There would be twenty kids knocking about, making this an unorganised kids’ party, which was my – and most other adults – idea of hell.
It seemed my siblings had finally stopped with the baby making, although there was still the chance that someone would have a late addition. This was one of the first times in years that no one was pregnant.
I wondered who’d drawn the short straw and was on kid duty. There was a good chance no one had volunteered and that wasn’t going to be me, and given I had a box of champagne in my hands, it wouldn’t be my wife either.
I found Vic in the kitchen, doing something with Lucy’s hair that was as long and as dark as her mother’s.
“Have you heard?” I placed a hand on the small of Vic’s back.
She finished tying a bobble in Lucy’s hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Go and play.”
“I’m too old to play.” My daughter gave us a look of disgust.
“You’re never too old to play.” I shook my head at her. “It’s just the definition of play changes.”
“You’re weird.” She stuck her tongue at me, gave me a hug and then launched herself in Eliza’s direction, who was holding court with Rose and Niamh, Claire’s second demon child.
Victoria wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her head to my shoulder. “Georgia told me about Rose this afternoon. Seph messaged her to say he was telling you.”
“He told everyone else this afternoon too. It’s shit, isn’t it?” I didn’t know how else to comprehend it.
Vic slipped her hand under my T-shirt. “It is. But it’s a birth defect, so it’s one of those things. It’s a straightforward procedure. She’ll be back at school the week after, no scarring just check-ups for a few years after and there'll be no long-term complications. There are a lot of worse things. You need to keep it in perspective.”
I knew she was right. I’d also known what she was going to say because I’d already thought that through. “But what if something goes wrong?”
Vic shook her head. “Like what? And be realistic here, Max. She’s going to be under a top surgeon and anaesthetist. It’s a straightforward operation and other than the issue with her heart, she’s fit and well.”
“What if she doesn’t come round from the anaesthetic? They find another hole? The operation doesn’t work?”
“And I get hit by a bus tomorrow – or one of the fucking scooters that keep whizzing down the pavements. She’s having the op. There’s no reason to be concerned that something will go wrong – the surgeon is really confident and you know what surgeons are like.” She pulled one of the bottles of champagne out of the box I’d put down. “This is just about cold enough andif you’re going to be acting like a bear until she’s had the surgery, you and Will can sleep in the tents that are going up.”
“The sleepover’s happening?”
She nodded. “My poor lawn.”
“The grass will recover. I might not. Who’s sleeping out with the kids?” I was hoping it wasn’t me. I knew it definitely wouldn’t be Vic.
“Callum and Wren, because they’re insane. Killian and Nick, and I think Owen volunteered. Most of the kids want to camp. Those who don’t are having an indoor sleepover in the cellar.”
Which was converted into a media suite and gym, doubling over as a good room for sleepovers because it was soundproofed so the kids could be as noisy as they wanted.
“Where are the adults sleeping?”
“For some of them, it’ll be where they fall. I think a few are going back home and they’ll come back for breakfast which Jack and Simone are doing because we’re ending up with their kids staying too.” Jack and Simone owned and ran restaurants in London. We’d been friends with them for years. Their son Leo was about the same age as Lucy, and their daughter a similar age to the twins.
“Have you heard about the house too?” I still wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
Vic eyed me, as if she was working out how I felt about it so she could plan what to say.
“The jungle drums are loud. Jackson texted Van and told her to tell us. You know secrets don’t stay secrets in this family for very long.” She poured two glasses of champagne.
It might be our house that everyone was at, but they could fend for themselves. I just accepted that I’d be attempting a big shop with a big hangover tomorrow afternoon.
“How do you feel about the house being sold or haven’t you made your mind up yet?”
She knew me too well.
“I think it’s a good thing. If they held onto it, it’d leave one of them eventually making the decision to move out of it by themselves.”
