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I hadn’t seen him again after he left my house on Friday evening, but June said he hadn’t spoken to her much on Saturday.He’d mostly slept, and he obviously hadn’t taken my advice to open up to her.Part of me had some empathy for how awkward it must have been to be around a family member he had hardly had any contact with for years, but he could have made more effort.Thinking about it, June and Trevor could have reached out to him too, but from what I’d heard, theyhadtried when he’d first gone travelling.However, with him on the move so much, it had become very hard for them to know where he was.June said he rarely replied to the emails they sent him, so in the end, they just stopped.
I still hadn’t wrapped my head around the fact that he was the little boy I played with for two Christmases.His youthful joy did not match the somewhat frosty man he’d grown into.Surely, someone who travelled for a living should be a lot more light-hearted.All I got from him now was the impression he didn’t really want to be here.
I’d called my mum to tell her about the unexpected reunion, and she was stunned too.She didn’t understand how she could have not known about the connection between Donovan’s two sets of grandparents.When she’d asked what he looked like now, I’d hesitated.For all his attitude, hewasgood-looking, and I didn’t lie about it.But I’d also made it very clearIwasn’t really attracted to him.Had I met him as a random in a bar, I’d probably have been interested, but because of how we had bumped into each other, his looks weren’t quite enough to make him appealing.
Donovan glanced down at me, frowning at the teasing grin on my face.I couldn’t help myself, though.His cynical mood was killing my buzz.
“A Christmas dinner with pigs in blankets, and a nap in front of the King’s speech.”
“Don’t you want an actual gift?”I asked.
Donovan shook his head, his scarf slipping with the movement.“I’ve lived mostly out of a suitcase for ten years.I don’t need anything material.”
“You can’t live out of a suitcase forever, Donovan,” June said, turning to him.I guided us towards another stall that intrigued me, this one covered with handmade necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings.
“Why not?”he asked.“Moving around means I don’t ever have to get bored.”
“It also means you’ll never have the chance to know what it’s like to be content in one place.Have a community.A family.”
Something mischievous I’d never seen before flashed across his face, and I wondered what it was for.Withheld sarcasm, maybe?“Nan, I’ve had a lot of communities and a lot of families in the places I’ve been.”
“Yes, but where are they now?Where will they be when you need a friend?When you want to start your own family?”
I kept my eyes trained on the sparkly jewellery in front of me, but I could just imagine June’s lips set in a firm line.There was a low ripple of resentment running from her to Donovan.I desperately wanted to interrupt, to change the subject, but this conversation wasn’t my business.
I picked up a box containing a pair of earrings shaped like snowflakes with a tiny silver stone in the centre.Maybe if I stuff these in my ears, I’ll be able to block out what they’re saying.
“I’m happy as I am, Nan,” Donovan said.“Now is not the time for this conversation.”
Subtly, I gave June’s arm a squeeze with mine, letting her know I was there for her, even if I wasn’t meant to be listening.
June let out a long sigh.“You’re right, but that doesn’t mean this is over.”
I placed the earrings back down, thinking I would come back for them later, and said, “Why don’t we get those drinks?”
With a smile, June said, “If you don’t mind, I’m just going to pop back to The Strand Centre and listen to the carol singers.I’ll catch you up in a bit.”
I nodded, understanding she needed a breather from Donovan, even though we’d only been out for less than an hour.Still, she lived with him, so maybe she was hoping for a bit of space to clear her head.
Still in front of the jewellery stall, I looked up at Donovan.“Well, that was handled nicely.”Sarcasm dripped from my words, and Donovan took me by the elbow and led me back into the middle of the street.
“What did you want me to say to her?”he asked as we carefully weaved in and out of other shoppers.“I like my lifestyle.”
“I’m sure you do, but is it really something you want to do forever?”
“Who knows?”He shrugged.“But let me ask you this.Are you honestly saying you think it’s okay to ask someone if they plan to start a family?These days, that is not exactly appropriate.”
I stopped walking, edging us sideways out of the way of people before looking up at him again.His blue eyes held a challenge.“While I agree that question is inappropriate, that wasn’t what she said.”
“But she was the one who started that conversation.”
“Maybe because she wants to know your plans.Have you even talked to her yet?”
The coldness in the air was rapidly overtaken by the look in Donovan’s eyes.“Look, you and I might have been friends once, but you don’t know me now.It’s not your place to tell me what I need to do about my own grandmother.”
My eyebrow rose at his tone.A scathing response sat on the tip of my tongue, but I’d heard the undertone of guilt laced subtly through his words.That fact halted the rant that had threatened to spill from my lips, because he was right.No matter how much of a closed-off pain in the ass he had been so far, I didn’t know him anymore, and itwasJune who had set off that line of conversation.
The hunch of his shoulders wasn’t only to protect him from the wind and chill, and my temper settled.Donovan wasn’t as unfeeling as he’d first appeared to be; he was affected by the icy exchange with his nan, and I didn’t want to spend the rest of the morning with us sniping at each other.
