"Here, I'll take that!' Kate yelled as she swiped the bottle from my grasp, a cheeky smile plastered on her lips. She ran over to deliver it to my mother and thankfully Lewis chased after her and away from me. I picked up the hem of my dress and wrung out some of the water as I walked over to where my parents were seated on the deck.
"Hey Mum, hey Dad," I said as I hugged Dad.
"Vanessa, I'm glad you could get the time off," My father said rather gruffly even though his hug was gentle. As I looked up at his greying bearded face, I gave him and Mum an apologetic frown. I knew how unhappy they were that I had to work on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but I was still so new in my position; I was low in the pecking order for requesting big public holidays off.
"Me and you both Dad," I said, giving his hand a squeeze. I smiled at him, but even in the dimming evening light, I was caught off-guard by how much he was ageing. The grey in his beard continued up to the edges of his curly black hair, and all of his smile lines were becoming more pronounced. I hugged Mum and took some comfort in the fact that she seemed to be ageing slower, or at least was hiding it better. Probably the latter. Any grey she may have had was probably seen to by Hannah, Darren's wife and the hairdresser for both families, and dyed a perfect shade to match her natural chestnut waves.
Once my parents released me I walked over to the Taylors and Ida immediately pulled me in for a big, tight, motherly embrace. When she let me go she held me at arm's length and looked me over as she always did.
"You're looking well, love," Ida said as she nodded approvingly. I brushed off her compliment. My artfully messy bun seemed less artful just plain messy under her appraising eyes.
My blue cotton dress may have looked nice when I got out of the car, but after the wet hugs from Kate and Lewis, it looked more like I rolled out of bed and through the shower on the way to get here. It also seemed to cling to my curves in all the ways that reminded me of just how fit Ida had managed to stay, even well into her fifties, while I was never able to trim my figure down like that. But then again, that was always the difference between the Taylors and the Campbells. They were the tall slim kind, whereas we were shorties that packed all the soft edges. My dad was only as tall as Ida so long as she wasn't wearing heels, and Henry was only dwarfed by his own sons.
"It has been far too long since I've seen you!" Ida added, letting go of me, her tone was a joking scold but I could hear the truth beneath it.
"I know, I know," I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and pushing a few loose wispy bits back into place. "I'm sorry. Work has been crazy busy. But I brought wine, that equals automatic forgiveness, right?" I gestured over to where Mum and Dad were already working the bottle open.
"Well, I can't argue with that. You're forgiven!" She said with a smile. She led me over to the barbecue where Henry was working on the sausages. They were already looking very nearly burned, but between him and my father they had a well-organised way of getting dinner cooked. Henry was free to add some charcoal to the sausages and in return, he would turn a blind eye when my father cooked the steaks well beyond well-done. Apparently, a barbeque wasn't a barbeque unless the food was burnt. Or nicely blackened, as my father and Henry would say.
"G'day Vanessa, nice to see you could get the night off," Henry said, reaching out and pulling me into a one-armed hug as he turned the sausages.
"Dinner smells good already," I told him, making him smile. I straightened up and look around a bit, my eyes scanning over the old swing set in the corner of the yard and the back gate that led out to the river, already propped open with a rough timber offcut.
"He's not here yet," Henry said gruffly as he flipped the last sausage and turned to face me.
"Huh? Who?" I tilted my head in question.
"Nathan, he's not here yet. Said he's running a bit late. Something about a call with some fancy whatchamacallit type person back in the States. And on New Year's too! The kid can't even catch a break," Henry muttered, scratching the bald patch at the top of his head.
"Oh, I wasn't looking for Nathan," I said quickly. Henry cocked an eyebrow at me and Ida just laughed. "What? I wasn't. I already know he's running late. He let me know earlier today."
"You know, that makes it sound even worse," A voice said in a loud faux-whisper, as a big hand fell on my shoulder. I turned around to see Darren, Nathan's older brother.
"Piss off Darren." I shrugged his hand off and playfully elbowed him in the gut. "Don't you have two cute wet kids to be watching out for?"
Darren chuckled and shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. Whenever I looked at him I could see Nathan in his face. But Darren had gotten a little softer as he aged, and he wasn't quite as tall. He had lost that adolescent lankiness that Nathan never managed to shift.
"Nah, Hannah's in charge of supervising them tonight. She got to nurse a hangover on Boxing Day, New Year's Day is all mine," Darren said as he peered over at the barbeque and rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell Dad, let me cook them next year please, no one wants a mouth full of charcoal for dinner."
Henry fixed Darren with a pointed glare and his eldest son raised his hands defensively and took a step back.
"Darren, why don't you make yourself useful and get Vanessa a drink?" Ida suggested, hoping to dispel the tension between the two men.
"Nah, that's Nathan's job," Darren laughed before walking back to where his wife was seated near the blow-up pool and sinking into the outdoor chair beside her. His arm automatically draped around her shoulders, settling over the perfectly styled blonde waves that cascaded down her back. Every casual touch or whispered word seemed as natural as breathing for them. I always marvelled at how easy it was for those two to just be together. Well, apart from the drama when Darren explained to his parents that his girlfriend (Hannah was only nineteen at the time) had fallen pregnant. Fast forward eight years, things had settled in, and any shock and concern had long ago turned to love for the surprise granddaughter and the grandson that followed. As far as beautiful relationships went, they were a hard act to follow.
"Sons, Vanessa, are truly terrible. What I wouldn't have given for a nice daughter like you," Ida joked, patting my arm with genuine affection.
"She's all yours, Ida. If only there was a way to make it all legal and official," My father teased as he walked over. We all knew the next line in that joke so well he didn't have to say it (it always ended up being about the fact that Nathan and I were so close that we were practically an old married couple; might as well make it official). Dad turned to Henry. "Ready for me to show you how to cook a real steak?"
"You've been offering to do that every year for the last two and a half decades Greg, and I have yet to see any results."
As the fathers started to bicker Ida took my arm and led me back over to the ring of seats where my mother was relaxing with a glass of the wine I had brought along.
"You drinking tonight, love?"
"No, unfortunately not Mum. I've got a shift tomorrow. I've heard New Years Day can get busy, I don't want to be nursing a hangover," I said as I sank into the chair at her side. She nodded and reached into the esky beside her, retrieving a bottle of water and handing it over to me. I thanked her as I broke the seal and took a sip, grateful for the refreshment on such a warm night.
"So, tell me Vanessa, how have things been going?" Ida asked as she accepted a fresh glass of wine from my mother. She reached behind her head and shifted her neat bun at the nape of her neck to the side so she could rest her head back comfortably on her chair.
I started to tell them about how work had been over the last few weeks. The Christmas season could be absolutely wonderful for so many people, but I was also learning just how devastating it could be for others. We'd had a sharp intake of patients on the ward over the holiday season. Although I couldn't share any details, I could tell the two women I respected most in the world all of the new things I'd learned, and just how grateful I was to have such a loving and supportive family.
As I got lost in my discussion with Mum and Ida my eyes kept flicking towards the side passage. If they noticed they didn't say anything. They always had more tact that either of the fathers ever did. Every time Nate came home I felt like a kid again, excitedly waiting for my best friend to arrive for a play date. I told myself earlier today that this time would be different, but even with great conversation and the night off, it wasn't enough to stop me from looking out for him.
(If you're waiting for the erotic stuff it will be a slow burn until Ch. 6)
*All rights reserved, LivANDJay
