Page 100 of More Than I Can Bear

“And a couple of bottles of wine might help the process.”

“Alby,” Mum said, picking up one bottle, “this is that wine they were talking about in the newspaper. It won awards and everything.” She put it down and faced us. “That is all very nice, but you needn’t have. We just get together on a Sunday as a family, have a slap up meal—”

My parents worked hard on their roasts, ensuring they were cooked to perfection every time. The rest of the week it might be all beans on toast or a Lean Cuisine frozen meal, but not on Sundays.

“And anyone the kids choose to bring around is welcome. Come and have a seat.”

“Did you want a beer?” Dad asked, eyeing the three of them with considerable suspicion.

Say yes, I broadcast down the link between me and River and Kaine, hoping to get through to Adam as well.Say yes!

“Never trust a man who doesn’t drink beer,” Dad had said more than once and it was one of the many reasons why Jack was his favourite. She could drink him under the table no problem.

“Love one,” Kaine replied smoothly.

“So you nicked off with Freya the night of the Magarey medal?” Justin asked, then wrinkled his nose when he looked at me. “Why?”

“That’s enough of that,” Mum said, jabbing her elbow in his ribs.

“I knew she was the one for me the moment I saw her and while I know now I should’ve taken things slower, I wasn’t thinking with the right head at the time,” Adam replied with a rueful smile.

“Yes, well, we’ve all been there,” Dad said with a sheepish look. “Freya may have been why we got married in the first place.”

“Alby!” Mum exclaimed.

“Sorry, Floss, but you know it’s true. You were always the one for me, love, but we probably would’ve travelled a bit, kicked up our heels before settling down.” Dad’s eyes narrowed as he took me in. “Don’t go relying on condoms for birth control. They’re not foolproof, y’know.”

“Oh my god, Dad, we had that conversation,” I groaned. “Several times when I was a teenager.”

“It bears repeating…”

It really didn’t.

“So Adam and Freya then…” Mum sat back with a look of satisfaction. “That’s what it was all about, the fuss on the news. The path to true love is never smooth.”

“That’s definitely the case here,” Kaine said, grabbing the open bottle of wine. “Can I top you up, Floss?”

“Oh, thank you.” Mum flushed. “So, you’ve got a new boyfriend.” Something much more permanent than that. “It’s about time really.”

“Couldn’t find anyone who’d put up with her,” Justin muttered, so I shot him a dark look.

“So, Kaine, you’re Adam’s brother?” Mum asked.

“And River shares a house with both of them,” I said, my heart rate beating hard and fast in my ears. We knew we had to have this conversation and everything in me wanted it to be later, so much later, but we’d decided as a sleuth not to continue the bullshit, to start as we meant to go on. We were going to have to live our truth and this was the first step. “And me.”

“What?”

This was like the time when I told them I was going to art school, not doing journalism, as my parents had urged. They just stared at me with a curious mix of terror, disbelief and pain. I watched their eyes flick from Adam to Kaine and to River and then back to me, mentally begging me to correct myself.

Do your parents’ faces go that colour often, Kaine asked me in alarm.They don’t have heart conditions, do they?

Freya, are you OK?River asked.Freya?

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, Kaine said, his body tensing.Maybe we should just—

“Now hang on just one second.” Dad jerked himself to his feet and the man who stood toe to toe with Port supporters on game day emerged. His face was very red, his eyes flashing. “Are you trying to tell me that—”

“Sit down.” And there it was. Mum was always the power in the house, even if the world had no clue. She gave a quietly confident order and that stopped Dad’s tirade cold. He jerked his attention her way and she looked pointedly at the chair beside her and Dad sank down into it. “So what you’re saying is the three of you are in a relationship with our daughter?”

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