Chapter 14

“Do you want to talk about it?” Dad asked as we pulled out of the station car park.

“No,” I replied, “but I suppose I’m going to have to, aren’t I?”

“Well at some point, and to some one,” he answered,” yes. Your Mum will want to know about it. Your sister is absolutely livid, but she switches between being angry at Cal and being angry at you. And Mary is just distraught.”

“Aunt Mary is distraught? Why?”

“Apparently she spoke to Cal last night and Cal confessed the whole thing to her.”

“What whole thing Dad?”

“I don’t really know son, want to tell me what happened last night from your point of view?”

I told him about going to the student dance and finding Cal and another girl sat with two boys. Cal and one of the boys were holding hands. I just said hello to her then walked away, she followed me. The guy she was with then came up and called her darling. She told me it wasn’t what it looked like, and I asked what it was then. I invited her to leave with me and talk about it, but she obviously decided to stay. At that point I decided that there was no point me staying in Munich and came home this morning. Now I’m absolutely knackered from two and a half days of travelling, and all I want to do is sleep. I don’t want to have to face the Mumish inquisition.”

“Then I’ll make sure she leaves you alone until tomorrow son. I’m not sure whether she’ll be in protective Mum mode because her little boy has been hurt, or she’ll attack you for being nasty to Cal. And your sister, of course is torn between loyalty to her brother or her friend.”

“She doesn’t have to choose between us Dad, nobody does. This problem is between me and Cal, and so long as everybody else doesn’t try an interfere, I’ll leave it like that,” I explained, “but I know Mum, and I know she’ll try and make it so that everybody behaves like she wants them to.”

“She’s not as manipulative as that son, but yes, you do have a point, and I know that she and Mary have dreamed of you and Cal being together since they first moved next door. Leave your Mum to me. You sort things out for yourself. Just don’t lose your temper and start a shouting match.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised him.

“I’ve never known you do any less than that son,” he replied, I thought he sounded rather proud.

We arrived home in just over half an hour.

I was greeted warmly by my brother and sister, but Mum just glared at me.

“Well, young man, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Hello Mum, nice to see you too.”

“Don’t you talk back to me young man,” she snapped.

“Pat, leave it. He’s been travelling for two days and he’s tired, and he had a shock last night. If you’d forgotten, this is your son, who you haven’t seen for six weeks, just let him get some rest, and maybe a welcome home.”

Her shoulders drooped.

“Sorry,” she said opening her arms for a hug, “welcome home son. Are you hungry?”

“No Mum I ate in Brussels,” I replied, “I’m just tired.”

“OK, you get yourself off up to bed, we’ll see you in the morning.”

I decided that this was one instruction from my mother I could obey, so I hugged everybody, said goodnight and went to bed.

It was gone twelve the following day when I staggered downstairs after showering and dressing, still a little bleary eyed.

“Good afternoon sleepyhead,” Alison greeted me as I walked into the kitchen in search of food.

“Where is everybody?” I asked.

“Mum and Dad are at work, Andy is out with this weeks selection from the girlfriend of the week club, and I’m here, to welcome my favourite brother home.”

“Ok,” I said, “what day is it?”

“Jet lag got you that bad eh?” she said, with a smile, “it’s Wednesday.”

“Oh,” I said, “my brain still woolly.”

“Want to talk about it?” she asked, “to an impartial observer.”

“OK, where is this impartial observer. You’re Cal’s friend Pip,” I said.

“And your sister,” she stated, blankly, “so if I have to choose sides, I’m on yours.”

“Thanks kid,” I said, kissing her on the top of the head, “that’s two of you now.”

“Two?” she queried.

“I think Dad might be aligned that way too.”

“Oh he is, you should have heard him and Mum after you went to bed last night.”

“What they had a row?”

“Worse than that, he positively forbade her to give you a hard time over you and Cal.”

“So have you heard from her?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

“And?” I asked, “no, don’t tell me, it’s her story to tell.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I answered, “but I may come back to you with the story she tells me, just to check.”

“OK,” she said, “does this mean you don’t love her any more?”

“No,” I replied, “not that, but I don’t trust her. I can’t trust her. And if I can’t trust her, I can’t be with her.”

“She really does love you you know,” she said.

“Strange way she has of showing it. First John Sollberger last time I went away, now this.”

“Just promise me one thing,” Alison said, suddenly sounding a lot older that thirteen.

“What?” I asked.

“That you’ll at least talk to her when she gets back.”

“OK, but for you, not her,” I said, “and I don’t think she’ll have an acceptable excuse this time.”

“At least give her a chance, what do you want me to say to her if she rings me?”

“Tell her that I’m very angry, no very disappointed and upset, and that I’m seriously thinking about the future.”

I started to make myself a sandwich for lunch.

“Do you want one?” I asked.

“No thanks, I already ate,” she replied.

“OK so now tell me what’s new with you.”

“Nothing much,” she answered, “I went up a size in the booby department.”

She said the last with a hint of pride.

“So, they’re not just bee stings any more?”

“Hey,” she complained.

I smiled at her.

“Don’t worry Pip, I’ll still love you when they big and droopy.”

I finished making my sandwich and started eating it.

“Do you know if Aunt Mary is in next door?” I asked.

“She was about half an hour ago, why?”

“I thought I might wander over and see how the land lies.”

“You mean see if you can get any information about what Cal is up to?”

“That sort of thing, yes,” I replied, “but also to see what her mother’s attitude is.”

“Well, what’s the worst that can happen?” she asked.

“She throws me out and tells me to never darken her doorstep again,” I suggested.

“And in the present circumstances,” I concluded, “that’s the situation we have now. If Cal and I are finished, I won’t be going over there anyway.”

I finished my sandwich, put the plate in the dishwasher, and headed off out of the back door. Less than two minutes later I knocked on their back door and waited. Cal’s mother opened it a minute later and looked surprised when she saw me there.

“David,” she said, “come on in. Tell me, since when did you knock and wait at this door?”

“I didn’t know whether you’d want me coming in now,” I replied.

“David, regardless of what may or may not happen between my daughter and you, you are still welcome in this house at any time?”

“Thanks Aunt Mary,” I said, “I really appreciate that. Can you shed any light on what she’s been doing?”

“You know sometimes, I don’t think I know my daughter. She insists that she loves you and wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Then she goes and does this. Why don’t you sit down and tell me about Monday night from your point of view?”

“Okay,” I agreed, “in here or in the lounge?”

“Well I was just going to make a coffee, so why don’t we have one and sit at the table and talk?”

“Okay, is there anything I can do to help?” I offered.

“No thanks,” she replied, “I may be old, but I think I can manage that.”

She made the coffee and brought the two mugs over to the table and sat down opposite me.

“So,” she said, “tell me about Monday.”

“Well,” I began, “we finished the shoot early at the end of last week, so I had a choice. I could stay in California and come home as planned. I could come home early, and have a week off before school starts again, but I had the brilliant idea of flying to Munich, surprising Cal, and spending the week with her, at least the evenings.”

“And the nights?”

“I booked my own hotel room,” I said, “I arrived in Munich, had a nap, then went round to the student hostel when I assumed she would be there. Instead her room mate was there with her boyfriend. The room mate told me where I could find her, but it was students only. The receptionist at the hostel was a student and she was going there so she walked round with me, and got me in as her cousin from England. I took me a long time to find her at the dance, there was an alcove around the corner from the main room and she was there. There were four of them, her and another girl, and two boys, well young men I suppose. When I approached the table I noticed that he had his hand over hers on the table. I just said ‘Hello Cal’ and she turned round looking horrified. I think she realised she’d been caught. At that point I just turned and walked away, but she called after me and came over to me. She told me it wasn’t what it looked like. She asked if we could talk about it, and I said yes, and asked her to come with me. Then I turned and started to walk away again. She didn’t come with me.”

“That’s pretty much what she said, but rather more slanted to her point of view,” Mary said.

“Then the guy she was with came over and asked, ‘Who is this darling.’ From that I gathered that this wasn’t either a casual group of friends out for the evening, or their first date. I left then, I managed to get a rail ticket to come home yesterday, and here I am.”

“Yes here you are. What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “I’m willing to talk to her about it when she gets back, assuming she’s not still seeing him, but she’ll have to come and find me, I’m not running round after her. But to be honest, I don’t think it can be fixed. The truth is, Aunt Mary, that I can’t trust her any more.”