Chapter 26
Steven
Junie’s family does not bloody know what to make of me. It would be funny if it wasn’t so awkward.
She greets her dad with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and he holds out his hand to me for a proper shake. The way she steadily tensed up about this dinner throughout the day has me uncharacteristically nervous as well, but her father has a kind look in his eye.
“From all the way Down Under!” he cries, clapping a hand to my shoulder.
“Crikey mate, I’m right chuffed to be here,” I smirk, playing up the accent. It’s worth it for the surprised smile Junie shoots my way. I roll my neck to loosen the stiffness.
“Well come on in, your mother is all in a state. And the baby’s here!” Scott leads us into the house. “To be honest, that’s why I’ve been outside, enjoying the fresh air. Lots of noise in there.”
But as we step into the living room, all sound and motion stop. The temperature seems to drop several degrees.
“Look who’s here!” Scott announces as if he doesn’t notice the shift.
“Hey guys.” Junie’s voice seems smaller than usual. Her shoulders are hunched. “This is Steven.” Her hand on my bicep is tight, cutting off the circulation.
“G’day! Nice to meet everyone, I’ve heard so much about you.” I meet each of their eyes in turn.
A young woman with long lavender hair sits on the couch, a baby propped on her knee. The child tilts its scrunched up face back and lets out a howl like a banshee.
“My sister, Lisa, and Baby Luna.” Junie gestures.
“Sick tats,” I say, burying the uncomfortable feeling that she doesn’t want me here.
I can’t afford to be quiet and closed off with Junie’s family.
If I want to stay in her life, I have to win them over.
Lisa’s arms are covered in dark ink with swirls of color and it’s bloody badass. It’s an easy compliment.
Lisa flashes a quick smile before turning her attention back to the baby, bouncing, shushing, and rubbing their noses together, careful to avoid her septum ring.
“Welcome back, Junebug. We missed you.” Her mum doesn’t miss a beat, taking her daughter in her arms and wrapping her tight. I can still feel them all assessing me and I fight to keep my arms from crossing.
After seeing David, I can kind of understand their reactions. I’m bigger, scragglier, and have the rough and tumble look of someone who spends most of their time outside. I feel like a giant in this family and the careful dance they’re doing around each other only highlights our differences.
How would Junie feel if she ever met my family?
Not just my brothers, but even my Mum could probably crush her with one arm.
And she’d have trouble even getting a word in.
This silence is eerie. I hope I’m not making anyone uncomfortable, but this awkwardness seems to stem from something deeper than a stranger in their midst.
“Dinner’s just about ready,” Rachel says with a tight smile. “We can’t wait to hear all about your little trip, honey!”
Junie grimaces and I reach for her hip without thinking. She relaxes in my arms and it soothes my protective instincts. I want to save her from these people. I want to pack her up and take her away. But this is her family; just because I don’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s bad.
“Wine, anyone?” she asks, holding up the two bottles we brought. It made me smile to see Yellowtail on the shelf at the supermarket, an Australian brand.
“Please.” I’m tempted to follow her into the kitchen to avoid any more awkwardness, but my mum raised me to be more polite. The sister is intimidating, especially after those texts, but I never bothered to bring them up to Junie. I didn’t want her to think I was going through her phone.
It’s dawning on me how little we really know about each other. Well, this is my chance to find out about her life. I plop myself down on the couch beside Lisa and the baby.
“How old is she?” I ask politely, knowing that mums love talking about how many months their little bundles of joy are. Predictably, she opens up and starts detailing all of the milestones her little angel hit recently.
Does Junie want kids? That I don’t know the definitive answer suddenly seems like a huge oversight.
You’re still getting to know each other, I remind myself. Until a few days ago, you thought your relationship would only last a few weeks.
With Mum’s permission, I hold out my finger to Baby Luna and my heart nearly stops when she wraps her tiny hand around my digit. She’s so small. I can see the resemblance between sisters, and there are some traces of Junie in the baby’s face too.
Jesus, am I really thinking about a baby with both of our genes? Junie’s pretty, curled eyelashes, my ruddy cheeks and yellow hair.
When I look up, she’s watching me, holding two glasses of wine. The look in her eyes says she likes what she sees and it makes my heart stutter. I reluctantly move my hand away, impressed by the tiny creature’s firm grip, and take my drink.
“Cheers,” she says, clinking against my glass. I’m feeling weirdly fragile after touching something so small. I want to pull her into my lap, but her mum announces dinner is ready and we all shuffle into the dining room.
“So, Steven, tell us about yourself.” Scott grins as he digs into his fish and potatoes. “Are you enjoying your visit to America so far?”
“We haven’t really done much.” Junie sounds embarrassed. “Jet lag, dealing with house stuff.”
“It was nice of David to watch the house for you,” her mother says, then her eyes widen as if realizing she might’ve said something uncomfortable.
“He wasn’t watching the house for me, he was squatting.” Junie frowns. “I told him to move out when we broke up.”
Rachel’s eyes dance between the two of us, clearly wanting to push back but unsure how much she should say in front of me.
“Well, sweetie. It was very sudden. He probably just thought you’d change your mind. I don’t think anyone expected…”
It’s clear that she means me. No one expected me. While it stings a little, the statement seems fair, so I shovel a bite of mashed potatoes into my mouth to avoid the need to speak. Her mum is a fantastic cook.
“I know it might seem sudden to you, but it was long overdue. I ignored a lot of red flags for too long. You know I’ve always wanted to travel.”
Her mother’s eyes soften at that. “That’s true, sweetheart. You always had an adventurous spirit.”
“That’s where you two met, in Bali?” Scott asks, trying to steer the conversation to more neutral waters.
Junie is sipping her wine so I take the opportunity to speak in more than monosyllables. “Yes, I live on Gili Telu. It’s a little island right off the coast, near Lombok.”
“What brought you there?”
“Ah, the tides, the current, probably a little bit of fate. But what kept me there were the sea turtles. I work in conservation through a dive shop attached to a turtle sanctuary.”
“And that’s what you were doing there, Junebug? Why you extended your trip?”
Junie glows as she describes her time at the sanctuary. I sit back and listen to her talk, enjoying her mother’s great cooking, and noticing how her sister seems silent and brooding. She watches Junie carefully, one hand mindlessly rocking the bassinet where the baby sleeps beside her.
“But you’re back now, so what are you going to do? I heard that you lost your job at Harper Realty.” Her words seem intended to strike to the heart of any insecurity.
“I didn’t really lose it so much as I left it.” Junie shrugs, not taking the bait. But her mother gasps softly.
“What will you do, then? You loved working there!”
“I did not love working there,” Junie says firmly.
The change in her body language between talking about the sanctuary and the real estate office should’ve been obvious enough, but her family seems surprised.
“It was just a stopgap until David and I moved to the city, which we obviously won’t be doing now. ”
“Have you started looking for a new position?” Scott asks neutrally.
“What’s your end goal here? No offense, Steven, but why would you come all the way to America? Are you moving here?” Lisa cuts straight to the heart of it.
“No.” That is definitely not in the cards for me. “I’m just here for Junie.” I leave it intentionally vague. Whatever she does or doesn’t want them to know should come directly from. Under the table, I rest my hand on her thigh to let her know I’m here for her.
“Do you have to be such a bitch?” Junie asks, her face pinched in frustration.
Her family gasps softly and her mother says her name sharply.
“I’ve started freelancing, using a lot of the skills I learned with the Harpers.
I’ve been running their accounts for years and I’m pretty good at it.
Between that and the work I’ve done for the sanctuary, I’ve built a small portfolio and once I get settled, I’ll start pitching clients.
Until then, I have my savings from Grannie.
It’s really fine, I don’t need anyone’s help.
” She doesn’t say it, but I hear the ghost of the words “Or approval” and I silently cheer her on.
“Isn’t freelancing pretty unreliable?” Her mother frowns. I take another sip of my wine. It’s hard listening to people shit all over Junie’s ideas and bite my tongue. She’s brilliant and brave and she’s going after what she wants. Can’t they see that?
“If anyone can do it, Junie can,” I say, then shove another bite of salmon in my mouth.
“Thank you.” She throws me a brief smile, then turns back to her parents. “It doesn’t have to be,” she quips, stabbing a piece of steak a little harder than necessary. “It will probably be a slow start, but it’s what I want. It makes the most sense with the move. Grandma Frannie would’ve loved it.”
This is it. My fingers still on the wine stem, my breath catches in my throat as I wait for it.
“You’re moving?” Lisa says, her voice sinister.
“Yes, to Gili Telu. With Steven. He’s here to help me move.” Her smile is like a beam of sunshine before she turns back to face her family. “And to meet everyone. I’ve gotta say, you’re sure making a great impression.”
The rest of the dinner is a blur of commotion. The quiet from earlier seems like an entirely different house. Her family is loud and opinionated, offering everything from criticism to advice. Many questions are raised without seeming to wait for or expect an answer.
I know I’m not saying much, but I just don’t know what my role is here.
Words have never been my strong suit, and Junie is defending herself beautifully.
As overbearing as it feels to me, her family clearly loves her.
Even her sister, for all her coldness, seems genuinely concerned.
I’m exhausted by the crosstalk and long for the hammock outside my bungalow.
I wonder distantly what time it is in the Gilis and who Mike is having sundowners with now that I’m out of town.
I’m starting to feel like coming here was a really bad idea. She may find it stifling now, but this is all she’s ever known and I clearly don’t fit here. How can she walk away from all these people who care about her to take a chance on an Aussie arsehole who’s more fish than man at this point?
After what seems like an eternity, their clipped voices calm down and the volley of questions and accusations seem to soften. Junie is clutching my hand beneath the table like a lifeline and the ease in tension is visible in her body.
“I’m sorry, Steven. My family is very opinionated, as you can see,” she says, loud enough for them all to hear.
“Gosh, but aren’t we being rude? You came all the way here to visit and we’re neglecting our guest.”
“No ma’am,” I say. “Not a problem at all. I know Junie hasn’t been home in a while and you have a lot to catch up on. For what it’s worth, I think she’s amazing. And your food is pretty incredible too. Thank you.”
That seems to mollify her. There’s a twinkle in her eye as she presses her lips together and returns to her plate. Mine and Scott’s are scraped clean while the women seem too riled up to eat. I finally know where she gets her fiery spirit from.
“So,” her father coughs uncomfortably, drawing all eyes at the table to his. “Turtles, huh? I’d like to hear more about that. You ever play darts?”