Page 26 of The In-Laws

Katie was having a blast. She felt young and cool and edgy, not a boring suburban mum. This was the crazy, fun Katie who had partied hard in her teens and twenties. She let the music wash over her as she danced. God, she felt so alive!

At the after-party, Frank’s music friends told her she was hot and fun, and she was getting lots of attention, which she lapped up happily. This was a million miles away from school lunches and spellings. She’d forgotten how much she loved gigs, and she was having an absolute ball.

Katie went to the bar and ordered shots. She came back with a tray of Jägermeister glasses for the table.

Frank raised an eyebrow. ‘Whoa, Katie, are you sure you need these? You’ll have the kids waking you early.’

‘Hell, yes!’ she shouted, over the music.

The other people in their group cheered and they all threw back the shots and slammed their glasses down, laughing. Everyone except Frank.

Some guy called Denver bought another round of shots, and then another … Katie was throwing shots back, whooping and feeling high on life. She felt greedy for everything, all of this.

She threw her arms around Frank. ‘You are my favourite brother-in-law in the world.’

He laughed. ‘And you’re my favourite sister-in-law.’

‘To be fair, the competition is not high,’ Katie slurred. They weren’t the type of in-laws to have deep-and-meaningful chats. There was an awful lot never spoken about in the Fitzroy family, and Katie had always gone along with that, but now, emboldened by alcohol, she asked, ‘How do you stand Ross, seriously, Frank? He’s driving Jamie nuts.’

Frank put his glass of water down. ‘You must remember, Ross has had a tough time. He’s just a product of his childhood. When Mum and Thomas broke up, Ross was pretty much abandoned by his dad, who moved to France to start a new life. Meanwhile, Mum was falling in love with her second husband, my dad Patrick – I wish you’d got to meet him – and there wasn’t much room for Ross in that set-up. It was really hard for him. Mum, me, Jamie and Patrick were a little family unit, a foursome, and Ross was the outsider, the fifth member who never really fitted in. He was half-brother to us and stepson to Dad. Mum tried, in her own unique way, to make him feel included whenever he was home from boarding school, but he resented her. Ross blamed my dad for the break-up of his parents’ marriage, even though it was long over before Mum met Patrick. By the time Ross was sent to boarding school, Mum was already pregnant.’

‘With you.’ Katie pointed to Frank.

‘Yes. Mum thought sending Ross to boarding schoolwould be good for him. She reckoned it would be easier for him to be with friends rather than have to deal with a new stepdad and a new sibling. Also, let’s be honest, it was convenient. Mum could focus on her career, her new husband and her new life without her son glaring at her and blaming her for everything. I was born, and then Jamie arrived, so when Ross came to stay with us during the holidays he saw a happy family unit that he was not part of. I’m sure it hurt like hell. Jamie and I adored him and looked up to him, but he resented us too. I get it. He never got to experience what we had – a happy home life. I think underneath it all he still resents Mum hugely, and I do understand that.’

‘I didn’t have a happy home life either, but I didn’t become bitter and entitled and take it out on other people,’ Katie said.

Frank sighed. ‘I think he felt marginalized, but when he grew up and met Amanda and began to find happiness in life, he started coming around to see us more. We were beginning to get to know him better, but then the car crash happened and Dad died. Mum never forgave herself for letting Dad drive that day, and on top of all the grief and guilt she felt, she also had to look after me because my injuries were pretty bad. To be fair to Mum, she can be hard and tough but she’s had a difficult time. Her life has been complicated. In one day she lost her husband and almost lost me. Imagine the stress. She is kind of remarkable to have come through it all in one piece. But unfortunately for Ross he got shut out again as Mum had to focus on nursing me and looking after Jamie, who was only fourteen and broken-hearted. There was very little room left for Ross. He barely saw Mum for the first two years after the accident. It musthave been awful for him. Jamie and I were locked in our own grief, but we probably should have made more of an effort with him.’

Katie nearly choked on her drink. ‘You were fighting for your life, Frank, plus dealing with the trauma of being in the car when your father died, and Jamie was a fourteen-year-old kid who’d lost his dad.’

‘I know, but I’ve dealt with my anger and grief through years of therapy. Ross has never faced his truth.’

‘Don’t go all hippie-dippy on me. Youchoseto deal with your grief and your trauma. Ross has chosen not to and just to be an arsehole instead.’

‘Ah, now, that’s harsh.’

Katie poked Frank in the chest. ‘No, it isn’t. I know you have a big heart and I know you try to love and respect everyone, but come on, Frank, you have to admit your brother can be a total dickhead.’

Frank laughed. ‘He can be difficult at times, but I understand why. That’s the key. When you understand why someone behaves the way they do, it helps you to accept them. Ross is a decent person underneath.’

Katie snorted. ‘I bet Melanie doesn’t think so.’

‘Melanie would have a different viewpoint, all right.’ Frank grinned.

‘I must say, you’re amazing, Frank. To have gone through what you went through at only eighteen and to be so … well … normal and lovely is incredible.’

Frank smiled sheepishly. ‘Not everyone thinks I’m normal,per se, but thanks. Like I said, I’ve had a lot of therapy and I’ve sought out ways of healing through yoga and meditation. I had a lot of time lying in hospital to think about things and I read a lot about healing and recovery. Even at eighteen, I knew I couldn’t do anything about thescars all over my body from the operations, but I could heal the internal ones.’

Katie hugged him again. ‘I think you’re brilliant. In my teens I healed my grief through alcohol and hash. I probably should have chosen yoga.’ She giggled. ‘On that note, time for more shots!’

9. Melanie

Melanie sat beside Frank, listening to his voice go on and on, and tried not to scream.

‘… Janis and Joni are incredible girls. They have a lot of energy. It just needs to be channelled correctly. Perhaps if they were allowed more time to be creative, they’d talk less in class?’

Mr Grogan, the year head, smiled tightly. He looked less than impressed at Frank’s description of the twins. ‘The thing is, Mr Fitzroy –’

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