I had wondered what was in the large gift bags Dad had parked in the corner of the room. Regan unwrapped a beautifully intricate driftwood candle holder and a pair of church candles which he and Clarke said would be perfect in their lounge. The gift for Mark and Georgia was even bigger – a large glass hurricane candle holder nestled on a driftwood base.
‘Aw, you shouldn’t have,’ Georgia said, admiring it. ‘It’s gorgeous. I know where that’s going.’
‘We thought it would fit the space perfectly,’ Mum said.
I felt all eyes on me as I was handed a small paper bag. I reached inside and removed a box of shortbread, hoping my face didn’t convey my disappointment. It wasn’t the gift itself – I loved shortbread – but what I felt it symbolised. It was an afterthought gift or a token gesture for someone they didn’t know and it hurt as much as not getting name-checked in Mum’s birthday speech.
‘This won’t last me long,’ I said, smiling at them.
‘I know it’s not a big box but—’ Mum started and I clapped my hand to my mouth, grimacing.
‘I didn’t mean it won’t last me long because there isn’t much of it. I meant because I love shortbread and can eat a whole box in one sitting. It’s great. Thank you very much.’
An awkward silence settled round the table, thankfully broken by Astrid banging her sippy cup on her tray in a clear demand to be released from her highchair. Everyone moved into the lounge and, after about an hour, Keira announced that it was time to head home. Regan, Clarke, Mum and Dad said they’d make tracks too, so there was a mass exodus.
Despite still feeling wounded by what I felt was a clear message in the holiday gifts, I was determined to make an effort.
‘Can I visit you one day next week?’ I asked, following my parents out to the car.
They stopped, both frowning at me.
‘What for?’ Dad asked.
‘Nothing specific. Just a catch-up now that I’ve moved back here.’
They exchanged looks and I didn’t miss Mum widening her eyes at Dad in a way which suggested it was a no and it was up to him to convey that to me.
‘Can we come back to you on that?’ Dad asked, sounding flustered. ‘We’re only just back from holiday and there’s lots to do. We don’t know what our plans are.’
‘Yeah, that’s fine.’ It was hard not to sound hurt. ‘Just give me a call or text me when you’re free. I can be really flexible with my time – morning, afternoon or evening.’
‘We’ll give it some thought later. Come on, June, let’s get you in the car where it’s warm. Sorry, Mel, but we can’t squeeze past you.’
Biting back a sigh, I moved out of their way and retreated into the kitchen, feeling I needed to be somewhere where people weren’t. Would it have killed them to have said an enthusiastic yes and suggested firming up the date later? Talk about making me feel unwanted!
While Georgia and Mark stayed outside, presumably waving everyone off, I wiped the placemats and coasters and cleared glasses from the table.
‘You superstar, Mel,’ Georgia exclaimed when she joined me. ‘I’m loving having a cleaning pixie.’
‘It was no bother. I like to make myself useful. Where’s Mark?’
‘He forgot to get fuel while he was out earlier so he’s gone to the petrol station.’ She straightened up a couple of the chairs then leaned on the back of one of them, her head cocked onto one side.
‘I know how it looks,’ she said, her voice gentle. ‘They could have positioned things better.’
I didn’t need to ask her what she was referring to. ‘You don’t have to explain anything.’
‘I do. I couldn’t say anything in front of the kids, but there’s a reason why they gave me the gift they did. Mum and Dad came over on New Year’s Eve. Mum was in a lot of pain but she’d lost her patience with Dad for telling her to sit down and rest all the time so she’d claimed she was fine when she wasn’t. The pain made her even more unsteady on her feet. I had a lovely hurricane candle on the window ledge over there.’ She pointed to the side window in the dining area. ‘Mum got up to get a glass of water, Dad went to help her and she snapped at him, saying she was quite capable of managing the short distance to the sink. Except she wasn’t and she fell. She grabbed at the window ledge to save herself and managed to knock the candle to the floor and it smashed to smithereens.’
I winced. ‘Was she okay?’
‘Grabbing the ledge kept her upright but she badly bruised her leg and arm. She kept saying she’d replace the candle and I said there was no need. I was more concerned about her than an ornament. They obviously spotted that one on holiday and decided it was the ideal replacement.’
‘It’s beautiful.’
‘It is. As for Regan and Clarke, that was a moving-in gift.’
‘But they moved in together eighteen months ago.’
