‘That’s really kind of you, Ros. Yeah, I’d love a beer.’
‘Excellent.’ She was delighted that he seemed genuinely pleased.
She popped the cap off and brought it to him on the sofa. ‘Scrabble,’ she said.
‘Thanks, and what now?’
‘I like a game of Scrabble. I don’t have a board here but Dad has one. We play at Christmas and Easter sometimes.’
‘Cool. I like Scrabble too.’ They smiled at each other.
‘I’ll add it to the list,’ said Ros. She turned over a new flip chart with the header ‘Things We Have In Common or Both Like’. Currently all that was listed was cricket.
‘I know you’re going to disagree but I think there was a lot about Sunday that went well.’
Ros stared at him. ‘For example?’ she prompted.
Cameron leaned forward. ‘Barry bought the fact that we were a couple. I know I’m currently not his ideal son-in-law but he didn’t suspect a scam.’
‘Please don’t call it a scam,’ said Ros, feeling the punch of guilt to her gut. ‘He may have accepted that we were a couple but if he can’t understand what I see in you then he’s going to get suspicious. Which is why...’ Ros tapped the flip chart; she needed to keep them on track.
‘I’ve had an idea,’ he said. ‘What if I took your dad out for a beer? Have a man-to-man chat. Say that I get that I might not be his first choice but I want to do whatever I can to make him like me.’ Cameron grinned at her, clearly pleased with his suggestion.
‘Then he’d definitely know you have something to hide,’ said Ros. ‘How about we have a list of subjects that we feel are safe to discuss and agree exactly what we can and can’t say about them?’
Cameron swigged his beer. ‘Sounds like a bundle of fun.’
‘Sarcasm is not helpful,’ said Ros.
They were interrupted by a buzz on the entry system. Ros paused for a moment; she wasn’t expecting anyone. It buzzed again. ‘Shall I get that?’ asked Cameron. Already reaching for the phone. ‘Hallo,’ he said.
Ros strode across the room but Cameron stood up, making it difficult for her to grab it off him. ‘Barry! We were just talking about you,’ said Cameron. Then completely unnecessarily he mouthed to Ros that it was her dad. ‘Come on up,’ he said into the receiver as he pressed the entry button.
‘Buggeration,’ said Ros. ‘Hide the flip chart. I’ll stall him.’
‘On it,’ said Cameron.
Ros was sweating. She did not need this level of stress. There was a tap on her door. She took a deep breath and checked over her shoulder. The flip chart was gone and so was Cameron. Ros opened the door and was immediately assaulted by Gazza who was over the moon to find Ros on the other side of the door. He yelped his excitement as his claws trashed her tights in one easy move.
‘Dad, hello. This is a nice surprise,’ she said, kissing him on the cheek.
‘I’m not interrupting anything, am I?’ asked Barry.
‘Of course not,’ said Ros, shutting the door and turning around to find Cameron walking in whilst pulling his T-shirt over his head as if he was getting dressed. She felt like she was intruding as she was suddenly presented with his bare torso but she couldn’t look away. Horror was keeping her fixed in position. What on earth would her dad think? This was a nightmare.
‘No worries, Barry,’ said Cameron, checking his flies were done up. ‘It’s great to see you again.’ He put his hand out to shake and belatedly Barry shook it. ‘Hey, buddy, how are you?’ said Cameron, addressing Gazza.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Ros, now realising that this was an unplanned visit and Barry had brought the dog.
‘Nothing’s wrong. I just need a favour as something has come up last minute.’
‘What is it?’ asked Ros.
‘Did you want a beer?’ asked Cameron, picking up his bottle.
‘Er no thanks. I wasn’t going to stop. The hospital want me to pop in first thing tomorrow and stay overnight. I know it’s short notice but I wondered if you could have Gazza?’
‘Of course,’ said Cameron before Ros had had a chance to process the information. ‘We’d love to have him.’
