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“If you want, sunshine, of course.” I point to a chair and smile at him. I wait ‘til they’re all seated then state, “Jude’s asked for Isobel to come to the house. My vote is, ‘over my cold, dead body.’ That also goes, in my case, for Kellen, Xander, Gabe Levi and their entourage. Bug, Orla and the kids are okay, and of course you lot sat in this room. Anyone else, no.” A deathly silence falls over the room.
“Told you!” blurts out Jackson.
“Told them what?” I snap out more aggressively than I intended.
“They said you were okay with everything. I said you weren’t.”
“What’s everything, Jackson?” I sit down and wait for them to tell me, but no one says anything. “Right, is that settled then?”
“No,” spits out Jude. “I want to bring people here and I don’t see why you have the right alone to veto anyone.”
“Okay, so are we voting on it? And are you voting for everyone to come then?” I eye him expectantly, my anger barely contained.
“Yes, all of them.” He looks at me like I’ve annoyed him and he’s just wanting to piss me off.
“Jonno?” I spin around to look at him.
“Well, I’d like to know why you don’t want them here again. I thought you’d sorted things out with Kellen. He said you’ve been talking.”
I shrug, “He phones, he talks, but that doesn’t mean I want him around my house.” I smile at James. I don’t think it’s a very comforting smile.
“Are you going to say why?” Jonno persists.
“No, I’m not. I don’t need a reason other than I don’t want them here." I spin around to face Jackson with zero expectation of him supporting me. “Jackson, where are you at?” I’m being confrontational at this point, and I know my anger is notching ever upwards towards rage. I can feel it simmering. My face is red and I’m getting hotter and hotter.
“I have no beef with them. And I think it will be really hard for James not to be able to see his dad here.”
“What about the others? Isobel and co?” I clarify.
“If Jude wants her here, I’ll put up with it. Same for the rest.”
“Ok then, let's vote. I’ll abide by the vote, but don’t expect me to be civil to anyone. In fact, if this goes the way I think, best let me know when they’re coming so I can go out. We’ve done that before, when we were younger and people were coming in and out of all your bedrooms.” I point around at them all. “James, you can vote as well.”
“I don’t want to, Mum,” he says, looking at me with trepidation.
“Think it will be pointless anyway, son, but here goes. Vote for no one to come.” I shoot my hand straight in the air. No one else does. I curl my lip asking, “Vote for them all to come?” Three hands go up. “Vote carried, they can all come. Fanfuckingtastic, can’t wait.”
I go towards the kettle. “Tea anyone?” I shake it as they all stand and stare at me. “I’m off to Devon on Friday. Shall I start to post my schedule for you all?”
“Is this what you’re going to do? Fuck off to Devon every weekend and be a pain in the arse in between?” Jonno demands.
“Not sure, maybe.” I shrug. “I’ve got something on the go with Marshall at the minute so I need to go down there a bit. Just for the next couple of weeks, but then should be back to normal.”
Jude huffs at that, but holds his tongue.
James gets up and walks towards me. “What’s wrong, Mum? Why don’t you want Dad here? He said you were both good. I heard him on the phone with you.”
“I am good with him,” I lie, “I just don’t want to have to deal with him turning up randomly all the time. But...”
“You never looked bothered on Saturday,” chirps in Jude. “What changed?”
“Appearances can be deceptive, but it’s irrelevant anyway. James, you’ve seen the vote. I will be civil to Marcus, sorry, Kellen, Okay? You don’t have to tell me when he’s coming over and I won’t go out on purpose. You’re not going to tell me he’s coming every week, though, are you?!” I start to try to laugh in an attempt to lighten the tension for James. I can see he’s starting to get a proper panic on.
“No, I'll ask him to give me notice when possible.”
“Thanks, baby.” I kiss him on the cheek. “Tea, Jude?” No one says anything, they all just stand there.
I sigh. “Jude, I absolutely loathe Isobel with everything that I am. She’s not the same person she was when we were all little kids. Well, not for me, anyway. She’s a horrendous human, and a nasty dangerous piece of work.” He gasps. “Yeah, Jude, that’s what I think of her. But I love you as much as I hate her. So if you want to see her, I’ll put up with it for you. But never for her. Please don’t ask me to do anything with her. I really don’t know if I’ll be able to stay civil, or what I’ll say. And if things, unfortunately, go well for you, I might have to put up with her more. But, like her? Never. Trust her? Never. And never ever leave her alone with my sons. If any one of you leave my sons alone with Isobel, and something happens to them, I’ll never forgive any of you. Ever. Until my last breath. That is a promise you can take to the grave.”
