‘Morning, Sophie.Sleep well?’he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
‘Leo!Oh, so you’ve come back.’Sophie had always had a talent for stating the obvious.
‘Yes, I just wondered what your plans were?’
‘Plans?’She looked confused.
‘Yes, not sure if it slipped your mind, but we were supposed to be getting married in a few weeks?Or did I get the wrong end of the stick?I notice you’re not wearing your ring.’
‘Well, we assumed, I mean, I thought…’
‘Yes?’
‘I guess it’s all off between us, isn’t it?I never wanted to move to the Midlands.It’s so horribly provincial, and I need to be near my family.Can you see me as a shop assistant, darling?Really?’
‘You’re cancelling the wedding, then?’Leo felt a wild surge of hope.Surely he should be devastated?His fiancée was sleeping with his older brother and was ditching him, he reminded himself, waiting for the pain to kick in.It didn’t.
‘Well, we thought it seemed a shame to waste all those arrangements, didn’t we, Den?It would be so expensive to cancel the day, and my dress is almost ready.’
‘And your point is?’
‘We’ll just carry on with the wedding and everything, only I’ll marry Den instead of you.’Sophie smiled brightly.‘That’ll solve all the problems, won’t it?Den loves me, and he wants to stay in Newcastle.Daddy’s pleased, and he’s buying us that penthouse flat overlooking the river, you remember?The one that I liked so much?Daddy’s always liked Den.He’s going to help him with his signwriting business.’
‘Den’sbusiness?Don’t you thinkmydad might have something to say about that?’Leo was amazed.Even Sophie couldn’t be this unfeeling.
‘Harry’s getting on a bit now, Leo, let’s face it, and he had that scare with his heart last year, didn’t he?He won’t last forever, and anyway, Den will inherit everything when he retires, won’t he?Den’s got a great future in front of him.’
Leo began to laugh.The other two gazed at him in consternation as he rocked helplessly, tears rolling down his face.After a few moments, Den said doubtfully, ‘So, you don’t mind then, mate?’
Leo had been trying to control himself, but this just set him off again.He tried to think of something sad to calm the hysteria.Sophie was looking boot-faced.He wondered if she’d been expecting him to cry, or to beg her to stay with him.Finally, with a shuddering breath, Leo was calm enough to speak.
‘Mind?Not in the least, Denis.In fact, I’m delighted for you.I think it’s a marriage made in heaven.The pair of you are ideally suited.You’re both unfaithful, selfish and rather stupid.Good luck for your future together, you deserve each other.’
With that, Leo left the building, head held high, and trying not to skip.Within seconds, he was in the van and heading back to his two other brothers.They would love this story.
At the family home, Alex and Josh were just getting ready to leave for work.They sat down again in the kitchen, and Alex made a fresh pot of tea as Leo poured out his tale.Josh frowned.
‘So, you’re honestly not bothered?Not even a bit angry or jealous?’
‘No, it’s weird, isn’t it?I should be planning a big binge to drown my sorrows now, either that or plotting revenge.I reckon Den was expecting me to punch him on the nose.He kept just out of reach all the time.’Leo started to laugh again at the memory.
Alex put a mug of tea in front of each of his brothers and sat down with one of his own.There was one part of the story that was worrying him more than the rest.‘What do you think Sophie meant about Dad?Do you think he’s ready to retire?It’s true that he wasn’t well at all last year, and he’s been looking tired lately.’
‘And now he’s in love, too,’ said Leo, forgetting that Alex and Josh wouldn’t know about Nina until he noticed their horrified expressions.After he’d carefully explained the situation and reassured them that it could only be a good thing for their dad to be with such a lovely woman, Leo considered Alex’s question.He was beginning to think that Sophie might have had a point.
‘Alex, if Dad did decide to retire, would you want to run the business with Den?’he asked.
‘You must be joking.I’d rather eat my own arm,’ said Alex.‘If I had a chance to get out, I’d ask Dad to give me a small cash share of the business and I’d paint.I’m good, you know.I just need time to develop my work.I’ve got the offer of an exhibition in that new gallery in town if I can just produce enough new stuff.’
‘Really?That’s great!So Den would take over Lamb Signing?’
‘No, he bloody wouldn’t,’ said Josh.‘You’re forgetting about me.I’m at least as good as Den, and I want my share of the credit for what’s been going on lately.Den’s been busy fannying about in Morpeth while Alex and me have been running things for him here.If Alex goes, I want a partnership.’
‘But Josh, I know you’re good at what you do, but you’re only fifteen.’
‘I’ll be sixteen soon, and whatever Dad says I am definitely not going to school any longer.The exams are nearly done, and then I’m out of there.’
Leo thought for a moment.This changed everything.If Harry really loved Nina he would want to stay in the Midlands, because Leo was sure that Nina would never leave Jess and George.Alex could paint anywhere he liked, so it was quite possible that the enormous white elephant of a family home could be sold, and Den and Josh could run the business from a more economical site.Perhaps Josh could even ‘live over the shop’.But could Josh and Den work side by side without falling out?He put these ideas to his brothers as they drank their tea.He had never felt so close to them.The three of them were so similar in looks but so different in their talents and characters.Josh was the first to comment.
