THE TWENTY-SECOND
Somehow my nap ended up being an epic fourteen-hour sleep. How I slept through the whole evening and the night, I haven’t got the foggiest but when I woke at five a.m. to find Taylor snoring beside me, I felt like I had had the best night’s sleep ever. I think the fact Bean’s movements have slowed down quite a bit over the last couple of days has definitely helped but at the same time, I can’t help but worry that something might be wrong.
She gives me a quick kick in the underside of my ribs to reassure me and I can’t help but grin as I rub at the sore spot. “Thanks for that, Bean,” I murmur quietly, not wanting to wake anyone. Slipping out of bed, I pad through to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea before heading for my favourite spot, my garden. I take a sip of my tea, the warmth spreading through me to ward off the slight chill in the early morning air.
Today is going to be perfect, I decide. I don’t care how pissed Taylor is with me, there is no way I’m going to let anything ruin his day. Too many people have worked too hard to make this evening happen and I can’t let it all be in vain.
I’m halfway through my second cup of tea when Stix pads into the garden, her thin frame clad in baggy pyjama bottoms covered in butterflies and a loose vest top. “Hey, Abs,” she greets me before asking if I want a drink. I tell her the kettle isn’t long boiled so she heads back to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea before coming back to join me. “Are you okay?” she asks as she folds herself up into a chair. “You were really conked out yesterday!”
“Yeah, I’m good. Just wore myself out, I think. Your brother is not the easiest guy to buy for and stupid me had completely forgotten to get him anything until yesterday. I’m such an idiot.”
Stix chuckles. “Well, I think you probably had reason to be a bit distracted with everything that’s been going on.” I am not entirely sure whether she is referring to planning the party, growing a baby inside of me or the Richard situation but I’m not going to spoil things by talking about him so I just give Stix a wide smile.
“At one point we had to double-check you were breathing. You were so quiet and still I think you just about gave Taylor a heart attack.” I have this vision of the two of them leaning over me and checking my vitals; it would probably be hilarious if Taylor and I hadn’t had that conversation a couple of days ago.
“Oh jeez, I’m really sorry if I scared you guys,” I say quietly.
“It’s all good, Abs. It was quite funny really. Taylor was leaning over you with his ear against your mouth and then suddenly you gave a thunderous snort. I don’t think I have ever seen Taylor jump so high in his life.” Stix chuckles at the memory and I can’t help the grin that spreads ago my face.
“What are you two giggling about?” asks a masculine voice from the entrance. We whip our heads around in unison and cry out ‘Nothing’ before dissolving into a fit of giggles.
“Happy birthday, big bro,” Stix cries out as she jumps up from her seat and rushes over to give Taylor a big hug. “Ooh, pressies,” she says before rushing from the room.
“Can you grab mine from my desk when you come back?” I call after her as I struggle to stand up. Taylor quickly moves across to help steady me, his arms lingering around my shoulders.
“Are we good?” I ask peering up from underneath my eyelashes. “I really don’t want to spoil your day.”
“We’re always good, Abs,” Taylor murmurs planting a kiss on my hair and pulling me even tighter against his hard frame. “How are you feeling? You were pretty conked out when I got home at five and we were really surprised when you didn’t wake up during the evening.”
Before I can respond, Stix comes bounding back in with a pile of garishly wrapped gifts balanced precariously in her arms. At the very top sits my lone gift and I suddenly feel like maybe I haven’t done enough.
“Sit, sit,” Stix commands Taylor, pushing him across the room and into a chair before dumping the pile of presents in his lap. Before he has a chance to grab mine off the pile she quickly snatches it back and hands it over to me with a wink.
Taylor begins to unwrap the boxes and I’m soon sensing a theme here. Superhero Lego, a Batman hoodie and lastly a couple of Nerf guns. I stare at the presents in amazement wondering if I’m missing something here. I never knew Taylor was into any of this stuff. In the nine months I’ve known him, I’ve never once seen him play with stuff like this. Sure, we have watched the Marvel films but not in a capacity that would have encouraged me to get him a superhero hoodie.
“You like?” Stix asks Taylor suddenly looking nervous.
“This is awesome, baby sis,” Taylor responds pulling her into a big hug. “Thanks so much!”
“Right, someone needs to explain this,” I say as curiosity gets the better of me.
Taylor lets out a chuckle but it comes out a little hollow and forced. “When we were growing up, Richard and I were generally given presents that we could both play with. Anything really good Richard would claim for himself and if I dared touch it, I would get punched. Anything else would generally be destroyed by him within a couple of weeks in fits of rage. Everything that is apart from the Lego, which is pretty much indestructible. Sure he could destroy what I had built, but at the end of the day I could just rebuild it.”
Blimey, this sounds like a metaphor for Taylor’s life. “And when Stix came along it was more of the same. He would pull the heads and arms off her dolls, rip up her colouring books and generally be as destructive as possible, all the while blaming it on her so that my parents eventually got fed up and stopped buying her stuff.” Jeez, my heart is breaking all over again.
“But we always had Lego so when it was her birthday I would always get Stix some kind of kit and we would build it together and, once she got old enough, she would do the same for me. It was like our way of defying Richard because no matter how horrible he was and how destructive he could be, we would just sit down together and rebuild it. I think that was one of the things that also drove him crazy; it was something that was just ours and we never included him which made him jealous as hell. It was our one little act of rebellion that made it feel like it was possible to survive the hell that was our childhood…” Taylor trails off and I make a concerted effort not to get emotional; nothing is spoiling our day.
“And the Batman hoodie?” I ask, forcing myself to smile.
“Taylor is my hero, Abs. He protected me as much as he could as I was growing up. He wasn’t some pansy superhero, though; I’ve always thought of him as the Dark Knight.” Taylor's eyes glisten at Stix’s words but I see him holding himself together for his sister’s sake.
“Come here, you,” he says giving his sister another hug before lightening the mood by rubbing his knuckles over her scalp.
“Hey,” she squeals in protest shoving Taylor away.
“Sorry,” I say handing my small parcel over to Taylor. “My present seems a bit crap and boring now.”
“Don’t be silly, Abs,” Taylor remarks. “I’m sure I will love it.” Taylor spends a good few minutes tackling the various ribbons and bows before he is finally able to rip the paper open.
I hold my breath as he opens the lid of the presentation box, praying that he likes the watch. His expression is curiously neutral as he picks it up and examines the face of the watch before turning it over and looking at the back critically.
“Sorry, it’s not new,” I mumble. “Well the strap is, but the watch is second-hand. If you don’t like it, I’m sure I can take it back.” I feel crestfallen that Taylor doesn’t like his gift.
“Abs, I don’t like my present,” Taylor says as I hold my breath. “I love it!” he exclaims his eyes lighting up and a broad grin spreading across his face.
“Seriously?” I gasp in surprise.
“Seriously, Abs,” Taylor reassures me. “This watch is amazing. I don’t care if it’s not new. You can see just how stunning the craftsmanship is. Abs, this is such a special present, thank you.” Taylor stands up and wraps his arms around me.
“You git,” I say into his chest. “I really thought I had gotten you a crap present.”
“Sorry, Abs,” he murmurs. “I will always love anything you get me, even if it’s a pair of socks.” I chuckle and then we break apart as Stix demands to see the watch. She examines it carefully before declaring it ‘super awesome’.