Unwelcome home

“Why’s Uncle Eddie so happy? He always smiles so much now.”

All eyes turned on Edmon. Edyn was grinning widely. Their father’s smile was much more subdued. Edmon felt his face burn.

“Uncle Eddie is happy because he has a new friend,” said Edyn.

“Is it me?” asked Reagan.

“How can it be you?” asked Edmon. “You’re not new?”

“But I make you smile too!” cried Reagan.

“Of course you do,” replied Edyn, her hand on Reagan’s little shoulder. “But this is a special friend,” Edyn added with a smirk. “This is Uncle Eddie’s girlfriend.”

Edmon’s face was now on fire. If he had been sure Marley was his girlfriend, then maybe he could’ve been more confident. Since their first meeting a month ago, they’d barely gone a day without seeing each other, and that was on top of their continued chatting online. It was a relief to find they had things to talk about every time they caught up. It was just so easy being around Marley. What was harder was taking that next step.

It wasn’t like Edmon didn’t want to be Marley’s boyfriend. There was nothing he wanted more. But he’d never had a girlfriend before. He’d never even kissed a girl. Sometimes he thought Marley wanted him to kiss her, but he didn’t want to get this wrong.

“Hey, Eady, if I confess something, will you promise not to laugh?” Edmon asked when the rest of the house was asleep.

“Can I smile?” replied Edyn, already smirking. “Come on, try me. I won’t mock you. Much.”

Edmon sat down on Edyn’s bed, but all he could really do was look at his hands. Edyn had always had boyfriends. Even after Reagan was born and Edyn swore off men, she attracted a lot of attention. Even Reagan wasn’t enough to put most guys off. Edyn was the one to turn them away.

“See, there’s no way I could mistake you Eamon at times like this,” said Edyn. “He never asked my advice on anything. Not that I could’ve told him much about girlfriends. I was just a kid, but he didn’t need me for anything. He was always so confident.”

“He date girls?” asked Edmon.

“I don’t really know,” shrugged Edyn. “He didn’t confide in me either. Don’t get me wrong, Eamon wasn’t a bad brother, but he didn’t care for me being around. He was popular. I was a nuisance. Everyone always referred to me as Eamon’s little sister.”

“I’ve never been popular. You guys have always had lots of friends.”

“Eddie, I was popular for the wrong reasons.”

“You were popular among the girls as well.”

“You have friends. Good friends. I’ve seen you and your mates. You may just have a small group, but at least you know they are your friends. Eddie, I was in a huge group. Looked like I was friends with most of the grade, but in reality I didn’t have anyone I felt I could rely on and some of those people, I knew didn’t like me. Said shit behind my back. There’re really good things about being popular, but having real friends is probably the better deal. So tell me what your issue is. And hopefully it’s not hints for becoming popular.”

“Well, I want to be popular, but just with one person,” said Edmon, his eyes still downcast.

“Your little lady friend?”

“Eady,” sighed Edmon.

“Okay, I’m going to be serious. I swear. What do you want to know?”

“How to make Marley like me.”

“Eddie, I think you’ve already done that. Seriously. You guys talk every day. No girl does that unless she likes the guy.”

“Yeah, but how do you tell if she likes you that way or just as a friend?” asked Edmon. “How do I know if I can kiss her? That she wants me to.”

“If it was that easy to know, there wouldn’t be movies and music and books and everything about people messing that stuff up.”

“So I just have to kiss her and hope she doesn’t slap me?” asked Edmon with a sense of doom.

“You could always try the underrated trick of asking,” suggested Edyn. “I’m serious. I can’t think of a single girl who’d be upset that a guy didn’t force his tongue down her throat. Ask if you can kiss her.”

“I’ll look like a loser.”

“But you won’t get slapped,” smiled Edyn. Edmon sighed heavily. “Hey, I get it’s hard. And girls probably don’t make it easy. Guys can’t be too soft or sensitive, but not too macho either. It seems impossible, but the reality is that most people don’t expect a cliché. In the end, the kind of girl you want to be with will want a guy like you. She’ll want to be with someone who considers how she feels before he gets all physical with her. Trust me. If she thinks you’re a loser, she’s probably not as great as you think she is.”

Edmon nodded and headed for the door. “Hey, Eady, you reckon I have to ask to hold her hand?”

Edyn smiled and shook her head. “You can probably feel your way through that one. If you put your hand near hers and she takes it, you’re in with a shot.”

It all sounded so easy in theory, but practice was something completely different. Edmon and Marley didn’t really hang around each other at school. Their groups did not naturally mix, and they only shared two classes. It was why they still chatted so much online. The only time they really got to catch up was after footy training, when Edmon had a reason to be late home. That fact only increased Edmon’s love of the game, much to his mother’s disgust, and he was dreading the end of the season.

“You want to shower and change?” asked Marley at the end of practice. “I can wait.”

“I have an hour and thirty-seven minutes until I have to be home for dinner. I’d rather spend them all with you,” replied Edmon, before catching his tongue. “And if I come home stinky, I’ll have to shower, which will save me an extra twenty minutes from my mother.”

“Things still bad?” asked Marley.

“Just really awkward. It’s hard cos I think my dad still loves her. Found out they never actually got divorced. Just lived apart. Think it was mainly for my sister. Mum treats her like she doesn’t exist. Reagan too. I hate that more than her calling me Eamon.”

“My parents are away. You could always come to mine and escape it all together.”

“I wish, but I got in enough trouble last week when I came home late.”

“You could always invite me to dinner. Tell them I’m fending for myself and you felt sorry for me.”

“I don’t know if I could be that mean to you,” replied Edmon. He noticed a flicker of disappointment in Marley’s eyes as she turned away. “But if you wanted to – I mean, just don’t hate – I’d love it – I just don’t want you to hate me after.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Is to me.”

“Then you definitely need me,” smiled Marley.

Edmon’s heart leapt. A smile spread across his face, but then he thought about Marley being stuck alone with his family while he showered and considered it better they go back to his place sooner rather than later. Marley shrugged, unfazed. Edmon wondered if she was excited to be hanging with him, or was looking for any reason not to go home to an empty house.

An empty house was something Edmon could only wish for. Thankfully it was only Edyn and Reagan home.

“Hey,” smiled Edyn when Edmon walked in the door, but it faded when she saw Marley.

“Eady, this is Marley. She’s going to stay for dinner,” said Edmon. “Her parents are away.”

“Right, well —”

“Uncle Eddie!” cried Reagan, running and jumping into his arms.

“Hey, my royal Reagan. How you doing?”

“Is she your girlfriend?” asked Reagan, looking at Marley. “Is she the one who makes you smile?”

Edmon’s face exploded into flames. Edyn smiled, before quickly finding a way to extract Reagan from the room so Edmon could escape with Marley. Showering quickly, Edmon returned to his room, wishing there were more places to sit rather than just on his bed. Marley sat cross-legged at the head of his bed. Edmon sat crossways at the other end, leaning against the wall.

“You always this silent at home?” asked Marley.

“First time I’ve ever had a girl in my room,” replied Edmon, silently cursing himself for being so honest.

Marley smiled. “So do I get to call you Eddie now?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s what everyone calls me. Well, almost. Was supposed to help stop people calling me Eamon.”

“You have any pics of your brother?” asked Marley excitedly. “Wanna see if I can pick the difference.”

Edmon nodded, his heart thumping. He reached under his bed and pulled out a photo album. Each page had a picture of him and Eamon at the same age. It had served many purposes over the years and been both a source of reassurance and torture, but this would be the first time he’d ever shown it to someone. After gaining a promise Marley wouldn’t tell anyone about it, he handed it over.

“Whoa. Shit,” gasped Marley slowly, her eyes working intently over the pages. “I thought you were shitting me when you said you guys looked alike. You could be twins.”

“Yeah.”

Marley looked up. Edmon shrugged. Marley’s eyes returned to the photo album. “This is intense. No wonder they started calling you Eddie. Why’d they give you such a similar name? They couldn’t have known you’d grow up to be just like him. I mean, what are the odds?”

“Pretty slim,” replied Edmon. “We even have the same birthmark.”

Marley handed the photo album and Edmon stashed it back under his bed.

“Too freaky for you?” asked Edmon, as Marley sat in silence.

“Probably worse if he was alive,” replied Marley, her voice a little shaky. “But let’s face it, no more freaky than identical twins. You reckon your mum had you stored up in her uterus or something. Like you’re really his twin, but you just hibernated or something?”

“That’s the worst theory ever!” laughed Edmon. “Urgh, and so gross. Now I’m thinking about me hanging out in my mum’s uterus for sixteen years.”

“Maybe you’re test tube kids. Spare embryo. You could’ve just been on ice all that time. I mean, it’d been pretty freaky if your mum deliberately picked you cos she knew you were your brother’s twin.”

Edmon didn’t speak. His parents had always assured him he was a natural conception. His birth was a miracle, not medical intervention, but Marley’s theory, as wild as it was, made more sense. And as unnatural as it was, it also made him feel like less of an oddity. He just wished his parents had selected the embryo that hadn’t been Eamon’s identical twin.

“How is it you always manage to cheer me up when I feel the worst?” asked Edmon, slumping on the bed next to Marley, his hand somehow falling right next to hers. Edmon shifted his hand slightly, opening it up to Marley’s.

“You’re pretty good at cheering me up too,” replied Marley, her hand sliding into his.

Edmon thought he might explode as he tried to commit every detail to memory. The softness of her skin. The fine hairs on the back of her hand. The smoothness of her tapered fingernails. Even the small callouses on her fingers and the flecks of dirt. Edmon was in love with it all. “Can I kiss you?” he asked.

“Would you be mad at me if I said not yet?” asked Marley, concern filling her eyes.

“I’d be sad if you said not ever,” replied Edmon, talking before thinking.

“Me too,” smiled Marley.

There was a knock at the open door.

“Oh, hey, Dad,” said Edmon, quickly sitting up. “This is Marley. She’s going to stay for dinner if that’s all right. Her parents are away.”

“Hi, Marley. I’m Evan,” he said, moving forward and shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, Mr Faulkner,” replied Marley politely.

Edmon could see his dad was instantly won over by Marley’s respectful response. The best part was that it wasn’t even fake.

“Your mother will be here soon. Probably better that you’re not in here,” said Evan.

Edmon sighed and nodded, taking Marley’s hand and rising from the bed. They went to the kitchen and helped set up for dinner. Marley slotted right in. Edmon was in awe at the ease with which she could make conversation, immediately winning over Reagan.

“Don’t expect to be able to bring her over here for some alone time,” Edyn whispered to Edmon. “Reagan’s officially claimed her as her own.”

But Marley didn’t seem to mind. Reagan was on her lap, talking endlessly, and when she threw her arms around Marley’s neck, Marley reciprocated with enthusiasm.

“Your family’s awesome,” Marley smiled to Edmon after extracting herself from Reagan for a couple of minutes.

“Reagan can get a bit much sometimes, but I was so much happier after moving here,” Edmon replied. “She lights up the world.”

That all changed when the doorbell clanged. Reagan immediately became quiet and held on to Edyn. Everyone turned to Edmon. Taking a deep breath, he headed towards the door, but his dad was faster, holding out his hand and shaking his head. Edmon waited in the kitchen with everyone else. Marley took his hand and he squeezed it gratefully.

When Erin walked in the room, she had eyes only for Edmon. She walked straight past Edyn and Reagan. She didn’t even pay any attention to Marley. “Oh, my goodness, Eamon, look at you. You’re becoming such a handsome young man.”

“Edmon,” muttered Edmon. His mum quickly shook her head, smiling as she apologised. “Mum, this is Marley. Marley, this is my mum.”

It was only then that Erin looked down and noticed they were holding hands. Edmon watched his mother’s eyes sweep over Marley, clearly unimpressed by what they saw.

“Hi, Mrs Faulkner. It’s really nice to meet you. Eddie talks about you a lot,” said Marley sweetly.

“Strange. He’s never mentioned you,” replied Erin coldly.

“I don’t think seventeen-year-old boys tell their mothers much about girls,” said Evan, trying to sound jovial.

“Eamon used to tell me about the girls he liked,” replied Erin pointedly. “And none of them were like her.”

“That’s out of line,” hissed Evan, grabbing Erin’s hand and pulling her out of the room.

“Wow,” gasped Marley.

“I’m sorry,” Edmon murmured through a constricted throat.

Edmon’s parents yelling drifted into the room. Edyn closed the door and urged everyone to move to the dining room, closing the doors behind her. “I’ll drop you home as soon as we’ve eaten,” she added to Marley.

The tension hung in the air for several minutes before Reagan started nattering about nothing in particular. Edmon was usually good at humouring her, but he feared he would not be able to speak for crying if he opened his mouth. Even Edyn remained surprisingly quiet. Only Marley was able to join in the conversation.

“You finished?” Edyn asked Reagan. Everyone else’s plates were clear, but Reagan was just pushing her remaining food around the plate.

“Mummy, I want ice cream now,” replied Reagan matter-of-factly.

“Are you allowed to have ice cream?” asked Marley.

“Sometimes. After Grandma goes crazy. We go for a long drive and have ice cream and smile so we don’t cry.”

Edmon felt like he’d been hit in the guts. Reagan sure knew the meaning of brutal honesty. Edyn looked just as shocked. Edmon was sure she, like him, had never noticed the pattern to their behaviour.

“Maybe when we take Marley home, okay,” replied Edyn softly, stroking Reagan’s hair.

“I’m ready to go if you like,” nodded Marley. “Can’t make Miss Reagan wait too long for her ice cream.”

They didn’t say goodbye. They just left their parents screaming at the other end of the house. It was a quick drive.

“You want to come in for a bit?” Marley asked Edmon.

Edmon hesitated. He was sure Edyn just wanted to get the night over and done with, but Edyn was happy for him to hang with Marley while she got Reagan an ice cream.

“I have ice cream too,” smiled Marley as she opened her front door.

The house was dark as they entered. Marley turned on all the lights as they walked through each of the rooms to the kitchen.

“I’m really sorry about tonight, Marley,” said Edmon softly.

“It’s fine,” shrugged Marley, pulling out three tubs of ice cream. “Now I know you weren’t exaggerating.”

“Yeah, that’s one thing,” laughed Edmon unhappily. He looked around the large kitchen. Marley lived in a huge house. Cavernous. With no other sounds, it felt like it held the emptiness and reverberated it around them.

“When do your parents get back?”

“A week,” mumbled Marley. “They’re away more weeks than not. But they do buy lots of ice cream. You want some?” Edmon nodded with a smile. “Some of each flavour?” she questioned with a grin.

“Sounds great.”

Marley had the same and some of the tension dissolved as they chatted about everything but their families. It became jovial just as Edmon received a text from Edyn letting him know she would be there in five minutes.

“Let me help you wash up,” said Edmon, slipping from his stool.

“I’ll put it in the dishwasher,” replied Marley, her hand slipping into Edmon’s. She slid from her stool and stood right in front of him, making his heart thrum. “Can I kiss you?”

Edmon nodded stiffly. Marley smiled, slowly lifting up on her toes until their lips were in line. Ever so gently, their lips pressed together. Edmon stepped forward, moving their bodies closer, one hand sliding over Marley’s hip, the other on her cheek. When they broke apart, their eyes met for a moment before they both moved back in for another kiss.

“Wow, that was worth waiting for,” smiled Edmon.

“What do you mean?” asked Marley. Edmon’s face flamed red. “I’m your first kiss?” Edmon nodded. “Now I feel guilty.”

“No one would expect me to feel guilty if it was the other way round. Besides, I wasn’t interested in kissing anyone once else once I started chatting with you.”

“And there I was kissing all the boys, hoping one of them was you.”