‘He designs video games…’
‘Could he get us a PS5?’ little Xander pipes in from the hall.
Their mum points them away from the adult conversation and back toAnt-Man, getting Brett to follow them.
‘So, how much do you like him?’ she asks, turning back to me.
‘A bit. I like him a bit,’ I say, unconvincingly.
‘Josie Jewell,’ Tina whispers, ‘tell me.’
‘Tina, I’m really falling for him,’ I cry out, exasperated. ‘He’s just perfect for me and it all just fits: he kisses nice, we like the same stuff and I’m at that stage now where I’m thinking about him too much.’
‘That’s not a thing.’
‘It is. It’s distracting. I can’t concentrate because I’m looking at my phone, wondering what to text, daydreaming about his laugh, wondering what we’d look like on holiday together.’
‘That’s what you fantasise about?’
‘Yep, we’re on a catamaran, day drinking, eating good calamari and his eyes are the same colour as the sea.’
‘Colour?’
‘Blue, slightly paler towards the pupils.’
Tina grins broadly and I throw a tea towel at her.
‘Look at you all loved up.’
‘It’s not love, not yet.’
‘It’s the beginnings of something and we like that.’
‘What else have Mum and Dad told you?’ I ask curiously.
‘Well, they like him. They think he’s very polite and has nice hair. But hold up, are you keeping that charade going with him?’
‘The charade where he thinks I’m still in catering? Yeah…’ I reply hesitantly. ‘He believes Dad’s name is also Fabio. Dad even adopts an accent around him like he’s advertising pizza.’
Knowing my dad, Tina chuckles, but also looks slightly worried on my behalf. She hands me my cup of tea. ‘OK then… Josie, it’s nice to see this, you finding someone and all these initial butterflies, but none of us want to see you hurt if this doesn’t work out. We all love you too much. Where is this all going if he doesn’t really know who you are?’
‘But do we ever know who anyone is really?’ I say, trying to fob it off with some crackpot cliché philosophy.
‘He should get to know you and all your family. You’re the best. He’ll fall in love with you, it should make no difference.’ She comes to put her arms around me. Tina never let my bizarre family history affect our friendship. I think as a teen it made me more interesting to her than all the bitchy know-it-alls in our year and even now, she gets that it’s more of a sideshow affair than something which really defines me and my family.
‘Maybe you can tell him at Christmas?’ Tina suggests.
‘What? Wrap it up in a box?’ I ask.
‘’Tis the season, new year coming, new start. You’ve not been going out long, just don’t drag it out.’
I smile. But now my parents are involved and my mum is inviting him around for random coffees, I worry that we’re in too deep now. What would I tell him? We all duped him? He’d think we’re a family of conmen. He’d get us arrested.
‘Can you tell him?’ I ask Tina.
‘I love you but no.’
‘I just babysat your sons.’
