Story of a Heart

Chapter 18: A secret party

Lee's point of view
"H! Get your ass down here!" I heard Claire yell outside H's room. I sighed. So much for being subtle Claire, not that it mattered too much because Faye and Lisa were out together again. I heard H open his bedroom door and say something in response, before I heard feet on the stairs. I'd planned what I wanted to tell them, I knew they both knew the basics; don't tell Faye or Lisa, that was the only rule we'd set so far, mostly because the only meeting we'd had was when Lisa and Faye went to go talk to the Brownies last week.
H flopped down on the sofa, and Claire joined him. I looked at them both, before beginning my rant.
"So we already know what date we're doing this and who it's for, the next step is to plan our guest list. Date wise, H would you mind lying to Lisa?" I asked.
"Sure, what would it entail?" He replied.
"Tell her you've booked to take her out for dinner or to a movie, something like that on the 8th of November. Anything to stop her planning something else. I'll tell Faye something similar, in the hope they think it's just a fun evening out as the four..." A pointed look from Claire "...five of us like last year." I explained to him.
"Yeah I'm fine to do that, I'm fantastic at making people believe what I say." He said, with a nod. Claire mumbled something I supposed I should be grateful I didn't overhear, and started to pick at a gem on the front of her top. It was a very pretty top, looking at the fact it was a little big, it was probably one of Faye's cast-offs, which almost always ended up in Claire's hands. She was always very fashionable in public; but behind the doors it turned out that was a persona. She really didn't mind too much what she wore as long as it fitted fairly well.
"Anyway, back to the topic of the guest list." Claire reminded us, impatiently.
"Yes guests. I'll have my ways of finding out who would be on Faye's. H, I'm putting you in charge Lisa's. Claire just take notes if they mention anybody." I informed my team. I was aware that both Lisa and Faye's birthdays were in November and it was now mid September, but it took months to plan anything (including dinner apparently) in this house.
"I mean I feel pretty useless on that front too, but sure." Claire joked.
"Look you're on cake duty anyway." H told her. "Go find a cake recipe to make for the party and practice it or something."
"Yeah, fair enough I guess. I really should start looking into that. Any ideas?" Claire replied, with a nod.
"Is this seriously a method for planning a surprise party? 10 minutes a week, every week until we're ready?" H asked me after a moment of silence. Neither party had any suggestions for birthday cake ideas for the party.
"I mean it works doesn't it?" Claire snapped in response. Right well even I knew what was causing that to happen. And girls don't discuss that with guys unless it's their boyfriend, so I suppose that was slightly weird I knew.
"Oh go find some chocolate and sort your manners out!" H replied.
Okay maybe that was just something that was easy to guess about Claire. I mean she did have the unfortunate knack of being able to fall out with anybody during that time and she was certainly a whole lot more gobby for about a week every month. How we'd all survived this long with Claire's grumpiness appearing monthly was a miracle as far as I could tell.
"Anyway" I called over Claire's following rather crude response. I concluded I should cut in before things had chance to get messy. "Are we agreed?" I asked, in an attempt to close the session before Lisa and Faye got back from their library trip.
"Yep." Claire said, getting up and pulling the door open.
"I think so." H added, following her to the door.
"Ugh... leave me alone H." Claire groaned, stalking down the hallway to the kitchen.
"I'm not following you." H replied, disappearing into the dining room that was now also being used as a household Library. Hopefully they won't be able to kill each other if they're in separate rooms. At least, that was the theory anyway. I decided to go upstairs and look after Bella so when they did manage to attempt to kill each other, I didn't need to know about it.
I opened my door and almost got knocked over by a French bulldog I'd forgotten I was babysitting again. Bella was no longer a puppy like she was when I'd first brought her here, rather a fully grown particularly energetic Frenchie. I sighed, and picked her up.
"Yes hello." I said, rubbing her head. She yapped happily in response, and nipped playfully at my jumper. Smiling, I set her down, allowing her to run around the room aimlessly. I sighed and looked at the pictures of me and Faye that were stuck to the side of my wardrobe, smiling at how sweet they were. I missed how we used to be and it had only been a week. Why did I have to go and blow it?
"Lee?" Asked a quiet voice from behind me.
Ugh, I'd forgotten to shut my bedroom door. I spun round, and looked at the very beautiful blonde girl who now was stood in the doorway, Bella in her arms.
"Oh hello Faye." I replied softly. Well this was a first. She hadn't been to my room since the fight last week.
"I just wanted to say, and I know I've already said it, I'm sorry for how I acted last week." She said, setting Bella down.
"Its okay. I'm sorry too. Is it true... you know..." I said, gesturing to her belly as I joined her in the doorway.
"No, it's not. Me and Lisa worked out that I'd misread the test, it's nothing really. But I was panicked that day because I thought I was and I was... late. I'm sorry Lee." She told me.
"Faye, it's okay." I told her again, then just to prove a point, I put my arms around her, and brought her close to me. It took her a moment, but she put her arms around me too, and the next thing I knew she was kissing me. It wasn't a forceful, hurried kiss; instead slow, determined and soft, like she was certain what she still wanted was me. We kissed like that in the doorway a moment until H saw us.
"Get a room already!" He yelled. Faye pulled away from the kiss, wiped her mouth with her sleeve and stared sheepishly at H, instinctively brushing her left hand down her right arm. She always did it, often subconsciously, and I'm not even sure at this point today she even knows she's doing it. I just sighed. Faye wondered into my room and I waved at H before kicking shut the door with my heal.
"I missed that." Faye said to me after a moment, I guessed she was talking about the kiss, not H. I mean she lives with him in the same house as her full time too, and it is rather hard to miss some of his... inputs to a situation. Plus you can't miss someone who won't go away.
"Oh, me too." I replied. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.
"Do you want a game?" She asked me, pulling a pack of cards out of the back pocket of her jeans before adding, "Lisa's reading so didn't want to."
"Sevens or something else?" I asked in reply. She grinned, already separating the sevens from the pack.
"I'm guessing it's 7s then." I replied with a laugh. She brushed her hair out of her face using nothing more than her fingertips, and shuffled the cards in the quickest and most dignified manner I had ever seen a girl shuffle cards in. It wasn't that I'd never played cards with Faye, it was just that I'd never watched her shuffle a deck of cards before.
"Where'd you learn that?" I asked her, fully aware that wasn't what was taught at a girls grammar school.
"Oh off of a friend." She replied.
"Who might that be?" I asked mesmerised as she continued to shuffle the cards without watching.
"Mick. He went to the boys grammar school across the street from mine. We used to sneak out to the park with some of our friends, they were mostly guys too, and we'd play cards, or explore in the hedges and stuff. Though I didn't tell mum about half of that..." She explained.
"Do you still talk with him?" I enquired, desperate to find out more.
"God he's not a threat to you. He has nothing on you in that sense! Kinda hard to fall in love with someone who once launched you over a play park's fence, even if you do trust them and still think of them as a close friend. But yes I do still keep in contact with him. Why the sudden interest in my past?" She retorted.
"Sorry, it's just... I've never seen a girl shuffle cards as well as you do, and knowing how you'd been to a grammar school, I was wondering who'd taught you." I told her, shaking myself from staring at the cards. It wasn't completely a lie, but it also wasn't the whole truth. You can't, after all, have a secret party if you can't keep it a secret.
"Yeah thinking about it, it makes sense. Look it was my sister's fault I went there... she's the smart Tozer. I honestly wonder if Clara went to grammar school sometimes given her relationship with books." She joked. She did that a lot, especially when it came to taking the micky out of grammar schools, she went all for it. She hadn't enjoyed the segregation from the opposing gender as her... interests... had developed, hence her escapism to see the males.
On the note of the party my mind sprung into action, I needed to tell her the date, make sure she didn't arrange to see somebody on the evening of the party and make the whole plan worthless.
"Oh! Faye, before we start, I've arranged for us to do something interesting on the 8th of November together, you know for your birthday, so just don't arrange anything for that evening." I said to her. Lies. Lies and secrets were what most of the explanation was built off of, although in hindsight, I suppose that we were doing something together it just so happened other people were going to be involved too, so I supposed it wasn't a total lie after all.
"Oh well okay. I won't arrange anything for that day, I'll need plenty of time to prepare for our little 'birthday date'." She replied.
Good well that was the date set clear, all that was left to do now was the guest list. While I found that and ticked it off of my mental list, she dealt the cards and indicated for me to go first. I played the 8 of clubs, knowing I also had the 9, Jack and Queen. She returned by playing the 6 of hearts. I noted she had almost all the low hearts as the only one lower than seven I held was the 2. It'd be a long time before that saw play. Playing sevens with one opponent wasn't the most exciting game, it was more fun when others were involved.
"How's your mum?" I asked eventually while considering which card to play next. I recalled how she'd been on the phone to her mum earlier that day. I played the 6 of diamonds.
"She's okay. She's just a bit worried about me being away so much because... well she's a mum. And Clare's been being Clare and proving she's super smart by learning a whole other language. But yeah apparently she misses me and that's some kind of excuse." She explained to me, playing her 5 of hearts. Not a helpful move for me by any means.
"That sounds kinda cool." I replied.
"I mean I guess it's nicer now I'm not compared not her all the time anymore. That was always hell when my aunt started playing that game because Clare's smart and her daughter Robin is the most perfectly perfect little thing that I was always the weird one because apparently dancing and singing's not a job and artsie stuff will never get me anywhere. Yeah. Well Aunt Kate who's laughing now?" She said eventually after a long moment of trying to decide what she'd play next despite me not having played yet.
I nodded, unsure of where to take the conversation next beyond that, but made a mental note to invite her sister. I already knew that while Faye had a tendancy to make out she hated Clare and rant about her when she had annoyances they really adored each other.