Rose, Alex and Nat arrived next, Jack and Jasmine-Lily were running around the kitchen excitedly while Rose began helping Fiona set the table. It didn’t take long before Nat had me blowing up balloons, I didn’t last long, my cheeks ached and I was rubbish at tying them up.
“Sorry” I squeaked, as another balloon whizzed from my hand and flew across the room.
“That is okay, you can help with the banners”
“I’ll help you” Alex offered.
I haven’t really spent time with Alex, I wasn’t uncomfortable around him, it was like there was something unsaid between us.
“Here, you can take that end” he said, passing the other end of the banner to me. I had to step on a chair to reach the height he was pinning it up at.
“How is that…Uncle?” I couldn’t stop myself plus I wanted to see his reaction. I was chuffed when he smiled, he looked like he didn’t know how to reply for a few seconds but eventually he replied,
“Perfect…niece”
Apparently all that was unsaid between us was a matter of a few words. Although my life has not been tragic, it now felt like it was all fitting into place. I was falling in love with my new life completely, I could hardly remember my life before now.
“Hey, does anyone know where my dad is?”
He still wasn’t back, normally he tells me where he is going. Everyone looked at each other, each shrugging their shoulders.
Jase, Anna and their baby arrived not long after the decorations had been put up.
“You timed that perfectly” Fiona scolded Jase.
“Sorry Mrs R,”
I saw Anna holding the baby, I had heard a lot about her but had yet to meet her. Jase stepped in and called me over.
“Anna, this is Chris’s daughter Ava. Ava this is my girlfriend Anna” he said.
“Hello Ava, it is nice to finally meet you” she smiled shaking my hand.
“Hi, you too. Your daughter is so cute” I said looking at Sophia in her arms.
“Thank you, luckily she gets her looks from me” she teased.
“Definitely true” I added.
“Hey girls, ego is getting bruised here” Jase said pretending to be hurt.
We were laughing when Henry came in saying my dad was home.
We were all waiting facing the front door as he came through the back door taking us by surprise.
“Wow, look at this place,” he said shoving something into the cupboard.
“Happy birthday son” Fiona collared him first.
“Happy birthday” I said meekly, all of a sudden I felt shy.
“Thank you, you all didn’t have to go to all this trouble you know,” he said.
“Yes we did, Ava done most of it anyway,” Nat said.
I don’t know why she was giving me all the credit, I only put one banner on the wall.
I was starting to think Jack wasn’t going to show when the doorbell rang.
“Who could that be, we are all here?” Henry pointed out.
I guess he didn’t know about Lizzie yet if he thought we were all here.
“I’ll get it”
I quickly left the kitchen, straightening my dress down before opening the door. I guess he did like me enough to show up, he had made an effort and changed into a shirt and done his hair, the outcome was very yummy to look at.
“You look…hot” he said, causing me to blush.
“Thank you, come in” I said, opening the door wider to let him in.
He hesitated as he stepped into the house looking all around him.
“Have you told him you invited me?” he asked.
“Nope, he will be fine. Come on” I said, hoping it was true.
I am sixteen after all, it’s not like I intended to marry Jack or anything. It’s one meal with all my family around the both of us, nothing could happen even if I wanted it to.
All eyes turned to us when we entered the kitchen, an awkward silence filled the room for a few moments before the conversation started up again. I squeezed his hand slightly and led him to the table where everyone was seated. I didn’t miss the way Uncle Alex looked at my dad, and then in turn at Jase too. I was definitely missing something.
“You know Jack so I don’t have to introduce you” I said to my dad, Alex and Jase, “but everyone this is Jack, Jack this is my Aunt Natalie, these are my cousins Jack and Jasmine-lily” huh, it didn’t click they had the same name, “This is Rose, this is my grandmother Fiona and her husband Henry” I concluded.
“It’s nice to meet you all” he said pulling out a chair for me.
While I received encouraging smiles from Nat, Rose and Fiona, I could feel the tension from my male relatives.
Soon enough conversation began, it gave Jack and I some time to talk between us.
“Shouldn’t Lizzie be here by now?” my dad reminded me.
I looked at the time, she was half an hour late. I would have every member of my biological family here in one room tonight for the first time in my life, I prayed everyone behaved themselves, especially Lizzie, if she ever got here.
Nobody had anything nice to say about her, by all counts she had bought it upon herself, I was hoping to change that starting tonight.
I didn’t know my dad well enough to hope he wouldn’t do the father interrogation on Jack. This was far worse, he had Uncle Alex and Jase on his side. It was Uncle Alex who started the line of questioning. I was positive they were trying to scare him away. When I wasn’t cringing, I was trying to sink into the wood of the chair. I was saved when the doorbell rang, I didn’t like to leave Jack on his own, I was sure they would try to scare him out of the back door while I was out of the room.
“Hey, you made it” I smiled as I opened the front door.
My smile soon disappeared when I saw Lizzie having to lean against the doorframe to hold herself up. She had promised she wouldn’t be drunk, she even said she wouldn’t drink throughout the evening.
The part that hurt the most was everyone was right, she was a drunk who wouldn’t change. I thought she would try for me at least. I believed every word she said last week and like a gullible teenager hoping to have her in my life, I soaked up every lie.
I soon began to panic, I didn’t know how to handle a drunken woman I didn’t know and I certainly didn’t want my dad to see her like this. I’m sure he wouldn’t be horrible about it, the line I-told-you-so came to mind. I wanted to show him I could handle her but he was right, she was only going to hurt me.
“Are you going to invite me in or what?” she slurred.
“You should go home and get some sleep,” I advised.
“You look like her, and now you sound like her. I’ll go home when I want to. Now, I was invited to a party and I want to go to a party”
Lizzie started to push her way in, this was a disaster, I couldn’t think quickly enough of what to do before my dad came walking towards us.
“What the hell Lizzie?”
“She is drunk, look, she can hardly stand,” I said, moving out of the way so he could see for himself.
“I knew you would let her down. You are never going to change, you couldn’t do it for Jas and now you have a second chance, you can’t do it for Ava” his voice was getting louder and louder.
“I’m trying,” she said as she began to cry.
“Not hard enough by the looks of it, go home and stay away from Ava”
“Oh for Christ sake, look at you” Henry said, now joining the embarrassing scene.
“Shut up, don’t judge me. You can drive me home if I am not allowed in, I haven’t got the taxi fare back”
I heard both my dad and Henry sigh loudly.
“Fine, I’ll be more than willing if it means I don’t have to spend an evening with you” Henry replied, trying not to let her viciousness get to him.
“I should go too,” I said, grabbing my jacket from the peg.
“Stay here, Henry has experience handling her. Plus you have a guest here too” dad said
.
I don’t think he wanted me anywhere near Lizzie but I invited her, I felt responsible for getting her home safely, especially in this state.
“I won’t be long, I have to see her home. You can see to Jack for me and please be nice to him and get Uncle Alex and Jase to lay off him.”
I saw the moment I got my way, again, and secretly smiled to myself. I steered Lizzie in the direction of Henry’s car and waited for Henry to join us.
I had seconds to jump out of the way before she bent over and vomited at her feet.
“You disgust me, one night was all I asked for you to be sober. I stuck up for you to everyone in there and you have proven them right. No wonder my mother didn’t want you in her life”
I couldn’t help the words that came out of my mouth, she had upset me and I felt she had a right to know.
“She didn’t want you either, remember,” she snarled.
It was like a blow to my stomach but I fronted up and let her see no weakness from me.
“Because she didn’t want me to have the same life she did, thanks to you we both lost out having our mothers around but even from her grave she does more for me then you ever did for her” I spat.
I would see her home safe then never try to have contact with her again. I said I had to try and I have, but no more.
By the time Henry joined us, Lizzie and I hadn’t spoken to each other. I gave him credit when he helped her into the back seat of the car like it was someone he loved. All the resentment I felt I was likely to just shove her in and close the door.
“She is a horrible, horrible woman,” I blurted out when we dropped Lizzie off at her local pub. She was adamant she didn’t want to go home and I didn’t care anymore to try and stop her.
She obviously had looked out for herself all these years, she could do it tonight.
“Now you can understand why Jasmine didn’t want you having her life at the time” he replied.
“Oh I do. I don’t hate her for giving me up, she done what was right at the time. I feel sad I can’t get to know her now but you all keep her memory alive and that is good enough for me”
“She had that effect on us, she was a remarkable woman your mother and I loved her very much. I miss her terribly. She would have been so proud of you. You have her strength, I saw what happened between you and Lizzie by the car. You reminded me so much of Jasmine, I remember her being like that”
“Well, everyone told me what she was like and I didn’t listen” I murmured.
“Hey, you always do what you need to do. Your mother did and it made her the strong woman she was”
The rest of the car journey was in silence. I wanted to put Lizzie behind me now, move on to a future with family who loved me.
“Where is Jack?” I asked Nat when we arrived home. The kitchen was empty now and Rose and Fiona were tidying up.
“All the guys are out back, we saved you some food”
I said thank you before heading out. The door was open slightly and I couldn’t resist listening to them talk, see for myself if they were being nice to Jack.
“She invited me, what was I supposed to do?” Jack argued.
What? He made it sound like I forced him to come.
“You should have said you had other plans you couldn’t get out of” dad said.
“You should have said anything,” Uncle Alex added. He sounded bored.
“Don’t talk to her, don’t even look at her, I think those were the words the boss said to you and my, here you are, on a date with his daughter. There has been a whole load of looking and talking tonight” Jase chimed in.
“Come on boss, we like each other” Jack defended himself.
“I told you to stay away from her, when she gets back you are going to make an excuse to leave. In time, maybe I’ll allow you to see her” dad said as if he had any right to stop us.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was only just calming down from the Lizzie episode. My anger reached boiling point I couldn’t stop myself.
“And what excuse are you going to tell him to say?” I asked, storming onto the decking where they were all sitting.
Every one of them looked instantly guilty like they should. Uncle Alex and Jase even had the nerve to lower themselves into their chairs. My dad stood up.
“I knew you said something to him weeks ago, I asked you and you said you didn’t, you lied to me,” I said, feeling the tears forming.
“I’m sorry Ava, I don’t think you’re ready for boyfriends” he said, trying to excuse his behaviour. I couldn’t help but look at Jack and cringe, this was so embarrassing.
“How do you know that about me? How dare you presume anything about me, I can look out for myself, which is what I should have carried on doing”
I stormed back into the house past Fiona and Henry and went to my room. I couldn’t stop the tears, it hurt. Everything was going so smoothly, I finally found somewhere I felt at home and a bonus it being with my real dad, then in one night my mother’s mother turns out to be a drunk who can’t remain sober for one night for a granddaughter who she has just met and my father is acting like the godfather. I thought he gave me more credit. I didn’t have much here so my things fit into the two cases I had. I wasn’t running permanently but it was obvious I couldn’t stay here just now.
“You can’t go. I am sorry about Jack but he works for me, I thought he would only hurt you and with all that is going on you didn’t need the extra pain,” he said having followed me.
“That is for me to decide, what hurts the most is that you lied to me. I don’t want to argue about it, I want to go back to London for a while. It is for the best, we can both get used to this in our own time” I said.
“Okay, I won’t stop you but wait till morning and I’ll drive you myself” he offered.
“I think it is best if I go tonight, I’ll ask Henry to take me. I’ll call you in a couple of days”
Just before I left the room I passed him my present I got him,
“Here, I got this for you”
He took it immediately and I left.
I didn’t want to say goodbye to anyone fearing they would try to talk me out of going. My dad didn’t follow me down, which was good, as it didn’t attract any attention. Henry noticed me by the door, I waved my hand to ask him to join me.
He didn’t understand why I needed to leave now but he saw I was serious, he whispered something in Fiona’s ear and walked me to the car.
Henry spoke after fifteen minutes of silence,
“I haven’t been to London for a while, Fiona likes to stay close to her boys and the grandkids”
“I didn’t think I would be going back this soon” I admitted.
“You don’t have to now, I can turn around”
“No”
“Tell me what happened, apart from Lizzie, I thought you were happy here with us?”
“I was until I overheard my dad telling Jack to stay away from me, he warned him weeks ago and he lied about it. Unless of course you already knew about it?”
“I didn’t actually Ava, Chris is a very protective guy, he was with your mother, and he is with his mother and all his family, even Jase and Anna. He will do anything to not let harm come to any of you. With you, you are his daughter, you are going to be the most protected one of them all” he said.
“That doesn’t excuse him for lying to me” I reminded him.
“Well, I don’t think he will be doing that again. Don’t forget he is trying his hardest, he has only looked out for one woman in his life and there were times when she frustrated him to no end, sometimes he didn’t make the right choices but he did get there in the end and didn’t make them again”
Henry made sense, this was a learning curve for us both. While his protectiveness may be an issue in the future, I suppose this is what every girl has with their father, it is just I am experiencing it now for the first time.
“He must think I’m a brat?” I mumbled, realising I wa
nted to go back and make amends and sort this out.
“No he won’t, he will be angry with himself for behaving the way he did. He loves you Ava, by the morning this will all be forgotten about. I promise you that”
“Can you take me home please Henry” I said smiling again.
“Sure thing kid, here, phone him and tell him the good news. Put him out of his misery” he said, handing me his phone.
I got his number up and hit call before I could think of how I was going to apologise for leaving. He answered on the second ring.
“Henry, is Ava okay?” he asked, I could hear the worry in his voice.
“It’s me, Ava”
“Ava, I am so sorry” he apologised.
“Me too, Henry is bringing me back if that is okay?” I asked.
It occurred to me that he might not want me to come back after earlier.
“Of course that is okay”
“We didn’t get very far so we shouldn’t be long” I said, looking to Henry for confirmation.
“Okay, we will sort this out and then forget about it”
“Sounds good to me, see you soon”
I hung up and passed the phone back.
“See, I told you he would be made up. If you haven’t already learnt you have one hell of a dad there for you, and will do anything for you. You just have to let him fix his mistakes because he will make them, but he always learns from them”
“I know”
I was beginning to recognise the roads and knew we wasn’t far from home. I wasn’t looking forward to walking through the door and those first few moments of awkwardness but like Henry said, by the morning tonight will be forgotten about.
“Henry!” I screamed as I saw the truck swerving towards us.
“What’s he doing?” he yelled.
There was nowhere for us to go until the idiot had passed and he wasn’t slowing down.
“Ava hold onto something” Henry instructed.
I wanted to close my eyes but they were stuck wide open. I am going to die and never show my dad how truly sorry I am. I should have stayed.