‘I’ll just go check with Val – see if dinner’s almost ready.’ Darlene takes a step towards where Tim imagines the kitchen must be.
‘No.’ Gene smirks as he lowers himself back into his throne. ‘Not just yet. Take a seat.’ He motions towards a pristine beige sofa. ‘You too, Tom.’
Darlene swallows but she does as she’s told. Tim sits next to her. ‘His name is Tim, Gene. I’ve told you—’
‘Oh, I wonder who that could be.’ Gene’s face warns Tim something awful’s about to happen. He pulls himself from his chair and heads out of the room. ‘I’d best go get the door.’
Then the doorbell rings.
‘What?’ Darlene’s head snaps around, the colour draining from her face as she looks out the window. Under her breath, she mutters, ‘Oh no, no, no. Tell me you f*cking didn’t, Gene.’ Darlene swears rarely enough that it grabs Tim's attention.
Swallowing, she touches Tim on the knee. ‘I am so sorry. You didn’t sign up for this.’ Her face is even whiter than normal.
Gruff, jocular masculine laughter drifts in from the hall.
He lets his fingers brush hers – just for a second. ‘It’s okay, Dar. Whatever it is, I promise it’ll be okay.’
Gene returns to the room, bringing another man. The new man has curly dark hair streaked with grey. He’s almost as tall as Tim but heavier. Not fat, just big. And he’s holding a bouquet of roses.
Sh*t. Tim should have brought flowers. Why the f*ck hadn’t he thought to bring flowers?
Darlene squeaks as she says, ‘Roger? Why…’
Roger? Tim’s insides clench. Why the f*ck was Darlene’s piece-of-shit abusive ex-husband here?
Her tone switches to barely constrained fury as she rounds on her brother. ‘What the absolute—’
‘Dinner’s ready.’ Unlike her sister-in-law, Val’s voice is bright, cheerful. There’s a smile plastered on her face. She looks like the cat who got the cream or swallowed the canary or some other godawful cliché.
