Page 25 of Good Sisters

‘No balls in the kitchen,’ I said automatically. Then I looked at Dad, who was a bit red in the face. ‘Are you?’

‘Oh, yes, that’s it,’ he said, faking a bad memory. ‘I’m giving Dolores a dig-out. She was stuck for a partner.’

‘She’s looking for you to dig into her,’ Gavin muttered. The triplets sniggered and Tom asked what was so funny.

‘Nothing, Tom. There is nothing funny about any of this.’ I glared at Gavin.

‘It’s only sex, Julie, not an emotional attachment. It’s nothing like with your mother,’ Christelle said.

‘Sex?’ I gasped.

‘Go, Granddad!’ Luke whooped.

‘Still got it,’ Liam said.

‘Lady-killer.’ Leo grinned.

‘Do old people have sex?’ Tom asked.

Dad spluttered. ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph, there is none of that going on. I am not doing anything of the sort with anyone, thank you very much, Christelle.’

She shrugged in her nonchalant way. ‘Okay, if you say so.’

‘I do say so,’ Dad said. ‘I find that very offensive.’

‘Kinda defensive there, Dad,’ Gavin said under his breath.

‘Drink, George?’ Harry cut across and poured Dad a large glass of wine.

We sat down. I put Gavin at the opposite end of the table to Dad, to avoid an argument, and served everyone large plates of bourguignon.

‘What are these?’ Tom held a mushroom up with his fork.

‘Mushrooms, Tom. You know it’s a mushroom.’

‘I’m allergic.’

‘No, you’re not.’

‘Yes, I am, they make me want to puke.’

‘Just eat the beef and the carrots.’

‘Yuk.’ Tom shoved his plate away.

‘I’ll eat it.’ Liam grabbed Tom’s plate and piled the food onto his.

‘Tom, you have to eat something,’ I said. He was small and slight for his age and, unlike his brothers, never seemed to be very hungry.

‘I’ll have toast.’

‘Harry?’ I looked over for some support.

‘Let him be. I only ate toast and bananas when I was his age.’

‘Gavin’s going to do all the cooking for our baby,’ Shania said. ‘I’m hopeless.’

‘I’m going to give them organic food and make sure they love healthy food from a young age,’ my delusional younger brother announced.

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