Chapter 27 #2
“- can’t believe you’re here,”
“- so sorry,”
“- missed you guys,”
“- you’re having twins!”
“- cut your hair,”
We were a bundle of muffled words and teary hugs.
One of them was groping my tummy but it was all okay.
I pulled back a bit and blinked in disbelief.
“You cut your hair.”
“I wanted a drastic change,” Natty grinned.
“I was scared Dad would go spare-”
“You’ll be 19 this year,” I huffed.
“What can he do?”
“I know, right?” she huffed back.
The pixie cut suited her immensely.
“It was Grumps who lost it. Called me-”
“An ugly excuse of a boy,” Nicki volunteered with a laugh as she flicked her blond tresses back.
She had cut hers too, not the daring pixie style as her sister, but a sleek lob – yeah, I think that was the correct name for the long bob – which fell attractively around her neck.
Dang.
I needed to sort my wild curls out, it was growing like mad due to the pregnancy hormones.
I suddenly wanted to look like a fresh-faced teenager again.
Damned young’uns filling me with envy.
“Stop crowding her, girls,” the smooth cultured voice of their mother broke through our girlish frenzied exchange of greetings.
Hannah approached us, gaze trained on my face as she sent me a decidedly nervous smile.
“Madison,”
“Hannah,” I assumed we were doing the ‘state the other person’s name’ game.
She bit her lip before rushing over in a flurry of vibrant silk top and long black trousers.
I hadn’t yet seen her shoes but I was loving the matching silk scarf that held her chestnut hair off her face.
It reminded me of my night-time hair scarf.
Classy elegance.
The simple tennis bracelet on her wrist looked vaguely familiar.
Had Matt re-gifted the jewellery I returned to him?
Cheap bugger.
He had better not given away my stuff…
ah, not that I cared about those material things.
I had returned the jewellery all those months ago, I had no claim to it anymore.
“Please forgive me,” she begged after enveloping me in a tight hug.
“I’m terribly ashamed of myself for treating you in such a way. Please forgive us. I wish I hadn’t been so quick to judge – Matt never went into details – I’m sorry I never contacted you.”
“Mum, you’re suffocating her.” Natty warned tartly.
I wanted to be angry but in the face of such genuine remorse and with tears already creeping past her lashes, I couldn’t hold on to my righteous anger.
“It’s ok,” I hugged her back.
“We all made mistakes. Um, this is a bit left-field but did you have a natural birth or did you go for the C-section? I’m undecided.”
She laughed, still crying though, and pressed a light welcoming kiss to my cheek as she gently touched my stomach.
“We have much to talk about.”
“Darling, stop blubbering over the girl,” Stuart’s jovial voice had me tensing right up.
He was here also?
Matt said it was only supposed to be the girls.
I leaned away from Hannah and peered past her shoulder.
Oh no.
Matt was already striding through the rest of them congregating in the large foyer.
That apologetic look had taken up residence on his face once more.
“I had no idea,” he explained then gave Hannah a hard scowl.
“Hannah told them about the meal and,” He shrugged his shoulders in frustrated defeat.
“I didn’t expect them all to show up.” Hannah defended herself as we officially stopped hugging.
“You shouldn’t have said anything to begin with,” Matt hissed back under his breath before he peered at me to gauge my reaction.
“I had no idea they would all be here, you have to know that.”
Gritting my teeth, I fought the urge to yell ‘frigging set-up’ and tried to smile.
My mouth wasn’t having any of it and remained in a stretched grimace.
Fucking set-up.
Hmm, I really hadn’t done a good job of giving up unnecessary mental swear words.
There they stood, silently waiting behind the approaching Stuart.
The remaining brood of Bradleys.
“Madison,” Stuart beamed at me as if we were long-lost siblings.
“You look lovely, pregnancy suits you to a tee.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Matt was suddenly animated, he simmered right back down when noticing my stony expression hadn’t disappeared.
Ignoring my less than warm demeanour, Stuart wrapped me up in an awkward hug.
He managed five long seconds of hugging my wooden frame before releasing me and reaching out to tenderly pat my stomach.
“Jolly good news about the twins. Was Rylan nice to you? I told him you must have only the best treatment. We both did our placement at the same hospital back in the day. I can tell you a story or two about him which will make you laugh.”
“Dad,” Natty piped up with her usual cheekiness.
“No one cares about your boring medical student days.”
“He was reasonably nice, curt but nice,” I relayed with the tiniest of gratitude.
“Thank you for getting me in to see him. Matt said he’s usually unable to squeeze in expectant mothers like this.”
“Think nothing of it,” Stuart interrupted.
“And you’re right, his bedside manners have always been lax.”
“As are yours.” Hannah teased.
I hoped there wasn’t a double entendre in that loaded comment.
Nicki looked squidged out, Natty simply exhaled with an exasperation only a first-born could get away with.
If I had ever done such a slow, deliberate exhalation with that amount of derision infused into it at my aunt when I was her age…
I might have ended up with a fat lip.
“Well,” Stuart winked at his wife before reaching over to pat my tummy once more.
“I’m just glad I could be of help.”
The touching thing was making me antsy, it couldn’t be helped.
I didn’t mind the girls, and Hannah had been crying so it would have been churlish to tell her off for rubbing my tummy, but I was definitely getting antsy now.
When Stuart gave me another quick hug, I reluctantly hugged him back.
Ok.
I would be nice because he used his connections to get me a great private doctor who rarely took on any new patients below a certain income bracket.
We pulled apart, both seemingly glad the physical aspect was over.
Stuart stepped aside as Matt’s parents walked towards us.
Portia got to me first.
“Can you ever forgive me?”
I bit my inner cheeks and watched her blue eyes swim with tears.
She was no doubt waging an internal battle to stop the moisture from leaking down her face.
My eyes sought out Matt.
There was no pressure coming from him, his expression openly showing it was up to me.
“I only wanted to protect him,” she whispered.
“I’m a mother and it’s what we do.” A soft smile hovered around the corner of her mouth as she stared at my round tummy.
“You understand, don’t you?”
Damn it all to heck.
My eyes started watering.
I did understand.
My babies hadn’t even been born yet and I knew I would kill anyone who messed with them.
It was a primal sort of urge to destroy any possible danger or hurt…
God bless him, but I was still side-eyeing Matt, their own father.
Yeah, even him.
I nodded slowly and watched the smile blossom on her face.
I wanted to hate her for never truly giving me a chance, for not accepting me and making me feel unworthy.
I wanted to hate her, a part of me needed to hate her.
The sad, vindictive, angry part of me which I swore to leave behind.
I was in the chrysalis stage of my life, subject to growth and change, hopefully I would emerge a strong butterfly able to follow my own destiny on the streams of life’s winds.
Oh man…
this was brain waffling, and I was starting to get hungry.
Raising my arms slightly, I shrugged, magnanimously offering the olive branch.
“It’s ok.”
I would forgive, but I would never forget.
They were all getting side-eyed for life!
Not the twins, they were my girls.
Portia hugged me.
I wasn’t sure if it was our first proper hug.
It was.
Was it?
My ex-mother-in-law hadn’t previously been touchy-feely with me.
“You’re pregnant,” she murmured.
“And beautiful.” She pulled back to peer at me.
“We’ll have to do something about your hair though. I can get you an appointment with my stylist,”
Matt cleared his throat, loud enough to get his unspoken point across quite clearly.
“If you would like me to, that is,” Portia added.
“It’s been out of control the last month or so,” I didn’t think she was trying to insult me.
Maybe she simply didn’t know how to talk about my hair and this was her way of trying to establish a link.
“The hormones.” both she and Hannah said in unison.
Hugging me again, she said in my ear.
“I want us to get past all the unpleasantness, please forgive me. I just want my son to be happy.”
“Stop monopolising her,” Grump’s irritated reprimand had us both stiffening.
“And I apologize in advance for the old codger.” she murmured before pulling away.
“Well, young lady,” Grumps elbowed his son aside.
William Jr had lost his space to the old man.
“What do have to say for yourself?”
“Grumps,” Matt called in warning.
The foyer suddenly felt small and cramped as Grumps and I faced off.
“What?” Grumps snapped waspishly.
“I’m trying to have a conversation with the girl and everyone is getting in my way with all this foolish, soppy nonsense!” He glared at Hannah.
“Crying? Get a hold of yourself. You need to deal with your wayward daughter,” Grumps gave Natty the once over and shook his grey head.
“You look horrendous. What’s next? Body modification? I know about these things, don’t think I don’t. I’m not an old man who is ill-informed. Cutting off your lovely hair like that.”
Nicki and Natty shared a quick grin before moving behind their parents, probably seeking support and protection.
Matt moved just a bit closer to me.
I appreciated him for it.
“Matthew told me what you did.”
I twisted my head sideways to catch Matt doing that apologetic look again.
What I did?
Oh, things were going to get rowdy here.
I tried to think of my blood pressure and the babies.
Stress wasn’t good for them.
“Excuse me?” It was a fine balance, my blend of annoyance, politeness, and downright disbelief.
Grumps snorted at me.
“Don’t take that tone with me. How could you put my boy through months of worry? You should have never gotten divorced. I accepted you into my family, which let me tell you, was a battle with my conscience,”
“Grumps,” A chorus of chastisement rose up from everyone, Matt was the loudest, while I stared agog at my old nemesis.
Grumps being Grumps continued to have a go at me.
“He said you only told him last week. You were planning on keeping my great-grandchildren from us. Did you do the paternity test?” Grumps levelled his favourite grandson with a fearsome scowl.
“Did she do the test? You were separated for a long time, no telling what she got up to. She’s a pretty little thing-”
“You bastard.” I blurted out, unable to keep quiet anymore.
“I’m not taking any of your bull this time around. No way. I will ban your crotchety, rude, yes rude, old self from my children,” I turned to Matt, one hand over my tummy.
“I’ll ban them all.”
“Too right we will,” Matt was quick on agreeing with me as he matched his grandfather’s glare with one of his own.
“Stop it before I throw you out,” He observed the rest of them.
“I will throw you all out.”
“I haven’t done anything, Uncle Matt.” Nicki said.
“Of course not, darling,” Matt smiled at her.
“Never you.”
“Me either,” Natty obviously felt left out.
Thinking about it, Nicki was Matt’s favourite.
I told him ages ago about that favouritism.
“Or you, Trouble,” he added before pointing a stern finger at Grumps.
“Do not annoy me.”
Grumps looked at me.
I knew he was going to test it, I just knew he was going to say something wicked.
“You’re lucky death is right around the corner for you,” I got in there first, always better to be on the offensive with the Bradleys.
“Madison,” Matt’s hushed murmur made me think I had maybe taken it a step too far.
Death was final and shouldn’t be wished on anyone, well, except bad people.
“You’re lucky we’re a wealthy family,” Grumps shot back.
“Raising two isn’t cheap. Did you plan this?”
“Dad!” William’s cheeks were ablaze and he kept sending Matt rueful half-grins.
“I owe you a smack,” I said coolly.
“Do you remember that, Mr Bradley? You slapped me once. Shall we even up the score today?”
The air sang with charged tension.
Everyone else was frozen in shock.
George’s face was comical, I had never seen his mouth open to that size before.
“Humph,” Grumps snorted and closed the small distance between us.
“I told you to call me Grumps and don’t threaten me, it’s unbecoming of you.” Then he wrapped his arms around me.
I swore I heard his bones creaking.
He seemed much frailer since I’d last seen him.
“Silly girl.” he grumbled.
“Senile.” I mumbled under my breath, reluctant to hug him back.
Grumps didn’t loiter with his hugging, it was brief and he raised one eyebrow at me while backing away.
His eyes, so like Matt’s, scrutinized my face.
“It could be worse,” he mused slyly.
“He could have married that Gilliford girl.”
We both fell for it, Matt and I that is, Grumps knew exactly what he was doing by bringing her up.
Like oil to the fire, Matt took a deep breath, cheeks a virulent red as he bristled in rage.
“Did I not say that woman is not to be spoken about in my presence?”
Nicki grabbed her sister’s arm, smiled sweetly in my direction, and high-tailed it down the hallway.
Natty willingly allowed herself to be carried along.
That pixie cut was cute.
“You are a horrid man.” I stopped wondering how my hair would look that short and followed Matt’s lead.
“Did I not just warn you about annoying me?” Matt carefully side-stepped me.
“Why would you mention her?” I blazed, feeling my temperature rise.
“I told you we should have left him at home,” Portia murmured to William Jr.
“I know,” he murmured back.
“I know.”
“You may be my grandfather,” Matt was within choking distance of Grumps.
“But I will toss you out on your ear.”
I twisted my face and huffed at Matt, the eye roll was eloquent.
“What?” he growled, offended at my display.
“I will, watch me.”
I shook my head, so did Hannah.
No one was throwing Grumps out.
Matt was posturing and his grandfather was enjoying himself.
Why rile us needlessly?
He must know he was playing with fire.
Unless Matt didn’t explain exactly what had taken place with witchy Medusa.
Had he told his family everything or nothing at all?
Did they think I was to blame for the failure of our marriage?
“Did you tell them every thing?” I suddenly felt embarrassed.
Did they know all the sordid details of our split?
The half-truths and anger and viciousness?
“No,” Matt said.
“Not everything-”
“I know everything,” Adam, reeking of self-importance, supplied his first words since I arrived.
He strode towards us and I automatically moved into the safety of Matt’s personal space.
“Don’t I get a hello?” His attempt to lighten the atmosphere fell flat, at least on my part.
I said nothing for a few moments before giving him a curt nod.