Stanton Box Set

“So Ben and I kissed,” she whispers.

“Yes,” I answer but I am trying to strain my ears to hear what Joshua is saying to Cameron.

“So what’s the problem?” I ask. Oh god, Didge, not now, I need to hear what’s going on.

“He kissed me when we were dancing,” she replies.

I smile and grab her hand. “This is good,” I whisper.

She shakes her head in disgust. “So then we got carried away and started making out on the dance floor,” she whispers, mortified, and I bite my lip to stifle my smile… it must have been the night for public displays of affection. My cheeks heat at the thought that I had sex on a public beach last night. What was I thinking?

My eyes flick past her to the boys. What are they saying? “Ok, so what’s the problem?” I frown again as I strain to hear above her.

“He went to the bathroom and then didn’t come back for ten minutes and then when he did it was like a different person came back,” she replies.

I frown. “Huh, what do you mean?” I ask.

“I think you should ring her now and demand answers,” I hear Cameron assert.

Oh shit, are they going to call Margaret? What the hell is he going to say to her? Is he going to say he heard it from me? Will she deny it?

“He told me that he wasn’t interested and that he must have had a brain snap,” Bridget sighs.

I frown as I watch the boys. Joshua gets out his phone in slow motion and my eyes widen.

“Are you fucking listening to me at all?” Bridget whispers angrily.

“Huh?” My eyes flick to Bridget. “What did you say?” I ask.

“You’re incredible. Thanks for the advice,” she whispers furiously and gets up and goes back to her seat.

Oh crap, I rub my head in frustration. Now Bridget’s shitty with me too. Joshua dials the number and I sit still. Shit, shit, shit, this is a nightmare.

He hangs up. “Voicemail,” he snaps angrily. Cameron replies something that I can’t hear and then I hear Joshua. “No, I will wait till we get home.” I sigh in relief. Thank god. I sit still in a trance trying to imagine what story Margaret is going to spin. It seems more likely that Joshua and I are cousins but then Cam said that his blood is the same as his father’s… if that’s even his blood type. Mum’s not exactly an expert on this subject. Joshua continues to sit with Cameron for the next hour and I am earning a medal for ear straining. Feeling guilty for my selfishness with Bridget earlier I get up with my iPad and walk back to her seat and sit next to her.

“Sorry Didge.” I grab her hand and she frowns and snatches my iPad from me and starts to type. Ben is not far behind us and she doesn’t want him to hear.

She writes, “I know that your life is perfect now that you have Joshua but please remember that my life has been totally fucked in the process!”

I give her a sad face and take the iPad to write back. “Babe, I’m sorry for not listening. There is just some serious shit going on with the boys this morning and I was trying to listen to what they were saying. It wasn’t fair to you and I’m sorry. Tell me about Ben.”

She frowns as she reads the text and snatches the iPad from me and starts to type. “What’s going on?”

Should I tell Bridget? I type. “Promise me on your life that you can keep a secret.”

“I promise” she writes.

“There is a question over Joshua and Cameron’s paternity.”

She reads the text and her horrified face meets mine. I nod as I narrow my eyes.

“I have no idea what is going on but Cameron had blood tests done and he and Joshua can’t genetically be full brothers” I write.

Her eyes widen as she reads the text.

I write: “And I knew about it.”

She holds her hand over her mouth as her eyes nearly bulge from her head.