“An Jen!” Daisy screeches. “An Jen!”
“Hey, Daisy Duck!” I grin at her over Skype. “Are you being good for Mummy?” She bobs her little head, nodding.
“Mama mama mama mama,” she babbles, clapping her hands. Hannah smiles next to her, kissing her cheek.
“Daisy, go and find Daddy. He has a pie cakey for you,” she says and puts her down.
“Bye bye bye bye,” Daisy shouts, toddling off in the direction of her kitchen. I smile as I watch her go, dragging her blanket behind her, and almost falling over her own feet.
“She’s daft,” I say to my sister.
“She learnt that from you,” she says dryly. “Some of her words right now are kinda… suspect.”
“Sis, she’s almost one, and I’m sure she means fork when she says f**k.” I laugh.
“Oh, she does, but when you’re in public and she starts yelling for one…” She shakes her head, a smile touching her lips. “Anyway, how are you? How’s uni?”
“Same old. Starting to pick up on work because the exams are coming up… But hey. Other than that I’m good.”
“And Samuel?” she smirks.
“You heard about that, huh?”
“Jen, it was always gonna happen. When you first met him, you talked for two weeks afterwards about “the big mean boy” whose head you chucked a lobster at,” she says with a raise of her eyebrows.
“I did not!” I protest.
“You did too! I was sick of hearing about him after two days. I think you fell in love with him then.” She winks. “You and Carl were never gonna be forever. I knew that the second Sam strolled back into the Bay.”
“How do you know this stuff?”
“I’m a genius, Jen, you should know this by now.” We both laugh. “Point is…” Hannah looks around, making sure Lloyd isn’t around. “…Samuel Edwards is one hot little somethin’ somethin’, and if you didn’t bag him and I wasn’t married, I would certainly not turn him down, you get what I’m sayin, Jen?”
A laugh bubbles out of me, and I cover my mouth with my hand. “Hannah, believe me, there is nothing small about Samuel Edwards.”
She grins like a teenager, clapping her hands together. “That’s it. Daisy and I are coming up this weekend. Lloyd can cope without us for three or four days. I need to hear everything!”
“Why do I get the feeling this will be exactly like when I first had sex?” I ask dryly.
“Because it will be. Only worse.” Hannah winks, and I can Daisy calling her in the background. “I gotta go. The sprog is yelling, and if the little one is yelling, the big one will be too. I’ll sort out this weekend and give you a ring. Love you.”
“Love you, too! Give Daisy a big kiss, and Lloyd… Well, tell him hi.” I laugh, and Hannah blows a kiss before the screen goes blank. I shake my head. It’s amazing how much our relationship has improved since I moved away. Now, instead of dreading weekends with her, I look forward to them.
And I can’t wait for this one.
~
BING
I sit back and watch Alec as he pounds the punching bag in the corner.
“Do you miss surfing?”
He stops, wipes his forehead, and leans against the wall. “Sometimes. I fit as much in as I can whenever I go back to see Mum, though. Where did that come from?”
I shrug. “I was just wondering. I guess I’m wondering if Jen misses the Bay.”
“Her family? Yes. The Bay? No.” Alec shakes his head. “Jen’s too big for a small town like Lilac Bay.”
“That better not be a reference to the size of my ass, Johnson,” Jen’s voice calls down from the top of the stairs. A smile creeps onto my lips.
“You bet it was,” Alec replies, winking at me. “That thing could block out the sun and cause the next eclipse, Mason.”
“You’m a cheeky little donkey shit, Alec.” She laughs, preceding Lexy down the stairs. “Watch it, or my ass might just sit on you and squash you.”
“I’ll take that,” I mutter, wrapping my arms around her waist when she reaches me. She puts her hands on my shoulders and leans forward, gently pressing her lips to mine.
“Dinner is ready,” she says, looking into my eyes.
“Can we not go straight to dessert?” I ask, running my hands over her hips, noting her tight jeans.
She purses her lips. “No, we can’t. And if that’s the dessert you’re expecting, you’re gonna be well disappointed. Lemon meringue pie.”
“Is it homemade?” Alec pipes up.
Lexy nods. “Yep. Mum made it this morning.”
I look at Alec, and he looks at me. I let Jen go, and we both shoot off towards the stairs. Our feet pound against them as we run, and he pushes past me into the kitchen.
A large lemon meringue pie is sitting on the side on one of Mum’s glass dessert plates. I lick my lips a little. Mum makes the best lemon pie – and she learnt that from Gram.
“Reckon there’s any chance Lexy will ever be able to make a pie like that?” Alec asks hopefully, sitting at the table.
“I reckon there’s more chance than Jen being able to do it,” I reply, sitting too.
“Rule one, lads.” Dad looks at us across the table. “Never underestimate a woman’s ability in the kitchen. They’re either really good or really bad, and neither are anything to be mocked.”
Jen grins at me, taking her seat. “Well, I can cook. If it comes in a packet.”
“I’m worse than that.” Lexy shrugs a shoulder. “I guess we need lessons, ‘cause I can barely scoop ice cream into a bowl.”
“Even I can do that.” Jen laughs.
“But you live alone. I still have Mum cooking for me.”
“So do I,” I remind her. “And I can cook.”
“You can cook?” Jen raises her eyebrows. “Why didn’t I know this?”
“There’s no need to sound so surprised.” I grin. “I learnt from Mum. I need a lot of food you know.”
Dad smiles. “We went away for the weekend when he was eighteen, and he was only worried he wouldn’t be able to eat anything but crap food, so he asked Emily to teach him how to cook.”
“I remember that!” Lexy cries, smiling widely. “Watching my womanizing big brother with an apron on and cooking in the kitchen was probably the highlight of my life.”