Page 13 of Wish You Once More
“Come on, how can I help if you won’t let me know what I’m dealing with?” pleaded Callie.
“I don’t need help.”
“Really?”
“All I need to do is avoid Mat Redmond for the weekend.”
No sooner had my lips had formed the words, my eyes locked with Mat’s as he and his brother Jonny walked into the beer garden.
7
Mat
Still feeling delicate after last night, plus a five-hour, long ass train journey and the prospect of seeing my ex again, all I wanted was a shower and an early night.
“Uncle Mat!” Henry threw himself at my legs the minute I got through the door of Jonny and Melinda’s house.
“Hey, buddy! I’ve missed you.” I bent down and scooped the little man into my arms. He smothered me with sloppy kisses and I instantly regretted picking him up. Whatever arts and crafts project Melinda had got him into was now all over my t-shirt and face. Sticky, paint-covered hands moved towards my hair, but I stopped him before he could give me a blue streak.
“God, Mat, I’m so sorry.” Melinda rushed towards me and grabbed Henry out of my arms. “He’s so excited to see you. We’ve been making a ‘Welcome Home Uncle Mat’ card. Or at least I think that’s what it’s supposed to say. Right now, it looks more like Uncle Cat.” She laughed.
I couldn’t be upset with Henry, even if I wanted to be. “It’s fine. I just hope I haven’t intoxicated the poor guy.”
Melinda leaned in to kiss my cheek, her nose wrinkling. “Yeah, you could do with a shower. Heavy night was it?”
“You could say that.” I flashed a sheepish grin.
“Well, I’m sure it was good preparation for this weekend.” Melinda moved Henry to her other hip and shoved me towards the living room. “Your dad’s taking you and Jonny to the pub for dinner.”
My heart sank. Any time the three of us got together, it usually ended up with a bottle of whisky. My liver might not take it this time.
Jonny burst through the front door with my holdall and bass. “What did your last slave die of?” he huffed.
“I said I’d come back out for that.” I grabbed the handle of the case and took my beloved instrument from him. “You’ve still got a Peavey rig, yeah?”
“Yeah, with an Orange as back up.”
“Orange!” shouted Henry.
“I still have no idea what you two are on about, even after all these years.” Melinda shook her head. “What the floof does an orange have to do with music?”
“And what the floof is floof?” I asked, almost as confused as Melinda was with our musical jargon; bless her.
“Oh, it’s Henry. He’s starting to repeat a lot of things we say. I’ve had to cut back on swearing and find alternative words,” explained Melinda. “We had an awkward conversation in pre-school the other week.”
“Melinda’s parenting gold star went right out of the window.” Jonny gave her a kiss before heading up the stairs. “You’d best get a move on if we’re meeting Dad.”
“Got it.” I ruffled Henry’s hair and followed my brother.
In the quiet sanctuary of their guest bedroom, I sank down onto the bed, catching my breath for a moment. Jonny’s house had always been busy and chaotic and honestly, I hadn’t realised how much I missed my family until now. Scott, Declan and Bobby were also my family, and equally chaotic, but they weren’t a substitute for the real thing.
I grabbed some clean clothes from my bag and headed for the bathroom, making sure to lock the door. I didn’t want any unwelcome visits from Henry. Stripping off my clothes, I stepped under the powerful jets, letting the hot water wash away the dirt from the journey.
Twenty minutes later, clean, dressed and somewhat refreshed, I sat on the living room floor pushing Henry’s cars around.
“Honestly, Mat, you could have let Henry play with you.” Jonny leaned against the door frame, a grin on his face.
“If it wasn’t past his bedtime, I would have.” I grinned back.
