2

Jess swung back and forth on the little black gate. She was bored and wanted to go back inside the house, but she didn’t want to leave Luke alone.

He was leaning against the wall, looking up and down the road. Jess watched him check his phone. No message.

Maybe Dad’s just late, she thought. He was always late. In fact, he had never been on time in his life. Jess was always on time. She hated being late because she knew how it made the other person feel – like they didn’t matter.

Luke raised his face to the sun. He was so handsome, Jess thought. He’d got a lovely tan over the summer, even though they hadn’t gone on a sun holiday this year. There was no way Mum could afford it, and Dad had said he couldn’t either. But Luke had spent so much time training outside, he looked as if he’d been in Spain for a month. He was super-fit, like the professional rugby players on TV.

‘I bet when you go back to school tomorrow you’ll be the fittest guy on your team,’ she said, trying to distract him. She wanted to make him feel better. She had a horrible feeling their dad wasn’t coming and she knew it would hurt him.

Luke gave her one of his crooked smiles. ‘I doubt it. I’d say Harry’s been working out in Italy.’

Jess stopped swinging and leant against the gate. ‘Maybe not. Maybe Harry got really fat and lazy in Italy. Maybe he spent all summer eating pizza and ice cream and lying about by the pool.’

Luke laughed. ‘I hope so, but it’s very unlikely. Knowing Harry’s dad, he probably hired him a personal trainer to make sure he stayed in top condition.’

Unlike our dad, who doesn’t give a damn, Jess knew Luke was thinking.

‘How come Harry’s dad is so into rugby?’ she asked.

Luke put his phone down on the wall. ‘He played senior cup rugby when he was in school and he’s obsessed with Harry making the team. I know he’s hoping I’ll get injured so Harry will get picked.’

‘You won’t, though, will you, Luke? Get injured?’

Luke shook his head. ‘No. I’m going to get on that team if it kills me.’

Jess knew that rugby was the only thing Luke really enjoyed … well, that and being with Piper.

Jess glanced down at her brother’s trainers. Piper had handed him a box yesterday covered with shiny paper. When he’d unwrapped it and held up the trainers, he’d been over the moon. He was so happy. Jess wanted to kiss Piper for making Luke’s face light up like that.

‘Jesus, Piper, they’re way too much,’ he’d said.

‘Hey, babe, it’s not every day you turn eighteen.’

‘I know, but seriously …’

‘I got paid last week and wanted to treat you.’

‘They’re awesome.’ He’d leant over and kissed her.

Jess had looked away then because her eyes had filled with tears. She was so happy that Luke had Piper for his girlfriend – she was amazing.

Jess reckoned Luke was in love with Piper. She often caught him staring at Instagram photos of her when he thought no one was looking. She prayed that Piper was as into Luke as Luke was into her. She thought she was, but it was hard to tell with Piper because she was super-nice to everyone.

But when Jess saw the trainers yesterday, she’d felt really good. If Piper had spent that much money on Luke, she must be really crazy about him.

Bobby came up behind them on the path.

‘Hey, little guy,’ Luke said, high-fiving him.

Jess loved it when Luke was nice to Bobby. Poor Bobby worshipped him and sometimes Luke kind of ignored him. Jess knew Luke didn’t mean it, but when he gave Bobby attention, Bobby was the happiest kid ever. It was a bit annoying because Jess always tried to be nice to Bobby but he didn’t seem to care about her. He really only wanted Luke.

‘Whatcha doing?’ Bobby asked.

‘Waiting for Dad to pick me up and take me out.’ Luke sighed.

‘For your birthday?’

‘Yep.’

‘But it was yesterday.’ Bobby frowned.

‘I know, but he was busy then.’

‘Dad’s always busy.’ Bobby took Jess’s place on the gate and swung back and forth.

Luke checked his phone again. Still no message. It was six thirty. Their father was half an hour late.

‘He’s probably with stupid Jaden and his pooey nappies,’ Bobby said.

Oh, God, not Jaden again, Jess thought. All Bobby ever did was bang on about poor Jaden. It wasn’t his fault he was born. He was only a baby. Bobby was so mean about him. He hated him. Like, really hated him. Jess sometimes worried that he might pinch the poor baby or hurt him if he was ever left alone with him. On the rare times they saw Jaden, Jess watched Bobby like a hawk.

‘Dad’s probably having his balls squeezed by his stupid girlfriend,’ Luke muttered.

Thankfully, Bobby didn’t hear him say that. Jess felt her stomach turn over. Even she hated Jenny. Well, ‘hate’ was probably too strong a word. You weren’t supposed to hate anyone. But Jess certainly didn’t like her. Jenny had caused this whole mess. Jenny had made her parents split up and then her dad leave, and now baby Jaden had made him not even be around any more. Jess wished he had never met Jenny.

‘I heard Mummy on the phone yesterday calling Daddy a prick.’ Bobby grinned.

‘Bobby! Mind your language,’ Jess said.

‘I’m just saying what Mummy said.’

Luke’s phone beeped.

‘Is it Dad?’ Jess asked.

‘Nope. It’s Harry.’

Jess leant in and read the message. See you tomorrow, bro, hope the summer was good. I hear you and Piper are serious now – niiiiiiice.

Luke typed back: Not bad ☺ See you 2mrw.

‘Do you think Harry will be the winger on the team or you?’ Bobby asked.

‘Me.’

‘I hope so. You’re brilliant at rugby. I know Daddy thinks soccer is the best game because he was good at it, but I think rugby is. I want to be like you, Luke.’

Luke smiled down at him and ruffled his hair. ‘I bet you’ll be brilliant at rugby too.’

‘I don’t think so. I heard Daddy say, “Bobby can’t kick snow off a rope.”’ Bobby looked down at his bare feet.

Luke cursed under his breath. ‘He was only joking.’

‘You’re great, Bobby. I’m sure Dad didn’t mean it,’ Jess added.

‘Can I tell you both a secret?’ Bobby asked.

‘Sure,’ they said, exchanging a look.

‘I hate Chelsea Football Club and I only pretend to like them cos of Daddy. I think they suck.’

Luke laughed. ‘So do I, but we’d better not tell Dad that – we don’t want to wind him up.’

Jess smiled. It was nice being together, just the three of them, chatting. Luke spent so much time with Piper or training that they didn’t see much of him.

They heard the front door opening and their mother’s voice calling, ‘Luke?’

They turned around. She was standing in a flour-covered apron holding her phone. She looked upset. Oh, God, Jess knew that face. She was wearing her your-father’s-let-you-down-again expression.

‘He’s not coming, is he?’ Luke said, pushing himself away from the wall and standing up straight.

‘I’m sorry, love, no. He said Jaden has a temperature and Jenny’s panicking so they’re taking him to the doctor.’

‘Why can’t she take Pooey Pants to the doctor on her own, like you take us on your own?’ Bobby asked.

Jess heard her mother mutter, ‘Because she’s a child herself,’ but out loud she said, ‘I don’t know, Bobby. She’s obviously worried.’

Bobby wandered back into the house as Kate came down the path towards them. Luke was staring at the ground. Kate put her hand on his shoulder, and Jess watched as he moved away from her touch. She knew he was struggling not to crack.

In a strangled voice he said, ‘I thought this once, this one bloody time, my useless fucker of a father would actually be here. Turning eighteen is kind of a big deal.’

Jess wanted to reach over and hug him, but she knew not to. Luke’s fists were clenched, and he was trying hard not to cry.

‘Oh, Luke, it is a big deal. I’m sure he’ll make it up to you,’ Kate said.

Luke’s eyes were full of rage. ‘No, he won’t, Mum, because he’s a loser. When Killian turned eighteen his dad bought him a car and threw a huge party for him. My dad can’t even turn up a day late with a card.’ He kicked the wall. ‘How could I have been so stupid, waiting at the gate like a little kid? Even Bobby knew he wouldn’t show. This is it, Mum. It’s over. I’m never letting him disappoint me again. If you expect nothing, you can’t get hurt.’

‘Don’t say that.’ Kate looked like she might start crying. ‘Why don’t you call some pals and go to the movies or something? My treat.’

Luke shook his head. ‘You did enough yesterday, Mum. It’s fine. Forget it.’

‘Luke, your dad loves you, he’s just … a bit overwhelmed and not very good at juggling things.’

Jess flinched as Luke gazed straight into their mother’s eyes. ‘Dad has let me down for the last time.’ He pushed past them, walked into the house and went up the stairs.

Kate’s shoulders dropped and she looked defeated. Jess reached out and held her hand. Kate pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly. ‘What would I do without my little angel?’ she whispered into Jess’s hair.

‘It’s okay,’ Jess said. ‘Luke’ll be all right soon. He’s just disappointed.’

Kate straightened. ‘I’d better get back before Granddad fires me,’ she said, smiling weakly.

Jess watched her mother walk up the path and back inside. She worked from morning till night now, and still there wasn’t really enough money to go around. As Jess went slowly into the house, she wondered how long Kate could carry on without getting sick. If anything happened to their mother, she and her brothers would be shattered. She was the centre of the circle, the point around which they all lived their lives. They needed her.

Jess went upstairs and stood outside Luke’s bedroom door, listening to the music blaring. She knew he was in there, probably crying or punching the wall. She had to do something. She couldn’t let his birthday weekend end like this.

Yesterday had been so nice. Mum had made Luke’s favourite dinner and bought him a lovely hoodie. Jess knew that August was a really bad month for her because it was ‘back to school’ and she had to pay for books and uniforms, and money was tight. But you’d never have guessed it yesterday. She’d gone all out for Luke.

Jess had helped her make a cake and they’d blown up balloons and put up a banner so the kitchen looked really nice, and her mum had said how proud she was of Luke, the ‘fantastic young man you’ve turned into’, and she’d cried a bit then and Luke had allowed her to hug him. Granddad had gone all mushy too, which wasn’t like him. He’d told Luke he was a ‘wonderful young man and grandson’ and that he had high hopes for his future. Then he’d given him a voucher for his favourite clothes shop. Jess was delighted. Luke didn’t get new stuff very often. It had been a really lovely day, but now it had been ruined.

She went back downstairs to the hall, picked up the house phone and dialled Piper’s mobile.

‘Hello?’

‘Piper, it’s Jess, Luke’s sister.’

‘Hi, hon, what’s up?’

‘It’s about Luke …’ Jess explained what had happened and how unhappy Luke was, that he was in his room on his own and it wasn’t a good birthday any more.

‘Oh, no, poor Luke.’ Piper sounded upset for him. ‘I’ll be finished work in about an hour and I’ll come straight over. Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll cheer him up.’

An hour later, Jess opened the front door to Piper and grinned. ‘Thanks for coming,’ she said, as Piper kissed her forehead.

‘Where is he?’ Piper asked.

Jess brought her upstairs and Piper knocked on Luke’s bedroom door.

‘Go away, Jess.’

‘It’s me, babe,’ Piper called.

‘Just a sec.’

Jess and Piper could hear Luke scrambling around, opening and closing drawers.

‘He’s tidying up for you,’ Jess said.

‘That’s kind of sweet,’ Piper said, with a smile.

Jess walked away as the bedroom door opened.

‘Hey, what are you doing here?’

‘I came straight from work. Jess called me about your dad standing you up. Sucks.’

‘She shouldn’t have told you.’

Piper put her arms around his neck. ‘Hey, I want to know when you’ve had a bad day. I’m here for you. I’m Team Luke.’

As Jess went down the stairs, she saw Luke pull Piper into his bedroom. While kissing her, he kicked the door closed.

Happy with herself, Jess headed into the café to see if she could help. Kate still looked worried, so Jess went over to her and told her that Piper had arrived.

‘Thank goodness for that,’ Kate said, clearly relieved. ‘That’ll put a smile back on his face. Why don’t you go and ask if she’d like to stay for dinner? I’ll make something nice and we’ll all cheer him up.’

Jess nodded. ‘Sounds good. I’ll just tidy those tables over there first.’

Jess worked for the next hour, helping her mother and granddad by clearing tables and putting on the dishwasher. As the café started to empty, she went back into the house and mixed up a batch of Rocky Roads, her speciality, then ran back upstairs and knocked gently on Luke’s door.

‘Luke?’

‘What do you want?’

‘Would Piper like to stay for dinner?’

Luke opened his bedroom door. ‘Yes.’

‘Cool.’ Jess grinned. ‘Hey, Piper.’

‘Thanks for the call. I think I’ve cheered him up.’ She winked.

Luke grabbed his sister’s nose and squeezed it. ‘You’re an interfering little mouse but I forgive you.’

‘I didn’t want you to be unhappy on your birthday weekend.’

‘Don’t give out to her. She’s a sweetie,’ Piper said.

Jess gazed adoringly at her. Piper was so cool and nice and pretty and just … fabulous. Jess hoped for the thousandth time that she’d look just like Piper when she was eighteen.

‘So, are you coming?’

‘We’ll be there in a minute. Go on.’ Luke nudged Jess towards the door.

‘I made Rocky Roads for dessert. I know you like them and I thought it would cheer you up,’ Jess said.

‘Awww, you are too cute. My sisters would never do something so nice for me,’ Piper said.

‘Wouldn’t they?’ Jess asked. ‘I wish I had sisters.’

‘Never! All we do is fight over make-up and clothes and who ate whose food. Yesterday Penny came into the shop I’m working in and actually tried to pull my boots off.’

Jess giggled.

‘Seriously, in front of everyone, including my manager. She said they were hers, I hadn’t asked to borrow them and she wanted them back. My manager had to peel her off me and ask her to leave. I nearly got fired. You’re lucky not to have sisters.’

Jess shrugged. ‘I guess the boys are okay.’

Luke kissed the top of Jess’s head. ‘I hope we’re a bit more than just okay. Come on, enough talking, I’m starving.’ He led the way downstairs.

Granddad was sitting at the table, reading the paper and trying to ignore Bobby.

‘How high is the tallest man ever?’

‘Eight foot two.’

Jess smiled. Granddad hadn’t looked up from the paper when he answered. Eye contact with Bobby was dangerous: it indicated that you were interested in talking to him, and if you showed interest, he was relentless.

‘Nope, eight foot eleven point one inches. How small is the smallest woman ever?’

‘Three foot.’

‘Two foot. How long is the longest tongue?’

‘For the love of Jesus, this is the twentieth question,’ Granddad said wearily.

Kate placed a roast chicken on the table. ‘Bobby has a curious mind, Dad. It’s important not to discourage him.’

‘How long is the longest tongue? I want to know,’ Jess said.

‘Three point nine seven inches.’

‘It’s so cool that you know all this stuff,’ Piper said.

‘That’s one word for it,’ Granddad grumbled.

‘How wide is the –’

Kate cut across him. ‘That’s enough facts for now, Bobby. Let’s eat.’

‘Thank God for that.’

‘Don’t mind Granddad,’ Kate said to Bobby. ‘He’s just a bit grumpy.’

Jess sat beside Piper. ‘Which sister are you closest to?’

Piper sat back. ‘Probably Posy.’

‘Do all your sisters have names that start with P?’ Bobby asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Why?’

‘Because, for some crazy reason, my parents thought it was a good idea.’

‘What are they all called?’ Bobby asked.

‘I’m Piper, the twins are Poppy and Penny, and then there’s Pauline and Posy.’

‘Five girls!’ Granddad said. ‘Your poor father must be demented.’

Piper laughed. ‘He is. He spends most of his time in the shed at the end of the garden.’

‘I need one of those, these days,’ Granddad said.

‘I think it’s lovely to have a big family,’ Kate said. ‘I was an only child and I always envied people with brothers and sisters.’

‘One perfect child is plenty,’ Granddad said.

Kate squeezed his hand.

Even though Granddad could be a bit grumpy, Jess could see how much he loved her mum. It was good to see how a normal father behaved, she thought.

Kate kept telling them all that their granddad was an example of what a great father should be – kind, caring and generous. Jess knew she was afraid that their own dad being so selfish was setting a bad example for them, especially for the boys. But she didn’t need to worry. Luke and Bobby would never be like that. They were kind and not selfish at all.

Piper was telling Mum and Granddad a funny story about work. Luke was sitting back, staring lovingly at her. He was happy. Jess smiled. Everything was better again. They had each other and that was all that mattered.