Opposites Attract

Meet The Tempests

"Ohhh this is a fancy place and no mistake," Celia Tempest cooed, her head swivelling to take in everything there was to see. She was an older lady of late middle age, and wore her hair short in a simple bob.

"Girl did alright for herself, so she did," her husband, Rufus, nodded.

"I can't believe she landed herself the son of a billionaire, who'd have thought it, our strange little daughter. Honestly, I always thought she'd end up in a commune somewhere raising goats or some such nonsense."

"Ma, they're coming, be quiet," Adam sighed, rolling his eyes at the behaviour of his parents. His sister's voice could be heard from the hallway, carrying as it always did, her happy laugh a pleasure to hear. He for one was happy for her, in the few times he'd spoken to her over the past year, when his phone actually had signal, she'd sounded more content than ever before, more comfortable in herself. He remembered how she had been with her last boyfriend, how quiet and subdued, how she had dodged questions about him and herself, yet with this one she seemed to have grown in confidence.

"I thought she was dating the good looking one with the brown hair and those adorable dimples?" Celia frowned, watching as her daughter towed a reluctant looking redheaded man into the dining room, keeping a tight hold on his hand.

"Who?" Rufus grunted, not looking up from the menu.

"That one," his wife pointed, nudging him hard with an elbow into his portly belly.

Rufus glanced up briefly, but found nothing of much interest and returned to the decision of what to have for his dinner, stroking his bearded chin thoughtfully.

Celia watched as the brunette in question leant in to speak to her daughter, who let out a quick burst of laughter, her eyes sparkling as she smiled brightly at him.

Maybe she was dating them both? "Well, she is pagan," Celia muttered to herself.

"What was that?" Adam asked, rousing himself from his quiet contemplation of the inside of his eyelids and lifting his head.

"Do you have to meditate everywhere you go?" his mother groused. Adam just shrugged, not caring a jot. "I was saying that maybe your sister is dating more than one of them, she is pagan after all, they do that sort of thing, don't they? All free love and natural ways?"

"I think there's a little more to it than that, Ma."

"More than two? How many brothers were there? Five isn't it? Oh, my days!"

"Ma, breathe!" Adam flapped the menu in his mother's direction, fanning her as his sister and her entourage, the three younger men, followed by an older man who even he recognised as the infamous Colonel Jeff Tracy, an older lady and a younger woman who's eyes seemed to warn him not to try anything.

Selene lowered onto the seat that Scott pulled out for her and hauled John down into the one beside her, still not letting go of his hand. Scott's lips twitched in amusement at the way she refused to give his brother any opportunity to escape.

Jeff, Alan, Grandma and Kayo all took their seats around the large table, Scott settling in to the last one on Selene's left.

"Hi everyone," Selene breezed, hoping that if she stayed relaxed she could transfer some of that to John whose hand felt sweaty in her own.

No one answered her, Celia and Rufus were too busy staring across the table at the gathered Tracy clan.

"Daddy, are you OK?"

Rufus was still holding his menu, but his eyes were fixed on Jeff.

"Mum?"

"Rufus!" another sharp jab to his ribs startled Selene's father into motion as he leapt to his feet.