her weekly appointment, she would probably attack you with her walking frame.
“You get a Mohawk?” I tease.
“Don’t be stupid,” she scolds. “But, I heard something,”
“Oh?”
“Well, Kathleen was cutting my hair, and she said that Patricia was going to lose her shop.” What? Hazel’s mother?