I smiled at her and nodded. Now,thatI could do. Making sure people were informed about HIV was right up my street. There were so many misconceptions out there.
I started off with U=U and moved on to long-term prognosis. Despite Mr Lucas’s obvious dislike towards me, they both listened to me. The fact that Henry couldn’t transmit the virus, that he could lead a normal life with a near normal life expectancy, that he only had to take one tablet a day – I could see the relief in their eyes as I answered all their questions.
And Mrs Lucas made good tea. In fact, she was all round awesome.
And I was definitely adding ‘ninnyhammer’ into my insult repertoire.
Chapter 22
Obvious choice
Kira
Liz and Fergus (or Mr Lucas to me, as there was still no offer of Christian name usage) were planning to stay for the rest of the day. They’d brought provisions over for lunch. I told them all I had plans, Henry put up a half-hearted protest but I could tell he was only really focused on his parents.
Mr Lucas might be a judgmental arsehole, but I could see the lingering fear in his eyes and his wife’s as they watched their youngest son. I knew how long they had been out of contact with him. The whole family needed to heal, and I wasn’t going to get in the way of that.
Barclay arrived back from his constituency clinic just as I was about to slip out the back door.
“Hey, where are you off to?” he asked, crowding me back against the coats hanging by the back door and kissing my neck. His tie was loosened and he was looking mildly dishevelled, which I found even more attractive than his usual razor-sharp Saville Row appearance.
“Your paren–” I was cut off by his mouth on mine and with his smell surrounding me, his fingers in my hair and his stubble grazing my face, I forgot what I was going to say. Reality returned in the form of a throat clearing in the hallway next to us.
“Mum!” Barclay’s strangled voice exclaimed as he shot backwards from me as if I was patient zero in a swine flu epidemic.
“Sorry darling,” she said, her voice shaking with barely suppressed amusement. “I heard your voice and–”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I didn’t think I had to check in with you and your brother before I–”
“Of course not, Mum,” Barclay said, his tone softer now he was over his initial shock. He moved forward and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I just didn’t expect you.” I started sidling towards the exit again and the movement must have caught Barclay’s eye, reminding him I was there. “Have you met Kira?”
“Yes, of course,” she said, her wide smile and happy expression the complete opposite of Mr Lucas’s, who had come to stand next to her in the corridor – his brows drawn down in disapproval. Seeing his son wrapped around me clearly was not a happy experience. “Lunch is ready, darling.”
Barclay frowned as he looked between his dad and me. I forced my own smile and moved a little closer to the door.
“Kira, you’ll stay for lunch,” Barclay said. It should have been a question but came out more like a command. I’d never been very good with commands. “Won’t she, Mum?”
“Of course she can stay, darling,” Liz said, and Mr Lucas made an unhappy noise in the background, followed by a grunt when his wife elbowed him in the ribs. “We’ll be back in the kitchen getting the Yorkshires out. Come on Fergus.” She dragged him off to the kitchen and the door shut behind them.
“What was that about?” Barclay asked in a low voice.
“I don’t think I’m quite your dad’s cup of tea.”
He sighed. “He can be a bit blunt. Have you been doing your usual mad as a box of frogs routine?” I blinked at him. It took a moment for me to swallow down my hurt pride before I could answer.
“No, Barclay,” I said, looking down at my fluffy UGGs and scuffing my feet on the ground. “I think he’d already drawn his own conclusions before he met me. I think it’s best you have some time as a family without an outsider hovering around and winding them up. Alright?”
“Kira, if you just spend some time with them, I’m sure that–”
“No,” I snapped. I was not sacrificing more of my pride and myself on the altar of the Lucas family dysfunction. They needed time together and I needed to get out of here before my already battered self-esteem took another nose-dive in the face of more gold-digging insinuations.
“You could at least try,” he said.
I decided I’d had enough. Barclay was so damn bossy. I’d had enough of overbearing men telling me what to do.
“They need time with you and your brother,” I told him, my voice now firmer. He wasn’t going to guilt me into staying when I knew it wasn’t the right move.
