Page 57 of Prognosis Bad Timing

Charlie had never laughedso much in his life than he did over dinner. Dana kept them distracted from each other. She was a truly delightful child. Her smile was angelic, her voice melodic and her laughter wicked.

Why the hell were Sunday lunches never this much fun with his family?

They were so stiff and formal. Everyone dressed up, definitely no paint stains or tie-dye. His siblings and their assorted partners tried to outdo each other with their latest published paper or research grant. The menu was cordon bleu — no two-minute anything allowed.

And his father pontificated and preached and tried to convert him to one specialty or another.

He dreaded them.

In fact, he only really attended them out of a mixture of duty and guilt. And the prospect of a decent meal.

But this? This evening with Carrie and her daughter showed him the way a real family conducted itself. With warmth and laughter and sharing. He’d never had such a sense of family as he’d had tonight.

From as early as he could remember, things had been stiff and formal and the pressure to perform had been there. This relaxed, laughter-filled meal was like a breath of fresh air.

He desperately wanted in on this scene of domestic bliss, but a part of him held back. Upbringing was a hard act to beat, and his childhood had been the complete opposite of Dana’s.

What if he got involved then messed it up?

‘Come on, you, bath time,’ Carrie said.

She could feel Charlie’s gaze on her and if she didn’t move now she might just do something ridiculous, like lean into him and rub her cheek against his chest. The situation was hopelessly intimate, all of them sitting here, laughing and chatting like a family.

It was hard not to weave fantasies.

‘I want Charlie to do it,’ Dana said.

Oh, no. No. No. No. That would be too much like happy families. ‘No, sweetie. Charlie’s going to do the dishes. Aren’t you?’ She turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

‘Absolutely.’ Charlie nodded, reading the work with me here message in her gaze. ‘I love washing up.’ And she shot him a small grateful smile.

‘You are going to stay for the dancing, aren’t you?’ Dana turned her big blue eyes up to eleven.

Charlie saw Carrie roll her eyes and smothered a smirk. ‘Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,’ he promised. ‘Now, go have your bath.’

‘Yes Charlie,’ Dana said obediently.

Carrie rolled her eyes at him again, wishing Dana was always this compliant. His warm sexy chuckle followed her all the way to the bathroom.

––––––––

Fifteen minutes laterthe dishes were done and Dana was padding down the hallway, her wet hair combed, her thumb in her mouth, dragging her blanky behind her. She had on some tie-dyed pyjamas.

‘Do you like my pyjamas?’ she asked, pirouetting.

He glanced up as Carrie entered behind Dana. ‘Very much.’

‘My aunty makes them. She’s a niner.’

‘Oh?’ he said, shooting a puzzled look at Carrie.

‘A designer,’ Carrie clarified.

‘A niner.’ Dana nodded. ‘She loves tie-tie the best.’

‘Tie-dye,’ Carrie corrected.

‘Ah.’ Now it made sense.

---