Page 24
I slink over to say hi too. “How’s the ankle?”
Grace’s jaw tightens, and a flicker of something—exasperation?—crosses her face. “Oh. Aidan. Fine, thanks. Here, this is for you. Happy birthday.” She passes me a present.
“Thanks! What is it?”
She shrugs. “Don’t know. My mum bought it. Wrapped it too. I’m just handing it over.”
Phew, that’s some serious animosity. I’m not sure what I’ve done to provoke her ire.
“All right, well, I’ll let you two catch up.” I put the gift in the corner of the room. I’ll open it later.
Maw appears at the kitchen door again. “Oh, good! Everyone’s here. Are Lewis and I okay to serve the starters?”
“Actually, Elspeth, before we eat, I’d like to say a few words,” Jamie announces.
Maw claps her hands together. “Lovely! Come on out, Lewis!”
Lewis emerges from the kitchen and sneaks a quick glance at Iona before redirecting his attention to Jamie, who’s moved to stand by the drape-covered picture.
Jamie clears his throat, a hint of mischief playing at his lips. “First, I’d like to remind everyone that, as well as a birthday celebration, this lunch is our way of formally welcoming David to Bannock. Welcome!”
Those of us closest to David pat his back, and he beams, delighted by the attention.
Jamie goes on, “But we are, of course, also here to celebrate a major milestone in the lives of Ally and Aidan. They’ve now been on this earth for thirty years, so I thought we should reflect on some of their finest moments.”
He removes the drape to reveal a collage of photos of me and Ally, from when we were gummy bairns, through our childhood and teenage years, to more recent times.
“Oh, would you look at that!” Maw puts a hand to her heart. “What a thoughtful gesture, Jamie.”
We all crowd around to inspect the pictures, and I quickly realise they aren’t so much of our finest moments as our most embarrassing. There’s the inevitable snap of us in the bath together as toddlers, with nothing left to the imagination. Then there’s one of us as tweens, posing in shirts and with styled hair, our serious expressions emulating the boy bands of the day. TV singing competitions had been all the rage, and we’d been certain we’d be the next big thing. Our complete lack of musical talent hadn’t deterred us in the slightest.
Our gangly, spotty, ugly-duckling stage is represented by a disproportionately high number of images. We turned out all right in the end—I don’t think it’s vain to say we’re both pretty good-looking now—but man, you wouldn’t have guessed it from some of these pics. Questionable haircuts and poor fashion choices are also captured. And then . . .
“Oh God!” Cat wails. “Jamie, why did you include that one?”
We all follow her pointing finger to a picture taken from behind. It shows Ally and me in kilts. We’re lifting the backs of them to moon the camera.
“Bloody hell!” Lewis grumbles. “I don’t want to see your bare arses.”
“And, er, not just their arses.” David points. “Ally, I believe that’s one of your testicles.”
I lean closer and snigger when I see David’s right. Unlike me, Ally’s legs are slightly open, and something is peeking through. Definitely a ball.
Red-faced, Ally tears the photo down. “Jamie! The bath pic is one thing—I was just a bairn—but I was nineteen in this! What were you thinking?” He lunges at his brother.
Jamie deftly dodges, laughing.
“Oi, come here!” Ally growls.
“Nah, you’re all right.”
“Boys!” Maw protests. “Can’t we have a pleasant meal for once?”
“Elspeth’s right, and actually, I’ve got an announcement, which might make up for Jamie’s crummy one.” Emily takes Ally’s hand, squeezes it to calm him, then shifts her focus to me. “If you don’t mind? I don’t want to take the attention off you on your birthday.”
“Go on!” I encourage. “It’s about time you told everyone else your news.”
“What news?” Maw is suddenly on high alert, her expression animated with eager anticipation.
