Page 6 of From Now On

‘It’s got raw eggs in it. You’ll probably die if you eat that.’

He hesitates, glancing at Pippa for reassurance. ‘Nobody’s going to die,’ she says, adding, ‘I promise.’

‘If they do it’s your fault now,’ Nina says.

‘Nina! Don’t be unkind to Duke.’

Duke knows if Dad were here he’d roll his eyes and mouth ‘hormones’ so Duke tries not to let her words worry him but they still do. He carries on chewing, but the mix doesn’t taste as sweet anymore.

Duke’s tummy feels fluttery as he steps into his lounge. Charlie is sprawled on the sofa, his arm around a woman who he supposes is his girlfriend. He sits up quickly when they come in as though he’s been caught doing something wrong like when Duke should be learning on the computer but instead is playing Minesweeper because it’s more fun.

‘Pippa.’

Duke doesn’t know why Charlie looks so surprised to see her. She’s lived next door like forever.

‘Sasha, this is Pippa. We went to school together.’ Charlie doesn’t say hello to Duke or Nina at first. It’s like he can’t see anyone but Pippa, which is stupid because it’s not as though they’re each wearing an invisibility ring like the one inThe Hobbit.

‘Hello, Charlie.’ Duke gives a little wave.

‘Hello. Sorry, Sasha, this is my brother, Duke, and my sister, Nina.’

He can’t be that sorry because he immediately focuses on Pippa again but Duke supposes that’s okay because Charlie has two days with him and Nina and Pippa will be leaving in a minute. She isn’t looking at Charlie though, she’s too busy arranging the plate on the table, sliding it to the left and then the right until it’s in the middle.

‘How are you, Pippa?’ Charlie asks.

‘You know.’ She shrugs, which isn’t an answer at all. ‘Fine. Doing okay.’ She straightens up.

‘Good. And how’s your grandma?’

Now Pippa stares at Charlie. ‘She died.’

‘I didn’t… I’m so sorry.’ He crosses to the table, his arms moving as if to hug her but Pippa turns away from him. Instead, he reaches out with his hand to touch her shoulder, glances at Sasha,leaving his arm hovering in the air in an awkward way until he lowers it and chooses the biggest cookie as though that’s what he meant to do all along.

‘Six months ago,’ Pippa mumbles.

Charlie does this strange stepping forward and stepping back thing.

‘Mum did tell you,’ Duke says. ‘You weren’t picking up the phone, so she had to leave you a voicemail with details of the funeral. She was cross with you for not coming.’

‘I don’t… I can’t have listened… I should have been there. Sorry.’

Pippa has tears in her eyes now. Duke doesn’t like that Charlie has made her sad thinking about her grandma but while no one is looking at him he sneaks a couple of the still-warm cookies into his pocket.

‘Anyway,’ Pippa says too loudly as she turns to Duke. He can feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. His fingers twitch to put the cookies back but then she says, ‘I’ve got to go and get ready for my party so Happy New Year everyone.’

It’s a bit weird when she’s gone but then Sasha says, ‘Your manicure is very pretty,’ to Nina and rather than rolling her eyes and saying something sarcastic his sister mumbles, ‘Thanks.’

‘I’ve got some baby pink lip gloss that should match,’ Sasha says. ‘Do you want to try it?’

Nina throws a death stare to Duke but he’s hardly going to say Nina isn’t allowed to wear make-up when he has stolen cookies in his pocket, is he? Duke won’t tell on her the way Nina tells on him sometimes like if he’d stuck a star on his chart without doing his chores, with an ‘you’re not the golden boy now’, which is stupid because his hair is dark, the same as Charlie’s.

Sasha fetches a glittery gold bag and unzips it. ‘Shall we go the whole hog? Eyes, cheeks and lips?’

‘Can you teach me how to highlight properly?’

‘Of course! You have gorgeous skin,’ Sasha says.

Nina sits on a chair and Sasha begins dipping a brush into a pot. Duke perches awkwardly on the sofa – he wants to go to his room, but his mum always says it’s rude to disappear when visitors are here but is Charlie a visitor? He is family, even if he doesn’t feel like it.

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