The Geary Series Boxed Set (49 page)

Jane and Gale lived in a four bedroom house at the end of a quiet road in a suburban area on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The house backed onto a field that ran wild with weeds. Next door, the house remained empty most of the time, the occupants lived overseas for the majority of the year. The perfect set up for two teenage girls who loved to play their music loud. Their parents banned loud music when they were home and they were to be quiet. During the summer holidays, they had the house to themselves during the day, their parents worked full time and arrived home in the early evening.

Gale had finished her O Level exams three days ago and Jane had finished her first year of A Levels at the same time. They were in their final years of their school education and were working hard so that they could gain their university place. The summer stretched out before them. The funfair arriving signified the beginning. Jane and Gale’s last summer of freedom before the hard work started. Jane planned to study midwifery after she had finished her high school education and Gale had plans to become a lawyer. Gale’s school predicted her results to be A grade across every subject. Jane had passed her high school exams with a perfect A in all her subjects, the pressure was on for Gale to do the same.

It was five weeks to go until results day, and Jane took over the idea to throw a party and made it her genius idea. Jane was surprised that Gale was willing to risk the wrath of their parents. Parties were forbidden in the house. It would be a celebration of the end of their exams and a farewell for Michael.  Jane had babbled away at a hundred miles an hour with the plans while Gale sat in the armchair with her legs tucked underneath her flicking through her mother’s copy of Vogue. If her mother found out she had read her magazine, there would be trouble. Carefully turning the pages and stroking the stilettos she liked, Gale tried to block out the incessant chatter coming from the other armchair. It didn’t matter what Gale wanted, Jane gave the commands and she carried them out without complaint. Except this time she wanted this party to happen, it would be the perfect opportunity to have time with Michael when the sun had gone down.

The magazine disappeared from Gale’s hands and Jane sat on the plump arm of the chair. The room had a four seat sofa and three armchairs. They were castoffs from her parent’s living room when their new three piece suite had been delivered. The green corduroy set of furniture sat along one wall of their living room. The room was at the back of the house, a long room spread the width of the house with a hatch window into the kitchen. They had preferred all the furniture to be against the wall so that they could look out into the back garden. Gale’s favourite time would be to lie down on the sofa and watch the rain fall onto the patio tiles. Jane preferred to dance to the music she put on the record player. Once their parents had come home after work, they had to be quiet, seen and not heard.

“Why is this chair your favourite Gale?” Jane asked, twirling strands of Gale’s long dark straight hair.  They both had the same colouring and style, keeping with the current trends.

“I can see the garden and the door into this room, best of both worlds,” Gale answered, “What were you talking about while I wasn’t listening?” She nudged her leg playfully.

“I was going into detail about the plans for Saturday, mum and dad leave Friday morning and then the house is ours. I was thinking a BBQ out on the patio and then people could stay into the evening. What do you say?” Jane asked.

“I think that mum and dad will skin us alive if they find out, but I’m sure it will all be fabulous, can I have my magazine back now?” Gale asked hopefully.

Jane scooted off the chair and picked up the magazine, opening the patio door she flung it out into the garden. The slapping sound it made as it landed on the patio echoed off the walls. Gale giggled at her sister’s childishness and the constant need to be the centre of all conversations. She also sighed that she would have to use her birthday money to buy another copy of Vogue, there was no way the magazine had survived the hurl out into the patio area.

“Who have you invited?”

The question came from the tall skinny lad standing in the doorway, his scruffy, dirty blond hair, sticking up in all directions. Dressed in jeans, biker boots and a t-shirt that was once white, he wandered into the room and flopped down on the sofa. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he stretched his arms up and placed his hands behind his head. The sun streamed through the glass patio doors onto his body and he basked in the warmth.

“Well?” he said, “Who have you invited to my leaving party?”

Gale stared at Michael, star struck, she loved him, besotted with him and had been for the last five years. Michael and Jane were in the same form class from the first year of comprehensive school. The first day Gale arrived at the school she stuck closely to Jane, who was in the year above. Terrified of being in a school with so many more people than her Junior school. Jane took her under her wing, introduced her to her friends and the first one she met was Michael.

Jane’s friends were a small group of six, they kept to themselves, neither the cool kids or the loner kids group. They all had met behind the biology classroom before school began and at break times. The makeshift classrooms were built after the fire had ripped through the gym two years before she had arrived. The smoke in the school was too toxic to stay any length of time. The temporary classrooms were like tin cans, freezing in the winter and hot as Hades in the summer. They backed onto the sports field. Once the school had repaired the gym hall after the fire, they kept the classrooms.

Gale became fast friends with Michael, they sat on the gravel path each morning, with their backs to the classroom wall. Their feet rested in the grass. A travel backgammon board lay on the gravel between them. Michael had bought it for her when he found out she had never played. It was his favourite game. He taught her how to play and they formed a relationship over the game each morning. Some mornings they had spectators other days it was only the two of them. Gale preferred it when their friends played cricket in the field in front of them.

When they were left alone, they shared their family life, secrets and embarrassments. Their hands grazed a few times and Gale caught Michael staring at her when he thought she wasn’t looking. Over the years, she mooned over him but he never tried to kiss her. She assumed he was as shy as she was. His dad had served in the army and he moved around the world every three years. His father had managed to stay in the area for a second set of three years so that Michael could get his high school education. However, they couldn’t stay any longer.

“Just the usual people Mike, not too many, about a dozen. I don’t want things to get out of control.” Jane said.

“Cool, what time do you want me here to help set up. I am going to be the chef, right? I get to play on the BBQ?” Michael said, narrowing his eyes at Jane.

“Yes, you can be a chef, Dylan can be barman although there will only be a few crates of beer, I don’t want anyone throwing up. Ruth will be here with her new boyfriend Evan and-”

“Who the hell is Evan?” Michael had stood at this point, the frown between his eyes a prominent feature on his face. While he waited for his answer, Jane and Gale’s hearts fell to their stomachs.

Jane was also in love with Michael, she had realised her revelation last week when he announced he would be leaving at the end of the summer. He would finish his education at the next army location his dad would be sent to. This party would be the last time that Jane and Gale would be able to spend time with him before he left.

The question he had just asked had splintered their hope, Ruth had his attention.

“He is Ruth’s boyfriend, why do you care?” Gale asked, her shyness disappearing for a moment. “She is going out with someone else so you can’t have her.” She added.

Michael’s glare at Gale pushed her further into the armchair, Jane shifted off the arm of the seat and she sat on Gale’s lap.

Michael left the room and the slam of the front door announced his exit from their house.

“You fancy Michael?” Jane whispered into her sister’s ear.

Gale couldn’t answer out loud and only nodded once.

“How long have you liked Michael, Gale, and why haven’t you confessed this to me before?” Jane demanded while wrapping her arms around her neck in comfort.

“I love him, Jane, I have ever since I saw him sitting in the field waiting for school to begin. I thought he liked me too, we talk every day, play backgammon and talk. We talked Jane, proper chats, we keep each other’s secrets. It seems he prefers my best friend instead. I feel like a cliché.” Gale mumbled and then pouted.

“Are you biding your time Gale? Five years is a long time to get the courage up to ask him out. Anyway, Ruth doesn’t fancy him, she’s with Evan. What are you waiting for?” Jane asked.

She loosened her grip on Gale and played with her hair again while she let her sister talk through the hurt she felt by that single question coming from Michael’s lips.

“What’s going on Gale?”

They both looked up to the doorway to see Dylan standing there with narrowed eyes on Gale. Dylan was considerably shorter than Michael. They were best friends, but there was eight inches difference in height while Michael was already over six feet at seventeen, Dylan had stopped growing at five feet eight. It was a bone of contention and a retort for Michael when the two boys argued. Dylan hated that he was short for a lad. He made up for his lack of height with his bright blue eyes, they were beautiful and gazed at Gale with adoration. Gale didn’t see the look he gave her, but Jane did and tried to help Dylan gain the courage to ask her out.

Dylan’s answer was always the same while Gale held a candle for Michael, Dylan didn’t stand a chance. Gale was only a year younger than the three of them at sixteen, the same age as Ruth. Their mother had fallen pregnant straight away after giving birth to Jane. The timing of their birthdays put them an academic year apart.

“Dylan, hey, how are you?” Jane asked and kissed her sister’s head and jumped off her lap and passed Dylan as she left the room. A moment later her head popped through the hatch. “Do you want a drink?”

“Fizzy orange, please,” Dylan and Gale said at the same time.

“Jinx.”They both said and giggled at their childishness, Jane rolled her eyes and disappeared from view.

Dylan ambled over to Gale grabbed her hand and pulled her up from her chair and led her over to the sofa and yanked her arm down so that they sat side by side. He held her hand and they sat in silence, Gale immediately wanted to run, she didn’t want to hold his hand. Jane came in with two glasses of orange and placed them on the side table and signalled that she was going upstairs to leave them alone.

“What’s up?” Dylan said while squeezing her hand.

Gale dropped her head back and closed her eyes, she didn’t answer him and they sat in silence. They sat and stared out of the window until Jane came back into the room.

“Are you two up to no good?” Jane asked, breaking the spell, Gale had daydreamed Michael had come back and apologised. While Dylan was plucking up the courage to lean over and kiss Gale for the first time.

“No Jane, just sitting here looking out, watching the birds fly about in the sunshine. What are your plans for the party, and who’s coming?” Dylan asked.

“I’m going to bring a date.” Gale declared, she stood up, defiant and marched out of the room. A dumbfounded Dylan looked to Jane for help, he couldn’t cope if she brought a date, he had made a decision, that he would kiss her at the party.

“She can’t bring a date, Jane, talk to her will you?” Dylan pleaded.

“She has no idea you love her Dylan, she’s too wrapped up in Michael, you’ll have to be patient if you want to win her heart. Michael announced today that he likes Ruth so you could be in with a chance so don’t mess it up.” Jane told him and ruffled his short cropped hair. It made no difference to his style, but she liked doing it anyway.

Dylan smiled at Jane and yanked her down onto the sofa and hugged her. They spent the next few hours planning the party and divided up the tasks among them all.

“Dylan, can you get the beer?” Jane asked, pointing at Gale to write down his name on the item on the list. She had only disappeared for five minutes. Gale rolled her eyes and pencilled his name against the word alcohol.

“How much beer do you want me to get? We’re all under age, I don’t want things to get out of hand, your parents will kill me and hide the body.” Dylan said.

“Don’t worry about them, they’ll be away, they don’t get back until three days after the party, plenty of time to put everything back in its place.”

“I still don’t like it, I’ll get my brother to get the crates of beer, he can get it cheap from the bar he works at.” Dylan conceded.

“Excellent, we’ll get Michael to get the meat and Gale and I can do everything else. It’s going to be such a great party.” Jane said and stood up behind Gale and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Even you will have fun Gale, you’ll get to let your hair down.”

Gale held firmly to her pencil and doodled on the paper, absently drawing intertwining love hearts on the same row as Michael’s name.

“Are you ready Jane?” Gale yelled at her outside her closed bedroom door. Their bedroom doors were opposite each other with their own bathroom in between. Jane’s door had been closed for the last two hours and she wouldn’t tell Gale what she was going to wear at the party.

“Nearly, can you zip me up?” She called through the door. Gale pushed the handle down and walked into the room. Stopping dead in the middle of the room she stared at her sister. The baby blue pant suit fitted her perfectly. Envy reared its ugly head in Gale’s mind and she pulled at the strings of her top. Rearranging the shoulders to reveal more skin, she hated her sister for a brief moment. It was her party, but Jane was going to be the belle of the ball.

“Are you going to fiddle with your top or zip me up, I can’t reach to pull it all the way up.”

Gale snapped out of her sulking and painted a smile on her face, she pulled the gold zipper up a few inches and hooked the clasp across. Bringing Jane’s long hair back around she smoothed down the strands so that it looked neat.

“What’s up Gale, you haven’t said a word, will I do?” Jane asked in the reflection of the mirror while she dabbed on her lip gloss.

“I feel dowdy and frumpy compared to you, I think I should change,” Gale said and turned to walk out of the room. Jane grabbed her arm and spun her around to face her.

She pulled down the elastic sleeves of her white, loose fitting blouse, to show both shoulders. Taking the red scarf off her vanity mirror she tied it around Gale’s neck and tied a knot at the front and twisted it around so the tied part was hidden at her neck. Jane put a single finger to her lips and concentrated on Gale’s black skirt. It had an elastic waist, which she pulled down to her hips so that her flat stomach showed. Gale’s hands shot to the few inches of bare skin and hid her belly button.

One stern glance from Jane and she dropped her hands to her sides. Gale stood patiently while her hair was tied into a loose bun at the base of her neck hiding the knot of the scarf. The long end of the scarf fell down her back. One coat of mascara and Jane declared them both ready for the party. Gale took a peek of her reflection in the mirror and grinned, her sister had transformed her outfit in five minutes. She no longer assumed she was the ugly sister. Pleased with her newfound confidence she took Jane’s hand and squeezed it hard.

“Feel better?” Jane asked.

“So much better, thank you. I’m looking forward to this party. Ruth isn’t coming, which means I might stand a chance with Michael.”

“Be careful Gale, he’ll break your heart, he doesn’t love you, he’s a player,” Jane warned her.

The advice fell on deaf ears, Gale loved him and there was no dissuading her. She dreamed of marrying Michael and having his children. The thought of him moving away didn’t deter her. Once she had finished school, she would choose a university near where he lived.

“I don’t need to be careful, we’re great friends, and he would never hurt me,” Gale said.

Jane gave her best concerned look and moved away from Gale and walked to the doorway. Nudging her head to the corridor, Jane invited her to leave her bedroom. Once Gale stood on the landing with her, Jane locked the door to her bedroom and did the same to the other rooms on the upstairs landing. They were only leaving the bathroom open. Jane didn’t want anyone coming up for sex in any of the bedrooms, or to snoop through their stuff.

Once they were downstairs they split up, Jane headed to the kitchen and Gale walked out the front door to place the notice on the side gate. It told their party guests to come through the gate rather than knock the front door. Neither of the sisters wanted to be on door duty and they could enjoy the party.

Gale straightened the handwritten sign and pushed the drawing pins into the wooden gate. She nodded at the sign and opened the gate to step through.

“Hey Gale, wait for me,” Michael yelled from the roadside.

Gale’s heart raced, Michael had arrived. She turned to see him jogging towards her, his smile grew wider the nearer he got.

“You look gorgeous Gale, I love the outfit.” He said and kissed her cheek. She felt her cheeks with her hands and the heat warmed her fingertips. Her hopes soared, she shyly smiled and straightened the waistband of her skirt.

“You look handsome as ever Michael, jeans and t-shirt always look good on you,” Gale replied.

Michael took her hand and led her through the narrow alley that ran along the side of the house and into the back garden. The square patio area had been transformed into a party area. They had borrowed their neighbour’s garden table and chairs. Putting them together with their own set, the two long tables sat side by side. There were a dozen chairs that were scattered around the back garden. Some were sitting empty and some were with standing groups of their friends.

“Let’s get the BBQ fired up, anyone hungry?” Michael yelled out to the friends that had arrived. As far as Gale could see all of the twelve people they had invited had come, Michael was the last. The sign on the door was a wasted effort, but at least it meant she got a kiss from Michael.

Now that everyone had arrived the party could get started. A radio played in the background, it was plugged into the nearest wall socket to the patio doors and balanced on the step into the house.

“I’m starving, get the sausages on first, they’ll take the longest.” A heckler shouted from the bottom of the garden. He was sitting on the turnstile part of the fence that joined the field. Michael saluted him and got to work setting up the coals and firelighters.

“Let’s get a picture first, it will be the last time we’re all together,” Jane said and ran to get her Polaroid camera from the living room. She motioned to one of the girls near her to take the picture. Gale, Jane, Michael and Dylan all stood with their arms around each shoulder and bottles of beer in their hands. With a cheer, a picture was taken. Jane shouted for the camerawoman to take three more so that they could all have one.

Jane and Gale’s dad had converted an old oil drum as their BBQ. He had cut the drum lengthwise and turned it on its side. The outside of the drum had been painted blue by the manufacturer but had long since faded. It had been in the back garden for as long as they could remember. The bag of coal took two of the boys to lift and empty into the round base of the drum.  Two more bags were emptied into the BBQ and firelighter cubes scattered among the black coal. Michael rolled up a discarded newspaper and lit the end with a match and used it as a taper. The firelighters did their job and started the coals burning. The boys lifted the metal framed grid that had been welded together and slotted it on top.

Everything was set, they needed to wait for the coals to be hot enough to start cooking.

Gale had come back into the garden with a tray of sausages, chicken drumsticks and a dozen baked potatoes wrapped in foil. They would go into the hot coals to cook until later when it grew dark they wanted their supper.

“Put the food down Gale, it will be a while until I can start cooking. Can we go for a walk?” Michael asked.

A cold sweat brushed over Gale’s body. Michael waited for her to answer before he started to move towards the back of the garden. Gale followed, lifting the hem of her skirt. Without a backward glance, she climbed over the turnstile and allowed Michael to help her jump down the other side. The drop from the wooden step on the other side was lower on the field side due to the slope. The green tall grassy area steeped downwards to a small river. The hill was perfect for snow sledging and for makeshift slides during the summer. Gale towered over Michael, standing on the wooden plank. She placed her hands on his shoulders and he took her by the waist and put her gently on the ground. They walked, hand in hand in the afternoon sun along to the right and out of sight of the house and its party goers.

Looking over his shoulder, he considered the distance away from the house and sat down on the grass. He patted the ground next to him, to invite Gale to sit down too. Her heart pounded in her chest, he finally wanted to talk to her. She hadn’t given up that he was interested in her after his reaction to Ruth bringing a boyfriend to the party.

Gale sat down and tucked her knees under her chin and hugged her legs. She worried primarily that Michael would kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her, desperately, but still worried she would disappoint him. She had never been kissed and now wished she had let Dylan kiss her for practice.

“Congratulations on your exam results, you’re a real genius to be predicted to get A grades in all subjects.”

“Thank you, but I’ve still got the results, a long way to go yet. I need to get a head start on my A level subjects before the school year begins again. Are you going to finish your A levels in your new place?” Gale asked.

“Yes, I’ll finish them at my new school and then decide on a university.”

Michael shifted on the ground so that his hips were touching hers. Gale relaxed her legs and stretched them out before her. Placing her hands on her lap she twirled her thumbs over and over.

“People say that I fancy you,” Michael said as he took her hand in his.