Chapter Twenty-One #2
‘Shush it, Jelly.’ Rhys leans his forehead against mine. ‘I’m supposed to be working, but you’re not, so you’re not my boss right now.’
I pull my head back and quirk an eyebrow at him. ‘I’m always your boss, mate.’
Rhys narrows his eyes and purses his lips. ‘You’re sexy when you’re authoritative, you know.’
‘Piss off.’ I step back and whack him on the arm. ‘And get back to work.’
‘Yes, Miss.’ He salutes before dodging his way through the partygoers to head back to the bar and I join Jonah and Thea and the small swaying circle they’ve formed with a few of the other guests.
We dance and we drink cocktails and nibble delicious morsels of food from the buffet and Thea makes us squeeze into the photobooth to make silly poses with the daftest of props.
I’m having a brilliant time and Thea looks radiant as she celebrates a brand new decade.
‘You don’t look thirty.’ Rhys has slipped away from the bar again, on the pretence of collecting glasses, though his hands are empty, and he’s chatting to Thea while we wait for another turn in the photobooth. ‘But don’t worry – I’m into older women anyway.’
I shake my head as I puff out a heavy sigh. ‘Take no notice of him. He flirts with everyone. He can’t help it. It’s like an illness. A really annoying illness.’ I push my empty glass into his hands. ‘Here. Do your job.’
‘And you say I’m annoying.’ Rhys grabs a couple more glasses that have been left on the side and backs away, winking at Thea before he turns and disappears into the crowd.
‘Seriously, just ignore him.’ I glare at the spot Rhys was occupying a second ago. He really doesn’t know when to rein it in sometimes.
Thea leans in close to me, giggling as her cheek presses against mine. ‘He is kind of hot though.’
Jonah flicks his sister lightly on the arm. ‘And you’re kind of married.’
Thea straightens, wobbling slightly. ‘I think I might have had too much to drink.’
‘There’s no such thing when it’s your birthday.’ I sling my arm around her shoulders. ‘Another cocktail?’
Thea shakes her head and places her hand on her stomach.
‘I’d better not. Those things are lethal.
Delicious, but they’ve gone straight to my head.
I am very, very drunk.’ She leans her head on Jonah’s shoulder.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been very drunk.
I quite like it.’ She straightens up, wobbling again.
‘Shall we dance? I want to dance. Come dance with me.’ Grabbing Jonah’s hand and mine, she starts to lead us towards the dance floor, which isn’t nearly as full as it was earlier.
It’s getting late and guests have started to dwindle.
‘Dorothea, darling.’ Farrah accosts her daughter before we make it to the dance floor, guiding her to one side. ‘We’re leaving now. We’ve got Robert and Jane coming over for brunch tomorrow.’
Thea scrunches her nose up. ‘Who?’
‘Robert and Jane Johnson. Jonah went to school with their daughter, Emily.’ Farrah turns to her son.
‘We ran into them last week. Emily’s a geography teacher now.
Head of her department already, can you believe?
’ She places a hand on Jonah’s arm. ‘I hope you don’t mind but I told them you’re a junior doctor. ’
Jonah tilts his head to one side. ‘I do mind, actually, Mum. I mind very much. I don’t think my first-aid certificate qualifies me as any kind of doctor.’
Farrah widens her eyes. ‘So, what was I supposed to tell them?’
‘The truth?’
Farrah tsks at her son’s suggestion, as though it was outlandish not to tell bare-faced lies.
‘You expect me to tell them that my son is a children’s entertainer?
Oh, yes, that sounds believable, doesn’t it?
My daughter is on the path to becoming a partner at a dental practice in the not-so-distant future while my son prances about with preschoolers? ’
‘It does sound believable, because it’s the truth.’
Farrah takes in a deep breath, her nostrils flaring with the effort, and lets it out in a noisy gush. ‘Why can’t you be more like your sister? Dorothea has it all: the house, the husband, the children, the career. You can’t even decide if you like boys or girls, for goodness’ sake.’
Jonah presses his lips together, holding in his frustration because he’s been having this discussion with his mother since he was nineteen. ‘There is no choice, Mum. I’m bisexual. I like both.’
‘But you can’t have both. You need to pick one and stick with it.
And you need to pick a career.’ Farrah holds up a finger to silence Jonah even though he hasn’t uttered a syllable.
‘A real career. It isn’t too late, you know.
Bea Gordon’s daughter retrained as a solicitor at thirty-two and you’ve got seven years on Jill. ’
‘But I don’t want to be a solicitor or a junior doctor or anything else you deem worthy enough. I like my job. I love my job.’
‘Just think about it.’ Farrah’s brow furrows as she pats Jonah on the arm.
‘For me.’ She turns then to Thea, her brow smoothing as much as her sixty-eight-year-old skin will allow.
‘Give my love to Daniel and the little ones, won’t you?
’ With a flick of her lips, which I think is supposed to be a smile, she turns and strides across the room, her husband following after with a nod of farewell to his offspring.
‘My life isn’t nearly as fantastic as you think it is.’ Thea is up on her tiptoes, calling out to her mother over the music and the chatter filling the room. ‘Tell your friends how utterly shit it is right now.’
‘What do you mean?’ Jonah frowns as he places his hand on his sister’s arm. ‘Your life is shit?’
Thea rolls her eyes. ‘Ignore me. I’m really quite drunk right now. But it’s my birthday so it’s allowed. So.’ She claps her hands together. ‘Shall we get even more drunk?’
‘That sounds like a very good idea.’ Jonah threads his arm through his sister’s and leads the way to the bar.
We drink a bit more. We dance a lot more, until we’re the only people still on the dance floor.
The party has started to wrap up without us noticing, with only a dozen or so guests remaining.
But the music is still going, there are a few nibbles left on the buffet table, and there are a couple of cocktails sat on the bar so I am very much still in party mode as Peter Andre tells us about his mysterious girl.
Until.
‘Nyey.’ I am not even sure what the sound that comes out of my mouth is, only that the cold splat on my back is a shock. ‘What the hell?’ I spin around and see a man pulling back his lips in a sheepish expression. He’s holding a pint glass with only a little bit of lager sitting in the bottom.
‘Sorry.’ He lifts the glass slightly and scratches the back of his neck. ‘I tripped and…’
And he spilled his drink over me.
Classic meet-cute, though it doesn’t feel so cute in reality. It feels cold and sticky.
‘I really am sorry.’ My latest meet-cute guy places a hand on his chest. ‘Maybe I could…’
I hold a hand up, cutting him off. ‘It’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it.’ I turn to Jonah and Thea, who are still dancing away, oblivious to my predicament. ‘Guys, I’m done. I’m going home.’
‘Yep.’ Jonah stops, statue-still. ‘Me too.’
‘Can I come back with you guys?’ Thea slips her arm first through Jonah’s and then mine, making a birthday girl sandwich. ‘Sleep on your sofa?’
‘Of course you can.’ Jonah kisses his sister on top of her head. ‘But what about the kids?’
Thea shrugs. ‘They’re with Daniel. He left me with them for three months and I coped.’
‘Shall we get in our pyjamas and watch 13 Going On 30? Seems apt, birthday girl.’ I tighten my arm to give Thea a squeeze. ‘You can borrow a pair of my PJs.’
‘That sounds like the best way to end my birthday.’ Thea leans against me, causing us all to stumble as we near the bar’s door. ‘Hey, Christina? Why do you stink of beer?’