When had she suddenly been volunteered to help cook? And she had a salad to make with her mother. It was beginning to look like I was hardly going to see her. Not that I was here as a date. I was her friend and frankly, grateful to call myself that much considering the ups and downs of our relationship.
‘No. No, no,’ Elle immediately interjected. ‘I want no weird, macho, BS happening, please. Stephen is a guest in our house, hehails from a civilised country, and I expect you guys to show him that Americans can be as well-mannered as Brits, OK?’
‘We’ll be good, I promise. He looks fit and able. Very Type A.’ He sniggered and nudged his twin. Elle sent him a look filled with daggers but I felt a little like we were in it together now. Whatever the hell her Type A was, I was going to be ribbed about it, too. ‘You ever played American football, Stephen?’
‘No. I’ve played rugby. It’s similar, I think. We don’t worry about helmets and shoulder pads for it, though.’
‘Oh-ho, is that so?’ Alfie laughed. ‘Think you’re tougher than us Yanks do you—’
‘No. No. No.’ Any moment now Elle was going to start stamping her feet.
‘Relax.’ Teddy put his arm around her shoulders. ‘We’re just teasing. We need to have a game of something, though. Work up our appetite.’
‘How about baseball?’ A little voice piped up and a young girl, barely a teenager, came careening across the grass at us, launching herself into Elle’s arms.
‘Daisy, for goodness’ sake, don’t throw yourself around when there’s a grill right here,’ her father scolded, shaking his head. ‘You want me to have a heart attack?’
‘C’mon.’ Elle gave her sister a squeeze and led her further onto the grass, away from the grill. ‘You gonna sort these boys out and keep ’em in line for me, while I help get the food ready?’
‘You can’t play?’
‘Look, I know it’s hilarious to watch me attempt sports, but the oldies need assistance.’
‘Less of the oldies, thank you,’ Ken called out.
‘Fine.’ Daisy sighed. ‘You wanna play cards after we eat? Uncle Joe’s been teaching me poker.’
‘You’re on. What do you bet with? Candy?’
‘Candy? What am I, a kindergärtner? No – we play for money.’ Daisy fastened her hair up in a knot and gave her big sister a look like she was delusional.
‘Oh well, in that case, I might have to get you to bankroll me. I didn’t bring any cash.’
‘I can take an IOU.’
‘So sure you’re gonna win? Uncle Joe taught me how to play when I was your age.’
‘Exactly – a million years ago. You’re going to be rusty by now.’
Elle shrieked with faux-outrage and started chasing her sister around the garden. The twins joined in, one siding with Elle, the other with Daisy, lifting the small teenager up and putting her in the tree by the fence.
I smiled at the sight of Elle, surrounded by her siblings. Despite the teasing, it was clear there was affection overflowing between them all. She was in her element and I wondered why she would have chosen not to be with them at Christmas time last year. It didn’t make sense to me and I wanted her to explain it. I wanted to know it all.
But not get punched in the kidneys for asking.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Elle
Ihad no choice but to abandon Stephen amidst my family. I should have warned him that this was what always happened once I got home. My time was constantly commandeered to help out with chores or to look after kids or catch up with a relative I hadn’t seen enough of recently.
While I was in the kitchen with Mom, he played baseball with my little sister and brothers. I think there was some confusion about the rules surrounding the batting, but he was good-natured about it. The control-freak image I had of him, the ultra-competitive, city slicker was fading the more I got to know him. Some of those traits were there, without a doubt, but there was more to him than that.
I found him when it was time to eat and he was hot and sweaty in a very appealing way. We fetched some of the meat from the grill and sat side by side on a sun lounger in the shade beside the deck, while my family filled up the garden, standing around with their paper plates, chatting and chowing down on burgers and ribs. We didn’t really talk but it was relaxing just to be surrounded by the burble of friendly conversation, the sun shining overhead and my stomach full of Dad’s delicious harissa marinade barbecue.
I got called to oversee the chicken so Dad could eat, and I saw him make a beeline to sit with Stephen but get pulled over to talk to my uncle instead.
It was a relief. I knew Stephen was doing fine, being friendly and joining in, but Dad had a way of putting people on edge and Stephen had only just wound down after the hostile encounter with his father’s ex-girlfriend and whatever had upset him when we arrived. I didn’t want Dad to get the wrong impression ofhim. Purely because I wanted him to help him out…although, now we were finding our feet a little as friends I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to invite him over throughout the summer a couple more times. Staying in a strange city all by yourself must be lonely. There was the Fourth of July picnic next week we always had. It might be nice for him to join us there?
