Page 26 of Christmas Sunrise
Maeve rolls her eyes but there's no disdain or impatience in her expression otherwise. "It's fine. She's sent me a million messages reassuring me and I got it all out in my cry last night. I still feel like a massive dope but I'll get over it."
I hold out my arms. "Want a hug?"
"Not when you're dressed like that!" she says with plenty of disgust in her tone now. "Out the way, I need coffee. And do you know how Jake likes his?"
"Oh, he's awake too?"
"I think so. I may have kicked him by accident even though I was really trying to keep to my side."
I swallow my laugh as I head to the fridge for the oat milk. "He likes a nice strong latte. I'll do the milk for you both."
As the coffee machine whirs, I froth some milk and the noise of both fills the space. That's why Maeve's voice surprises me again.
"Marty, did you sleep down here?"
I follow her gaze to the couch where my pillow and a blanket lie. I feel my face fall. "Yeah, Jenna and I had a fight."
"Serious? I didn't think you were capable of such a thing."
"We have plenty of disagreements." I tut at my sister but then find myself swallowing a bulky lump in my throat. "But this was different. I think I really upset her."
"Want to talk about it?"
The way my stomach lurches gives me my answer. "Not really. I'm pretty sure you'll only tell me how stupid I was and that I should go grovel to her right now."
"But you don't want to?"
"No, it's not that. It's more that I don't really know what to say. Some of the things I said last night, I still feel are true. And others, that she said, well, I don't think I can tell her what she wants to hear to help her with them."
"So, you're not going to do anything and instead ignore each other? That won't be awkward at all for the rest of us today."
I pass her the milk and then wave my hand at her. "I won't ignore her. We'll figure it out at some point and it won't be awkward. Not when I'm cooking up a feast."
Maeve yawns as she pours the milk into two mugs. "What time are Ma and Da getting here?"
"God knows. Jenna said something about them wanting to show up at sunrise, so I guess they'll be here before we know it."
"Well, I wouldn't mind. I could do with my make-up and a change of clothes. I'll go text them," Maeve mumbles before taking a quick sip.
"Shit, I said I'd go over there, didn't I?" I start to untie the apron behind my back. "I'll go do that now."
"You don't have to," Maeve begins.
"But you want me to, am I right?"
Her impish smile reminds me so much of her as a kid that it makes me smile too. "Yeah, please."
"I'll go now." I pull my apron off.
"Yuk. Giblets." Maeve covers her eyes and I give her the finger as I jog up the stairs to retrieve last night's clothes which I left in the bathroom.
*****
"Ma! Da!" I call out after letting myself in. Much to my surprise even though there's the sweet smell of baking coming from the kitchen, there's no sign of my parents there, nor in the living room or dining room, all of which are decked out in Christmas decorations, most of which I recognise from my childhood, even the sketchy ones we made at school or with Mum. Flooded briefly with nostalgia, I go back to the kitchen and notice what looks like an apple pie cooking in the oven. I also see my mum's handbag on the side where it always sits and my father's keys are in the tray they usually occupy, so where the hell are they?
"Mum? Dad?" I call out a bit louder once I'm standing at the foot of the stairs. That's when I hear a loud thud and the muffled but undeniable sound of my father cursing. My brow furrows and I have a foot on the first step up but then I stop as I hear a door open and my mother's voice.
"Jesus Christ, James, put your trousers back on before you—"
