16. Julie

On Saturday, Marion, my sisters and I were in the kitchen preparing food for the ninety-four people coming to our pre-cup rugby party. I had roped them in to help me, and to stop me freaking out.

Marion checked the oven. ‘Looking good, Julie. I reckon we can take the curry out in ten minutes and leave it in the warming drawer.’

‘Thanks so much for coming early to help. I could never have done this without you all.’

I had completely underestimated how much prepping and chopping and cooking I’d have to do to feed so many people, thirty-six of whom were ravenous boys who ate families of chickens every day.

Marion had been with me since nine a.m. It was her weekend to stay with us, thankfully, and she had been a life-saver. Louise and Sophie had come early as well, to help with the salads and desserts.

Sophie put her Prada clutch carefully to one side, away from any food. She chopped cucumber while Louise filled pavlova bases with cream and strawberries.

‘I just don’t get it,’ Louise said. ‘Are we living in the dark ages that people presume mothers have time to host huge parties for teams? That’s what venues and caterers are for.’

‘I agree with you, Louise,’ Marion said, ‘and the posh fuckers in this school are loaded. They could well afford a restaurant.’

‘It’s part of the whole ra-ra team-bonding, I get it,’ Sophie said. ‘Tradition is a good thing. It’s a community coming together to celebrate their sons. It’s lovely.’

I wiped my sweaty brow. ‘Look, I agree it should be outsourced to the local pub, but the triplets are so excited to be on the team and part of the whole hoopla around it that I’m doing it for them.’

‘You are a bit of a martyr, though,’ Louise said bluntly. ‘You didn’t have to do it all yourself. You could have ordered the food in.’

‘I know, but I want to show that it can be done without breaking the bank. I’m trying to keep it low-key.’

Marion snorted. ‘Low-key would be chicken nuggets and a swiss roll.’

‘Mid-key, then.’ I laughed.

‘Did you contact that shop?’ Sophie asked.

She had given me the name of a shop in Kerry that sold wool hats and scarves made by local women with wool sourced from Irish sheep. They weren’t cashmere but they were lovely Irish wool and they’d assured me they could dye the wool to match the special burgundy colour of the rugby jerseys.

‘Yes, they were so nice and a quarter of the price of the ones from Atelier de stupid Cashmere.’

‘What a load of bolloxology. For Oscar’s football team we all packed bags in the local supermarket to make money to pay for their jerseys.’

Sophie ignored Marion. ‘I’m glad it worked out. What did Victoria say?’

I grinned. ‘I haven’t told her. I just went ahead and ordered them. I’ve already paid for them. I’ll hand them out next week before the first game and then tell everyone to let me have the money.’

‘Good for you. No point in getting into a whole WhatsApp pile-on about it. I’ll be dying to hear how Victoria reacts.’ Sophie chuckled.

‘I’ll keep you posted.’ I grinned.

‘How was Dad yesterday?’ Louise asked Sophie. ‘He was so emotional at dinner the other night. Was he all right?’

‘He was better, actually. I think being honest about how he was feeling was good for him. He seems less down in the dumps. Besides, he had plans. He was going to some golf dinner, so I only saw him for a few minutes.’

‘Was he going with that Dolores one?’ Marion asked. ‘Are they having sex yet?’

I elbowed Marion.

‘What? You should be happy for him. A man who is having sex is a happy man.’

‘Marion, please do not talk about our father like that,’ Sophie snapped.

‘No wonder Harry’s so grumpy.’ I giggled.

‘I need sex badly,’ Louise said. ‘It’s been ages.’

‘Me too. Vibrators are just not the same,’ Marion agreed.

‘Handy, though,’ Louise said.

‘Yeah, but I like the weight of a man on top of me banging away.’ Marion grinned.

Sophie bristled. ‘Can we please change the subject?’

‘I’d say Jack’s good in the sack,’ Marion said to her.

‘Excuse me?’

‘He’s fit. I’d say he’s a good ride.’

‘Do you mind not making comments about my husband?’

‘Ex-husband-now-partner, you haven’t remarried,’ Louise said, always one for the technical detail.

‘Jesus, Louise, that’s not the point,’ Sophie hissed.

‘Relax,’ Marion said. ‘ I don’t want to shag Jack, he’s not my type. Too pretty-boy for me. I like my fellas a bit rough around the edges.’

‘A bit like yourself.’ I chuckled and Marion cracked up.

Sophie slammed the knife down on the cucumber, muttering, ‘Really and truly,’ under her breath.

Thankfully, Harry came in before Sophie could aim her chopping knife at Marion.

‘There he is, the man himself. How’s the speech coming along, Harry? It’d better be good because it’s taken you long enough.’

‘Hello, Marion. The speech is finished, thank you.’

‘Harry, did you move the couches back?’ I asked.

‘Yes, Julie, and the bar is set up and the boys are dressed.’

‘Good.’

‘Oh, and Jess is here,’ Harry said.

‘What?’ Sophie looked up.

‘She said she came to see if you needed any help.’

‘She’s supposed to be at home with Jack, working on her history project.’ Sophie frowned. ‘And staying the hell away from Sebastian,’ she muttered.

Harry left to check the ice supplies as the boys and Jess came in. The boys headed straight for the pavlovas. As Liam was about to try to pick out some strawberries, Louise smacked his hand with the back of her spoon.

‘Ouch,’ Liam squealed.

‘No need to injure us, Louise,’ Leo said. ‘These hands are precious. I need them to score tries with.’

‘You’d better keep them out of the desserts, then. These are for the guests.’ She was firm, like Christelle. And, just like it did with Christelle, it worked. The boys backed off.

‘Hi, Jess,’ I said, taking in her short skirt, halter-neck top and face full of make-up. She was dressed to kill.

‘Hi, Julie, can I help with anything?’

‘You’re supposed to be at home,’ Sophie said sharply.

‘I finished my project, so Dad said I could come down.’ Her smile was angelic.

‘With that skirt and at least thirty hormonal teenage boys in the room, you’ll need your mother’s knife to keep the lads away,’ Marion said, grinning at her.

‘We’re actually finishing up now,’ Sophie said.

‘Can I stay, Mum, please?’ Jess pleaded.

‘Yeah, we want Jess to stay.’ The triplets put their arms around their cousin.

‘Why don’t you all stay for a drink?’ I suggested. ‘You’ve been so helpful, you deserve one. You can slip off when everyone arrives.’

‘No, I want Jess to –’

Before Sophie had time to argue, the boys hustled Jess out of the kitchen.

‘Fuck one drink, I’m staying for the whole night. I want to meet these cashmere-obsessed freaks.’ Marion pulled off her apron and pulled her glittery top even lower so her cleavage was fully on show. ‘And you never know, there might be a divorced dad with a big bank account who’s looking for a woman with saggy boobs, back fat, no money, four kids and a shedload of baggage. I’m a serious fucking catch.’

‘You are a good catch! You’re the best friend.’ I side-hugged her. ‘But just so we’re clear, you will not have sex with any single dads, or any of the coaches. Harry will literally have a heart attack and I need him alive to get through this rugby campaign.’

‘I’ll be on my best behaviour.’

‘I’ll stay for a quick drink, then head home,’ Louise said. ‘Dad’s looking after Clara and I know he’s a bit nervous about her bedtime routine. I promised I’d be back by eight thirty.’

‘Aww, it’s great that he’s trying to help out more,’ I said. Good for Dad, he really was making an effort.

‘Me too, and then I’ll drag Jess out of here,’ Sophie said.

I took off my apron. She came over to adjust my belt and fix my lipstick. ‘Now you look perfect. The gorgeous mother of three captains.’

‘Thanks, sis. I’m glad you’re all staying for a bit. I could use the moral support.’

Sophie applied blusher to her cheeks. ‘To be honest, I’m dying to see what Victoria and the other mums are wearing,’ she admitted. ‘I may not be able to afford designer clothes any more, but I still love looking at them.’

I headed for the fridge and the bottles of prosecco. ‘Right, let’s open a bottle of fizz!’

My sisters and Marion gathered with me in our big hallway and watched as a stream of Range Rovers, Lexuses, Audis and BMWs blocked up our entire road. The parents and players all made a beeline for our front door. The triplets took their coats as they entered and Jess pitched in to guide them to the living room and the drinks table. Every time the bell rang, Jess jumped to open the door.

Victoria was the last to arrive, gliding through the door in a floor-length fur coat.

‘How many rabbits died to keep you warm?’ Marion asked, as Victoria wriggled out of it.

She stared at her. ‘I’m sorry, who are you?’

‘Marion, my good friend,’ I introduced them.

‘Be careful with my coat,’ Victoria ordered, as Leo held it casually, the bottom trailing on the hall floor. ‘It’s chinchilla, actually,’ she said to Marion.

Behind her, I saw Leo stamp on the hem of her coat.

‘Aren’t they rodents?’ Marion said. ‘Like the poor cousins of squirrels or something?’

Louise snorted while Sophie tried not to laugh.

‘They most certainly are not,’ Victoria glared at her.

‘Actually, they are. Chinchillas are crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha,’ Louise said.

‘What?’ Victoria glared at Louise.

‘You could have saved a right few quid and skinned a few squirrels. There are loads in my local park.’ Marion was enjoying herself.

Sophie giggled.

Before Victoria could think of a nasty retort, Sebastian rushed in behind her. She stalked off in her designer outfit to find her husband.

‘Hi, sorry we’re so late,’ Sebastian said to Jess, not to me, his hostess.

‘That’s okay.’ Jess’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. They stood grinning at each other, gazing into each other’s eyes, completely oblivious to everyone around them.

‘I think you’re in trouble, Sophie,’ Louise murmured.

‘She is smitten,’ I mumbled.

Sophie groaned. ‘Of all the bloody boys. I warned her to back off.’

‘It’s gone way beyond that,’ I whispered. ‘They’re mad about each other, I’m sorry to tell you. I remember those looks – it’s serious.’

‘The lads are all in the den,’ Luke told Sebastian and the teenagers headed downstairs.

‘Jess,’ Sophie called. Her daughter turned. ‘We’re leaving soon.’

Jess’s face fell. ‘Can I stay, please, Mum?’

‘No.’

‘Please.’ Jess looked to me for help.

‘Come on, Sophie, let her hang out with us,’ the triplets pleaded.

‘Maybe she could stay for a bit and I’ll drop her home later?’ I said to Sophie.

‘Can I, Mum?’ Jess’s face was flushed.

‘She’ll be safe here with the boys and Julie,’ Louise said quietly to Sophie. ‘If you drag her home now, she’ll kick up hell.’

Sophie caved. ‘Okay, but I want you home before eleven at the very, very latest.’

‘Thanks, Mum.’ Jess and the triplets raced downstairs.

I put my arm around Sophie. ‘I know it’s hard. I’ll try to keep an eye on her. If you made her leave with you, she’d hate you and it would make her want to be with Sebastian even more. It’s a teen romance. They’re usually intense but brief.’

‘I hope so,’ Sophie said.

‘If he’s anything like the mother, she’ll run a mile in no time,’ Marion assured her.

‘Julie!’ Harry came into the hall looking flushed. ‘Everyone’s here, and it’s time for my speech.’

‘It’s short, right?’ Louise asked me.

‘I told him to keep it short.’

‘Have you heard it?’ Sophie asked.

‘No.’

My sisters looked at each other in panic.

‘That’s dangerous,’ Marion said. ‘No offence, but Harry can be very fucking long-winded.’

My heart sank. Please, God, may he have listened to me for once.

‘The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one who gets people to do the greatest things. That’s what this campaign is about: great leaders. We have a fantastic coaching team, and the most wonderful group of boys. I am the proud father of three boys on that team, the joint captains. They will not let you down. They will fight with everything they have. They will lead and inspire …’

At the back of the room I saw Luke sticking two breadsticks up his nose while Leo put ice cubes down the back of Liam’s top. Sebastian and Jess were holding hands.

Harry droned on: ‘It’s an honour to be part of this journey, to be part of this Castle Academy tradition. We as parents must …’

‘Jesus, Julie, do something,’ Louise muttered.

‘They should send Harry to torture people. This is worse than waterboarding or having your nails pulled out.’ Marion drained her glass of wine.

‘I have to go.’ Sophie backed out of the room.

‘… and it’s important that the boys feel our full support. We need them to know that whatever the day or the hour, they can come to us. We are –’

‘WELL SAID,’ I cut across him, and began to clap. Louise and Marion joined in.

The other parents enthusiastically clapped too, stopping Harry turning to yet another page of his notes. One of the other parents rushed over to shake his hand, and that signalled the end of the speech. The conversations swelled around the room again.

Harry made his way across to us, looking disappointed.

‘You came in too early there, Julie,’ he said. ‘I had an excellent ending coming up. Some really inspirational quotes.’

‘Harry, you put everyone into an induced coma. If you’d stripped bollock naked and done the samba, they wouldn’t have noticed.’ Marion refilled her glass.

‘What?’ Harry spluttered.

‘It was too long, Harry, way too long.’ Louise was her usual blunt self.

‘It was really good, darling, but that was the perfect time to end it.’ I tried to soften the blows. ‘Well done. Here, let me get you a drink.’

The party went on, and while some parents took it easy, others tried to drink us out of house and home, including one father who knocked over a table of glasses and collapsed like a whale on the ground. His mortified wife dragged him away while Marion and I swept up the broken glass.

The time flew by and I only realized it was eleven when Tom came over and asked me if he could sleep in our room because there was someone in his bedroom and the door was locked.

‘What do you mean, the door is locked?’

‘I can’t get in,’ Tom said. ‘I keep knocking, and I know someone’s in there, but they won’t open the door. I’m really tired, Mum. Can I just climb into your bed?’

I felt a cold dread seep through me. Who the hell was locked into Tom’s bedroom? I didn’t wait to ask any more questions.

I raced upstairs, with Tom hot on my heels. I tried the door and, sure enough, it was locked. I knocked. I could just make out voices.

‘Who’s in there? This is Julie, the triplets’ mother. Open the door immediately.’

Silence.

I banged on the door. ‘You are not permitted in our bedrooms. If you do not open this bloody door, I’m going to kick it down. Five … four …’

‘Hold on, I’m coming,’ a boy’s voice called.

The door swung open and Sebastian stood before us, with no top on, his jeans unbuttoned.

I gasped. ‘What the hell is going on?’

‘Nothing, I just wanted some privacy,’ he slurred, cool as you like. Apparently, he wasn’t remotely bothered by being found half naked, locked into my eleven-year-old’s bedroom.

‘Mum, look, it’s Jess.’ Tom pointed to the figure lying on his bed.

Oh, no. No no no no no. Not Jess. Not my niece.

I forced myself to speak calmly. ‘Tom, go to my room and close the door, please.’

Tom, sensing danger, scurried off.

Shoving past Sebastian, I rushed to Tom’s bed where Jess was lying topless and very drunk. She still had her skirt and knickers on, and I prayed that meant she hadn’t had sex.

‘Jess, Jess, are you okay?’ I shook her.

She looked at me bleary-eyed. ‘I don’t feel well,’ she said. I sat her up, she retched and then threw up all over me and Tom’s bed.

‘Oops.’ Sebastian cracked up laughing and stumbled sideways.

‘What did you do to her?’ I shouted at him. ‘What the hell was going on in here? If you touched her, I swear to God …’

‘We weren’t doing anything,’ Sebastian said.

I looked from his naked torso to hers.

‘Nothing? Really? You expect me to believe that? Shall we get your parents up here and ask them if this looks like nothing?’

‘Jesus, it’s all right,’ Sebastian said, finally a little glint of fear in his eyes. ‘I would never hurt Jess. We weren’t doing anything bad, I promise.’

‘Did you have sex?’

‘No!’ Sebastian shook his head vehemently.

Jess groaned. ‘I’m okay, Julie. I’m sorry … We didn’t do anything.’

I was aware of the guests downstairs. I needed to keep this quiet. I wanted to protect Jess. I needed to shut this down. I wanted the little prick out of my house.

‘Get out of my sight before I kill you, you little shit,’ I hissed at him. ‘Right now!’

‘What’s going on?’ Luke arrived at the door, out of breath.

‘Tom told us Jess was locked in here.’ Leo was right behind him.

They stopped dead when they saw the scene in front of them.

‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Liam asked Sebastian.

I managed to pull Jess’s top on.

‘Help me get Jess into the bathroom,’ I told Leo. ‘Luke, go down and get me a bottle of water and a cup of coffee.’

‘Liam, show Sebastian to the front door and don’t say a word to anyone. We need to contain this, for Jess’s sake.’

I watched as Liam grabbed Sebastian and shoved him roughly out of the door.

Leo helped me get Jess into the bathroom. I told him to leave us then – I had to clean her and myself up. Vomiting had sobered her a little.

‘I’m so sorry, Julie. I had too much prosecco.’

‘You’re fifteen. You’re not supposed to be drinking. And as for going into a bedroom with a boy and locking the door, what were you thinking, Jess? That is just so dangerous. Anything could have happened. You might have said no and he might not have stopped.’

‘It’s okay, Julie. Sebastian is really nice. We like each other. We just wanted to hang out on our own.’

‘Jess, you were doing a lot more than hanging out. You’re drunk and half naked. If I hadn’t come in, God knows how far you’d have gone.’

She swayed. ‘Julie, it wasn’t like that. He just wanted to mess around a bit. I really like him.’

I wiped vomit off her chin with a wet facecloth. ‘Jess, listen to me. I have to ask you – and you must be honest. Did you have sex with Sebastian?’

‘What? My God, Julie, no. Of course not. Just a bit of, like, kissing and stuff. I wouldn’t be that stupid.’

‘Swear?’

‘I swear.’

I dried her face with a towel. ‘Are you absolutely sure? Think for a moment. You’re pretty drunk, pet, so are you really sure?’

‘Julie, are you mad! We did not have sex. I would never do that. I know I’m too young and I also know that Mum would actually kill me.’

‘Thank Christ for that,’ I said, and hugged her. ‘I was so worried. Now you need to listen to me, okay? Sebastian is a nasty piece of work. Please stay away from him. He is trouble. He should never, ever have brought you up here so drunk and locked the door. The fact that he did says a lot about him. And you should not have come up here with him. You need to take care of yourself, Jess. I’m asking you to stay away from him and do not drink. Alcohol leads to bad decisions. Do you hear me?’

Jess’s eyes filled with tears. ‘But I really like him, Julie. Just … please, please, please don’t tell my mum. She’ll kill me if she finds out and she’ll ground me for ever.’

She’ll kill me first, I thought. I was supposed to be looking out for Jess, but I’d got distracted with the guests. I had never in my wildest dreams imagined she’d sneak upstairs with Sebastian. Sophie would lose her mind if she knew what had happened. I was not looking forward to telling her. She might never forgive me for not looking after Jess properly. But, then, Jess had just been a bit silly and nothing had actually happened. We didn’t need the morning-after pill or anything like that, so maybe it was best if Sophie didn’t know.

I could see Jess watching me intently as I went back and forth in my mind, trying to figure out the best course of action. I was completely conflicted. If I told Sophie, she would probably never let Jess out or trust her again, and she would be disgusted with me and would probably never trust me again either. Did I want to hurt my niece, fall out with my sister and really upset her? Or should I just contain this, let Jess learn from the experience and not involve her parents? I mean, we all made mistakes when were young and the most important thing was that Jess didn’t seem to be traumatized or hurt in any way. Plus, Jess could talk to me about it at any time. She knew I had her back.

I nodded to myself, thinking that was the best thing to do. I wouldn’t tell my sister. It would only upset her and she already had so much stress in her life, with Pippa and Robert. She’d have a breakdown if I loaded more on her plate.

‘Jess, I’m not going to tell on you this time – you get one free pass, but that’s it. Your actions have put me in a really difficult position. I hope you understand that. You did this in my house, on my watch, and I’m furious with you. As for that cocky little shit Sebastian, he doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near you. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you’ll break all contact with him.’

Jess bit her lip. ‘Do I have to, Julie?’ she said quietly.

‘One hundred per cent, Jess, or I’ll drive you home now and we can both face your mother with the truth.’

She held up her hands. ‘God, no, please. I promise I’ll do it.’

‘Okay. Now you’re going to have a shower, drink lots of water and coffee and get yourself sorted. I’ll call Sophie and tell her I’ll drop you home in an hour. You need to be ready by then.’

I hated the idea of lying to Sophie. I couldn’t think of a time when I’d lied to my sisters about something big. This wasn’t exactly lying, though. I was just omitting to share information. But it still didn’t sit well with me. I just had to focus on what was best for Sophie, and right now she didn’t need another major situation on her hands. It didn’t feel good, but it was for the best. What Sophie didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. Right?