banter.
‘Once you’ve helped Aunty Esther to wash up. You should never leave a job half done, Holly.’
‘You always say that, Daddy.’ Holly turned to my mother. ‘Can we clean up so I can help Daddy with the tree?’
‘Of course, Holly.’
I went over to Sam and took some of the bags from him and he followed me into the hallway. ‘Where’s Jack?’
‘I’m not sure. He might be with my Dad. Perhaps he got fed up of baking.’
I went through to the drawing room to take a look and, sure enough, there was Jack on the sofa with my Dad looking through a book about WWII fighter jets. ‘Ooh, Dad! You’ve got the good stuff out.’
‘Don’t be facetious, Katie. I found it in the library. Quite an impressive collection in there. You know though, just because you’re not interested in the mechanics of a Hawker Nimrod or a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, doesn’t mean that nobody else will be.’
‘These planes are great, Daddy!’ Jack glanced at Sam before returning his attention to the book.
‘Well don’t bother Uncle Charles too much now.’
‘Nonsense, Sam,’ Dad said. ‘We’re having a grand old time. And it’s nice to speak to someone who’s actually interested in these glorious machines. You go do your thing and leave Jack here with me.’
As Sam and I left the room, he pulled me close and whispered, ‘I guess Jack won your father over then.’
‘Probably got fed up of Esther bossing him around more like.’
Sam laughed. ‘That’s the thing with my son, he’s more of a laid-back-please-himself kind of child. Whereas Holly, she seems all sweetness and innocence, but that four year old can hold her own with the best of them. I’ll bet she’s been bossing Esther around.’
I giggled and placed my hand on his arm. The muscles rippled beneath my touch and I had that fluttering in my belly again. ‘Well she’s a brave little girl if that’s true.’
‘She reminds me of you in many ways, Katie. You always stood your ground with your mother, even when you were in primary school. Some might even say that you were a bit stubborn.’
‘Well if I am, I get it from her,’ I replied, then the truth of the statement dawned on me. Was that why I struggled to get on with my mother? Were we really too similar; locking horns over the smallest of details.
‘Hey, let’s go get the tree so we can decorate it.’ I nudged him towards the kitchen.
‘Okay but Karl said something about Angelo buying a huge fairy to go on the top.’
He met my eyes and we both burst into laughter. There was nothing camp about my brother or Angelo but Karl had walked right into that one. Knowing my brother as I did, he’d probably said it deliberately.
***
I stood next to Holly as Sam untied the tree from the Freelander’s roof and I almost gasped when she took hold of my hand. She did it as if it was the most natural thing in the world and I realised that for her, it probably was. At four years old, she wouldn’t be so hindered by the reservations that often affect us as we age. She saw that her father knew me and trusted me and followed suit. Even when we returned to the kitchen, Holly kept hold of me and it was surprisingly nice feeling her tiny hand in mine. It made me feel proud that she was happy being close to me. She certainly didn’t mince her words and I’d already learnt that she wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to without standing up for herself. So it was kind of like I had her approval.
‘Where shall I put this, Esther?’ Sam asked my mother. I bristled a little. I mean, he was only deferring to her as the matriarch of the house, but it had been my idea.
‘It’s a real tree?’ she asked and I lowered my eyes. Was she about to go off on one? She could be so fussy. Growing up, we’d had real Christmas trees some years but also had a variety of synthetic ones too. I think it had depended on my mother’s mood that year and what the media favoured. Some years it was all about saving
‘Once you’ve helped Aunty Esther to wash up. You should never leave a job half done, Holly.’
‘You always say that, Daddy.’ Holly turned to my mother. ‘Can we clean up so I can help Daddy with the tree?’
‘Of course, Holly.’
I went over to Sam and took some of the bags from him and he followed me into the hallway. ‘Where’s Jack?’
‘I’m not sure. He might be with my Dad. Perhaps he got fed up of baking.’
I went through to the drawing room to take a look and, sure enough, there was Jack on the sofa with my Dad looking through a book about WWII fighter jets. ‘Ooh, Dad! You’ve got the good stuff out.’
‘Don’t be facetious, Katie. I found it in the library. Quite an impressive collection in there. You know though, just because you’re not interested in the mechanics of a Hawker Nimrod or a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, doesn’t mean that nobody else will be.’
‘These planes are great, Daddy!’ Jack glanced at Sam before returning his attention to the book.
‘Well don’t bother Uncle Charles too much now.’
‘Nonsense, Sam,’ Dad said. ‘We’re having a grand old time. And it’s nice to speak to someone who’s actually interested in these glorious machines. You go do your thing and leave Jack here with me.’
As Sam and I left the room, he pulled me close and whispered, ‘I guess Jack won your father over then.’
‘Probably got fed up of Esther bossing him around more like.’
Sam laughed. ‘That’s the thing with my son, he’s more of a laid-back-please-himself kind of child. Whereas Holly, she seems all sweetness and innocence, but that four year old can hold her own with the best of them. I’ll bet she’s been bossing Esther around.’
I giggled and placed my hand on his arm. The muscles rippled beneath my touch and I had that fluttering in my belly again. ‘Well she’s a brave little girl if that’s true.’
‘She reminds me of you in many ways, Katie. You always stood your ground with your mother, even when you were in primary school. Some might even say that you were a bit stubborn.’
‘Well if I am, I get it from her,’ I replied, then the truth of the statement dawned on me. Was that why I struggled to get on with my mother? Were we really too similar; locking horns over the smallest of details.
‘Hey, let’s go get the tree so we can decorate it.’ I nudged him towards the kitchen.
‘Okay but Karl said something about Angelo buying a huge fairy to go on the top.’
He met my eyes and we both burst into laughter. There was nothing camp about my brother or Angelo but Karl had walked right into that one. Knowing my brother as I did, he’d probably said it deliberately.
***
I stood next to Holly as Sam untied the tree from the Freelander’s roof and I almost gasped when she took hold of my hand. She did it as if it was the most natural thing in the world and I realised that for her, it probably was. At four years old, she wouldn’t be so hindered by the reservations that often affect us as we age. She saw that her father knew me and trusted me and followed suit. Even when we returned to the kitchen, Holly kept hold of me and it was surprisingly nice feeling her tiny hand in mine. It made me feel proud that she was happy being close to me. She certainly didn’t mince her words and I’d already learnt that she wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to without standing up for herself. So it was kind of like I had her approval.
‘Where shall I put this, Esther?’ Sam asked my mother. I bristled a little. I mean, he was only deferring to her as the matriarch of the house, but it had been my idea.
‘It’s a real tree?’ she asked and I lowered my eyes. Was she about to go off on one? She could be so fussy. Growing up, we’d had real Christmas trees some years but also had a variety of synthetic ones too. I think it had depended on my mother’s mood that year and what the media favoured. Some years it was all about saving
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