The Movies Make It Look Easy

Chapter 38

Shannon’s P.O.V:

I checked my watch; it was 6pm.
Everyone was due to arrive in only a couple of minutes.
I was restless and kept getting up from my seat at the kitchen table. Everything was ready and I hated having to wait, not to mention I was starving because I hadn’t had much to eat all day – my mother had barely let any of us sit down for two seconds, let alone waste time on something as “useless” as eating.
I was wearing a dark green sweater dress over tights and I kept fidgeting with the sleeves.
We’d been cleaning, helping with the cooking and generally just getting things organised all day.
Once about three hours ago, when my mother had been getting particularly shrill about something, Nick had leaned over and quietly asked if we had Christmas at home every year. I’d laughed and told him that no, we didn’t – nobody could handle the stress, so we took it in turns with the rest of the family.
I smiled slightly as I looked at my mother now – she was the picture of the perfect hostess in her smart clothes as she transferred vegetables into ornate bowls. This was how the rest of the family would see her when they got here, rather than the terrifying woman who bit your head off if the cutlery wasn’t placed just so.

Finally, I heard the bell ring.
‘I’ll get it’ I said to no one in particular as I jumped out of my seat.
I hurried to the front door and threw it open, ‘Shannon!’ a familiar voice cried happily.
‘Charlie!’ I smiled as I stepped back to let her push a buggy into the house.
When she was inside, she pulled me into a hug.
‘I haven’t talked to you in ages! You need to call more often’ she chided gently.
Charlie was 26 and my favourite cousin. We were close, despite the age difference.
‘Well if it isn’t my favourite niece’ Charlie’s dad, Tom stepped inside and shut the door after him.
I laughed, ‘don’t let Tam hear you say that’
He hugged me quickly and placed a kiss on my forehead.
Tom was divorced and though we still occasionally saw Michelle, she spent Christmas with her new family. Charlie however, still chose to have Christmas with us, despite her mother’s begging to stay with her.
Next, I crouched down in front of the buggy.
‘Hello Caleb’ I crooned.
Caleb smiled and grabbed at me with his pudgy fingers. He was eight months old and was one of the cutest babies I’d ever seen. I gently unbuckled him and lifted him up and out of the buggy. I placed him on one hip and he immediately reached out to grab my hair. I laughed as he giggled happily to himself.
‘You take him on in Shan, I’ll just leave this stuff here’ Charlie smiled at me.
Tom and Charlie went to drop the many bags they’d brought with them over by the stairs while I walked into the kitchen, jiggling Caleb slightly to make him laugh.

Everyone looked up when I entered the room. Nick was filling up the water jugs and looked from me to Caleb with both eyebrows raised.
‘How long were you gone for?’
‘Obviously longer than you thought’ I grinned.
He just snorted and went back to what he was doing.
My mother swooped over to me and lifted Caleb into her arms.
I walked over to the sink and used my hip to push Nick over. He had a large tray of ice beside him so I started to put the cubes into the full jugs while he filled the last one. When I was finished, I grabbed the two jugs and went into the dining room. I set them on the table and Nick joined me seconds later with the third one.
‘Who’s the baby?’
‘Caleb, my cousin Charlie’s son’

I heard the bell ring a second time and I grabbed Nick’s hand, pulling him behind me, through the living room, past Ryan who was lighting the fire and to the front door. I kept Nick’s hand clutched in mine as I opened the door and smiled as I stepped back to let everyone in.
My aunt Siobháin immediately pulled me into a tight hug.
‘How are you dear?’
I patted her back awkwardly as she continued to squeeze me.
‘It’s good to see you Siobháin’
She eventually let go and allowed her husband, Neal, to step forward and embrace me. ‘Hello Shannon’ he said in his quiet voice.
I smiled and stepped back, Nick’s hand still in mine.
‘Nick, this is my aunt Siobháin, mum’s sister, her husband Neal and my cousins, Chris and Tamsin’ I said gesturing at each person in turn. ‘Everyone, this is my friend Nick’
He smiled crookedly, ‘hi, it’s nice to meet you’
Siobháin threw her arms around him, ‘Carol’s told me all about you, welcome to the family’
I stared at her incredulously, ‘welcome to the family? What...?’ I spluttered while Nick looked on with a confused look on his face.
My aunt looked pointedly at our joined hands, ‘oh yes, Carol told me a lot’ she said, nodding to herself before she turned and marched towards the kitchen.
Neal winked at me before following his wife.
Nick and I were left standing in shock opposite my cousins.
‘Ignore mum, you know how she is’ Chris rolled his eyes and I nodded, ‘of course, she’s exactly the same as her sister’

We smiled knowingly at each other. Chris was the closest to me in age at seventeen and was very quiet like his father. Neither man could get a word in edgewise with Siobháin and Tam around.
Ever since she stepped in the door, Tam had been staring at Nick and he was starting to look uncomfortable.
Tamsin was almost fifteen and was very...self-confident. She was obsessed with makeup and boys and was constantly flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder while she texted away furiously. She took after her mother (she was loud, basically) and was the complete opposite of her quiet and assuming brother.
I preferred spending time with Chris, you had to have a lot of patience to be around Tam for any length of time and it was worse for me because ever since she’d entered her teenage years, Tam seems to see me as a rival, though I hadn’t the faintest idea why – she’d constantly flirted with Conor when we were together and she was now looking at Nick in the same way.
I unconsciously stepped closer to him.

‘Are you her boyfriend?’ Tam asked, jerking her thumb at me.
Nick slowly shook his head.
A wide smile grew on her face as she continued to stare at him.
Chris, seeing the look on his sister’s face, rolled his eyes and grimaced at me, ‘I’m gonna go say hi to everyone’ he said before escaping quickly.
I envied him for it.
Tam stepped forward, ‘so you’re English right?’
Nick nodded again.
‘That’s hot’ she said, giggling in a way that reminded me of nails being scraped down a blackboard. She eyed him and he looked around uncomfortably, stepping back and partially behind me as if I could shield him.
‘Umm...’ he said.
Throwing a quick glare my way, she grinned at Nick. ‘I’ll make sure we’re sitting beside each other’
With that she turned and left.

Nick exhaled slowly in relief, ‘what was that?’
I turned to face him, ‘first Rosetta and Gwen and now my fourteen year old cousin? Is there anyone you can’t charm?’
He looked down at me, an unreadable expression on his face.
Only one lamp in the corner was on, so his face was partially in shadow, making him seem mysterious and making my heart beat faster.
‘You’ he said simply.
It took me a moment to remember what we were talking about.
I laughed softly, ‘I suppose living with you makes me impervious’
Liar, liar, liar! My mind screamed and I did my best to ignore it. ‘You forget I’ve seen you in the morning’
He leaned down, ‘right back at ya Sweetheart’ he whispered in my ear.
I laughed, ‘I guess we’re just two of a kind’
He looked like he was going to say something, but footsteps coming towards us made him close his mouth and step back a little.
‘There you are, I’m to tell you that we’re about to sit down’ Charlie said as she came to a stop beside us, curiosity written all over her face.
‘Right, Charlie this is my friend Nick, we’re roommates at college. Nick, this is my favourite cousin, Charlie, and Caleb’s mother’
They smiled at each other.
‘And Charlie don’t even think about saying “I’ve heard so much about you”’
Charlie’s slightly opened mouth snapped shut and she grinned sheepishly at me.
I rolled my eyes and gently pushed Nick towards the hall, ‘go save us seats, and try not to end up beside Tam or you won’t get any peace!’
He shuddered and set off towards the kitchen.
The sound of voices talking and laughing emanated from the dining room.

Once he’d disappeared, I faced Charlie again. She opened her mouth and I looked at her pleadingly. ‘Don’t say it’
She looked amused, ‘say what?’ I was just going to ask if the two of you are really just friends’
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, ‘that’ I said, ‘that’s what I didn’t want you to say’
‘How did you know that’s what I was going to say?’
I sighed again, louder this time, ‘because I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t thought that, even my own family’
She snorted in obvious amusement, ‘I wonder why’ she said sarcastically, ‘I literally just saw you together for the first time and you look like a couple’
I just looked at her morosely.
She smiled sadly, ‘I understand’
And I believed she did understand. From one look, she’d realised how I felt about him and that we really were just friends – that’s why she was my favourite cousin.
She shook her head, ‘have I ever told you that you’re really naive?’
I frowned, ‘how so?’
‘You’ll see’ she smiled, ‘but now, let’s go eat. I’m starving’

Almost everyone was already sitting down when we joined them. Nick looked at me desperately from his seat next to Tam, and I had to stifle a laugh. There were two seats to his left which we took.
I leaned over and pressed my lips close to his ear.
‘Good job avoiding her’ I whispered.
‘She wouldn’t take no for an answer’ he muttered under his breath, ‘it was difficult enough saving you a seat beside me, she was pretty determined to make you sit at the other end of the table’
I frowned in Tam’s direction, ‘I wonder why’ I said sarcastically.
‘Now, now; don’t be jealous’ he smirked.
I practically choked on the sip of water I’d just taken, ‘say what now?’
He patted my back – that self-satisfied smirk plastered on his face.
‘It’s okay’ he continued to whisper in my ear, his arm lying across the back of my chair.
‘I’m not jealous’ I hissed, ‘I just think it’s wrong that you’re five years older than her’
‘Well isn’t it a good thing I’m not interested in her then?’
I sent him a death stare but he just laughed.
‘You’re cute when you’re jealous you know’ he sat forward to take a drink, his arm still resting along the back of my chair.
I stared at the back of his head. Did he just say...?
My eyes narrowed, ‘I might be cute, but I’m not jealous’ I hissed when he sat back.
‘Whatever you say Sweetheart’
‘Don’t Sweetheart me’ I whispered ferociously.
I wasn’t jealous...it just irritated me that we couldn’t go anywhere without someone flirting with him, it being my fourteen year old bitchy cousin was the icing on top of a crappy cake.
‘You’re annoyed?’
I nodded shortly.
‘Why?’ he leaned in closer.
I shook my head slowly, ‘doesn’t matter’
He’d probably just think I was being irrational, and it would lead to questions I really didn’t want to answer; like why did I care?
The feeling of long fingers gently massaging the base of my neck, under my hair, snapped me back to reality.
I sighed gently as I relaxed, my body going boneless at his touch. My eyes half closed and all I wanted to do was lean over and tuck my head into the hollow where his neck met his shoulder.

A sharp kick made me shoot forward and grab my shin.
Several pairs of eyes turned curiously in my direction and I smiled apologetically before turning to glare at Ryan who was sitting opposite me – and had just kicked me, hard.
He leaned forward as far as he could over the table, ‘give it a fucking rest’ he hissed angrily.
I frowned, what did he...?
I rolled my eyes as I realised what he was talking about.
‘Shut up’ I retorted quietly.
I noticed Charlie watching us in amusement, ‘he’s right you know’ she whispered, ‘I’m surprised you didn’t just jump each other and be done with it’
My mouth hung open in shock as I tried to think of an appropriate response. She gently closed it for me.
‘Don’t worry; I don’t think any of the oldies noticed. Then again...’ she stopped and glanced around the table, ‘you two were in your own little world for quite a while’
She pointed in front of me when she saw my confusion. I looked to where she was pointing and cursed under my breath. I looked back at Nick and pointedly looked down. He followed my gaze and surprise crossed his features.
While we were “in our own little world”, according to Charlie, not only had everyone finally taken their seats, the food had been laid out, the turkey carved and wine poured.
Someone had passed both turkey and ham down to Nick and I but that’s all that sat on our plates, whereas everyone else had filled theirs and begun to eat.
We looked at each other sheepishly and reached forward to choose from the array of food in front of us.

Dinner seemed to go on and on and on. I was strangely restless throughout and didn’t join in the conversation much.
As I’d known they would, my family asked questions upon questions with a few more on top for good measure, about college and London, and where we lived etc...
I left Nick to answer most things – he didn’t mind, he chattered away, making jokes and generally just being his usual charming self.
I don’t know why he was so worried about meeting my family, they absolutely loved him – not that I was surprised.
Every now and again, he’d reach over and squeeze my hand; he knew that I wasn’t really paying attention and he did his best to divert as many questions as he could, away from me. I smiled gratefully at him every time.
I did talk to Charlie quite a bit – well when she wasn’t off taking care of Caleb – because I really did miss having her around, I just hadn’t realised how much until she was sitting beside me.
I didn’t notice much throughout dinner, but I did notice Tam flirting with Nick...constantly. I also noticed that he did his best not to engage her in conversation, and he shifted ever so slightly in my direction.
That made me a lot happier than it should have.

When the main course was finished, I got up to help my mother clear away the dishes and get dessert ready.
‘Dinner was lovely, thanks mum’ I said as we stacked plates in the kitchen.
The loud sound of my uncle Tom’s laughter coming from the dining room almost drowned out my mother’s soft, modest, ‘you’re welcome’
I made another trip to the table to collect the left-over food – of course my mother had cooked enough to feed an army.
When I joined her in the kitchen again, my mother gave me a shrewd look, ‘you’ve been very quiet all evening. Nicholas answered all the questions you were asked’
I shrugged, ‘just wasn’t in a talkative mood’
She reached into a cupboard and began taking out bowls. I opened another cupboard and got out cups and saucers while the kettle boiled.
She glanced at me sideways, and the look she gave me said that she didn’t believe for a second that I just wasn’t in a talkative mood, but that she wasn’t going to pry – and for that I was grateful.
‘When are you going to prepare Nicholas’ present? It’s nine now and I don’t want the two of you to be up too late’
I’d told her what I was planning and she’d helped me organise it – she was the only one who knew.
‘I don’t know...it shouldn’t take too long to get ready. I’ll wait until everyone leaves, or at least until dinner’s over, otherwise everyone will be asking questions’
‘Good idea, you know where everything is?’ she asked as she filled both a teapot and a coffeepot with boiling water.
I nodded before I started to carry the empty cups and bowls into the dining room.

When everything was prepared, everyone quietened momentarily as brandy was poured in copious amounts onto the plum pudding, before it was lit on fire. Twelve pairs of eyes stared, mesmerised at the blue flames until they went out.
I politely declined a slice – I really hate plum pudding – but I nodded vigorously when offered a piece of everything else.
A bowl loaded with tart, cake, Pavlova and cream was sent my way along with (of course) a cup of tea.
I felt Nick watching me as I surveyed my dessert, wondering where to begin.
‘What?’ I asked distractedly (I was focused on the dessert), without looking up.
He chuckled softly and the sound was a lot closer than I’d expected – he must have been leaning in, not that I minded in the slightest.
‘I was just wondering if you’re really going to eat all of that.’
‘Of course’
He didn’t say anything and I knew it was because he was smirking, though my eyes were still glued to a particularly tasty looking piece of tart.
‘Why am I not surprised?’ he said wryly.
I did look up then, ‘because you know me’
He smiled at me like I’d said the right thing.

Ryan’s P.O.V:

I watched the display going on across the table from me in disgust. They looked like love-sick puppies, the both of them.
I sighed softly to myself – they’d been like this all night, hell they’d been like this since the first time I laid eyes on the two of them in arrivals...ugh!
Kicking Shannon hadn’t done any good, she’d just glared at me and though they had stopped whispering to each other and staring into each other’s eyes, they just looked connected...or some shit like that.
Fuck! I thought, I think that’s the gayest thing to ever cross my mind.
I grimaced at them across the table, but they were too caught up in themselves to notice.

I looked at Tamsin.
She kept glaring at Shannon and throwing Nick appraising looks.
I mentally willed her to give it a fucking rest. She was fourteen years old and annoying as fuck.
She was my cousin but to be honest, I didn’t like her – she was a complete bitch to Shannon, and I was VERY protective of my younger sister.

I looked at Nick again.
I liked him, he was a sound guy, but I wouldn’t hesitate to pound his face in if he ever did anything to hurt Shannon.
All guys are protective of their sisters, it’s a natural reaction, but I was extra protective of Shannon.
We’d always gotten on like a house on fire, and we’d always been close.
I was closer to Adrian age wise, but he was quiet and more into doing his own thing and always had been, so it was generally just me and Shannon when we were growing up.

I have to admit; I thought begrudgingly, she does look happy.
I just hoped it would last. Nothing could hurt someone worse than seeing a person they cared about in pain, of any kind.
I sat back in my seat as the last of the desserts were passed out and people dug in.
I took a monstrous bite that was practically overflowing off the spoon as I watched them whisper to each other with secretive smiles.

They confused me.
Looking at them, I’d guess that they were together, and had been for a while; hell if I was a stranger on the street I’d think they were together...and yet, they both said they were just friends, and I knew Shannon wouldn’t lie.
I sat there, wondering what was going on as I shovelled dessert into my mouth, washing it down with tea.
I didn’t wonder enough to ask though; I might hear something I didn’t want to, like those conversations about sex we’d been having all too frequently for my liking – even the briefest thought of it caused me to feel suddenly ill and I placed my loaded spoon carefully back into my bowl from where it had been hovering half-way to my mouth, I didn’t want to tempt fate.

At first I thought I was the only one that was confused by Shannon and Nick’s relationship – I wasn’t known for my many long and serious relationships – but it turned out that Adrian was just as baffled and he was practically married to Katie.
Their whispering and soft laughter began to get on my nerves, so I kicked Shannon under the table for the second time, smirking when she glowered at me, before I was sucked into a conversation about GAA with Neal, Tom and my dad.

Shannon’s P.O.V:

Charlie and Tom were the first to leave with Caleb.
They said their goodbyes before disappearing into the darkness outside. Charlie had given me a long hug and we promised to get together soon.
It was another half an hour before Siobháin and Neal finally rose from their seats on the couch (we’d moved to the living room after dessert) saying they really should be getting home.
Of course, it took them another fifteen minutes to actually leave, but finally all was quiet after my mother had shut the door behind them.
Everyone sighed collectively. It was always nice to see the rest of the family, but it was damn tiring – not that I’d participated much, but still.

My mother was the first one to focus.
‘Right’, she said briskly, ‘Shannon, you know what you have to do, Nicholas if you would please wait in here until told otherwise. You two’ she levelled her stare at Ryan and Adrian, ‘please stay out of my hair and Peter, you’re going to help me in the kitchen’
Everybody immediately followed their orders, and everyone began to drift out of the room – well except for Nick, who stayed sitting on the couch like he’d been told.
‘Why do I have to wait here?’ he asked when we were alone.
I smiled at him, ‘it’s to do with your present’ I said mysteriously, ‘I shouldn’t be too long’
He pouted, ‘so it’s definitely not sex then?’
I smacked him upside the head, ‘shut up or I won’t give you anything’
‘Fine, but hurry. I’m dying to know what you got me’

I winked at him, ‘you’ll just have to wait and see’ I said before I sauntered out of the room.