LITMIR.BIZ

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      He pulled on a pair of navy tracksuit bottoms and a cool white polo shirt that complemented the tan he’d picked up on a quick weekend in the South of France with Shannon and her parents. Despite the heavy rain, the air in Killshannon was muggy and if the weatherman were telling the truth, they were in for a heat wave over the next few days.

      On his way through the hallway, Jonathan could hear laughter spilling from the kitchen. He could hear the words “girlfriend” and “Daisy” in the same sentence and he shook his head. When was his baby brother going to grow up? And what did Daisy think she was playing at? This was nonsense and if Eddie kept this up he’d have to have a firm word in his ear. He and Daisy were history…a very hurtful history at that, so this was unfair on everyone and he would soon be telling them so.

      The front doorbell rang and caught him unawares so he tidied himself quickly and sprayed on a dot of aftershave in a last-minute dash to look respectable. Shannon was early as usual and he wasn’t half-prepared for her arrival. He ruffled his hands through his hair, pulled on a pair of trainers and went to answer the door.

      “Hi. Er, I had no idea you would still be here, I swear. Sorry.”

      Jonathan squinted in the evening light and took a step backwards. It wasn’t Shannon. It was Daisy and, like himself, she looked a lot fresher than she had done earlier. Her fair hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and she was dressed in a white t-shirt and comfy track bottoms. She looked gorgeous. He stared at her and couldn’t even manage an answer.

      “Snap,” she said with a strained smile, taking in his attire from top to bottom and he was glad of the twilight to hide his shock at seeing her again so soon. He glanced down. Their outfits were almost identical, and he managed an equally forced smile, before composing himself again.

      “If it isn’t the Sunflake Girl,” he replied. “Your boyfriend’s in the kitchen. Come on through.”

      Daisy didn’t know if she was more stunned that Jonathan was still in Isobel’s house or that he’d remembered that she had appeared in a long-running cereal bar commercial years ago. He turned and led the way through to the kitchen, where Eddie was cracking open a bottle of wine at the table.

      “Daisy, my darling. It’s so great to see you,” chirped Isobel, in the liveliest voice she could muster. “Eddie has been filling me in. This is so wonderful. It’s been months since you’ve been in Killshannon and years since we’ve all been together.”

      Daisy glanced at Eddie, who had already developed black lips from the red wine and was giving her the thumbs up behind his mother’s back when she stood up to welcome her visitor.

      “Oh, Isobel. It’s so good to see you too.” Daisy wrapped her arms around her frail shoulders, afraid she might break them. The tears welled up in her eyes. “How do you feel?”

      Isobel sat weakly back onto her chair and nestled her stemmed glass of sparkling water between her tiny fingers.

      “Oh, you know,” she said with a look that shouted “shit happens.” “But I’m just having a wee drink with my baby boy to celebrate his homecoming. I can’t tell you how happy this has made me, Daisy. I always knew you’d end up with one of my boys.”

      Isobel winked at Daisy when the boys weren’t looking and Daisy realised straight away that, just as her own mum had predicted, Isobel was happy to play along for now. Jonathan met Daisy’s eye and then quickly turned away.

      “Any word from Shanny yet, Mum? She’s normally really punctual,” he asked sternly.

      Daisy rolled her eyes. Shanny. How sad. It rhymed with a certain part of the female anatomy and didn’t sound very endearing at all.

      “Who?” asked Isobel. “Oh, Shannon? Of course. You know, with all this news from Eddie, I almost forgot that Shannon and Mrs Cassidy were coming over this evening. Isn’t this great? We’ll all be together for the first time.”

      “Mum, you know Mrs Cassidy prefers to be called by her first name,” said Jonathan and then realised he had opened a can of worms. This could only add to his misery and discomfort.

      “I know, love, but I just can’t bring myself to say it,” giggled Isobel. “I mean, who in their right mind would want to be known as Fanny nowadays?”

      Daisy looked at Eddie whose eyes widened with delight. He could have fun with this one. He and Daisy specialised in toilet humour and this was right up their street.

      “I’m sure she will be thrilled to see us all,” said Daisy with a newly found confidence. “And I can’t wait to meet Fanny face to face myself. There’s a first time for everything.”

      Eddie thought he was going to explode, but the look on his brother’s face warned him not to.

      “So am I. I’ve never seen Fanny face to face either,” he roared.

      “Oh, here we go. How very mature,” muttered Jonathan, “and how very, very true.” He reached for a wine glass from the top cupboard of the kitchen and poured some wine, then remembering his manners, he turned to Daisy.

      “Red or white, Daisy? Or maybe you’d prefer some champagne? We have some on reserve for the run-up to the wedding, but maybe the marvellous news of yours and Eddie’s, er, relationship deserves an extra celebration?”

      “Ha ha,” mimed Daisy towards him with an outward smile, hoping that Isobel didn’t see her. “Champagne would be wonderful, please Jonathan,” she said cheerily. “That’s only if you’re sure there’s enough left for Shanny and Fanny. We wouldn’t want to leave them dry.”

      Eddie couldn’t hold it in any longer. He’d tried his best but he just had to give way to an almighty explosion of laughter from the corner of the room.

      Jonathan ignored his brother’s reaction and handed Daisy a glass of champagne with a forced grin. His mobile phone sang a funky ring tone from the worktop and he grabbed it quickly, praying it wasn’t Shannon phoning to cancel their plans. As much as he hated the thought of wedding chat, he really needed Shannon and her mother here right now to relieve the tension between him and Daisy. Having her back in his family home reminded her too much of the past. Right now, he felt suffocated and outnumbered.

      The caller display showed it was Christian, and Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way out of the kitchen to take the call.

      “Hey Christian, what’s the craic?”

      “The craic’s good, Jonathan, the craic’s good,” said Christian’s familiar husky voice from the other end. He always sounded as though he had gravel in his throat and could easily have made a fortune on radio or audio versions of bonk-buster novels. “I couldn’t be better. Top of the world.”

      “So the heartache is finally over. Congratulations. You’ve suffered for approximately, er, six hours and fifty-seven minutes. I pity you. Truly, I do,” laughed Jonathan, shaking his head.

      “No, no. You’re getting me all wrong, Jonathan. I’ve just heard from Anna. She’s arrived safe and sound in Copenhagen and is missing me terribly. Not that I should be surprised, of course. She’s wondering if she has done the right thing, parting company at such a blooming stage of our relationship. I’m on a high after hearing from her, that’s all.”

      Jonathan considered himself well and truly corrected. He had pictured his friend in a town-centre bar, eyeing up each and every skirt that walked past and frothing at the mouth with thirst. It might have been only six hours, but Jonathan was proud of Christian’s commitment to Anna so far.

      “So, what’s up then? What can I do for you?” asked Jonathan. Surely Christian hadn’t rung him to tell him he’d got a phone call from his girlfriend. If that was the case, the pair of them would be on the phone constantly.

      “You’ll never guess what I’ve just heard. This is going to crack you up, big time,” said Christian.

      “Go for it.”

      “Remember

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