t w e n t y - s i x
*
The full force of my family is, well, a force to be reckoned with. The moment I open the door, Paisley explodes into the house yelling about the cold, racing over to the fire as she wishes me a happy birthday over her shoulder, and she's shortly followed by Mum, who sweeps me into a hug. Juneau's next, squeezing me tightly, and Dad brings up the rear with a gentle smile and a less gentle hug.
"Happy birthday, Little Bee," he says, kissing my cheek. "I'm afraid Indy's not going to be here until this afternoon; she's spending the morning with the in-laws but she'll be here for lunch. Apparently she couldn't get through to you."
Paisley catches my eye and says, "Really, Beth, so rude to ignore your family just because you're distracted by your boyfriend."
Casper's eyebrows jump up. Mine do too. I haven't told my little sister. I haven't told anyone. But Paisley just laughs and points and crows, "I knew it!"
Juneau's frowning. "Knew what?"
Casper steps over to my side and now's as good a time as any for introductions. I slip my hand into his and he squeezes my fingers, and a flicker of warmth spreads through me at his touch.
"This is Cas," I say. "Casper. My boyfriend. And roommate."
Mum smiles; Paisley manically grins. Juneau gasps, a proper gasp, and her eyes widen further when she sees Mum and Paisley and cries out, "Wait, you guys knew? And you didn't tell me? I had no idea we were meeting Bee's boyfriend today!"
Casper lifts a hand and gives a little wave, wearing that adorable smile of his. "Hi."
Dad just looks a bit confused. He's a tad slow on the catch up, looking from me to Casper to Mum, and back to Casper. "You work at the cafe, don't you? That little one Bee likes?"
"I do indeed," Casper says. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr King. I know you probably weren't expecting this." He glances at Juneau, laughter on his lips. My older sister still looks totally shellshocked. "Sorry to be a surprise, but it's nice to meet you all, but what better time than Christmas?"
Paisley points at him again. Her and her bloody pointing. "I think you mean Beth's birthday," she says. "It's Beth's birthday until lunch, and then it's Christmas."
He puts a hand over his heart. "Of course."
I chuckle and say, "It's actually Cas's birthday too."
Mum's the first one to snap into action. She bustles forward and pulls Casper into a hug, tugging him away from me. "Happy birthday, Casper! Today really is a day to celebrate, huh?"
"It really is. Thanks, Mrs K-"
"Debbie," Mum corrects. "You're dating our Bethlehem, you can't be calling us Mr and Mrs."
Dad frowns, almost pouting. "My wife doesn't talk for me," he says. "I quite like being Mr King. Makes me feel regal."
Mum laughs and Paisley groans.
"Dad. Don't be a dork." Turning to Casper, she says, "Call him Dustin, like everyone else does, and this one"—she jerks a thumb at Juneau—"is Junie, who will eventually get over her aneurysm. She doesn't like surprises and I may have forgotten to mention that Beth has a live-in ... well, boyfriend now, I guess."
Juneau shakes off her shock – she literally shakes herself, like she has to shed a skin – and bursts into action. She lurches forward and hugs me again, a light tone in her voice when she whispers, "Could have warned me. Didn't even know you had a bloody roommate, Beth! And you're dating him?"
I just laugh, aware that our hug has gone on quite a while, and I whisper back, "It's all happened quite fast."
She lets go and gives Casper a winning smile, holding out a hand to shake his. "Sorry for that. I just wasn't expecting all this," she says. "I thought we were coming over to celebrate my little sister's birthday and have Christmas together. If I'd known it was your birthday too – if I'd known about you – I would've got you something!"
Casper holds up his hands and says, "That's really not necessary. I rarely celebrate my birthday anyway."
My whole family looks stunned for a moment, like he's just admitted to some heinous secret.
"Who needs a birthday when they're born on Christmas?" he adds, with a bright smile. On the inside, I'm laughing because that is so not how he feels, but it convinces my family.
"You sound like Beth," Dad says. "She's always telling us to stop fussing over her birthday when she loves Christmas so much, but we can't. It's an extra special day!"
Mum nods and puts her hand on my shoulder. "This time, twenty-four years ago, I w-"
"No!" yell Juneau and Paisley in unison.
"No birth stories, please," I say.
Mum acts all offended. "All I was going to say was that twenty-four years ago, I got the best Christmas present!"
Oh. I can accept that, I guess. My cheeks warm and I give Mum a smile. She returns it and looks at Casper.
"Your mother must feel the same way, I'm sure!"
The tension's back, even if I'm the only one who can feel it. Casper keeps his voice light when he says, "Oh, no, I wouldn't have thought so. We're not on talking terms."
And ... there it is. A chill in the air, when no-one knows what to say. Dad and Juneau have never even met Casper before, not properly, anyway, and Mum and Paisley have only recently been introduced. None of them know what to say.
"Anyw-" I start to say, before Mum cuts me off.
"Oh, gosh, how horrible. I'm so sorry! I've really gone and put my foot in it," she says, her hand on her forehead. "Why on earth? How can a mother abandon her child?"
"Mum, stop," I say, but Casper just shrugs.
"It's okay," he says to me, and to Mum, he says, "We had some ... differences of opinion. Mostly that I'm bi, and she doesn't approve of that."
Paisley scoffs and says, "Bullshit. Sorry, Cas, but your mum's an arsehole."
He chuckles and says, "Agreed. But I'm a big boy now; I think I can get by without my parents."
Mum coos and touches his arm. She's a very tactile person, always hugging and touching and patting, and kudos to Casper, he doesn't seem to mind. I think Mum's hugged him more in two weeks than I have in four years.
"Well, if you ever need a pair of surrogate parents, you've got Dusty and me," she says. "We couldn't care less about sexuality and all that. Anyway, isn't everyone a bit bi?"
Dad glances at her, his eyebrows slowly raising. "I don't think so, darling."
"Oh." She shrugs, unfazed, and wraps her arms around my boyfriend again. That feels good to say: my boyfriend. It's like a warm bath; a hot drink on a cold day; a hug for my heart.
"The 'rents may be total weirdos," Paisley says to Casper, "but they really don't give a fuck about who you like. The general you, of course. Not you you, 'cause obviously they care that you like Beth. But, like, yeah. You know what I mean." She slings an arm around Dad's shoulders and says, "You don't care that I'm a massive lesbian, do you?"
Dad laughs and shakes his head, putting his arm around Paisley. "Not at all, Pea. Though you're not massive by any stretch of the imagination."
She rolls her eyes. "There you go," she says. "The man cares more about semantics than sexuality."
This is not how I thought today would go, but I guess there are worse ways for my family to meet my boyfriend, and as far as awkward conversations go, I'm sure there are plenty more to come.
*
With six people in the house, body heat adds to the fire and the electric heater and it's hardly noticeable that there's no central heating. Even Paisley, the neshest person I know, hasn't complained once; she's sitting in front of the fire with her Christmas jumper on. All six of us are wearing Christmas jumpers, and Dad has gone all out with a flashing, singing reindeer on his. Sometimes it's hard to remember that five days a week, he's a serious, suited-up lawyer in a serious, suited-up law firm.
The more I see of Casper interacting with my family, the more I fall in love with him, from the way he charms my mum to how he slips into easy conversation with my dad, displaying a surprising amount of legal knowledge. We're all gathered in the sitting room, bathed in the glow of the Christmas tree lights and the crackling fire. Paisley's perched on a stool right in front of it, stealing most of the heat.
Juneau elbows me in the side. "Stop staring at your boyfriend," she mutters. I drag my eyes away to meet hers. She's wearing a wry smile, eyeing me as she untangles her hair from her earrings – fuzzy little Christmas trees made out of pompoms. "Can't believe you didn't tell me you'd shacked up with a new fella."
"Like I said, it's been a crazy couple of weeks." I sip from a glass of Buck's Fizz, the laws of Christmas Day applying here – alcohol is permitted at any hour, especially when it's a delicious mix of orange juice and sparkling wine.
"I bet." Juneau leans back, arms folded, and watches as Dad and Casper head into the kitchen together, both wearing Santa hats at jaunty angles. "Be careful, though," she adds, right as I'm wondering whether Casper needs my help, whether I should intervene and take the pressure off.
I bristle at the words, even though I know she means well. "I am," I say, snapping into defensive mode. My sister softens her stance.
"I know, I know," she says, "but it's really soon. You let this guy move in with you and two weeks later, he's your boyfriend. Literally two weeks after he got dumped – right?"
"Right..."
"As your sister, it's my prerogative to be a little cautious."
Mum and Paisley are the only others in the room and in a break in their conversation, they come over to join us. Paisley perches on the edge of the coffee table, her ankle on her knee, and rubs her hands together.
"Ooh, are we grilling Bee over her new beau?"
I give Juneau a pointed look before I turn to Paisley and say, "Apparently, we're telling Bee that she's moving too fast and this is all too soon."
Paisley feigns horror and surprise. Mum presses her lips together. Juneau throws her hands up and says, "Not what I said at all, Beth, and you know it."
Yes, I know it. But I can't bear for anything to ruin the bubble I'm in right now, and I don't want my sister's words to get under my skin, else they're all I'll be able to think. Once my family's left tonight and Casper and I are alone, I'll be sitting there worrying that we should be taking things more slowly.
"To be fair," I say, "we've known each other for four years. It's not like he's some randomer. Literally years of banter preceded this."
"Okay," she says. "Well, I trust you. And I really like him, by the way."
"Same," Paisley adds. "He's a nice guy. Cool dude. Cute, too."
"Such a sweetheart," Mum says.
"Dad's clearly a fan, too." Juneau glances at the door to the kitchen. "Did Casper study law or something?"
"Nope. English. He's worked at the cafe since he graduated."
"Wow. Even more impressive." Placing her hand on my knee, she squeezes and smiles. "You know I mean well, right? I only want the best for you."
"I know." I clink my glass against hers and Paisley thrusts herself into the action, almost smashing all three glasses.
"It's also my duty to prepare you for when Indy gets here, because she's going to put you through the ringer."
*
When Dad comes back into the sitting room with a refreshed glass of Prosecco just before one, I do a quick head count and once I've ascertained that Casper's the only one missing, I slip out to find him. He's standing at the oven, a pan in his hand, and I wait until he's put it down before I wrap my arms around in from behind.
"Hi." I sigh into his shoulder.
"Hey." He turns his head, his stubbly cheek rubbing my forehead. "How're you doing?"
"I should be asking you that," I say. "It's your least favourite day of the year and you're being interrogated by my dad. Please tell me he didn't quiz you about your intentions."
Casper laughs and says, "Yes, he told me to treat his daughter right, and I assured him that we started off the day right, with Santa boxers and multiple orgasms."
Embarrassment floods my cheeks and I let go of him. He laughs harder when he clocks my expression of horror. "Jeez, Beth, I'm kidding. We literally just talked about work and how we met, don't worry."
"You sounded like a law student when you were talking to him."
He grins and says, "I happen to be a massive fan of legal dramas and I guess some of them are accurate enough to make me sound knowledgeable. So, my question stands – how're you doing?"
"Oh, you know, just being interrogated by my sister as a precursor to what will no doubt be a much bigger interrogation by my oldest sister, once she arrives. So you better be on your best behaviour."
"Aren't I always?" he jokes. "So far, I haven't mentioned once that Christmas is a crock of commercial shit."
"Because we're still in birthday mode," I say. "Lunchtime marks the changeover. It's about to get hella festive up in this joint."
He drapes his arms over my shoulders and leans in for a kiss, my pulse settling to meet his steady beat as I lose myself against him.
"Don't worry about me," he murmurs, pressing his lips to mine again. "I can handle myself. It helps that I like your family."
"Mmm. That probably makes it easier."
"Much. I'll make sure India loves me too, don't worry."
"Not as much as I love you."
He chuckles and slips his hands down to my lower back. "I'd hope not, though I can't be blamed if she falls for the Boutayeb charm. It's a potent cocktail, one that may result in agreeing to renounce future Christmases in favour for trips abroad."
"I said I'd think about it," I say, still trapped in his arms. Not that I'm complaining about that. His body heat is welcome, his hug like a cocoon.
The door bangs open and Paisley comes in and yells, "Ew! PDA! Gross."
"It's a hug, Pea," I say, slowly disentangling myself from Casper's arms.
"Absolutely disgusting," she says, scouting out a fresh bottle of Buck's Fizz. "Also, what're you both doing hiding out in here? It's still birthday mode for"—she checks her watch—"like, an hour. And you two crazy kids are the only birthday babes in the house, so get your butts back in here and let us sing at you." She overfills her glass, sloshing bubbles onto the kitchen floor. Pouting at the puddle for a moment, she wipes it up with her sock. "That includes you, Cas. You're an honorary King on your birthday."
Paisley whirls out just like she whirled in here, slurping her drink as she goes. I meet Casper's eye. He winks and adjusts his Santa hat, and pulls me back to my family.
*
in case you didn't see my broadcast, i had to take a break from posting as i've been applying for jobs recently and i was invited to a recruitment day / interview that i had to prep for! I had it on thursday and i *think* it went all right, but who knows? but now i'm back with the latest chapter! not long to go now with this story!