worked from home for the rest of the day and Friday and decided to take a break for the weekend. It was Ma’s birthday meal on Sunday and I still needed to buy her a gift and help with the decorations. Party may have been a slight exaggeration of what was happening. Ma always liked things small so basically it would be my sisters and I, Jakey, Pops and maybe Saz and Mills if they could come. So Sunday roast with balloons.
When Sunday came I was running late as usual. The day Jakey and I get out of the house on time would be the day hell freezes over. We had almost got there on time until I realized I’d left the birthday cake on the kitchen table and had to turn back. By the time we got to the house I could hear that everyone was already there. Pops opened the door and immediately took the cake from me as he ruffled Jakeys hair.
“Hey sprog. Hey Jacob.” Pops kissed the top of my head. He called me sprog because I was the youngest and was also usually the brat out of my sisters and I. He never called Jacob, Jakey. Pops believed he needed to man up quick since he was outnumbered by females in our family. I heard laughter coming from the dining room and then above that I heard a loud bellow of laughter. I knew that laugh and that laugh should not be in my family house. How the hell had he infiltrated my family? Lana. I stormed into the dining room to see Deacon being fawned over by Tara, Ma, Saz and Mills with Lana looking on at them with self-righteous glee. Joe was here as well and he was laughing right along with Deacon. Lana was at complete ease as usual with her legs resting on Joes lap. Only Mara wasn’t laughing not that that was unusual. What was weird was that her hair looked slightly disheveled. Mara was always immaculate in her appearance, not a strand of hair out of place. Something was up with her but I had no time for that at the moment.
“What are you doing here?” I’d been brought up to be polite and show good manners to everyone but this had pissed me right off and I was in no mood to feign politeness. Would you believe Tara and Ma crowded into him like lionesses protecting their cub? The bastard had charmed them and sucked them in. Lana looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows. “You, I’ll deal with later.”
“Dana, wherever you dropped your manners, you go right there and pick them up. Deacon is a guest. Lana invited him. Now take a seat. You’re late.” Ma used the same tone she used on us when we were girls and we’d been caught swearing at each other. I took my seat but not before glaring at Deacon who looked delighted with himself and giving Lana death daggers which I hope she realized meant that I was going to kill her later.
Dinner proceeded as normal, the only difference being that rather than us all pigging out like a normal Sunday in front of the tv with a beer, we all sat at the table and we had prawn cocktail as a starter and apple pie for dessert. My whole family was addicted to the drug that was Deacon Greenwood. Even Pops who didn’t much like any man that wasn’t family coming to our house was talking with him and laughing. Deacon rattled off stories about his life and the things he did when he was at home. Once he mentioned that he loved wrestling and football even Jakey turned traitor and was talking with him. Jakey took after his granddad in that he wasn’t that fond of outsiders on a normal occasion. I often wondered if it was genetic thing or a consequence of the things that happened between me and his dad. Either way this had no bearing on what I was witnessing right now which was an intense debate between Jakey and Deacon about who was the better sportsman? John Cena or Van Persie. What a stupid conversation. I was knocking back the wine and was pretty sure I’d gotten through a bottle of rosé all to myself and was now starting on the bottle of red. I
When Sunday came I was running late as usual. The day Jakey and I get out of the house on time would be the day hell freezes over. We had almost got there on time until I realized I’d left the birthday cake on the kitchen table and had to turn back. By the time we got to the house I could hear that everyone was already there. Pops opened the door and immediately took the cake from me as he ruffled Jakeys hair.
“Hey sprog. Hey Jacob.” Pops kissed the top of my head. He called me sprog because I was the youngest and was also usually the brat out of my sisters and I. He never called Jacob, Jakey. Pops believed he needed to man up quick since he was outnumbered by females in our family. I heard laughter coming from the dining room and then above that I heard a loud bellow of laughter. I knew that laugh and that laugh should not be in my family house. How the hell had he infiltrated my family? Lana. I stormed into the dining room to see Deacon being fawned over by Tara, Ma, Saz and Mills with Lana looking on at them with self-righteous glee. Joe was here as well and he was laughing right along with Deacon. Lana was at complete ease as usual with her legs resting on Joes lap. Only Mara wasn’t laughing not that that was unusual. What was weird was that her hair looked slightly disheveled. Mara was always immaculate in her appearance, not a strand of hair out of place. Something was up with her but I had no time for that at the moment.
“What are you doing here?” I’d been brought up to be polite and show good manners to everyone but this had pissed me right off and I was in no mood to feign politeness. Would you believe Tara and Ma crowded into him like lionesses protecting their cub? The bastard had charmed them and sucked them in. Lana looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows. “You, I’ll deal with later.”
“Dana, wherever you dropped your manners, you go right there and pick them up. Deacon is a guest. Lana invited him. Now take a seat. You’re late.” Ma used the same tone she used on us when we were girls and we’d been caught swearing at each other. I took my seat but not before glaring at Deacon who looked delighted with himself and giving Lana death daggers which I hope she realized meant that I was going to kill her later.
Dinner proceeded as normal, the only difference being that rather than us all pigging out like a normal Sunday in front of the tv with a beer, we all sat at the table and we had prawn cocktail as a starter and apple pie for dessert. My whole family was addicted to the drug that was Deacon Greenwood. Even Pops who didn’t much like any man that wasn’t family coming to our house was talking with him and laughing. Deacon rattled off stories about his life and the things he did when he was at home. Once he mentioned that he loved wrestling and football even Jakey turned traitor and was talking with him. Jakey took after his granddad in that he wasn’t that fond of outsiders on a normal occasion. I often wondered if it was genetic thing or a consequence of the things that happened between me and his dad. Either way this had no bearing on what I was witnessing right now which was an intense debate between Jakey and Deacon about who was the better sportsman? John Cena or Van Persie. What a stupid conversation. I was knocking back the wine and was pretty sure I’d gotten through a bottle of rosé all to myself and was now starting on the bottle of red. I
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