Page 25 of When We Were Young
Christmas Day
When Will went into the sitting room, Reu was spinning around with his mouth wide open.
‘ Mary Poppins !’ shouted Aidan.
Reu shook his head.
‘ Ghostbusters !’ called Uncle Brian.
Reu shook his head again.
‘ The Sound of Music ?’ guessed Will.
Reu pointed at him while touching his nose, the universal gesture for a correct guess in charades. Reu had just learned it and was enjoying using it.
Aidan groaned. ‘You didn’t even see how many words it was!’
Will squeezed onto the sofa next to one of his cousins. Emily was sitting apart from everyone else, staring into space, running her thumb up and down her glass.
He wished they hadn’t got interrupted; he could have explained.
Oh, who was he kidding? No amount of explaining would help him now.
Izzy had set a chain of events in motion this morning and there was no going back.
And even though it was likely to end in public humiliation, he was glad.
Whatever happened, at least it was out there. He’d finally told her how he felt.
Aidan was shouting his guesses over everyone else’s, taking the game too seriously, ever competitive.
Will ought to feel guilty about betraying his brother, but he didn’t.
When Aidan went off in a cab with that girl, everything changed.
Aidan didn’t care about Emily. Maybe he should have spoken to Aidan first. Told him to tell Emily about his infidelity or he would?
No. Will knew exactly how Aidan would respond to that ultimatum.
Anyway, it was done now.
Uncle Brian came in with a tray full of warm sausage rolls and everyone swooped on him like a flock of vultures, but the thought of eating made Will feel sick. Emily remained quietly detached from the group, but Aidan was too busy stuffing his face to notice.
Throughout the evening, Will’s mum and aunt took turns to check on Izzy.
At the last check, she’d been asleep, and he’d started to relax a little.
The older generation chatting on the sofa while the younger ones argued about what game to play next.
A bossy cousin wrenched Will from the sofa – and his thoughts – for a game of Swear Word Scrabble.
Before he could refuse, he found himself teamed up with Emily and squashed at the table, his thigh pressed up against hers.
He kept his eyes firmly on her fingers as she picked out their tiles from the box.
Just when he thought the moment couldn’t get any more awkward, Izzy appeared.
‘Hello Izzy!’ His uncle was ever the cheerful host. ‘Will you join us?’
Izzy stood swaying in the doorway, her eyes ringed with smudged mascara. ‘I thought I might.’
‘Why don’t you join Reu and Aidan’s team?’
She staggered around the table and took the empty chair beside Aidan.
He inclined his rack of tiles towards her, whispering tactics in her ear.
Izzy rearranged the tiles on the rack, then cupping a hand around her mouth, whispered something to Aidan.
Aidan’s gaze lifted from the rack and landed on Will.
Was she talking about him or the game? Aidan placed four tiles on the board.
‘ Damn ,’ said Aidan. ‘With the triple letter score, that’s nine.’
Will exhaled, having forgotten to breathe for the entire exchange.
Izzy didn’t contribute much more, she sat slumped over the table, propping her chin in her hand.
She kept nodding off and jerking herself awake.
The game dragged on until Aidan’s team finally won, and the group dispersed.
Will’s mum settled Izzy into an armchair and within moments she was asleep.
It was a good job most his family were half-cut too, or this day would have been even more embarrassing.
Will went to the kitchen for a glass of water.
He was drinking at the sink when he saw someone behind him in the reflection of the window. He turned to see Emily walking away.
‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Do you want something?’
‘Just some water.’
He got a glass from the cupboard, filled it, and handed it to her.
He gently touched her arm. ‘Are you okay?’
She said nothing; her doe-eyed look of confusion left him guilty and hopeful all at once.
She took a sip of her water, put the glass on the side, and stared at it like it was going to tell her what to say.
He wanted to put his arms around her so badly. ‘Emily?’
She didn’t look up, so he gently took a hold of her chin and angled her face towards him. Very slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his.
‘Look,’ he said, ‘I’m sorry––’
‘What the fuck?’ Aidan yelled from behind them.
They jumped apart, which only made them look guilty. Aidan lunged at Will, grabbed a fistful of his jumper, and yanked him closer.
‘Izzy told me you’re obsessed with Emily, but I thought she was talking shit because she’s drunk,’ Aidan snarled in his face. ‘But here you are, feeling her up in the kitchen!’
‘I’m not feeling her up !’
Aidan thrust Will backwards, and he clattered against the draining board where a stack of plates was drying.
‘And you!’ he spat, pointing a vicious finger at Emily. ‘I bet you’ve been encouraging him.’
Emily stepped back, wide-eyed and blinking.
‘Don’t talk to her like that!’ Will steadied himself and straightened up. ‘Izzy’s stirring – she’s trying to get back at me, you idiot!’
‘Don’t call me a fucking idiot!’ Aidan shoved Will again but he was braced for it this time. ‘Izzy’s right, you are always looking at Emily. Did you think you could get away with that? She’s my girlfriend!’
‘Like you give a shit! You didn’t bother to go to her exhibition, you don’t show any interest in her art, or her friends!’
‘Will…’ Emily pleaded.
‘And I suppose you do, do you?’ Aidan stepped closer, squaring up to him.
‘You only asked her out because you saw me looking at her!’
‘Bullshit!’ A fleck of spit flew out of Aidan’s mouth and landed on Will’s cheek.
‘What about the night of Emily’s show? You came to our gig at ULU and you left with that—’
Aidan’s fist connected with Will’s cheekbone with such force it threw him backwards.
Everything slid into slow motion on the long journey to the floor.
He saw his dad come up behind Aidan and wrap his arms around him.
Why was he hugging him? Uncle Brian was there too, shouting silently.
And Emily – beautiful Emily – brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears.