Page 67 of Playing By Ear

Perry made a noncommittal noise as he hit send.

If she only knew.

In the midst of eating and bantering with his cousins, aunts, and uncles, Jamie noticed his father was mostly staying quiet, studying the rest of them. At first it alarmed him, thinking Martin could no longer handle the cognitive overload of a rowdy family dinner. But then he remembered this was his father’s way of gathering data, evaluating relationships and power (im)balances. “You learn more in a minute with your gob shut than an hour with it open,” he’d told Jamie more than twice.

As Jamie reached for another helping of sprouts, his phone vibrated in his back pocket. Perry’s reply to his cheeky wee text? He set the device on his lap and gave it a surreptitious glance.

Perry

Appreciate the sentiment, as did all the other diners in this restaurant

“Ah, fuck,” Jamie said, just as the Easter dinner cacophony fell into a slight lull.

“All right, Jimmy?” his dad asked.

“Erm. yeah, fine.”

“Read some bad news on your phone there?” Stuart jerked his chin toward Jamie’s lap.

“Don’t tell me Scott Brown’s out with that knee injury again,” Uncle Pete said. “Looked a wee bit wobbly at the end of yesterday’s match.”

Miranda leaned in, holding back her long dark hair. “Haw! Is that from your boyfriend?”

“What? No.”

“There’s a lovely pic, Miranda,” Valerie said.

Jamie gaped at her. “You said you’d never tell.”

Miranda snatched the phone from him. “Let’s have a better look, then.”

“No, gie’s it!” He darted out a hand, but Miranda turned her back to put the phone out of reach. The table turned rowdy again as wagers were placed on Jamie’s romantic status.

“Ooh, he’s pure fit, so he is.” Miranda started scrolling through the other pictures. “Your boyfriend’s got too many clothes on in all these photies.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Then why’s his ma know you?”

She showed him the screen, where Perry’s most recent text read: Also Mum says hi.

“It’s a joke,” he told her. “I’ve never met her, and⁠—”

“Ah, maybe it was in reply to your text where you said, ‘Having roast lamb but can’t stop thinking how your’—oh.” Miranda covered her mouth and handed back his phone with a twist of her wrist. “I’ve seen enough.”

Jamie shut off the screen, his cheeks burning.

“’Mon, then,” Eddie called out. “Read the rest.”

“No!” Jamie shoved the phone back into his trousers pocket. “Christ, this family’s got shite boundaries.”

“That reminds me,” Belinda said to Stuart. “We need to give him a secure phone.”

Stuart nodded, but his attention was directed toward the other end of the table. Gerry had just come in and was bent over whispering to Martin, but Jamie could only make out the phrase potential security breach.

“Do whatever you need to,” Martin told Gerry in a low voice. Then he locked eyes with Stuart and tipped his head.

Stuart leapt up from the table and followed Gerry. Jamie looked at the others around the table, but while the conversation had quieted, no one seemed agitated apart from Norma, who frowned at the men’s exit in a way Jamie lacked the intel to interpret.