3. Max
CHAPTER 3
MAX
I watched my parents lock the door of the house where I’d grown up since the age of eight behind them for one of the last times. I wasn’t sure how to feel, practicality and sadness interwoven in a complicated cloth covered with memories.
Overwhelmingly, I was worried about Rose and Seph. Seph would be trying to hold everything together for everyone else and would implode piece by piece. That was if he was still the same as he had been pre-Georgia when he’d toppled into random one-night stands and late night into early morning partying, living with whichever of his siblings was willing to put up with him.
But that had been some time ago. Since just before he’d met Georgia, he’d chilled out, grown-up, realised how toxic the relationship he’d had in his early twenties had been. Since Georgia, he’d become one of my best friends only I’d never tell him that, of course because I was frequently, as Vic told me, emotionally stunted.
I carried a box of champagne, walking behind everyone else as we routed from our childhood home to my house, which had been Victoria’s grandfather’s home and where she’d grown up. She was sentimental about the house, but that hadn’t stopped her adding things to it, or changing the layout, or finding the perfect wallpaper that happened to be two hundred quid a roll, and I was pretty sure she’d lied about that price.
I stayed lost in meandering thoughts, following my pack, until we reached my home, a river of children pouring out of the door to meet us, including Rose.
She was so petite, but she always had been, a slight, slender dot of a kid who reminded me of a red-headed Matilda given her book obsession. She was always pale, the red-headed complexion more obvious at the moment though and I wondered how much of that was due to her health.
One of my own kids launched themselves at me as if they hadn’t seen me for days, when it’d been hours and they’d have spent most of Saturday with the cricket team they’d been playing for. Will and Maddox were our twin boys, because it seemed that twins ran in our family and why should our plans for second and last baby not have an added bonus. They weren’t identical by any stretch. Will was my mirror, while Maddox looked like Victoria and had her personality as well. He was bookish and intellectual already, totally able to hack into whatever block we had on the internet and allow Lucy free range on it. Maddox was also stupidly good at cricket, so much so he’d been scouted already and it looked like we were heading down the pathway of potential professional sports if that was what he wanted.
Lucy was our eldest and was almost a replica of Claire, possibly because she’d spent a lot of time at her aunts. She was close with Claire and Killian’s four daughters, which didn’t bode well because they were wild like their mother, and I often wondered why Killian hadn’t carried out his promise of building a boarding school for girls in the middle of the moors.
“Daddy, we’re playing cricket in the garden and Uncle Eli got hit in the head with the ball.” Will was finding this hilarious.
“What sort of cricket ball was it?” We had a couple knocking around.
“A leather.” Will’s grin grew wider.
“Who bowled it?”
“Uncle Owen.”
“That’s probably not okay then.” I winced. If it’d been one of the kids, there wouldn’t have been much power to it. Owen was actually pretty good at cricket, so Eli was probably going to be sporting a nice bruise. “How hurt is he?”
“Mamma’s got him to put ice on it. And she’s given him a beer.” Will thought beer solved every adult’s problem. I should be concerned why he thought that, but I was leaving it for Vic to sort out.
We headed into my house, the floor of which was covered in jackets, shoes and muddy footprints. A couple of dogs were walloping around, giddy as fuck, and I trod on a piece of lego straight away.
There would be twenty kids knocking about, making this an unorganised kids’ party, which was my – and most other adults – idea of hell.
It seemed my siblings had finally stopped with the baby making, although there was still the chance that someone would have a late addition. This was one of the first times in years that no one was pregnant.
I wondered who’d drawn the short straw and was on kid duty. There was a good chance no one had volunteered and that wasn’t going to be me, and given I had a box of champagne in my hands, it wouldn’t be my wife either.
I found Vic in the kitchen, doing something with Lucy’s hair that was as long and as dark as her mother’s.
“Have you heard?” I placed a hand on the small of Vic’s back.
She finished tying a bobble in Lucy’s hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Go and play.”
“I’m too old to play.” My daughter gave us a look of disgust.
“You’re never too old to play.” I shook my head at her. “It’s just the definition of play changes.”
“You’re weird.” She stuck her tongue at me, gave me a hug and then launched herself in Eliza’s direction, who was holding court with Rose and Niamh, Claire’s second demon child.
Victoria wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her head to my shoulder. “Georgia told me about Rose this afternoon. Seph messaged her to say he was telling you.”
“He told everyone else this afternoon too. It’s shit, isn’t it?” I didn’t know how else to comprehend it.
Vic slipped her hand under my T-shirt. “It is. But it’s a birth defect, so it’s one of those things. It’s a straightforward procedure. She’ll be back at school the week after, no scarring just check-ups for a few years after and there'll be no long-term complications. There are a lot of worse things. You need to keep it in perspective.”
I knew she was right. I’d also known what she was going to say because I’d already thought that through. “But what if something goes wrong?”
Vic shook her head. “Like what? And be realistic here, Max. She’s going to be under a top surgeon and anaesthetist. It’s a straightforward operation and other than the issue with her heart, she’s fit and well.”
“What if she doesn’t come round from the anaesthetic? They find another hole? The operation doesn’t work?”
“And I get hit by a bus tomorrow – or one of the fucking scooters that keep whizzing down the pavements. She’s having the op. There’s no reason to be concerned that something will go wrong – the surgeon is really confident and you know what surgeons are like.” She pulled one of the bottles of champagne out of the box I’d put down. “This is just about cold enough and if you’re going to be acting like a bear until she’s had the surgery, you and Will can sleep in the tents that are going up.”
“The sleepover’s happening?”
She nodded. “My poor lawn.”
“The grass will recover. I might not. Who’s sleeping out with the kids?” I was hoping it wasn’t me. I knew it definitely wouldn’t be Vic.
“Callum and Wren, because they’re insane. Killian and Nick, and I think Owen volunteered. Most of the kids want to camp. Those who don’t are having an indoor sleepover in the cellar.”
Which was converted into a media suite and gym, doubling over as a good room for sleepovers because it was soundproofed so the kids could be as noisy as they wanted.
“Where are the adults sleeping?”
“For some of them, it’ll be where they fall. I think a few are going back home and they’ll come back for breakfast which Jack and Simone are doing because we’re ending up with their kids staying too.” Jack and Simone owned and ran restaurants in London. We’d been friends with them for years. Their son Leo was about the same age as Lucy, and their daughter a similar age to the twins.
“Have you heard about the house too?” I still wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
Vic eyed me, as if she was working out how I felt about it so she could plan what to say.
“The jungle drums are loud. Jackson texted Van and told her to tell us. You know secrets don’t stay secrets in this family for very long.” She poured two glasses of champagne.
It might be our house that everyone was at, but they could fend for themselves. I just accepted that I’d be attempting a big shop with a big hangover tomorrow afternoon.
“How do you feel about the house being sold or haven’t you made your mind up yet?”
She knew me too well.
“I think it’s a good thing. If they held onto it, it’d leave one of them eventually making the decision to move out of it by themselves.”
Vic nodded, looking around her kitchen. This was definitely her room, although she rarely cooked – that was my job because I’d rather her not set the house on fire which had almost happened more than once. There was a desk in the corner that she favoured rather than her study, because she could keep an eye on the kids from there. It was also where Lucy reluctantly did her homework. Opposite the breakfast bar was a long sectional sofa, perfect for an afternoon nap or lounging on with a book, and I knew that was Vic’s favourite place to be.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to move out of here. I’ll be fine after you’ve died. I might get myself a toyboy.”
I shook my head but didn’t say anything. Her favourite pastime was to try to wind me up which she could do very well. “Our house isn’t the same as Dad and Marie’s. That’s more like a stately home.”
“True. What’ve the rest of you said about its sale?”
We wandered out into the garden, where most of our family was.
“Shit, Will’s up the tree again.” My technically youngest son was angling for a tree house for Christmas. In the meantime, he was up there anyway.
“He can get down. He’s like a cat. And if he can’t get down, we can sort out a belay system so we can still feed him. He’ll probably evolve into a squirrel or something.” She sipped at her champagne, an expression on her face that I usually associated with us being in the bedroom.
I glanced around my brothers, sisters and parents. Everyone was in the garden, making it feel small, which it wasn’t, really. The older girls were on their way inside now Nick O’Hara’s daughters had turned up. They were old enough to be at college now, both almost grown. I suspected the media room downstairs would be turned into some make-up and hair boutique and I had no desire to get involved.
“Maybe we do need a bigger house for everyone to meet up at. This feels a bit small.” I was starting to think Mum and Dad’s place was ideal. We could renovate it into apartments or something for the kids as they were growing up. Or we could let them learn what it was like to stand on your own two feet as much as possible.
“You do have a bigger house. The one in Oxfordshire. We all fit in there very nicely and this doesn’t happen very often.” She shook her head. “And I heard your parents have a buyer anyway.”
“They do. They’ve asked me to co-ordinate sorting out what bits we all want in the next two weeks while they’re away. They’ve already put tags on the things they’re taking with them and they have packers booked to come in the week after next for everything else.” Marie had been her usual super-organised self.
“So it’s happening.” Vic took hold of my hand with the hand that wasn’t holding the champagne. “They’re not taking offers from you lot?”
“She said no. They don’t want us to fall out about it and I don’t think we would, but if Claire and K bought it, it would feel weird their kids living there and ours not, so I get it.”
“Claire won’t move anywhere. She’s had the bathroom of her dreams installed and I think she intended to wither away in the bath.” Vic squeezed my hand. “I think I have bathroom envy.”
“Does that mean you want a new bathroom?” I felt my heart sink.
“We have a spare bedroom that’s not doing anything, and it’d been easy to get the facilities in that room. Ava thinks it’s the perfect size.” She gave me a look she knew I couldn’t resist.
I said nothing. I’d attempt that battle and prepare to lose once my parents’ house had been settled.
Seph and Georgia had made their way over to us after dealing with a minor incident involving their sons who were arguing over something. Will managed to cause a distraction by half falling out of the tree, landing on his feet to no one’s surprise.
Seph looked better now, not as rocky as he’d seemed after rugby. “Claire’s called dibs on the dresser in the dining room already.”
I shrugged. “Claire can have what she wants.”
He frowned. “Do you not want anything?”
I shook my head. I liked my parents’ house, but I’d moved out decades ago and I’d been one of the few not to return at some point. The house had been redesigned at least twice since then, with some of the furniture moved to the apartment they’d invested in, and some sent to the place they’d bought in Canada where they liked to spend most of October and April, looking at the winery that’d become part of their portfolio.
I was well aware that my parents lived a life like few others. I didn’t aspire to it – there were aspects of my father and his father that I refused to inherit, but I didn’t begrudge them.
“Claire can have what she wants.” I turned to Vic. “But you should see if there’s anything you’d like.”
“I’d like that bathroom from my dreams.” She shot me a beguiling smile. “With a really huge bath that we can share.” She let go of my hand and put it on my stomach instead.
Georgia started to piss herself laughing.
I stayed grumpy. “It’s going to take more than you trying to flirt with me to get the bathroom.”
“I can afford it myself.”
She could. She had a more than decent inheritance.
“Not the point. It’s living with the house upside down while it’s happening. The last time this happened I went to work looking like a ghost had farted on me.”
“You went where you weren’t meant to and got covered in plaster dust.” Vic shook her head. “That was your fault.”
I made a noise that should suggest I wasn’t going to talk about this anymore, especially when Seph and Georgia were there.
“How’s Rose? She seems okay.”
Georgia smiled and nodded, not looking anywhere as anxious as Seph did. “She’s okay. Not worried about the procedure – she won’t call it an operation – and doing everything as normal, just a bit slower.”
“Can you not have it done any sooner?”
Georgia shook her head. “It isn’t actually urgent, and we could wait – the specialist said that it wasn’t going to get any worse. But I want to get it out of the way for her sake and she can get on with everything without knowing there’s a procedure looming. She does get breathless sometimes and her growth has slowed. She’s really not putting any weight on either, so I think it’s best being now.” She looked around the garden for her. “I think she’s indoors with Margot and Kitty, probably getting one of them to redo her hair because my attempt won’t be good enough.”
“Lucy will be the same.” Vic looked disappointed. “My braids aren’t the best thing ever anymore.”
I watched Seph as they carried on discussing pre-teen daughters, his attention elsewhere rather than what they were saying. It wasn’t on anything that was going on here, either.
I moved away, tapping his arm so he followed, and headed down the side of the house where it was quieter.
“Are you okay?”
He gave me a nod that was solid. “I feel better now you all know.”
“Good. We’re all here for you.”
Seph smiled, one that looked genuine rather than forced. “I know she’s going to be okay.
“She is. Georgia seems okay with everything.”
His shrug was unsure. “She’s better than she was. Rose has been the best out of us. She’s enjoying herself today as well. She really likes being with her cousins.” He looked at me slyly. “I think she’ll be having another cousin.”
“You’ve lost me.”
“Ava’s not drinking. She didn’t drink the champagne before either. I think they’re having another.”
“Jesus. Eli must be mad.” I caught sight of him drinking a beer, his head where the cricket ball had hit looking like he had an extra penis starting to shoot. “Unless it was an accident.”
“Yeah. We’re not having an accident. Not when that twin gene is real.” He said it with a shudder. “I’m going to go round to the house tomorrow and have a look round. I want something to remember it by.”
“Fair enough. I think Claire’s going tomorrow too.” I suspected Claire would be there most days this week.
“So’s Payton. She wants the bedframe in her old bedroom and a wardrobe – the really ornate one that Mum and Dad got as a wedding present from some old client in Italy.” Seph scratched at his head. “I wouldn’t have minded that. Are you sure you’re not going to take anything?”
“Nothing off the top of my head.” I peered at him. He was still scratching his head. “Have you got nits?”
“Possibly. It’s been going round Luke’s class.”
“Fuck. Have you checked his hair? If he’s got them, he’ll have shared them out this afternoon.” I was starting to itch. I’d been fairly close to Seph too.
“I’ll go and get hold of him. Hold my beer.”
An hour later and someone had been to the pharmacy to get nit lotion – a lot of it – and the first floor bathroom had turned into something that resembled a sheep dip.
Strangely, the women were still outside, glasses of champagne or gin in their hands, while the men stunk of chemicals and had ears full of complaining children.
I surveyed my two boys who had damp hair that was a lot cleaner than it had been for a good few weeks. “At least you smell clean.”
Maddox made a sound that sounded like a snarl and ran off, probably to roll in mud.
Will rubbed his hair, flicking any water in my direction. I’d used the nit lotion on my own head – I’d been too close to Seph and various children to take any chances and it’d stopped me from itching at least.
Seph was drying off Luke, Evie and his Max, telling off Max for trying to bite his twin sister. It was after Seph had twins that there’d been a spate of vasectomies.
“What’s the plan for the evening?” I glanced at him and then Eli, who was mid rinse over the bath, Nancy’s head hanging over with a lot of yelling.
Eli raised a brow. “Poker? We can play outside and keep an eye on the kids when they get in their tents.”
“A very sensible plan.” Seph nodded, watching Luke as he pretty much flew down the stairs yelling for Rose.
We all knew it wasn’t sensible.
But we did it anyway.