He steps up to my table and bends down for a kiss. I tug at the Santa hat Tara shoved on his head as soon as we woke up this morning that he’s refused to take off.
“How much do you hate being banished from the kitchen?” he whispers.
“How much do you hate losing to a twelve year old?” I whisper back.
He groans dramatically before rounding the kitchen island and attempting to clear away plates.
“What have you been cooking in here anyway? Christmas isn’t till tomorrow.”
“We’re slow cooking,” Gloria says, picking up her wineglass and crossing to my table. “Can I get you a drink, honey?” She starts picking up my supplies.
“I’m okay, thank you.” I smile, leaning back in my chair and stretching out my toes. I’ll get up in a few minutes and get one, I tell myself as I lean into the stretch.
Gloria bustles back with a glass of water and sets it in front of me. “Just in case.”
I stare at the glass, blinking back the heat that burns behind my eyes. It’s just a small thing. I could hate the fact that she ignored my answer and got one for me anyway, but I just feel…warm.
“Have you guys had any thoughts on names?” Gloria asks, taking a seat beside me and patting my hand with hers. She shoots me a warm smile that crinkles the corner of her eyes.
“We’re not telling anyone yet, Mum,” Jackson says from the kitchen.
“Not telling anyone what?” Tara asks, walking into the kitchen with a box of chocolates and offering one to Gloria and me wordlessly. “Are you guys having another secret baby?”
“Just the one,” Jackson drawls, bent over the dishwasher.
“We’ve got a few names on the go,” I tell them both. “But until we decide we’re keeping it quiet.”
“I’m very partial to Tara,” Tara says wickedly. “It just rolls off the tongue.”
Jackson guffaws. “What haveyoudone to be a namesake?”
“Uh, I covered for you when you snuck out at fifteen to go make out with Tia from two streets down.”
“Jackson Harper!” Gloria gasps.
“And kept that secret for a good fifteen years until right now.” Jackson throws a tea towel at her from the kitchen andTara snatches it from the air, rounding the island to snap it at his legs.
Gloria sighs dramatically. “They always get like this when they’re home. Fighting like cats and dogs.”
Jackson gets Tara in a headlock, and she sneaks out of the hold like a pro-wrestler, cackling in his face as her legs sweep out from under him and she tries to kick out his knee.
“They like each other really, promise.”
Cleo and I have never been like this. I never come up with a witty response quick enough and if I do snap back I just end up getting myself into more trouble than it’s worth.
“How do you know?”
“What, love?”
“Know that they like each other.” I shift awkwardly. “Know that it’s not…cruel.”
I glance back at the table, tracing the water ring from my glass as it seeps into the wood.
Gloria takes a moment. “Well, I guess it comes from knowing them all. I’ve watched them as children when they used to have screaming matches. The girls were the worst for it, arguing about stealing clothes and toys and what have you. But eventually, they started ending their arguments with laughter instead, and when I’d try to get involved I’d say, you know ‘you’re sisters, don’t be mean to each other’, and they’d just tell me to leave them alone because I was annoying.”
I try to smile, but it doesn’t fit my mouth right, coming out as a blurted question. “What would you have done if it was? Cruel, I mean.”
Gloria looks at me shrewdly before taking my hand in hers. “They bicker and argue, but they’re still thick as thieves when all’s said and done. They still love each other.Not all siblings are like that, and I guess it would be really hard if it’s not.”
