Page 19 of Fix Them Up
According to Liam’s tense expression, this was a sensitive topic, and I was struck that my cousin and Liam must be very close if she could comment on Liam’s family like that.
‘Kevin is fine because I pick up the slack. I’m sorry, but no.’ He turned to me, his eyes glimmering with intensity, ‘Even if we had the right “synergy”, we don’t have any time.’
Jack cleared his throat. ‘We’re finishing early on the Joneses’ extension, Liam. I can take over from you, and you could take on this project,’ Jack suggested in a light tone as if he was used to pitching ideas carefully around Liam.
‘Absolutely not. The Joneses have sticks up their arses. I need to manage it.’
‘Manage the stick up their arse?’ Jack asked in mock confusion, making both Lydia and me laugh. Liam delivered Jack a droll look.
‘Liam, come on,’ Lydia protested. ‘Mum, Dad and I will help too. We can all chip in.’
‘Thatsounds like fucking chaos.’ Liam crossed his arms, all corded muscle and veins.
Gym bros were a turnoff for me, but Liam didn’t look like he hit the gym. I knew without seeing… all of him… that Liam didn’t have one of those perfectly sculpted bodies. His arms were a byproduct of his job, freckled, tanned, and defined from lifting heavy materials.
‘Take a picture, Red. It will last longer,’ a male voice whispered.
I lifted my gaze to find Liam’s eyes sparkling, his lips struggling to stay straight. I flushed and opened my mouth to protest, but a mic made a horrible squeak, making everyone wince.
Lydia’s hands came to her ears, and Jack and Liam grimaced.
‘Excuse me!’ Sandra’s voice pierced the room. ‘The club committee meeting starts now. If you are attending, please take your seats. If not, the back room is free, and Beverly will be there to pull pints.’
‘I only like you pulling my pints, Sandra!’ a rather portly man with a receding hairline shouted, making everyone, including Sandra, laugh. Even Liam huffed beside me. It made me wonder what his actual laugh sounded like, if he ever made the noise in his miserable life.
‘Oi!’ Brian shouted. ‘That’s my wife.’
My uncle can’t have noticed me when he came in, sitting front row to his wife’s performance. The man who flirted with my auntie held his hands up in defence, and more laughs pealed through the room.
‘God, Mum and Dad make this a bleeding pantomime. Come on.’ Lydia shifted us to find seats. ‘They fill up fast. This is like a stand-up special, with juicy court proceedings and a dash of aCorrieChristmas special all in one. You donotwant to miss it.’
Lydia leaned down to pull out a bag of Wine Gums, silently handing them to someone above us. I looked up to find Liam looming above me. Silently, he took the sweets from my cousin.
‘You’re sat in his seat,’ Lydia whispered with hushed humour. ‘I’ve never seen him so stressed.’
‘I’m not stressed,’ Liam grumbled, ripping open the Wine Gums and throwing three in his mouth. Our chairs were so close that our arms were brushing, sending a cold shiver up my arm. Liam flinched like I’d burnt him, so I shifted in my seat further away from him.
God, why did I ever think I could persuade him to help?
‘Right,’ Sandra announced. ‘Let’s get started. Chair, would you like to come here and give us an overview?’
A tall woman with braids approached the stage, and it wasn’tuntil she turned around to address the crowd of about seventy people that I recognised her.
‘She’s my neighbour,’ I whispered to Lydia.
‘Oh, yeah. I forget Pat lives on Evanshore, too.’
Pat adjusted the mic. ‘Good evening, everyone. It’s lovely to see all your shining faces. Yes, even yours, Peter.’ She gave Peter a sickly smile. ‘We’ll move onto your –’ she picked up several pieces of paper like they were Noodle’s dog poo – ‘several proposals after I’ve given an overview of the club’s achievements for the last few months.’
Pat presented the club’s financial successes and called for volunteers for the dementia-friendly afternoon tea and announced a whole roster of events: kid’s crafts, yoga, vinyl nights, and the makers market, which I made a mental note to put in the diary because the barbecue sounded amazing.
‘Jesus, it never stops here.’
‘Since Mum and Pat orchestrated their coup, things got busier around here.’
‘Now these meetings take forever,’ Liam grumbled. ‘The best kind of committee is a committee of two when one doesn’t turn up.’
I snorted and Liam looked at me curiously.
