Chapter Twenty

‘ Y our turn, Robyn. Give it a go.’ Jasper’s Uncle Bernie passed her his walking stick. They were sitting in a circle, all fifteen-odd guests crammed into the living room, some sitting on sofas, others perching on the arms of the chairs, and some sitting crossed legged on the floor as she and Jasper were. After some more active party games such as trying to pass a balloon along a long line of people without dropping it, and a somewhat slapdash version of musical statues where instead of standing still when the music stopped, you had to pretend to be a reindeer ready for flight, they were now enjoying a more leisurely game.

‘Okay, here goes.’ She tapped the end of the walking stick on the floor three times before dragging it across the carpet in the shape of a star. Looking across at him, she tilted her head. The aim of the game was to copy exactly what he’d done with the walking stick and yet it was her second go after it being passed around the circle twice and still, according to him, no one had copied him exactly.

‘Good try, Robyn. But no luck, I’m afraid.’ Uncle Bernie sighed dramatically as the room erupted with yet more questions.

‘I don’t understand. We’re all copying you exactly, Uncle Bernie.’ Jasper’s brother, Finn, shrugged his shoulders.

‘Ahh, not exactly.’ Uncle Bernie laughed, a full-on belly laugh, which vibrated around the room.

Robyn passed the walking stick to Jasper, who was sitting next to her. ‘Good luck.’

‘Thanks.’ Jasper did the exact same movements with the stick as Robyn had done and other people before her.

‘Nope, lad. Still, nope.’ Uncle Bernie rubbed his hands together as he took the walking stick again.

‘Go on, then. Show us again, Uncle Bernie.’ Jasper passed him the walking stick.

‘Okay, watch carefully this time.’ Holding the stick in his hand, Uncle Bernie tapped it on the carpet three times before drawing a star in the plush carpet. Once he’d finished, he leaned back, another one of his coughing fits erupting from his throat.

‘Oooh.’ Jasper raised his eyebrows at his uncle.

Grinning, Uncle Bernie pointed the stick at him. ‘If you think you’ve cracked it, keep quiet until it’s your turn, lad.’

‘I will.’ Nodding, Jasper tapped his index finger against the side of his nose.

‘Good lad.’ Uncle Bernie passed the walking stick to Charlotte, who was sitting next to him, wearing an expression of confusion.

Robyn watched as the walking stick was passed around the circle once more, people turning to each other once they’d had a go and been told they hadn’t got it right, shrugging and chatting amongst themselves. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around her knees. Ever since she’d walked into the house, there hadn’t been a moment when someone wasn’t laughing or joking, chatting or retelling a story. And it all seemed genuine, from the smiles to the grins to the laughter and the hugs. Every single one of the guests, Jasper’s family, neighbours, friends, were enjoying themselves, were happy. And it seemed genuine. As much as she studied their faces, their expressions, she couldn’t catch them out. They appeared to be enjoying themselves in each other’s company.

Jasper reached out and laid his hand on her forearm. ‘Your turn, Robyn.’

Crossing her legs again, Robyn took the walking stick from Finn and tapped it on the floor three times before drawing a star, making sure she copied the same shape and angles of the points as Uncle Bernie had.

‘Nope.’ Uncle Bernie shook his head as he had done to everyone else before her. ‘Next!’

Passing the walking stick to Jasper, she smiled as their fingers brushed, his skin warm against hers. ‘Good luck.’

‘Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll need it.’ He grinned as he stretched his arms out in front of him as though he were warming up for the gym. Picking up the walking stick, he did exactly as Robyn and everyone else had before him. Three taps, one star drawn in the carpet. As soon as he’d finished the star, he began to cough.

‘Are you okay?’ Robyn patted him on the back, concern rising inside her.

‘Here, have a drink, Jasper, son.’ Jasper’s dad strode across the circle and held out a glass to him.

Still, Jasper continued to cough. Taking the glass, Robyn held it next to him.

And as quickly as the coughing episode had begun, Jasper stopped and grinned, looking pointedly at his uncle.

Rocking back in his chair, Uncle Bernie roared with laughter and clapped his hands together. ‘You’ve got it, lad. You’ve won!’

‘What? How?’ Sitting back down, Jasper’s dad raised his eyebrows.

‘Yeah, he did exactly what we’ve all been doing.’ Finn chuckled beside her.

‘No, he didn’t. Tell ‘em what it was you did differently, lad.’ Uncle Bernie instructed between roars of laughter.

Jasper shrugged as he looked around the group. ‘I coughed.’

‘Nooo!’ Charlotte slapped her leg. ‘It was the cough. That was part of the sequence we had to copy. We should have known it’d be something like that, coming from you, Uncle Bernie.’

Joining in the laughter, Robyn once again realised that everyone in this room was being genuine. They were getting along. There were no awkward undercurrents, no unsaid words.

‘Right, time for some Christmas cake before another game.’ Charlotte stood up, looking around the living room. ‘Everyone want a slice?’

‘Not for me, thanks. I should get back to the bakery.’ Robyn spoke up amid the nods and ‘yes please’s.

‘Ah yes, time for work again for me too. I need to set the stall up on the beach for after the lantern parade.’ Jasper stood up and held out his hands for Robyn, pulling her up next to him.

‘I’ll give you a hand, son.’ Jasper’s dad stood up.

‘Nope, I’ve got this.’ Jasper grinned at his dad. ‘Besides, this is your first year of retirement, the first time you get to stay at the party without thinking about work.’

‘True.’ His dad turned to Finn. ‘You go and help him, Finn.’

‘I will.’ Finn jumped up and patted his brother on the back as they walked through to the hallway. ‘Like I’d let you set it up on your own. One moment, though, let me just grab a quick glass of water.’

‘No problem.’ Waiting for his brother to disappear into the kitchen, Jasper then stepped towards her. ‘Thank you for coming. I hope you didn’t find it too awkward?’

Reaching out, she took his hands in hers. ‘You know what? I didn’t find it awkward at all. I mean, I so definitely thought I would. But I didn’t. I really enjoyed it.’

‘Good. That was what I’d hoped.’ Bringing his hand to her face, he traced his finger across her cheek and leaned in towards her.

Pulling back, Robyn smiled at him. ‘And yes, I noticed how everyone seemed to be having a good time. Genuinely, I mean. No fronts, or pretend niceties.’

Jasper grinned. ‘Mission accomplished; would you say?’

Without giving him an answer, she leaned back in and kissed him, bringing her hands up to her cheeks. Was it mission accomplished? Nope. Spending one hour in a house full of people having fun and being relaxed with each other wasn’t going to magically erase her past, of growing up with arguments galore and hidden tensions, but she supposed it was making her question her belief that the majority of people barely tolerated their own spouses and their own families.