Page 4 of A Lot to Unpack
‘I think he’s watching it in the bar,’ I reply. ‘I was just going to get him, actually.’
‘We’ll walk with you,’ Dad suggests. ‘I want to see the look on his face – his team are taking a hammering.’
‘Erm, okay, yeah,’ I reply. ‘I think it’s this way…’
‘Are you okay, darling?’ Mum asks, linking her arm with mine. ‘You seem a little flustered.’
‘Oh, no, I’m fine, just… antsy about today, I guess.’
‘Oh, I’m sure your Auntie Eleanor will be her usual cheerful self,’ she says, the sarcasm impossible to ignore.
‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ I say with a snort.
Oh, how much simpler things were half an hour ago, when all I had to worry about was my wicked auntie and smug cousin.
‘You’ve got that face on, like when you were a kid, and you were convinced you’d seen a “ghostie”,’ Dad teases me with a laugh. ‘Have you seen one here at the hotel?’
More like a goolie.
‘Really, I’m fine,’ I insist – not sounding all that fine, to be honest. I really need to up my game.
‘It’s only an engagement party,’ Mum reminds me gently. ‘Not the Met Gala.’
‘Let’s wait and see how big Auntie Eleanor’s hat is, eh?’ I joke, trying to seem more like myself.
‘That one she wore to our Tina’s wedding was like a satellite dish,’ she says jokily, though it actually was like a satellite dish. Big, white and round.
‘Remember when I asked her if she got Sky Sports?’ Dad says, laughing at his own joke.
It’s been fifteen years since Mum’s cousin Tina tied the knot for the second time, but Dad is unwilling to let anyone forget his brilliant joke.
‘Liberty,’ I hear my cousin Hannah’s voice call out. ‘Hey, have you got a minute?’
‘Don’t worry, we’ll go get Ben,’ Dad reassures me.
‘Yes, we’ll see you outside – don’t worry,’ Mum adds so only I can hear.
‘Hey, Hannah,’ I say, trying to seem enthusiastic, because I don’t want her to misinterpret my stressing as disinterest in her day.
She’s in white – because of course she is. A lacy, floaty dress with dainty heels and a necklace so delicate I can barely tell it’s there. Very demure, very bridal. Oh, and Auntie Eleanor is here too, lurking just behind her, and yep, her hat is massive. A big yellow thing with feathers – like a bird has landed on her head and she hasn’t noticed yet.
‘Oh, hi,’ I add as I spot her, trying not to sigh or let my face fall in any detectable way.
‘Love the dress,’ Hannah says in a voice that betrays her. ‘Very… bold.’
‘Ah, this old thing?’ I joke awkwardly. ‘Thanks.’
‘Well, we appreciate you making the trip,’ Auntie Eleanor says. ‘Leeds must feel very… provincial now, compared to London.’
‘I love coming home,’ I insist. ‘Just to breathe the cleaner air, have a cup of Yorkshire Tea made with Yorkshire water.’
I say this in a jokey way but it’s true. You get the best cups of tea in Yorkshire, I reckon.
‘Were you planning on wearing, like, a jacket or a shawl or something?’ Hannah asks me.
I frown, confused.
‘Erm… no,’ I reply. ‘It’s going to be 28 degrees today. Don’t worry, I’ve got SPF on.’
