The Way You Look Tonight

“Dad, sit down, I’ll get that,” Grace said taking the plates of food off him and starting to walk towards the barbeque area next to the patio.

“Gracie, I had a heart attack, I’m not an invalid,” he said his strong accent coming through, making it difficult for Brian to understand, just as Grace had said. Her father took the plates back off her and continued down the path.

Grace shook her head and sat down on a patio chair in-between her mother, Fran, and older brother, Kevin (named after his father, as you would imagine, things got a little confusing around their household growing up) her younger brother Liam sat next to Brian, who was nursing a Bud Light and talking amiably with her mother. Grace caught bits of their conversation.

“So, you’re from Edinburgh originally right?” Brian asked her mother, taking a swig from his bottle, her mother nodded.

“Born and bred,”

“How’d you end up here?”

“When Grace was around - hell, she wouldn’t have been born - her grandparents on her father’s side died, old age, Kev's the youngest of… five? Yeah, five. Well, years before, just after Kevin was born, he was offered a job over at the Huntington Beach Hospital, he was the best surgeon in the country you see, but he turned them down, didn’t want to leave his parents, as I said, they were getting old. When they passed away however, he knew he had to get out of Scotland, get a better life for his family, don’t get me wrong, Scotland is amazing, but there’s just… it’s not the best place to grow up anymore, put it that way. So, Kev got in contact with the hospital again, and the rest as you say, is history.”

“And then, when Kevin and I flew the coop, you guys moved up here. Believe it or not, they were looking for a smaller home,” Grace said shaking her head, “They come up here for a holiday, a week later they come home and tell us they’ve bought a five bedroomed house by they bay,” she laughed slightly.

“Grub’s up,” her dad shouted from slightly further down the garden.

They all trudge down the garden path, again slate, to where Grace’s dad was standing flipping a hamburger over and opening a roll.

“Shit!” Grace exclaimed dropping a roll.

“Grace, language,” her father scolded, Brian chuckled, but quickly stopped once he noticed Grace’s glare.

“Liam, let Bonnie out please, Hun,” Grace asked Liam.

“Bonnie?” Brian asked, perplexed, but he didn’t have time for an answer, as not more than two minutes later, a giant black bouncy dog came skidding around the corner.

“Our dog- hey baby!” she bent down as the dog realised who it was and proceeding in licking every exposed part of Grace she could get a hold of.
***
Grace hadn’t realised how much she had missed home. She had missed the hectic, yet laidback attitude her parents had to life. The way everything could always wait ‘til later, but always got done on time. She’d missed having Bonnie around, but she’d really missed being in the saddle.

Not long after dinner Grace drove the ten minutes down the road to the livery yard where her two horses, Quo Siempre (Quo) and Kasabian were stabled. She even persuaded Brian to get in the saddle, for all of fifteen minutes, when Quo, who Grace had been riding, had been a little bit excitable and bucked turning the corner towards the jump. To be fair, Grace did take him in and out of it a bit sharp.

Brian, however, wasn’t having any of it, and tried to get off, claiming that ‘horses were too dangerous and might damage his face, or worse, his ‘God given hands’', with which Grace shouted back that he was a ‘chicken’ and that he was supposed to be ‘a big hardcore rock star, afraid of nothing’.

Brian stayed on a little longer after that, if only for his reputation.

Back at the house they were getting ready for bed.

“Brian, this is your room,” Grace said dragging one of his many bags into the room and dumping it on the floor in front of his bed. “Damn it Bri’! What do you have in here?” she asked half laughing, half panting for breath.

“Hair stuff, eyeliner, besides, you’re one to talk, I’ve seen your bathroom,” they both laughed and Brian walked over to her, she rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Thanks for coming with me Brian,”

“Don’t mention it, babe,”