‘I’ll get to that in a minute. Before I say any more, I want you all to know that it’s serious. It’s not some flash in the pan.’ I lick my lips, which are as dry as the desert, before flashing my left hand in front of their open mouths.
‘Oh. My. Fucking. God!’ Emma shrieks and leaps from the table to fling her arms around me. Never have I been more grateful for the sisterly solitude than I am today. ‘We are so freaking happy for you! Aren’t we, Eddie?’ She attempts to nudge some sort of reaction from him.
Mam’s fingers rest over her forehead, a small smile forming on her weathered lips. ‘Amy, this is unbelievable! Why are we only hearing about this now?’
‘Quite the dark horse!’ Matthew hobbles up to hug me. ‘Are you ashamed of your big brother? I can’t wait to meet the man you’ve deemed good enough to put a ring on that finger.’ His tone is jovial and genuine happiness rings in his every word.
‘I wanted to tell you, I did. It’s just…’
My other brother remains seated, his face almost as white as his tense fists.
‘Congratulations.’ His tone doesn’t exactly assure me I have his blessing. Thankfully I’ve begun to realise that although I’d like it, I don’t necessarily need it.
‘Thank you. I – we – wanted to make sure it was everything we thought it was before we told everyone.’ I can barely keep the grin from my face. It’s clearly a shock, but generally they seem happy for me.
Emma grabs my hand, examining the ring, twisting it this way and the other. I know nothing about jewellery but even I can see it must have cost a bomb. ‘How long has this been going on?’
‘Six months.’ Tittering gasps flood the room.
‘So, do we know this mystery man? The man who thinks it’s ok to sneak around with my little sister until he’s finally decided he’s serious enough to go public?’ Eddie’s voice has dropped dangerously low and his arms fold against his chest.
‘It’s not like that, Eddie. You know we aren’t a normal family in that respect. Anytime I date anyone, or want to date, you’re on my back. Nobody ever even gets a chance with you around.’
Silence weighs heavily in the air before he says, ‘I thought you were grateful they didn’t get a chance.’
And there it is again. That one incident I can never get away from.
‘I was fifteen, Eddie. I’m not a child anymore.’
His eyes rake over me as if to disagree. ‘So, who is he? Do I know him?’
I swallow hard, barely able to meet my brother’s eye. ‘Yes, you do.’
Mam and Dad wait with bated breath at the far end of the table. Even the children have fallen silent.
Emma is the first to break it. ‘If you’re happy, we’re happy for you. Aren’t we, Eddie?’
Mam chips in, oblivious to the fact she’s flicking a match at an already volatile flame, ‘is it one of those handsome rugby players?’ She wiggles her eyebrows as Eddie’s shoot upwards towards the stars.
The screeching of wooden chair legs against the tiles is akin to fingernails on a blackboard. ‘Amy, you have got to be joking me?’ Eddie leaps to his feet, pacing the narrow space of the kitchen, his broad shoulders bashing against the fridge-freezer as he turns to pace some more. ‘Who is it? Tell me, so help me god. I will march to every one of their houses until someone tells me something.’
‘She’s a grown woman, Eddie.’ Emma catches Eddie by the hand, squeezing it. She shoots him a look of pleading, and also a warning.
‘Who would dare to sleep with my sister behind my back?’ There’s no reasoning with him. ‘Which one of my so-called brothers is banging my sister?’
‘Eddie,’ Mam and Dad warn in unison.
Mam continues, ‘She’s just gotten engaged. Someone wants to make the biggest commitment a man can make.’
It’s not how I planned things. I should have spoken earlier in the day. Given him time to cool down. I knew he’d be mad, but he’s not even giving me the chance to explain. The bell chimes from the front door and my heart sinks to my boots. It can only be one person.
I told him to leave it to me. Let me do it my way. But seeing as I haven’t replied to his five text messages today, he’s probably worried. He needn’t be worried for me. No matter how angry Eddie is, he’d never hurt me. Him, on the other hand – his presence here now is not a good idea.
I jog towards the front door with Eddie flying out of the kitchen on my tail fuelled with the rage of an angry boar. The sound of Emma’s heels clicking against my parents’ lino assures me she’s on it. The front door is flung open and there stands Ollie, my no-longer-secret boyfriend. His mouth is pursed into a tight line and his green eyes flicker warily.
‘Eddie.’ His hands raise in the air in surrender. The atmosphere is thick enough to choke us.
Eddie shoves Ollie hard enough to send him staggering backwards, down the steps of the house we grew up in. It’s like déjà vu, only at the front of the house and not the back today. A round of shocked gasps come from Mam’s hallway where the rest of our family have joined to watch the commotion.
