CHAPTER SEVEN
I can’t believe my sister is making her debut tonight. Brooklyn is seven years younger than me, and turned sixteen six months ago. Despite the age difference, and my brother Max being born in between us, we still have a really close bond. I arrived at my parents’ house a couple hours ago and have spent my time since racing around helping out with the younger kids.
Apparently, it was decided the entire extended family should converge here so the girls could get their hair and make-up done before the big event since Brooklyn isn’t the only one in the family making her debut. My cousins Haidee and Ivie are, too. And, my other cousin Charlie is partnering a girl.
“Lila, you’re up next,” Laura calls out.
“Raine, don’t you dare get dirty,” Sienna warns her daughter.
“Molly and Cooper, quit fighting!” Kennedy rouses.
“Ella, honey, can you give Mya a bottle for me?” Rosie asks Laura’s daughter, speaking of hers and Oscar’s little one.
Lordy, it’s a madhouse.
“Where are all the guys?”
“Fishing,” my mum and Ava respond, unimpressed.
I’ve grown up with this kind of chaos my entire life, so it’s nothing new to me, and I know just how to handle it.
“Alrighty,” I shout. “Daisy, Raine, Claira-Jade, and Molly, you girls go wait for me down in my old bedroom. Cooper, Jagger, and Sebastian, you guys are going to go down to the rumpus room and play the Xbox until we call for you. Got it?” I wait for their nods. “Good.”
“Oh, thank you, honey. It sure gets loud and out of control around here with so many kids fussin’ around.”
I kiss my aunty Ava’s cheek. “I’ll go down and start getting the little girls ready.”
“You’re going to make a great mum, Oli,” Ava says quietly. Gently.
I swallow the lump in my throat before replying. “Thank you. That means everything to me.”
She cups my cheek lovingly before letting me go.
Claira-Jade is just two, so she needs my help getting into her pretty, pink dress, but the other girls are capable of dressing themselves.
“Can you help me with my zip?” Daisy asks me as she struggles to reach behind her and pull the zip of the lemon-yellow flowy dress.
“Sure, sweets. Turn around.” I zip her up, and when everyone is dressed, I instruct them put their shoes on, too. “Now, do not get messy before we even leave the house. Understand?”
“Yes, Oli,” they reply in unison.
“Good. Now, go on into the lounge room and put a movie on.”
Stifling a yawn, I go back into my childhood bedroom and slip on the pretty, pale mushroom-coloured baby doll dress I purchased last week. It’s strapless with ruching around my breasts, then it flows down over my stomach and hits my knees. Holding my low-heel, peep-toe, flesh-coloured, sling-back pumps between my fingers, I make my way out to where the others have gathered. Everyone is ready to go, except for Haidee, who had a hair malfunction that Laura is expertly fixing.
“Oh, Brooky, you look so beautiful.” I blink back the tears that threaten to ruin my makeup as I gaze adoringly at my sister. Her white dress is ablaze with strategically placed crystals and delicate chiffon that wraps around her neck and outlines her breasts before falling straight down her stomach to the floor. She looks like a lady.
“You look gorgeous,” she tells me. “Look at this baby bump. I swear it’s getting bigger every minute.”
I rub my stomach. “It sure is.”
“Okay, everyone out to the bus!” Clay announces, clapping his hands.
I spot my dad standing near my mum, so as I’m passing by, I go up on my toes and kiss his freshly shaven cheek. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Hey, beautiful.” He smiles down at me like he always does: like I’m the centre of his entire world, like he loves me more than anyone or anything. But, I know that’s not true. He smiles at my mum, my sister, and my brother the exact same way.
I smile back at him. “You look handsome, Dad. Better watch out for all those eager cougars on the prowl tonight,” I joke. He swats my backside and tells me to get moving.
The Debutante Ball is being held at the Pine Creek Town Hall. We are escorted to our table by a schoolgirl who is waitressing for the night, and Haidee, Brooklyn, Ivie, and Charlie make their way backstage while we enjoy the basket picnic provided with our ticket purchase.
As I flick through the paper program in front of me, I notice there is a list included and I quickly scan through to find my family members.
Haidee Henley & Danny Quinn
Brooklyn Henley & Rhett Simmons
Ivie Forde & Vincent Concetti
Georgie Day & Charlie Forde
“Who’s Rhett Simmons?” I ask the table. In a small town like Pine Creek, generally everyone knows everyone. And if they don’t know them, they know of them.
Mum clears her throat before glancing sideways at my dad. Hmm…
“He’s Brooklyn’s boyfriend.”
My head flies back in shock. “What!” Why didn’t she tell me?!
“Not her boyfriend,” Dad grumbles.
“Well, apparently he passed her a note yesterday at school, and asked her to be his girlfriend. I think it’s sweet.”
“You’ve always been a hopeless romantic, Edie,” Jeremy chimes in, teasing.
“She’s too young for a boyfriend.” Dad scowls.
“I think it’s cute,” Jules chirps. “He’s a sweet kid.”
“Babe,” Clay sighs to Jules, “he’s a city kid who bitches about the heat,” he states, as if that explains everything.
Oookay. “I’m sorry I asked,” I mumble. But I’ll definitely be bringing it up with Brooky later.
An hour later, I watch in awe as my beautiful sister glides down the stairs to a waiting Rhett, and together they join the circle of debutantes ready to do the Viennese waltz they’ve spent weeks learning.
Swirling and twirling around with a smile lighting up her pretty face, Brooklyn doesn’t miss a step, and when the dance comes to an end, and Rhett expertly dips her backward, a strange fluttering happens in my stomach. Like bubbles popping. I gasp and clutch my rounded belly.
“The baby just kicked,” I excitedly tell Max, who’s sitting beside me.
“Awesome,” he replies. He doesn’t get it. He’s such a guy.
After the father/daughter, mother/partner dances, the floor opens up to anyone who wishes to bust out a move. Watching everyone float around the floor, I pop another savoury biscuit in my mouth.
“May I have this dance?” The rough, deep voice comes from beside me, and I twist in my chair to see an incredibly handsome guy standing there, his hand held out to me.
“Oh, hi, umm.” I hesitate, my hands instinctively going to my stomach.
The stranger glances down. “My apologies. I didn’t know you were with someone.” His dark eyes sweep the empty table before coming back to me.
“I’m not, uh, I’m not with anyone,” I admit softly.
“Well, then, my offer stands. Dance?” He grins, and my breath catches in my throat. Wow, he’s beautiful.
“Okay.”
When he takes my hand, I notice the current of electricity that passes between us. He leads me to an open spot on the dance floor and spins me around before resting his hand on my waist. ‘I’m with you’ by Avril Lavigne starts playing as we begin to move.
“I’m Olive Henley, by the way,” I belatedly introduce myself.
He grins. His full lips stretching across straight white teeth and revealing a shallow dimple in either cheek. “Hamish Tyler. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Olive.”
“Are you just in town for the ball?” I ask. I know he isn’t a local, because I’ve never seen or heard of him before.
“Actually, I moved to town about two months ago. I’m the new sports teacher at Pine Creek Public.”
“That’s awesome. What a rewarding career,” I say genuinely.
“And what do you do for work, Olive?”
“I’m a radiologist in Katherine.”
“Sounds very interesting.” The way he says the words, I have a feeling he truly means it.
One song bleeds into the next and we’re still dancing together.
“Do you have a husband? A boyfriend?”
“I… No.” I give a small shake of my head. “I’m single.”
“Then you won’t mind me asking you out on date?” He quirks an eyebrow.
“Oh,” I reply nervously. “Uh, I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.
“I can see,” he responds, amused.
When I hesitate further, he leans in close, his cologne consuming my senses in the best way. He smells spicy and woodsy, with a delicate after note of orange blossom. Intoxicating. “You don’t have to answer right away. Let me give you my number, and you can text me tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I find myself agreeing.
At the end of the night, Hamish softly kissed my cheek and thanked me for the dances, before ensuring I programmed in his number. I promised to text him the next day with an answer to his date offer.