I went over to Holly and put my arm around her. ‘Don’t forget, you need to breathe,’ I said.
‘I know, it’s very important.’
The Karate Kidwas another of our favourite films.
Zack came into the room holding his phone. ‘They’re less than five minutes away.’
‘Be nice, everyone,’ Miranda said, which made Lewis laugh.
‘Be cool,’ he said.
‘Be yourself,’ added Holly.
They all went out through the front door, leaving Zack and me in the living room. Zack had a tiny smile on his lips.
‘Here we go,’ he said.
‘Do you have any tips?’ I asked. ‘To get on Charles’s good side?’
‘Don’t date his daughter.’ He smiled. ‘I’m kidding. Charlesis a great man. You’re also meeting him at a good time because he’s loved up at the moment. I just…’ He trailed off.
‘What is it?’
He lowered his voice. ‘There’s going to be some… stormy weather over the coming days. My advice? Don’t get involved. It will pass.’
Then he went to the front window and looked out, like a lighthouse-keeper waiting for the thunderclouds to roll in.
I went out to the front of the house, where the three siblings waited in silence. We all heard it at the same time. A car, coming up the road, pulling up on the drive. It was a black saloon. The driver got out and opened the boot, heaving out a massive hardshell suitcase, then another. While he did this, the back door of the car opened and a man got out.
Charles.
In my mind’s eye, Charles was always wearing a suit, something dark and double-breasted. I had seen pictures of him at family events, giving speeches, accepting awards for services to industry, including a CBE, which had been presented to him by the Queen, and in all of them he had been wearing a jacket and tie. Now, though, he was in jeans, an expensive-looking grey sweater and white Adidas. With his grey hair and matching, neatly trimmed beard, he looked like an ageing tech bro. He was also, at around five foot nine, a little shorter than I expected, but he was one of those men for whom height doesn’t matter. He had presence. Charisma.
He nodded hello to his children, not even looking at me, then came around to the other side of the car and opened the door. He held out a hand and, a moment later, Jasmine emerged. She stood there for a moment, smoothing down her clothes. Like Charles, she was wearing jeans and a cashmeresweater. I’m not sure if it was her boots, but she stood at least two inches taller than Charles. She was willowy, lightly tanned and undeniably beautiful.
I glanced at Holly, who exchanged a stunned look with Miranda. Lewis, beside them, was smiling, though he was wearing his shades again so I couldn’t tell if it reached his eyes. Then Zack appeared. While Charles tipped the driver, who drove away, crunching across the gravel, Zack– who had his head down, avoiding his wife’s eye– grabbed the suitcases and said, ‘I’ll take these upstairs.’
Charles said something into Jasmine’s ear. Reassuring words, perhaps, because she seemed nervous. And who could blame her, when none of Charles’s offspring were saying anything. Holly and Miranda were just staring at her: the long red hair, her green eyes, the gap between her front teeth, her sharp cheekbones. There was a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
‘What’s the matter with you all?’ Charles said, breaking the silence. ‘Are you all sick or something?’
There was another second of silence, one that stretched out agonizingly. I was thinking I might have to break the terrible tension by stepping forward and introducing myself, when Lewis finally acted.
‘Hi, Dad,’ he said, going towards Charles and giving him one of the most awkward hugs I’ve ever seen, flinging both arms around his dad’s back while Charles stood there, stiff as a mannequin, gently patting Lewis’s shoulder blades, face impassive. Then Lewis went to Jasmine and stuck out his hand. He put on a ridiculous James Bond villain voice. ‘We meet at last.’
Jasmine looked at his hand and, with a warm smile, said, in her soft American accent, ‘I’m a hugger.’
She drew him into an embrace. Charles watched, seemingly amused, as the hug lasted for several seconds.
Lewis raised his eyebrows when she finally let go. ‘Wow. You certainly are a hugger.’
Finally, Holly and Miranda acted, moving towards their dad in tandem, talking over one another.
‘How was the flight? How was the drive here?’
They hugged him– more successfully than Lewis– and then they both turned to Jasmine. Holly said, ‘Are you hungry? Do you want a cup of tea?’ There was a slight tremor in her voice. She really was nervous.
‘Tea would be awesome. But you girls aren’t escaping without a hug,’ Jasmine said, reaching her arms out towards Holly. I was surprised by how reluctant she seemed as Jasmine embraced her. In fact, she looked slightly panicked. Miranda was even worse. She struck me as someone who had a horror of being touched by people she didn’t know anyway, but she acted like a small boy being forced to hug some ancient aunt. I think it might have been the first time I’ve ever seen an ‘air hug’.
