Nice work, Coop.
Since we’d been talking so often, she was on my mind, only this was beyond any conversation about the job or her finishing her studies. This was on a level I shouldn’t have been entering. “You remember Eva?” I continued, committing to the lie as if I had any right.
Mum’s eyebrows dipped in confusion, “Judy’s daughter, Eva?”
“That’s the one. We caught up again a few months back with Seb and his girlfriend, Marlee.” I shrugged to camouflage my floundering.
“Hmmmm,” she nodded, her strained expression lacking warmth. “I haven’t seen her in years. What’s she doing for herself?” Mum had the false pleasantries down to an art and I knew what she really meant was how successful was she. Whether she was going to bring something – money – to the family.
“She’s just finished her studies in business and is moving to the city.” I fumbled, not sure where this narrative was coming from but knowing I needed to wrap it up and change the topic before I got myself any deeper into a situation I couldn’t escape.
As if I wasn’t already there.
“If she’s buying, I’ll get her a great deal.” Dad huffed, an edge of scrutiny in hiscomment.
“She’ll move in with me until she finds a place, but I’ll definitely give you a call.” I prevaricated further.
Shit, this was getting outlandish even for me. She hadn’t even started working with me and now she was my girlfriend,andwe were living together.
“Living together? That better include a ring!”
My father, a man of honour in appearances only.
He was sizing me up, scanning for any tells that I was lying. But I’d perfected the game of deception when it came to them.
A defence mechanism. A necessity. Survival.
And I learnt how to do so from the best. He just didn’t realise.
“Oh, don’t rush them, honey.” That tight-lipped smoothing over thing my mother did? It pissed me off, just like all the other times she pivoted a conversation she thought might get heated or reveal truths deeper than superficial.
“It does actually.”
The silence which descended the room was as enjoyable as it was terrifying. Because, while I stood with a smirk which was a direct result of the uncertainty on both of their faces, I also knew I now needed to follow this through. And that came with a whole other list ofwhat the fuck were you thinking.
When my phone serendipitously rang cutting through the tense silence, it was the perfect escape. I provided a brief apology, a feasible excuse for why I couldn’t stay for dinner and a promise to visit as soon as I could with my newfakegirlfriend/possible fiancée. The farewell was more stilted than normal, the ride home spent trying to pull together some half-decent idea Evangeline might go for, because things were already going to be painfully awkward. And that was before I proposed marriage.
CHAPTER 6
Eva
“Mum, please don’t make me wear them, they’re as big as bowling balls,” I whined, pushing my new glasses up my face. I wanted to cry, but that wasn’t an option right now - not here.
Not when Cooper Dane was sitting on the other side of my big brother Sebastian, in his ripped jeans and Billabong t-shirt. I didn’t care what Bella said, he was way hotter than Randy from Home Improvement. And I’d know, we watched that show as if it were our religion.
“They highlight the beauty of your gorgeous eyes, baby. Promise.” She kissed the top of my head but it only made me want to cry more. She had to say things like that, she was my mum. She lifted her camera, snapping a quick photo and I knew when she finally got around to having that printed, I would be wearing a scowl to match the tears welling in my eyes and my stupid glasses probably covering half the picture.
“Okay everybody, let’s cut the cake,” Mum called and like a herd of elephants the boys all ran towards my brother. He was twelve and this was the best part of having a birthday.
There were arms everywhere, the stench of sweaty boys thick in the air and that was just gross. I pushed my chair back just as everyone began singing to Sebastian, my mouth moving butno words coming out. I hated singing in front of anyone and I knew if I pretended Mum wouldn’t mind. I could sing to him tomorrow when we made our own cake.
“Ouch.” I looked up and into the cranky red face of Seb’s friend Derek. “You stepped on my foot, four-eyes,” he whispered, his mean words making my tummy hurt.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. I chanted in my head as I tried to move around to where Mum was taking photos but there were so many people, and I couldn’t get out.
I tried to push harder, to squeeze through as everyone sang, ‘hooray’, only a hand on my arm stopped me. And when I looked up it was Cooper who was standing in front of me.
I liked Cooper. He was Sebastian’s very best-friend and he always let me play with him and Seb and never said anything mean. He even told me he thought my glasses suited me the first time he saw them.
