To say that things were extremely awkward between Oliver and I was an understatement. The brand new gold wedding band on his left ring finger only added to the awkwardness, but Sally, now quite promimently pregnant, greeted me warmly, and that helped. Her matching platinum wedding band brought some of the awkwardness back, but though the tension was quite heavy in the room, I didn't feel quite as out of place. Even so, I wished myself to be someplace else.
Once a fresh round of tea and cakes had been ordered, we got down to the Important Business of discussing What the Hell was going on With this Wedding. Oliver winced, and Sally looked like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. "It's not an easy subject," she admitted, giving Oliver a rueful smile, and though he too looked like he wanted to be elsewhere, he returned her smile with equal ruefulness. "I was drunk and miserable, and so was Oliver, as you can imagine. Being forcibly parted from you did not do him well, and for a few months he moped around Oxford looking like a kicked dog, hanging on to that £2 ring like it was a straw, as if it would save him from drowning."
Oliver frowned, offended. "I didn't think we'd get kicked in the arse so hard," he said angrily. I winced. Tensions were high between this newly wedded couple. "How the hell was I supposed to know Charlie'd get whisked away to the other side of the bloody country?"
"Alright," Callum cut in. "Let's not get into ancient family history."
Oliver calmed, but there was still a visible tightness around his eyes. "Sally and I were talking one night," he said, "and as she said, we were both drunk and miserable. One thing led to another, and we ended up sleeping together. We could neither of us look each other in the face for a few days after that, but about a week later, we ran into each other again, and let me tell you, it's hard to face your demons in the cold light of day when you're stone cold sober."
"We did a lot of talking that day," Sally said. "Long story short, we agreed to get married, mainly because I don't want this baby growing up without a father. And I wanted to stick it to yours by proving I could make out on my own after he divorced me. We got married a few days ago, and we've been making tentative plans to get the hell out of Oxford and make a fresh start. Oliver's got friends all over the place, as you know, so we've made our honeymoon a scouting trip as well."
"How'd Fanny take the news?" I asked.
Sally stifled a snort of laughter. "She confessed to wanting to get blind drunk," she said with a grin. "She said she needed the alcohol to get her head around the fact that her half-brother was now her stepfather. I managed to talk her off the ledge, but it was very interesting to see her and Oliver dance around each other like two cross-tail cats."
It was Oliver's turn to snort. "Cross-tail cats is putting it mildly," he said, letting his hand rest on Sally's, and some of the tension went out of her. It was clear this marriage was going to be rocky, but in that moment, I sensed the same oneness between them as existed between Callum and myself, and I knew they were going to be okay. "Half the time she avoided me like the plague," Oliver continued, "and the other half she hovered all nervous, looking as if she wanted to both kick me and hug me at the same time."
"But at least she took the news okay," I said.
"Once she got over her fit of the shakes, yes," Sally said with another grin. The grin soon faded as she leaned over and touched my hand. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I know the two of you were in love, at least for a little while."49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVimyZKlHdB
"I was hurt," I admitted. "But at the same time, I'd wished for Oliver to find happiness with someone else, since it seemed highly unlikely we'd ever get back together. It was a bit of a shock to find out he'd married our former stepmother, and for a while, it did sting. I felt betrayed, to be honest, and for a little while I did think you'd played me false that day."
"I don't blame you," Sally said. "I'd have thought the same thing. But for what it's worth, it was your father who brought out the worst in me, and I went along with it to please him. Not a good way to live, as you can imagine. But I really was heartbroken the day that removal order came, which is why I went and countered it, or tried to."
I sighed. "Yeah, that was a shitshow and a half," I said. I then went into the painful last few days, and by the time I was finished, Oliver and Sally were staring at me in horror, particularly at the bit where I mentioned I'd finally worked out why Dad had been so hellbent on having me all to himself. "I know," I said with a grim smile.
"That's beyond fucked up," Oliver said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"More fucked up than marrying your former stepmother?" Sally asked with an arch smile, and Oliver laughed.
"So where will the two of you be going now?" Callum asked. A subtle tension was present in his body, and I knew why. Seeing my former fiance - that former fiance being married and an expectant stepfather notwithstanding - had rattled him almost as much as it had rattled me, and I knew why. Given how well and how quickly we'd bonded, I knew he was scared he might lose me, and I squeezed his knee, winning a grateful smile from him. Oliver noticed, and the tightness that had disappeared from around his eyes came back.
"We're going to stay here for a few days," he said, now eyeing Callum with a faintly jealous air. Callum noticed, and the tension returned full force. "I want to climb Ben Nevis," Oliver continued, "but at the moment it's impossible for Sally in her condition. We're going to stay here for a few days until she feels up for hitting the road again, and then we may pop over to Mallaig to check out the sights."49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yBLnafoWc
"You'll like it there," Callum said. "Maybe even more so than here."
Sally and I shared a worried look. Callum wasn't being possessive - we both could tell - but Oliver on the other hand ... "Charlie and I are going to go for a walk," she said. "Oliver, I'm sure you and Callum will have a ... nice chat while we're gone."49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHogxDrusO
Oliver looked irritated, but conceded, and Callum shot me a grateful look that carried a fair share of relief. "Give us half an hour," he said, "and stay away from the shops. Mum'd kill me if I spent any more of her hard-earned cash." This last was said with a grin, and I laughed as I tucked Sally's hand under my elbow.
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