Commitment Issues by Ali Ryecart
Chapter Forty-Four
Freddie
“Will you come back with me to London?” Elliot asks as we walk hand-in-hand along the beach.
“I was hoping you could stay a couple of days, for the weekend at least, and meet my family.”
Please say yes… I want him to get to know them, and for them to get to know him.
He smiles, warmth filling his eyes as it fills my heart. “I’d love to, but your mum and dad… Would they be okay with us sharing a room?”
“They won’t have a problem with it.”
So many girlfriends and boyfriends have come and gone over the years, and neither of my parents batted an eyelid. Not that many were connected to me.
“Are you really sure? Because there’s one aspect they might not be too happy with.”
“What—?” He’s looking at me, one brow raised slightly as he waits for the words to sink in. “Do you mean the age difference?”
“I’m a lot nearer your parents’ age than I am yours, sweetheart.”
I shake my head hard. “No. The only thing they want for all of us, me and my brother and sisters, is to be happy.”
“And are you?” he says, his voice low.
I smile, before I answer him with a kiss. We make our way back to the house the way we’ve come, through the garden.
Music’s beating out from the kitchen, ’80s hits Mum loves so much pumping out. It’s loud, but not loud enough to drown out her squawking that’s meant to be singing.
“Mum?” I shout over the music, and she stops in mid howl, and turns, her gaze finding mine and Elliot’s joined hands, just for a moment, before she smiles.
“You’ll be staying the night then, Elliot? Good, you can help us eat the mountain of food and drink we’ve got in to celebrate Freddie’s triumph.” She says the word with a flourish.
And it is a triumph, I know it is, but I can’t help the sinking in my heart. The fact is, I am going away for a year. I can’t pass up this chance and it’s like the elephant in the room. Elliot and I have got to talk about it. Almost as though he’s reading my thoughts, he squeezes my hand.
“I will, if you and your husband don’t mind of course? And yes, it is a triumph and deserves to be celebrated. I know Oslo well, I do a lot of business out there so I’m going to be visiting. A lot.”
I turn and look at him, and see the quiet determination in his face. My heart settles and my nerves calm. There’s still so much to talk about, but for now the choppy waters within me have calmed.
“I’ve asked Elliot to stay the weekend.”
“An excellent idea. You could show Elliot the glories of the local area.” She quirks her head to the side and looks thoughtful. “There’s the petting zoo near Wadebridge. They’ve got a new donkey and he’s a great attraction. And there’s the potato museum, that’s riveting. And of course the new chip shop that opened up in the village back in the spring. The vicar’s nephew is running it. He was in the Scrubs for armed robbery. Or was it horse stealing? The nephew, that is, not the vicar. But a very handsome lad, he is. He’s been the biggest excitement around here for years.”
“Mum…” But my mum starts laughing.
“Or, you could explore our stunning countryside and wild coastline,” she says, with a warm smile. “But before all that, Elliot, I’m afraid you’re going to be subjected to Freddie’s brother and his sisters, along with his two nieces. And my husband. I hope you’re ready for that?” She levels her gaze at Elliot and there’s a challenge in her eyes. You take on one Jacobs, you take on all of us, it says. I hold my breath and only let it out when Elliot answers.
“I’m more than ready.” He meets her gaze, and they exchange smiles as though they’ve come to an understanding only they know about. The spell, because that’s how it feels to me, is broken when my Dad walks into the kitchen. He looks across to Mum, and something passes between them. Whatever it is, Dad’s happy with it as he sticks his hand out to Elliot. It’s greasy and dirty from all the cars he’s been working on, but Elliot doesn’t hesitate and clasps it in his.
“I’m Simon, Freddie’s dad. You’ve come for my boy?”
God, but I want the ground to open up.
“I have, if he’ll have me.”
“He will. Reckon you can do with a drink.”
Before Elliot can answer, Dad’s opening the fridge, and pulling out the beers.
* * *
Dinner’s taking place in the garden and my family is, as ever, loud and raucous. The weather may have started the day with the hint of autumn, but that’s long gone and now it’s turned close and muggy. I wonder if there might be a storm heading in, but there’s no sign of threatening clouds on the horizon.
Elliot started the evening sitting next to me, but everybody’s moved around and swapped places and now he’s talking to my brother Jake. I don’t know what they’re talking about but it looks very serious and grown-up.
Jake’s ambitious, with a very good job in a bank, but he’s always harboured ambitions to go into business for himself, and I suspect he’s mining Elliot for information. I should rescue Elliot from the grilling I know he’s getting, but I don’t get more than a step or two before I’m snagged by my two young nieces who demand I play horsey with them. And that’s it, I’m stuck with two giggling little girls who think I’m their pony, but they’re so cute I don’t really mind.
As soon as the sun dips below the horizon, the moonbeams come out. The battery operated cubes pulse out multicoloured lights, and they appear at every family gathering. Dad’s fiddling with the iPad but he has no idea what he’s doing, and Mum rolls her eyes as she relieves him of it and with quick, deft fingers, brings up her favourite playlist, a mix of classic disco and New Romantic.
“Okay everybody, it’s time to party,” Mum calls out.
My sisters, Anna and Lucy, cheer, their husbands look pained, and my nieces, hyperactive on too much sugar, forget all about horsey and rush across and grab Mum’s hands and wobble along to The Village People. Egged on by too much Pinot Grigio, Anna and Lucy try to do YMCA dance moves, and fail miserably, which is my cue to drop my head into my hands and groan loudly. If Elliot has any doubts, they must surely be surfacing now.
“Freddie, grab your man and get yourself up here,” Mum yells out, accompanied by laughter and hoots from the rest of my family.
I glance across at Elliot, half expecting him to be mortified but instead he’s grinning. A moment later he’s standing in front of me, hand extended in invite.
“Would you care to dance, Mr Jacobs? I think you’re on my dance card. Well, you’re the only name on my dance card.” His lips twitch a smile.
“When did you get all Jane Austen?”
He answers with a laugh and grabs my hand, dragging me over to the worn-down patch of grass that’s always our impromptu garden dance floor. Elliot dances with me, but also with my mum, and sisters, and even my two nieces. But I want a private dance, just him and me, and as I catch his eye I see the simmering heat, and know he’s thinking the same.
A rumble, low and growly, rolls in off the sea, and the sky’s inky dark as the storm clouds gather overhead. Another rumble, this time closer, is the signal for everybody to decamp inside, but it’s also the signal for my sisters and their families to depart. I look at my watch, surprised to see that it’s almost ten-thirty.
“I’m pooped. A cuppa with a couple of episodes of Love Island, and then I’m off to bed. Elliot, you’re in with Freddie,” Mum says, as matter-of-factly as if she’s asking if he takes sugar in his tea and does he want milk.
I adore Mum. There have been times in my life when I’ve needed her to be a mum, but also times when I’ve needed her to be a friend, and in this moment she’s the perfect mix of each and I think I love her more than I ever have before. She catches my eye and smiles.
“Where are you going?” Dad says.
We follow his gaze. Just outside the kitchen door, Jake’s pulling on his raincoat.
“Just had a text from Gaz. Him and the lads are in The Goat and he reckons there’s gonna be a lock-in.”
After-hours drinking in the local pub, for the select few. If there’s a lock-in to be found, Jake’ll find it. He grins and waves at Elliot in a kind of salute before the door bangs behind him.
“You must wonder what you’ve walked into,” I murmur to Elliot. “Come on, let’s go upstairs before Mum insists we watch Love Island with her.”
