The Middle | Hemmings + Styles AU

2. geordie shore

I grabbed a pizza on the way home after work and then sat down with my headphones and a stack of CDs. The music drowned out the usual quietness of the house as I ate and made a mixed CD to play in the store tomorrow.

My parents were older than most when I was born. They were almost forty. I suppose they were so busy with life, they forgot to have children.

And then, I guess, her 39th birthday came and she felt like her biological clock was ticking, and she panicked. She made my dad a fancy dinner one night and at the end of the meal, she told him that they were going to conceive a baby that night.

He laughed and told her that she was crazy. I came out via a c-section approximately 9 months later.

Having older parents wasn't so bad. They'd built a steady life for themselves long before I came along. My dad was a doctor. My mum, a school teacher. Imagine how proud they were when I announced I'd be working in a CD store after I finished school (note the sarcasm.) That was a conversation that did not go well.

They eventually got used to the idea, especially once I wrote out my five year plan. The one that included saving a portion of my wage to invest in my own store one day and then eventually use that equity to start my record label.

As part of my savings plan, I decided to live at home for another few years. It was only an added bonus when my parents announced they were taking a year-long trip around Europe.

"Stop spending my inheritence," I joked when they told me. It was just a joke though. They'd worked hard their entire lives, they deserved it. And I was just happy not to have my parents as roommates for a while.

There was a knock at the door as I finished the last slice of my pizza. I dusted the crumbs off against my jeans before answering it.

I was greeted with a kiss on the cheek. "Hello dear. I brought you some pasta."

"Thanks Aunty Peg," I said, taking the container from her hand. "But I just had pizza."

The fine lines in her forehead crinkled when she frowned, "When your parents asked me to keep an eye on you, I think they were hoping it would stop you eating pizza for dinner every night."

"I don't have pizza every night," I reasoned, thinking back to last nights fried rice. "Last night I had Chinese."

Aunty Peg laughed and we both sat down on the patterned lounge. She lived right around the corner from my parents and came by the house a few times a week to check on me. She was a few years older than my mum but had a youthful heart.

Most nights when Aunty Peg visited, we'd watch Geordie Shore together or some other equally bad reality TV show and then talk about the characters like we knew them.

"Charlotte and Gary belong together."

"Hmmm," Aunty Peg agreed. "Deep down, I think he knows he loves her. He's just too afraid to commit. He reminds me of a boy I once knew, Gable Pepper."

Here's the other thing about Aunty Peg; when she was younger, she dated a lot of men. Back then, that was a big deal. Most women married young and only had one or two relationships. Not Aunty Peg though. She'd dated a lot and never settled down.

"Who's Gable Pepper?"

"Your mother dated him, right before she met your father. She was smitten with Gable, of course. He had bright blue eyes and dark hair. Your grandmother thought he looked just like a young Elvis," I giggled at the reference and drew my knees up onto the lounge. I loved Aunty Peg's stories.

"Anyway, he really liked your mum. I could tell, big sisters have an intuition about these things. Boy was he stubborn, though. There was no way he would admit it. They eventually broke it off because your mum wanted more - ridiculous, she was only eighteen at the time, but I digress - she met your father shortly after. The rest is history."

"Did you ever want to get married?" I asked her, curious. I really admired the way that Aunty Peg seemed so content with her own company and the way she'd never let herself depend on a man.My friend Olivia could learn a thing or two from them.

"Of course not. Why would I want to order a main meal when I can have an entire tasting plate intead?"

My nose crinkled, cringing as I tried to pretend that her analogy had nothing to do with sleeping with lots of different men. I loved my aunt but there were just some things that I didn't need to hear.

"Will I see you on Friday night?" She asked me on the way out the door later on in the evening.

"Yep," I nodded before remembering. "Actually, no. I'm going to a gig. Rain-check for Saturday night? I'll make sure I record the Dance Moms marathon."

"See you then." She kissed my cheek goodbye, just as she did every time she left and I closed the door behind her. Before bed, I sent a text message to one of my friends, Olivia. She wasn't all that into music but she was into cute boys which meant she often came along to shows with me.

Hey Liv, you're coming to a band gig with me on Friday night, okay? Their lead singer is kind of cute, you'll love them.