Chapter 8 – Aged to Perfection
Luke – 22 years old
M y car door opens, but I refuse to look up to see who it is. It doesn’t matter, his aftershave permeates the air, so I take a deep breath.
Liam .
“How did it go?” he mumbles.
“Dreadfully” is all I can get out before the lump in the back of my throat bobs back up. When I turn towards him, his brows are drawn together. If it weren’t for the tattoos covering his body, you wouldn’t be able to tell us apart. It hurts to know we were once really fucking close, but over the last six years, we’ve grown apart. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.
He squeezes my shoulder. “I did tell Dad I would go instead of you but …” He looks out the windscreen towards our house, deep in thought for a few moments. “Dad thought I’d fuck it up for him and stormed out the house.”
I nod along. “It’s fine.” I don’t know if I’ am trying to reassure him or me. A few more months, just a few more months and I’ll be out of here.
“I got to ask.” Liam pauses. “Why won’t you take over from him?” Staring at him, I contemplate my words carefully. Even if I tell him the real reason, he won’t understand, so I stick with the words I say whenever Dad asks the same thing.
“It’s not for me, I’m happy doing the job I have.”
It’s his turn to nod, but something tells me he’s not buying it, especially when he looks down and sees the photograph of Hadley in my lap. His mouth opens and closes a few times as if he was going to say something.
Pointing to the photo before shaking his head, he turns to look back out the window. We sit in silence for a long while before he tells me he’s going back inside the house. “Okay, I will be in, in a moment.”
Three weeks later …
Welcome to Suzi’s 70th birthday!
“Aged to perfection”
November 14 TH 2018.
Every year, Nana’s birthday becomes more and more of a spectacular event. Balloon arches are dotted about the country manor garden’s, ad had hired for the day. Ice sculptures of Nana’s favourite animals, penguins and giraffes, sit on tables as centre pieces. Sweets vans and ice-cream stalls have lines of small children waiting to be served. And the guests are dolled up to the max in tuxes and tight-fitting dresses. It’s more of a gala than a birthday.
The whole event screams look at me. And no surprises on who gave the order to make this all happen. I spot him laughing across the garden with a few of his business buddies. Dad always loved being centre of attention, even though this is his mother’s birthday celebration, he makes it about him, telling the guests how he had to give Mummy a special day.
What the guests don’t know is that it’s only Liam and me who actually visit Nana. Dad couldn’t give two fucks about her.
“You know, if I go off the look on your face right now, I’d say you don’t like your father much.” As her voice registers in my mind, I turn away from scowling at my dad. Running my hand through my hair, I puff out a breath and grin at the small woman smiling back up at me.
“Nana!” I laugh and pull her into a tight hug.
“Off with you,” she jokes as she untangles her arms from me. Stepping back, she grabs my elbow, steering me away from the party and farther into the garden.
“Is this the part where you finally kill me, Nana?” She giggles but doesn’t reply. Nana is obsessed with watching true crime documentaries. I’d gone over to visit her one day while Liam was there. He’d set up her new smart TV and created a Netflix account for her, then explained what to press and how to search for things. She had seen a I Am a Killer flash across the screen and demanded Liam hit play. Since then, it’s all she watches. When one of us goes to visit her, she sits in her chair in the living room filling us in on the horrible crimes people have committed. It’s now a running joke with Liam and me on who Nana will kill. She tells us she’s watched enough of them that she knows how to get away with it.
As we take a seat on a stone bench far enough away from the guests but still close enough that we can faintly hear them, Nana pulls a jam sandwich from her handbag, then pats my leg and hands me a slice. Tears prick my eyes. Good old Nana never forgets the small things. When we were in primary school, we were given the choice of cooked dinners for lunch or bring your own lunch box in. Liam and I wanted to be like everyone else and begged Mum to let us have a lunch box. The first day of being on Pack-Ups, we told Mum to do sandwiches and yogurts . Dad had overheard the conversation and put a stop to it. It wasn’t to his standards, and he demanded we have cooked meals.
Liam had told Nana about it at some point, so whenever we would visit or stay for the weekend, she would pull out a ready-made packed lunch from the fridge, and we’d sit outside in her garden eating it and grinning our heads off as we’d tuck into a jam fucking sandwich .
Liam comes flying around the corner as I’m finishing my sandwich. “Hey Nana, where’s mine?” he asks while smiling, then kissing the top of her head.
She grumbles a few curse words before asking, “Did you get what I asked you to?” I whip my head towards Liam. Liam sheepishly looks away from me and to the gravel below our feets.
“You know I did,” he mumbles.
“Good, then we will trade.” She hands him the other half of the jam sandwich as he places a black rucksack at her feet. He wasn’t carrying that when we walked into the building earlier.
“What’s that?” I ask, pointing to the bag.
Liam hums as he takes a large bite, then turns to me, shrugging. “Your getaway bag.”
My jaw drops, and my heart rate spikes. I furrow my brows, looking between my brother and grandmother for further explanation.
Leaning over, Nana grabs my hand and squeezes. “Liam told me he had overheard a heated conversation between your father and mother a week ago.” She pauses, and I look to Liam for answers. He nods while grabbing her other hand before he picks up from where she left off.
“Dad is announcing you are taking over for him today.”
I jump to my feet, my body trembling. “No, no, no, I just need a few more months, and I can get out of here.” I pace back and forth in front of them, then realise they heard what I was planning.
“See, Nana, I told you he was already planning on going back for Hadley.”
“I wasn’t planning …”
Hadley has been my only goal for the last six years; she’s the reason I tried so hard to save money. It’s always been about Tigger.
Nana stares at me with tears in her eyes, and Liam’s expression is unreadable.
“For six years you’ve taken shit from him.” He points towards the party, and I know he’s referring to our father. “And each time you come close to breaking, it’s that photo of Hadley that keeps you together. You have one in your glovebox, bedside table, and in your wallet.” I don’t know how he knows about my bedroom and wallet; I thought I’d kept it to myself and hidden them well. He’s been snooping around. “It’s time for you to go home, brother, your real home.”
Nana places her hand on Liam’s knee and gives him a small nod. “Luke, we don’t want you to go, but if you don’t leave now, you won’t ever get out. It’s pained me for years that I’ve allowed my son to become the person he is today, and it …” She stops to wipe her tears. I hate to see Nana like this. It’s not her fault Dad turned out the way he did.
Dropping to my knees in front of her, I take her hands in mine.
“I should have done more to protect you both.”
Liam and I shake our heads and tell her “No.”
“But I can do something now. There’s enough money in the bag to get you away, to get you on your feet. Liam will join you soon.” I look to my twin, and he’s wiping his tears with the back of his hand. “Promise me you will go, now.”
“What about you, Nana, I can’t leave you.” I sob, the tears and emotions I’ve held onto for the last six years becoming too much.
“I’m old, I’ll be dead soon.” She laughs and winks. Not funny, Nana.
Giving me a small smile, she pats my hand. “He won’t know it was me who helped you get away. And he won’t know it when it comes to Liam. I’ve got everything I need, kid. Can you say the same?”
Have I got everything I need. Not by a long shot.
We chat about it for another ten minutes before Liam says it’s time to go. Dad will be looking for us soon, and I need to get out of here before then. After giving them both a long hug and a promise I will be in touch, I race off to my car. As I place the bag of money onto the passenger seat, a small bag in the footwell catches my eye. Liam told me he packed me some things and put them there earlier.
With my heart in my throat, I race down the road. Liam was right about one thing: It’s time for me to go home. I can only hope it’s not too late.