It had taken six days until Stephen unwrapped it. Almost a week of absolute agony, waiting for his family to be out of the house. The young man may have turned eighteen, with a bedroom to himself, but he knew the moment he slipped the intimate lubricant against his rosebud, he knew his family would disturb his personal time.
His mother might come in with the washing, or his father might burst into his bedroom with the laptop grinding to a halt and demand technical assistance. Possibly, one of his sisters would need help with their homework. He didn't have a lock on his room, and he didn't trust his family to honour a closed door.
They hadn't when he enjoyed the company of his ex-girlfriend; his sister burst into his bedroom holding a Mathematics worksheet, and saw Ingrid, naked alongside her satisfied elder brother. The screams brought Stephen's mother to his bedroom, and after a very one-sided row, he found his partner was no longer welcome at their house. He had weeks of "chats" with his horrified parents. They didn't know he was sexually active, and the sight of two teenagers, both nude and desperately trying to hide a used condom, was something his mother did not want to see.
Stephen's youngest sister, a passionate ballet dancer, had a role in a show at her dance school. Because of demand and limited space, they could only offer a set number of tickets per family, and his parents instructed their son to get his own tea after college.