Chapter 33
33
‘Come on, little brother, spill!’ Tristan’s twin sister, Thea, the older of the pair by four minutes, had a teasing look in her eye as she cut him a slice of cherry and almond cake and poured him a cup of tea. ‘You don’t just descend on me unannounced. What do you need to talk about?’
Tristan shook his head, and, suddenly peckish, took a big bite of cake. ‘I don’t know what you mean, sis. Can’t a guy just pop in and see his family on his way home?’ He’d decided on the spur of the moment to look in on Thea, Dylan and Cora. After such a lovely day in Bristol with Charlotte he didn’t just want to go home to an empty house and although he wasn’t prepared to give Thea any gossip, he still wanted her company.
‘Way home from where?’ Thea asked. ‘Don’t tell me you’re working weekends again? Surely that’s against some kind of employment law?’
‘I wasn’t working,’ Tristan replied. ‘Although it’s not unusual to have to check in at weekends once a site goes live, especially one that’s got so much potential for disaster. And Observatory Field’s in a tricky transitional state right now.’
‘Aren’t we all?’ Thea replied, then sighed. ‘I feel as though my life’s not going to get back on track until I’m out of here and into a home the kids and I can really call our own. How long until it’s going to be ready up there?’
Tristan gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘As fast as I can make it happen, so you shouldn’t be complaining about me working all the hours God sends on it!’
‘I’d rather not be responsible for your professional burnout,’ Thea countered. ‘So please tell me you’ve been doing something fun today.’
Tristan’s slight pause was all his sister needed to jump in on the attack. ‘Oh, so there is something to tell? Come on – if I can’t have my own thrills at the moment, I can live vicariously through you!’
Keeping her waiting, Tristan took a sip of his tea and then another bite of the cake. ‘This is really good,’ he said between swallows. ‘Ever thought of becoming a professional baker?’
Thea snorted. ‘That ship has definitely sailed. But thanks anyway – it’s good to have an appreciative audience. Now, you were saying?’
Tristan sighed. He had voluntarily popped in, after all, so he should expect some questions. ‘If you must know, I spent the afternoon in Bristol.’
‘Oh, yes? Martha called you up for another I won’t insist on strings if you don’t date?’ Thea replied archly. ‘What a surprise.’
Tristan shook his head. ‘Not Martha. I think we both know that was going nowhere.’
Thea raised a speculative eyebrow. ‘Then who? Don’t tell me you’ve actually met someone new?’
Tristan kept quiet. Having asked Charlotte not to spill too many beans to his grandmother, he felt like a hypocrite confiding in his sister about their first date. Over the years there had been ebbs and flows in their relationship as siblings but they’d grown closer after Thea’s split from her partner, and Tristan relished that closeness. It made up for many years when he’d been unable to confide in her about anything. Especially the pain of losing their parents. Perhaps he did owe her a brief update.
‘Maybe,’ he said guardedly. ‘But it’s early days, so please don’t give me the third degree.’
‘Anyone we know?’ Thea asked as Cora, high on the fizzy bootlaces Tristan had given both kids when he’d arrived, courtesy of a stop at the corner shop, zoomed through the living room and out of the patio doors into the small back garden.
‘Charlotte, Gran’s new lodger,’ Tristan said quickly. ‘And as I said, it’s early days.’
Thea let out a whistle. ‘Are you sure that’s a wise move? I mean won’t it get a bit awkward if it all goes south?’ She shook her head, reconsidering. ‘But then, to be fair, you don’t often pop in on Gran these days unless I nag you to, so perhaps Gran won’t notice anyway!’
‘That’s not fair,’ Tristan protested. ‘I might not be as regular a visitor as you, but I do try and see her when I can.’
‘Well, at least if you’re dating her lodger, you’ve got more of an excuse to check in on her than usual,’ Thea countered. ‘And even you can keep a relationship going for a few weeks, I’m sure.’
Tristan said nothing and took another bite of the cake. He’d stopped rising to Thea’s comments about his love life some time ago, and he was too good a brother to carp back about the state of her own. Things weren’t great between Thea and her ex, and the wounds were still raw.
‘Well, little brother, I hope it all goes well for you,’ Thea added. ‘You deserve a bit of fun. You work far too hard, in my opinion, and if Charlotte can drag you away from your desk, then I already like her.’ She sipped her tea. ‘I met her the other day, and she seems nice. And, much as it squicks me out to think about it, at least one of us is getting some romantic action!’
Tristan did his best not to choke on his mouthful of tea. Some subjects were definitely off limits, and his sex life was one of them. ‘Early days, sis,’ he muttered. ‘And even if it wasn’t…’
‘…you wouldn’t be giving me details, anyway!’ Thea teased. ‘Believe me, Tris, I have no desire to know the, er, ins and outs, so to speak. I’m just glad you’re having a good time.’
Despite his best efforts not to, Tristan couldn’t help smiling. ‘I am,’ he said. ‘And for the moment that’s all you need to know.’
A little later, as he hugged Thea and his niece and nephew goodbye, Tristan reflected on how lucky he was. He hadn’t always felt this way, and their family losses had taught him that he shouldn’t take that feeling for granted. But, for the moment, he was happy to embrace it. And as he drove the fifteen minutes or so between Thea’s house and his own, he put his mind to what to cook Charlotte for lunch the next day. He was by nature extremely cautious, but what harm would it do to be a little less so in the pursuit of pleasure and happiness? Today had been a great start, and, if he had his way, tomorrow was going to be even better.