Page 44 of The Story of Us
“I love my brothers, we’ve always been really close. It’s just,,, it’s just been a shitty few years. Bailey was living with Donna and she wasn’t a big fan of how close we all were and he stopped coming over for dinner but they’ve split up now and he’s back living at the barn with my Mum and Dad in Shenfield. Lennon I see a bit of each other now that he’s not travelling so much, he’s marrying my best friend in June, I’m being bridesmaid for that, they want to start a family straight away so he won’t really be travelling anymore.”
“What does he do?” I can answer this. Icananswer this…
“He’s the manager of my brother’s band but he’s getting into the agency side of things now so that he doesn’t have to tour with the band and Jimmie, his girlfriend, she works for them too so she’s been able to travel with him but if she has a baby, that’s not what either of them want.”
He nods as he listens. “I can’t believe your brothers are called Lennon and Marley, who’s the music fan?”
I laugh as I think about the times I’ve explained our names to people and for some reason I think about sitting on that old Chesterfield sofa in the summer house and explaining to the cutest brown eyed boy I had ever seen, a tear rolls down my cheek and I wipe it away quickly.
Cam doesn’t say a word; he just waits for my answer. “My Dad. My Dad loves music, all music, any music, he encouraged all of us, and my brothers are all good musicians, with great voices. I play guitar and sing, I had piano lessons but I’m not very good at it, but our names, well Bailey’s named after a bloke who makes guitars, my Dad met him at a festival in the sixties and remembered his name. Lennon and Marley, well that’s obvious and me because Georgia on my mind is my Dad’s favourite song and it’s sung by Ray Charles, I’m Georgia Rae.”
I feel embarrassed as I finish the story behind mine and my sibling’s unusual names.
“It’s a beautiful name.” He leans in and tucks my hair behind my ear.
“Thank you,” I reply.
He leans back into the corner of the sofa. “So your other brother, Marley, he’s in a band then?”
For just a split second, my heart stops beating, my blood stops flowing and my brain stops functioning, just for a split second, then I pull myself together. “Yeah, they’re doing… ” I shake my head, I actually have no idea how they’re doing, I know they’re famous but I have no idea how famous because I’ve avoided all information about them for almost four years but I know from what little information I have heard, that they are big. “They’re Carnage; my brother’s band is Carnage.”
His mouth opens but nothing comes out for a few seconds, I think he must have heard of them. “Fuck, fuckin’ hell, your brothersthatMarley, shit, I had no idea. My sister loves them, she’s been to see them a few times, I’ve got a couple of their albums here, they’re really good.”
I nod in agreement. “Yeah, they’ve done well, I’ve barely seen Marls these past four years, we, I, I’ve had a few problems and we haven’t really spoke but he came over to my Mum’s and stayed last night, I think we’ve sorted things out now.”
My heart is hammering in my chest; I can’t believe I’m talking about this. “Is he the one that hurt you George, did he buy you the necklace?” He gestures toward my throat and I realise my hand is there, over the letter G at my throat. I drop it down into my lap and shake my head.
“No, no he didn’t, not on purpose, it’s complicated, I just, I’m not ready to go there yet.”
It suddenly occurs to me that he still hasn’t told me how old he is. “How old are you Cam?”
He blows out a deep sigh and looks around the room. “I’m thirty, I had no idea you were only twenty, fuck, no wonder Bailey went mental, I didn’t realise you were only twenty, I had you pegged at about twenty five.”
“Is it a problem then, is my age a problem?” He shakes his head; he suddenly looks very young and very vulnerable as he looks up at me through his lashes.
“Does my age bother you?”
I shake my head. “No,” I say it like it’s the most ridiculous statement ever.
“Will you tell me a bit about your family now?” I ask.
“What dya wanna know?”
I think about this for a second. “What’s your sister’s name?”
He folds his arms across his chest and rests his wine glass in the crook; I’m not sure if this is a defensive stance or if he’s just getting comfortable. “My sister’s name is Tory; my brothers are Robbie and Josh, nothing as unusual as your lot. My Mum’s Scottish so they’re all a bit traditional.”
“I like them, they’re nice names. How old are your brothers?”
“Robbie’s thirty four; Josh is twenty eight and Tory’s twenty one.”
“Yeah, I remember Tory’s birthday, the twenty fourth of September.”
“How’d you know that?” He asks, frowning.
“Because you came in the shop and bought her a shit load of stuff remember? You told me it was her twenty-first on the Saturday.”
“Fuck, you’ve got a good memory.”
