Heat

Christmas Eve and not a creature is stirring

WE arrive back up the hill, hot but happy.

I bath the younger kids while Tom and Rhia take on mission impossible – washing the sand off Tiny! Tiny loves the ocean – the hose not so much - and I hear a lot of giggling and laughing. I eventually looking out off the veranda and see two drowned rats and a decidedly dry Labrador. So in the end I fish the younger two out of the bath, get them dressed in their PJs and I head down. I hold Tiny while Tom hoses – both of us! I'm now as wet as he is.

Time for a little revenge!

Rhia is up having a shower and we are soon chasing each other around the back yard with the hose. It's a full on water fight until we're rudely interrupted.

"Having fun you two?" Dr Derek says from the balcony. I turn to look and Tom takes advantage to put the hose down the back of my T shirt. Squealing I fall into him and the two of us roll down the hill ending in a tangle of limbs at the bottom, laughing our heads off.

The kids are on the balcony now with their dad clapping and cheering – and before we can get up Di and my parents arrive. Great gang's almost all here.

Tom stands and holds out his hand for me and the two of us stand looking at each other soaked to the skin covered in dirt and dripping,  still laughing our heads off in front of my stunned family. I'm the emo child not the care-free joker, Derek has to stop the kids from joining us and Di and my mum shake their heads in disbelief.

I look towards my dad but while he'd usually be cheering me on, he just turns wearily and heads inside. My spirits start to wane again, something my sister seems to be picking up on. She smiles at me, it's a sad little smile but there's something else on her face– resolve?

"Can't take you anywhere Meagan Rhiannon Thompson!" Di says stamping her foot but she's not really angry and she starts to giggle a little as Tom puts the hose on full spray and I'm suddenly enveloped in artificial rain again.

And then she laughs – long and loud – I wonder if it's relief more than anything or release? Today was not the day she'd expected either and I'm not sure how lucid my father would have been during the afternoon. But now she's laughing uncontrollably and so is my mum. And I'm glad I can be the comic relief for once – this is usually Scott's job. I wonder for a moment how Scott is going but it's just a momentary thought before Di brings me back to the here and now (as usual).

"So I don't suppose you started dinner then?" she says as she finally gets enough breath to actually talk.

I look a little sheepish, thrusting out my lip in a bit of a pout and she laughs. I think she's liking the idea of me actually relaxing but to be honest I can see where her eyes are going, I'm kind of trying not to look. But hey he's soaked and his T shirt is stuck to his body in lots of nice places and to be honest I can feel his eyes on me too.

"So I'll get you some clean clothes and you can both shower and then help with dinner," Di adds.

"Yes Mum!' we say in unison, looking for all the world like chastised children and everyone on the veranda giggles and head in side.

"I'll take the down stairs shower and you can take up if you like," I say to Tom when we stop laughing.

"It seems a shame to get dressed and dry," he whispers in my ear.

"Because you look hot wet!"

I turn and look at him, rolling my eyes.

"MMmm because that's an appropriate thing for a friend to say," I growl and he fixes me with a cheeky stare.

"Yes because you weren't checking me out at all," he growls back.

"Beside the point," I add turning on my heel and heading inside.