3. Claudia
“Miracle Evangaline, if you sign that word, I will take away your iPad for a week,” Gisele growled, spearing her daughter with a I’m fucking serious look. Hiding my laugh with a cough, I watched my tiny niece unclasp her fingers that resembled bull horns and place them in her lap. Miracle was about to sign bullshit, but her mother caught on fast and stopped her before the sign swearing could begin. To my side I could see Elle’s shoulders shacking in silent laughter, but she didn’t dare let it out. Gisele was a great mum, and we were all so proud of the way she dealt with her little girl not being able to speak. She adored Miracle, but she didn’t let her get away with swearing, even if it was signed. Last week her principal called Gisele to complain Miracle was teaching her classmates how to sign the word fuck. The poor principal had no idea what they were saying to her, but in my opinion that was all her own fault. All the teachers at the primary school knew sign language because they didn’t want Miracle to have to sit silent and not be included in class discussions. Since there was only three teachers and ninety students it seemed like a no brainer to me. However, the principal saw herself above everyone and though it wasn’t something she needed to waste her time learning. Fucking dumb woman.
“So, Claudia Chanel, where is Josh and why isn’t he here?” my mother burst out breaking the tension of Miracle’s near grounding. “I know why Elle is solo again because her husband is a drop kick, what is your excuse?” My mother had a uniqueness all to herself, and by fuck she owned it. Even on my best day, I could never cut a person to their knees as quickly as mum did. Not that I didn’t try.
“Well Georgina Grace, the short of it is he needed a sanity break. You had him here every day doing all your grunt work even though he has a business of his own to run. While you don’t think anything wrong with that I, being the awesome person, I am suggested he spend the day drinking and watching football. Because l am the kind of wife that doesn’t treat my husband like a slave, unlike you mummy dearest.” Smiling sweetly, I accepted the high five from Gisele then handed my father the bowl of mashed potato. Accepting it with a grin, dad helped himself to a heaped mound of the delicious buttery carb his head shaking the whole time. This was something he was used too, and very rarely got involved in the banter between mother and daughters, unless we crossed the line that only he knew where it was. He let mum get as good as she gave but under no circumstances where we allowed to be outright disrespectful to mum. Despite the underlining insults and our weird ways to show our love, he loved his wife more than his own life and he would never see her hurt. Lucky for me, the line was wayyyy generous.
Grinning her approval at my comeback, mum gave me a nod then turned her attention to Elle.
“Elle? Anything to say?”
“Not really Gigi, although Claude and I were thinking next weekend we might take a girls road trip. Combine a shopping spree and getting Gisele laid in one foul swoop. You know two birds one stone.” Shoving a big piece of corned beef into her mouth so she wouldn’t laugh at herself or at dad’s shocked expression.
“Fucking strike a light,” dad complained but with no heat at all. He signed up for this the day he met and fell in love with mum. She had been a budding model on her way to the big time when fate stepped in. Mum had been city where dad was as Aussie as his phrases and colloquiums. They knew that they would marry and spend the rest of their lives together loving and fighting. A perfect combination of happiness, and love.
Ignoring Elle’s crassness, mum nailed Gisele with her death glare. Gisele was busy stuffing her mouth with food and looking anywhere but mum.
“Anything to add Gisele Heidi?”
“Nope,” she spluttered around a mouth full of potato and peas.
“Didn’t I say that to you this morning?” it was put as a question but came out more like an accusation. Miracle pulled on mum’s sleeve and quickly and expertly signed out something that had me and Claudia collapse into a fit of giggles. God l loved that child.
“Thank you for the play back, Miracle, you are Gigi’s girl aren’t you chickee. “Pressing a kiss to the top of Mirale’s blonde hair that mirrored not only her mum’s but also her aunts and grandmother.
Our mother was a beautiful woman, absolutely striking. Had she not decided to take a gamble on a country boy she would have made it bigger than Twiggy back in the sixties. Mum and dad were different as chalk and cheese. Mum grew up in the city, dad was born and breed in Blessings. A quiet man but took no shit from anyone, except his wife, daughters and his pride and joy, his granddaughter. He grew up a miner, in charge of the local volunteer fire house, basically dad was Blessings honorary mayor. People shook in their boots when dad got it in his mind to get pissed off. Which wasn’t often, the man had hardcore control. Until it came to his wife. Georgina Grace called the shots in our house, and he was just fine with that. He followed her lead in everything, there weren’t many instances where dad stood his ground against mum, especially when it came to us. Georgina was in charge.
She named us after supermodels, gave our father no say in the matter. When Georgina Grace wanted something, she always got her own way. The name Gigi stood for Georgina Grace, her close friends called her Gigi, her granddaughter called her Gigi. Like I said she wanted it she got it.
“I think it’s time for Miracle to get to bed,” Gisele announced suddenly, her face still flaming red. Not that I blamed my baby sister for being embarrassed. All jokes aside she was suffering in the sex department, and she out of the three of us coped more flack from the locals about the family curse.
“Dishes?” mum asked raising a brow, God knew she wasn’t going to do them. Her mantra was, I made the mess, but I don’t clean it up.
“All good Gis, I got them. I’m going to stay the night here; I don’t feel like going home tonight. Claude will give you a ride,” Elle volunteered, already standing and gathering the plates.
“Everything okay Ellie?” mum asked worriedly. With all her craziness, the fierce mumma bear was never far from the surface.
“I’m fine mum, just rather stay here than go home to an empty house.” Something in her tone had dad immediately on alert, the fierceness in his blue eyes a sign that Jake was going to be in for it once he showed his face again.
“I’ll put Miracle in Claudia’s car, then I’ll go grab Dutch for you baby girl. Lock up your place.” Giving Elle a kiss on the cheek, dad extracted Miracle from my mother, then helped Gisele gather her things.
“Thank you, Daddy,” Elle sighed quietly, the sadness in her voice making me want to go find her deadbeat husband and castrate the prick. “Can you make sure the doggy door is locked too please. There is a stray cat that has been hanging around my yard, he comes in and steals his food.” Referring to not only her dog Dutch, a Chihuahua with a major personality disorder, but also to Gisele’s cat.
“How dare you call Bumble a stray!” Gisele protested hotly. It was an ongoing argument between Elle and Gisele and a constant battle to keep that sweet darling boy from doing exactly what Elle was accusing…
* * *
Tossing my handbag and keys on the kitchen bench, I stepped over the sleeping German Shepard, “Such a good guard dog,” I said quietly to the sleeping animal with nothing but love in my heart for the fury beast.
“That you baby?” my husband called from somewhere in the house, sounding just a tad lit. My guess he was in his man cave watching his beloved football. Toeing off my shoes and leaving them where they landed, I stopped at the fridge to grab a can of soft drink and an ice cream from the freezer.
“You got another wife who lets herself into our house?” I joked back, walking down the hall to the end of the new extension that was Josh’s retreat.
“Not to my knowledge baby,” he smiled happily at me when I entered the room. Immediately I could tell Josh was nearly three sheets drunk, I knew this not only because of his glassy eyes but because the television was so loud it was amazing, he heard me come home at all.
“How was dinner?” he asked me, patting his lap, signalling that was where he wanted me. Acquiescing because I wanted exactly that, I dropped down and his arms came around me, squeezing me briefly and waiting for me to answer his question.
“No surprises. Gisele is back to being the town’s curse. Elle’s douche bag husband has gone walk about. Dad changed the side of the building again. A soft yellow this time. Miracle is swearing but gorgeous and Georgina is — well she’s her.”
Taking the ice cream from me, Josh unwrapped my favourite dessert and handed it back to me., not before taking a big bite for himself.
“So, I didn’t miss out on too much then hey,” he laughed. Josh was my perfect fit. The ice cream to my pineapple topping. The calm to the storm that was my family. Josh knew instinctively when Georgina was doing my head-in or if my sister’s crazy was getting too much. He let me vent, scream and rage without getting involved. He listened, calmed me down then set about putting me back together. We’d been together since grade seven, we had been each other’s firsts and only. Mum and dad gifted us our house the year we married, and his father had recently handed over the mechanics business last year. Now Josh was busy renovating the old Queenslander styled house. Turning it slowly into ours.
The town of Blessings was founded because of a rich deposit of gold found by my great, great grandfather. He and a few mining buddies from up North decided the best way to go was build stilted houses with wide wrap around verandas that could act not only as areas to booze up after a long day mining, but more room for accommodation if needed. Dad inherited most of the homes, except for the privately owned ones and kept them for his family. Gis and Ellie owned their own not far from mine. Theirs too renovated but not to the extend Josh and I had gone. Ellie said she didn’t need any more rooms; she said the likely hood of her, and Jake procreating was little to none. And Gisele, well she had all the room for her and Miracle. She was firm on not having another child after the traumatic event that was Miracle’s birth. Terrified history was deemed to repeat itself because of the curse.
“Nope, nothing out of the ordinary. Although, Giss’s melt down was entertaining.” Smiling at the memory of on the ground.
Grabbing the remote, Josh turned down the volume while an add was on. “Where is Jake?”
“Not a clue,” I answered shrugging my shoulders. “Elle doesn’t have a clue either and I think this time she really doesn’t give a shit. She decided to stay at the house tonight, Daddy went and retrieved Dutch and to lock up.” I was worried about my sister. She loved our parents fiercely and would do anything for them, but her willingly wanting to stay in her old room spoke volumes about how Jake’s latest disappearing act was really affecting her. She was used to him going off on spur of the moment fishing trips and drinking binges with his mates, but for some reason this one was different. I wasn’t sure how or why. Ellie wasn’t the type to openly talk about her relationship dramas. In fact, she was completely opposite when it came to Jake.
“So, do I need to round up the lads and go hunting?” Jake asked half serious half joking. Elle was only a couple of years older than he and I. Gisele a few younger again, so we all grew up together. He was very protective of the Blessing girls, something my sisters never took for granted.
“Not just yet honey,” I replied giving his lips a peck, “but hold that thought. Dad had the same one, but it involved the old mine shafts,” I laughed but behind the humour was worry. Not just for my sister but also for my father’s freedom. If Jake were up to something bad like seeing another woman, nothing on the planet would be able to stop my father from ripping him limb from limb and depositing his remains in the many disused holes. Holes only a handful of people knew where they were. My dad being one.
“Baby your old man is one crazy mother fucker,” Josh chuckled, “You don’t ever have to worry about me stepping out on you baby, and not because your father is a freaking serial killer in the making.”
Turning in his lap, I tossed my half-eaten cone into the empty bowl on the side table freeing both my hands so I could wrap them around his neck.
“Tell me why I never have to worry?” I already knew why. Josh wasn’t shy where it came to how much he loved me. On the outside he was a grease monkey with a scruffy half beard I had to pester him to keep trimmed. On the inside he carried a torch for me so bright, sometimes his love for me was overwhelming.
“You don’t have to worry baby because my heart beats for you. Has done since we were thirteen, before I understood what love really was.” Kissing me breathless, he continued to give me his reasons. “Never in this lifetime will I ever find someone better than you and I don’t want too. I love you Claudia Chanel with every part of me. You own me lady, it’s that simple.”
It was anything but simple. It was beautiful, perfect perfection. Our love for each other was everything. Being in this world without him would be unbearable torture.
“You say the sweetest things Joshy,” I whispered against his lips, tears of utter joy stinging my eyelids.
“You are the sweetest thing baby; you make talking mushy easy.” The rest of the conversation on Jake and his whereabouts were put on hold. At least until the ad break was over and the footy started back again.
“You are so getting a blow job tonight honey.”
“Yep, I will be,” Josh agreed smugly, “as soon as the footy is over.”