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I am no sooner out of the car before my parents rush out of the front door to greet me.
‘Hi Mum, hi Dad,’ I say with a half-hearted wave. I must have used up the last of my enthusiasm at the train station.
‘You’re so thin!’ my mum exclaims as soon as she gets a proper look at me. ‘Don’t let your gran see.’
Judith Harrison isn’t your typical overbearing mother, in fact she is quite the opposite with me. Both of my parents make a lovely fuss over Belle but when it comes to me, it’s like they can’t quite be bothered. Sure, my mum will comment on how inappropriate my dresses are or how a combination of peroxide and LA sunshine will see me bald by the time I am forty, but they’re not too bothered with how I live my life. It’s not that they’ve given up trying now that they know I am a lost cause, I don’t think they’ve ever had high hopes for me.
‘Mia,’ my dad says. That’s his way of acknowledging my existence. The Harrison women may be noisy and bossy but my dad, Ted – the only Harrison man in our house – is very much the opposite, although that probably has something to do with living in a house with three noisy women for so long.
A middle class couple in their late fifties, my parents are exactly as you would expect them to be: a little bit dull and a lot uptight – and I have no doubt that my sister is heading for a similar fate. In old photos of my parents in their twenties, my mum looks almost exactly like Belle does now – with the exception of the big hair, which I’m assured was the height of fashion back then. So unfortunately for my little sis, she will almost certainly grow up to look like our mum. My mum has her grey hair in, as I like to call it, a Nurse Ratched bob, and her personality is very much like that of the One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest character. I have always found my mum to be on the cold side. She always has to be in control, which makes her actions often seem mechanical, and she can be cruel sometimes – something I think she inherited from her mum. My dad is everything you’d expect of a fifty-nine year old henpecked husband. My mum would look young for her age if she were willing to colour her hair (she won’t because she is dead against it for some reason), but there is no hope for my dad. He is almost entirely bald apart from a few tufts of white hair around the sides and back of his head, and he is embracing his impending old age by wearing trousers that are pulled far too high up. Try and imagine a version of Victor Meldrew that isn’t quite so grumpy and that’s my dad: an indifferent Victor Meldrew.
‘This is a nice place,’ I say to no one in particular.
‘I know, right?’ my sister squeaks excitedly. ‘There’s a swimming pool, cable TV, wi-fi, there’s, like, a billion bedrooms, a games room… it’s going to be so much fun.’
‘Sounds expensive,’ I can’t help but say out loud.
‘Nothing is too good for my little girl,’ my dad says.
‘We’re just lucky you are the way you are, Mia,’ my mum explains. ‘We had saved up a wedding fund for two daughters, but with you, you know, not being the marrying kind, it made sense to use it all for your sister’s wedding, make it really special for her.’
Everyone smiles like that is the sweetest thing in the world, but I’m upset.
‘So you’re using the money you had saved for my wedding to pay for Annabelle’s?’ I ask.
‘Well, you’re not getting married, are you,’ my mum reasons.
‘Yeah, but that’s not the point,’ I insist.
‘Why can’t you just be happy for me?’ my sister asks me.
I massage my temples for a moment. Luckily I don’t have any plans to get married, and even if I did I have plenty of money to pay for it myself, but that really isn’t the issue here.
‘I could do with a nap, could you show me to my room, please?’ I ask.
‘Of course,’ Belle replies. ‘Just let me introduce you to everyone.’
‘I’d rather wait until I’ve had a nap and a bath, if that’s OK.’
‘Don’t be so selfish, Mia,’ my mum snaps.
‘Fine,’ I give in, knowing that it’s easier to just do it than try and fight it.
‘Brilliant.’ Belle claps her hands together. ‘Mum, can you help Dan inside, he’s hurt his back.’
‘How on earth did he do that?’ I hear my mum ask as my sister drags me into the house.
‘Mia did it,’ my sister calls back.
Chapter 5 (#ulink_24caf1ad-cf01-5d07-8006-695ae804275f)
I thought the outside of the beach house was beautiful, but it’s nothing compared to the interior. It’s cool, it’s modern and Belle is right, it seems like such a fun place to live. I may not get on with my family and the wedding stuff will probably suck, but at least I can watch movies on the big screen and chill out by the pool – that is when I’m not sunbathing on the beach.
Belle leads me into the huge sitting room where two couples are sitting opposite each other on white leather corner sofas which make a square shape in the middle of the room. The four of them are drinking tea and chatting but as I walk into the room they stop abruptly and stare at me. The couple on the left are probably a little older than my parents (or perhaps they just look it), but if possible they look even more uptight. The lady is wearing a navy twinset and skirt and the man is dressed in a matching suit complete with cravat, making them look like they should be on a yacht. The other couple are elderly and, again, I’m going to hazard a guess that being cold and uptight runs in their family too.
‘Everyone, this is my sister, Mia. She’s just got in from America,’ my sister announces to four unimpressed faces. ‘Mia, this is Harriet and Peter, they’re Dan’s parents, and over here we have Dan’s grandparents.’
‘Hello,’ I say brightly, offering my hand for Dan’s mum to shake first, as she is the closest to me.
‘Charmed,’ Harriet says coolly as she reluctantly shakes my hand.
I decide not to bother shaking hands with anyone else, they don’t seem that bothered. It’s awkward for a moment because we’re just standing in front of them and they refuse to continue their conversation while we’re standing there.
‘Anyway,’ a cheerful Belle starts, ‘I’m just going to show Mia to her room so we’ll see you for dinner later.’
I follow Belle from the living room to the kitchen where we find my gran, granddad and my Auntie June. My granddad rushes over to me with as much energy as his eighty-year-old legs will allow and gives me a big kiss and a cuddle.
‘Kid, you’re here,’ he says, and for the first time it feels like someone is actually pleased to see me.
‘Of course,’ I reply. ‘I’m not going to leave you to suffer this lot on your own,’ I joke, but my auntie doesn’t find this funny and tuts loudly.
‘Hello Gran,’ I say as I walk over to where she is sitting. She offers me her cheek, which I dutifully kiss, before prodding me in the ribs.
‘You’re not eating, Mia,’ she says angrily. ‘I’m not letting you get back on that plane until you are a healthy weight.’
I roll my eyes at this but I can’t help but smile too, because I know that this is just my gran’s way of loving me. If Belle looks like a younger version of my mum then my mum looks like a younger version of Margret, my gran. Belle may still be bright, bubbly and sickly sweet – but I don’t doubt for a second that she’ll’ end up like my mum, my auntie and my gran – or the three witches as my granddad, Jack, calls them. My granddad is hilarious, constantly making jokes, winding up my gran and playing little pranks on people. I like to think that I take after my granddad but I can’t deny I have inherited a little coldness from my gran’s side, especially when it comes to love. I have certainly inherited my granddad’s sense of humour though and for that I am very grateful.
‘Hi Auntie June,’ I say cheerily. I don’t waste my time attempting to hug or kiss her.
‘Mia,’ she says, reinforcing my point that the women in this family are ice-cold.
I rack my brain for a topic of conversation that will fill the silence but I am saved from having to do so by my ten-year-old cousin, Josh.
‘Mia, Mia,’ he giddily shrieks as he runs towards me and throws his arms around me. Josh is member number two of my three-person fan club so I feel almost invincible having both him and my granddad in the same room. Although I have to admit, I’m pleased the third member of my fan club, Uncle Steve, hasn’t appeared yet. Sometimes fans can be too admiring…
‘Hey, turd,’ I greet my favourite cousin. ‘What’s up?’
‘Watch your language,’ my Auntie June warns me. ‘He’s only ten.’
‘Mum, I know the word “turd”,’ Josh whines.
‘There, look, you’ve only been here a matter of minutes and you’ve corrupted my only son,’ my auntie complains.
‘Come on, June, he probably already knew that one,’ my granddad says in my defence.
Belle looks put out by the fact that I am causing arguments already.
‘Come on, Mia,’ she insists. ‘Let’s get you to your room.’
‘Please can I show Mia the games room?’ Josh begs. ‘Please.’
‘Go on then,’ Belle agrees. ‘I’ll wait here.’
Josh grabs me by the hand and drags me down a flight of stairs.
‘The pool is through that door,’ he explains before dragging me through a different door. ‘This is the games room.’
The games room is packed full of funky furniture and fun things to do. There’s a bar, a pool table, a huge television, pinball machines and a variety of chairs and beanbags to get comfortable on.
I notice my other cousins, Hannah and Meg, are both playing with their phones. They both say hello to me but seem far too engrossed in what they are doing to get into proper conversation.
‘This is Max,’ Josh says, introducing me to a young boy who is playing on the game console. ‘He’s Dan’s cousin. He’s ten, too.’
‘That’s awesome,’ I say enthusiastically. ‘Hey, Max.’
Max smiles nervously and gives me a wave.
‘Well, I’d better get back up to Belle before she turns into Bridezilla and bites my head off,’ I joke. Josh and Max laugh, and so do the two men who are playing pool behind us.
‘OK, see you later, Mia,’ Josh says as he grabs a controller off the table and gets back to his game with Max.
‘Hello,’ I say to the two men by the pool table. ‘I’m Mia, Belle’s sister.’
‘Hi Mia, I’m Jason,’ the younger man says. ‘I’m Heather’s husband.’
I shrug my shoulders. ‘Oh right, I haven’t met your wife yet.’
They must be Belle and Dan’s dull couple friends, another pair of early twenty-somethings who thought it would be a brilliant idea to marry young.
The other guy at the pool table looks closer to my age. He’s tall and skinny with spiked, dyed black hair and he’s wearing a tatty jumper with a pair of baggy jeans. He looks stylish and handsome in a scruffy Robert Pattinson kind of way.
‘I’m Mike,’ he says, jokily grabbing my hand and kissing it. ‘I’m Dan’s much better-looking older brother. Did you say you were Belle’s younger sister?’
‘Very smooth,’ I laugh. ‘But no, on paper I am five years older than my sister.’
‘But not married?’ Mike asks.
‘No,’ I reply with an unimpressed look on my face.
‘Hey, I don’t care, I’m thirty and I’m not married either. I’m just letting you know what to expect because I’m getting loads of stick for it. We’ll have to stick together.’
Mike flashes me a cheeky smile. He isn’t my usual type but I can certainly imagine us spending a lot of time together while we’re here, especially if we’re both in the same boat.
‘Well, I’d better get back to Belle,’ I tell them. ‘I’ll see you both at dinner.’
Max, Jason and Mike all seem friendly enough so at least I won’t have to rely on my three-person fan club the whole time – I can have actual conversations with people outside my family.
‘I’m back,’ I announce as I enter the kitchen. Everyone is exactly as I left them and once again, only my granddad seems pleased to see me.
‘Right, let’s get you to your room,’ Belle says. ‘I don’t have time for this.’
I grab my case and follow my sister up the staircase.
‘I just met Max, he’s a little cutie,’ I tell my sister. ‘And I met Jason. Oh and I met Mike, Dan’s brother.’
My sister stops dead in front of me, causing me to walk into her back and drop my suitcase. She turns around slowly.
‘Mia, don’t,’ she pleads.
‘Don’t what?’ I laugh.
‘Mia. Don’t. Don’t even think about it.’
‘Fucking hell, what do you think I am?’ I ask, not wanting or expecting an answer.
‘Mia,’ my sister says firmly, ‘don’t you dare.’
‘This looks intense,’ a familiar male voice says from behind me.
‘We’re fine, Uncle Steve, I’m just showing Mia to her bedroom.’
‘Here.’ My uncle stops to pick up my suitcase. ‘Allow me, that’s too heavy for a young lady to carry.’
As he smiles at me my skin crawls.
‘Cheers, Uncle Steve,’ Belle says brightly. ‘That’s Mia’s room over there. See you both at dinner – it will be ready at seven.’
Belle skips off back downstairs, safe in the knowledge she has warned me off Dan’s brother and that my Uncle Steve will take good care of me.
‘Shall we go to the bedroom?’ Steve says with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
I reluctantly nod my head and follow his lead.
My uncle opens the door and allows me to walk in first. I am in a bit of a rubbish mood but it instantly vanishes when I see where I’ll be sleeping. Everything in the room is lily-white, from the sheets on the king-size bed to the curtains that are blowing in the breeze coming in from the balcony. I walk across the room and step out onto the balcony where I take in the view. I have an ocean-facing room with a perfect view of the beach below and the sea which seems to go on for miles before meeting the skyline.
‘Wow,’ I say to myself.
‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ says my uncle, who I hadn’t realised had followed me. I was hoping he would just put my case down and piss off. ‘Almost as beautiful as you – how is it possible you get more beautiful every time I see you?’
Before my makeover, my uncle – like my Auntie June – never really spoke to me. No one really bothered with me, I was far too plain and boring. People were briefly interested in me when I hit the big-time with my writing, but that didn’t last long. Since my image transformation I have had to endure my uncle’s lecherous comments every time we’ve seen each other. For me, the fact that he is my uncle and that I have known him my entire life is enough to stop me entertaining the idea of us having a sexual relationship, but if that’s not enough reason then throw into the mix the fact that he is fifty-two, married and with a beer belly you could safely rest a pint on. His once dark hair is thinning and flecked with grey and years of smoking have caused his face to wrinkle something rotten. Like I said though, he could look like Gerard Butler and taste like chocolate, it wouldn’t change the fact he is my uncle and it’s weird that he hits on me. I may look like a different person to him but to me he is boring old Uncle Steve, the insurance salesman.
‘Well, I’m going to get in bed,’ I say, yawning for effect, but I am actually knackered so it didn’t take much faking.
‘I thought you’d never ask,’ my uncle jokes, kicking his shoes off as he runs back inside before throwing himself onto my bed, messing up the pristine sheets and causing me to throw up in my mouth a little.
I hover around the doorway to the balcony, convinced my only option will be to throw myself off it if I can’t get rid of my pervy uncle. Before I get around to it, my bedroom door is forcibly pushed open to reveal a very angry-looking Auntie June.
‘What the hell is going on in here?’ she bellows at the sight of her husband sprawled out across my bed.
