AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I scoop Ares out of his car seat and walk over to the front door. They clutch each other for a long while. Her grandma talking to her quietly in Polish, almost like a prayer. They finally separate and Casimira wipes at her wet cheeks. Her Grandma cups her face and smiles. “Zadnych lez. Nie dzisiaj.” My heart warms as I take them in. Cas has this vulnerability around her grandma that I haven't really witnessed before.
She sniffles and grabs my hand. “Enzo, this is my grandma, Magda.” She turns back to her Grandma. “Babciu, to jest Enzo. I Ares, twój prawnuk.”
I hold my hand out to shake hers but she grabs my face and I have to bend down so she can plant a kiss on each cheek. “Dobrze sobie poradzilas, ten jest bardzo przystojny i taki duzy? Brawo, Casimira.” She gives me an appreciative look.
“Come,” Magda says in English. Casimira turns to me briefly. “She says you're handsome and I’ve done well.” Patting me on the chest.
“I could have told you that.”
Casimira digs a finger in my ribs and rolls her eyes following her grandma inside. It's cosy inside. How I would imagine a Grandmother's house to look like. I was only three when my Nonna died and I can't remember anything about her. It’s covered in knicknacks and pictures of Casimira and her brothers. I've only seen a few pictures of Aleksy as an adult but as I look at the pictures of their childhood, Ares is the mirror image of Aleksy. The only difference is that Ares’ complexion is much lighter. He has the same cat-like eyes, the shock of black hair that sticks up on end. Even down to the ears that stick out ever so slightly. I pick up a photo of Casimira and Aleksy both in swings at the park. They must only be a year old but I could be looking at a picture of Ares, their features are that similar.
The conversation is hard to keep up with as they are switching between Polish and English as Magda’s English isn’t great, so Casimira has to keep translating between the both of us. Clearly, I need to start learning Polish because I can't be doing this for the rest of my life. I want to understand her in her first language.
After an hour or so we all pile into the car, Magda sitting in the back next to Ares speaking to him in Polish. We head to a run-down-looking pub with, ‘The coach house’ in gold lettering on the red brick building. I toss Cas a look because this place doesn't look like it does ‘The best roast dinner ever’ As Cas put it. She raises one brow. “Don't knock it till you’ve tried it.”
I help Magda out of the SUV and we walk inside. It smells good, to be honest, the tables are rammed together to fit as many people in as physically possible. Some people eating piled-up plates at the bar. I spot the rest of her family minus the newlyweds sitting at a table in the corner. Jack gets up, pulls a chair out for his grandma and I squeeze in next to Steve.
“First roast?” He asks me with a sideways glance.
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
He nods. “Didn't think Cas would have attempted to cook one.”
She frowns at him. “I’m sure I could if I put my mind to it.”
“Yeah.” Jack laughs. “She’d burn your house down in the process.”
She shakes her head and leans over to me. “Don't listen to them, they’re being very dramatic.”
Her mom raises a brow, hands on her lap. “I mean we can revisit the fire of ‘09 if you really want to.”
“It was barely a fire,” Cas says with a resigned face and everyone else laughs. She rolls her eyes but a small smile tips her lips. “Mum was on a night shift and me and Alek wanted to make chips.” She points a finger at Steve. “I mean to be fair, you were meant to be supervising.”
He takes a long sip of his pint. “I was, from a distance.”
“You were asleep, babe,” Nat tells him, humour lining her green eyes.
The food takes forever and looks a bit grim but I must say, it was pretty damn good and I all but licked my plate clean. Cas sits back on her chair, clear plate in front of her, hand on her stomach. “Fuck me, a good roast and a proper cup of tea. Two things you just can't get in America.”
“They must have tea over there?” Natalia says, screwing up her face in distaste. I roll my eyes. Of course we have tea. Even if Cas turns her nose up at every single one because ‘it’s just not the same.’ I must have purchased hundreds of different brands, I even got some ‘Yorkshire tea’ shipped in. But no, apparently it's still different. I think it's placebo, she says it's the water but I think it's just because she's not in England.
“They do, but it just tastes different. Do you know, most people don’t even have a kettle?” She adds dramatically. Her mom actually gasps like she just told her about a global disaster. I see where she gets her dramatic tendencies from.
Natalia mummers something about how she couldn’t survive without one. Ares lets out a wail as he pushes my phone that was playing cartoons away from him. He's overtired, the jet lag catching up to him. He’s been fussy all day.
Nat makes grabby hands at him as Cas pulls him from his high chair. “Give him here. He needs Nana cuddles.”
“He needs sleep,” Magda says from beside Jack.
Cas nods. “Yeah, we should get him back for a nap really.”
“I’ll walk him back, you got the pram in the car?” Nat asks Cas.
She looks at me and I nod. “Okay, we’ll meet you back at home after dropping Nan home.”
“I also need sleep,” Magda says with a sigh.
“Dad, can you drop me at a mate's house?” Jack asks, pocketing his phone that hasn't actually left his hand for most of the meal. Steve nods twice but Casimira interjects. “What mate?”
