Graceland: Family Affair

Chapter Thirty-Five

"Since when did Mike get to sit in on family discussions?!" is all that Paul can exclaim as he looks for someone to pin the blame on, when he knows fine well that the only person to blame is himself. "Not that I would call this a discussion when it's clearly an attack!"

"No-one is attacking you!!!" I yell in frustration. "You are not the victim here!"

"And Michael has every right to be here! If it wasn't for Michael, then we would have had no idea about any of this..." Mum tries to calmly explain as she smiles at Mike – she's smitten, for sure.

"Well, thanks a lot, Mike!" Paul spits sarcastically. "If it wasn't for you, then we wouldn't be having this discussion! Bravo!" He slow claps. "But, Warren, I think you'll find that this is no concern of yours, so back off!" He pushes Mike's shoulder.

"Leave him alone, Paul..." I stand in between him and Mike. "He hasn't done anything wrong..."

"He's been more a friend to your sister than you've been", Dad states matter-of-factly. "You see, Michael actually went after her!"

"Who asked you?!" Paul growls at my Dad.

"Paul!" Mum barks at him. "Everybody just sit down and shut up!" Everyone does. "Michael, I am sorry that you've had to witness my family – or should I say...my son – act in this disgusting manner. Sarah, honey, I am sorry that you've had such a rough start to your career, but you can't quit...you're going to fight through it. And Paul...I'm sorry that you feel 'attacked'...but what you've done is wrong. So, I'm going to send you to your room –"

"You're sending me to my room?!" He answers back in disbelief. "I'm thirty-four!"

"You will got to your room and have a good, long think about what you've done, and you will come back downstairs when you're ready to apologise. And I don't mean just saying sorry for the sake of it. When you say you're sorry, you're going to have to really mean it – to mean that you won't do it again", she says sternly, as I have flashbacks to when she used to give us into trouble when we were kids. Paul sits back in his seat, defiantly crossing his arms like a disobedient little child. All Mum has to do is raise her eyebrow, as well as raising her hand like she used to do when we were growing up, and he mooches off towards the stairs and up to his room. My mouth falls open, completely awestruck that my Mother has managed to send her fully-grown adult of a son up to his room as punishment for mistreating his sister.

"Did she just –? And did he just –?" Mike whispers in shock at what he's just witnessed.

"Uh-huh..." I answer slowly. A smile starts to spread across Mum's face, and she starts to giggle.

"I've still got that magic touch!" She grins.

Paul stays in his room for an hour, and in that hour, Johnny, Mike and I sit around the dining room table to devise our plan for the Mendoza dinner party tonight. Charlie and Jakes keep my younger brothers entertained, and my parents get some rest on the sofa, not wanting to move in case miss the long-awaited grand apology from Paul – he better make it a good one. After an hour has gone, Paul finally bites the bullet and pads his way down the stairs, knowing that sooner or later he's going to have to do it. Paul walks across the room and stands above me, saying nothing. I can feel his eyes staring into the side of my head. I carry on looking through my papers for tonight, and I can sense Mike and Johnny looking from Paul to me, and from me to Paul, waiting to see what will happen. From the corner of my eye, I can see a small smirk starting to form on Mike's lips, with threatens to break my own into a smirk. I take a small breath through my nose to stop myself from breaking my cold exterior – I can't break in front of Paul. After a few seconds of him standing there and me giving him no heed, Paul clears his throat to get my attention.

"You make a better door than a window, Paul..." I turn my head to look at him as I fold my arms, not cracking one inch of a smile. "Can I help you with something?" I say nonchalantly. He rolls his eyes as he goes to say something, and then doesn't. I turn back to my papers and look at Mike and Johnny. "So, what were we talking about again?"

"I'm ready!" Paul cuts in. Mum and Dad sit up. Charlie, Jakes and my brothers freeze. I drop my papers on the table and turn back to face him, crossing one leg over the other and folding my arms.

"Okay..." I answer in a low and unenthusiastic tone. "I'm listening..." I tilt my head slightly to one side and bite the inside of my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Because, the truth is, we all know that I've already forgiven him. We just want to hear his attempt at making the best apology that he can muster up. I'm milking this for all it's worth, and if we're all honest, we know that it's the least I deserve. We've just got to make Paul squirm for a little bit longer. If we let him off easy, then it makes it easier for him to carry on the way that he is. We all sit there, looking at him for about a minute, but no words leave his mouth. "...Whenever you're ready..." I say quietly and seriously.

"...I'm sorry..." He finally says. I sit there waiting for the end to that sentence, but it doesn't arrive.

"What for?"

"For hurting your feelings...for only thinking of myself...for ruining your plans...and...and...and for just being a selfish pig in general..." The last part of his so-called apology made me snort a little, but I manage to masquerade it by clearing my throat. "I shouldn't have done what I did...bringing you here without telling you...the whole mission thing...and the James thing...just all of it – I shouldn't have done any of it...and I'm sorry...I really am going to try harder..." He looks around the room so that he can see everyone. "And I'm sorry to all of you guys for having to put up with me...I know I'm not easy to live with sometimes...or easy to be related to...but I am going to make a change...and I'm going to try to be better..." He turns back to look at me when he finishes talking and stands waiting for my reply. "...So...?" I rise from my seat and wrap my arms around him.

"Thank you, Paul..." I whisper. "I'll always forgive you – no wait, correction...if you do something really stupid, then I might not, but until then, I'll always forgive you...that makes no sense..." I sigh. "Okay, let me start again – I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd already forgiven you for this...I just needed to hear you say it...Hearing you say it meant a lot to me...so, thank you..."

"And...you know...you really don't need to go tonight. I now realise what kind of effect my actions of late could have had...and I don't want to put you in danger just because having you involved would make my life easier...so, you don't need to go tonight..." He says softly.

"It's okay – I'll go. Mike and I have just been talking about it", I smile at him.

"Really?" His eyes widen in surprise.

"Yup..." I break apart from my brother and lift a page from the desk that I'd scribbled some notes on earlier. "I just have a few terms and conditions for you first!" I smile. Paul rolls his eyes.

"I knew it was too good to be true..." He mutters under his breath.

"Sit down, big brother – we've got some negotiating to do!"