Cleo stares at Austin with her heart in her throat.
Austin has a sister?
She has a sister-in-law?
"A sister?" she squeaks. Austin nods. "You met her before the accident and you two were close. You, her and Shaz were a problem for me when you were together. "Shaz is close to her?" she asks. "They are like sisters," he says with a little shrug.
"What's her name?"
"Tina. She is younger than Mitch and I by two years."
"Tina..."
"There's more."
"More..."
Cleo's eyes widen and her heart is in her mouth now. "She is married to a guy called Pete. He is quiet but very nice. You have never met him but I know you would like him," he explains. "OK. So Pete and I are on the same ground...kind of like Daisy," she says. OK, cool, she has been through that and coped well. "OK. Tina and Pete...I can manage that."
"There's more."
"Fuck."
"They have two boys. Max, three and Tim, 1 year."
Cleo's mouth forms an O and she has to steady her breathing. Two nephews. She has two nephews and a niece. Her head is a little fussy at the news but, her lips start to pull up slowly. "You are alright with that news? You OK?" Austin asks looking at her with a careful face. "Max may have a few memories of me while I slept because I am guessing Tina visited me with the boys in the hospital but three is very young so by the time he is older he won't even remember I was in a coma, he will just have memories of me be being around. Tim...well he is at the starting line just like me," Cleo says. Austin smiles and nods his head. Sure she would have liked to be around to see them come into this world but she does not remember who Tina is and hasn't got a connection with her so although she is kind of sad at not being around - it's a little easier to detach herself from missing out on that.
"one more thing..."
"Fuck, Austin!"
"They are coming here for dinner tonight, all of them."
"We can't give them takeaways and I have always been a shit cook. I can't cook to save my life," Cleo says standing up and starting to pace. What the fuck would Tina think of her if she served her a sloppy greasy burger? Can kids even eat junk food so young? Austin chuckles and stands, grabbing her and holding her still. "I know you can't cook. You gave Shaz and me food poisoning once, we were wrapped around the toilet for a week solid. No takeaways, I have called our chef in to cook dinner tonight," he says grinning at her.
"We have a private chef?"
"We do."
"That's extravagant."
"I know. We love it."
"Ok...ok!" Cleo says running through the mental list in her head for what she needs to do to prepare for tonight. Austin had not given her time to look presentable for when she met Mitch and Pippa, she needs to redeem herself tonight. She wants them to like her. She breaks out of his arms and heads to the bedroom. "Hey! Where are you going?" he calls after her. "To get ready, Austin!" she shouts over her shoulder as she rushes down the passage.
~
Cleo showered twice. She washed her hair twice too and spent at least three hours fussing with her make-up and clothing. She may be freaking out a little. She called Shaz too who offered very little insight into Tina or advice on how to act around her, simply telling her to calm the fuck down. But, she can't calm the fuck down. She had always wanted a sister and now she has one, she wants a good relationship with her. Fuck, what if she is one of those bitchy sisters-in-laws who does not think she is good enough for her big brother and has a chip on her shoulder because of what she did to Austin. Made him hang around and wait for her while she took a ten-year nap. Her anxiety rises when she thinks of having to sit through dinner and try and ignore passive-aggressive snips from Tina. She is in the middle of her freakout when Austin walks into the bedroom.
