High Heels and Pink Glitter (18+) COMPLETE, FREE TO READ CHICK LIT

A Brand New Family

"It's up to you of course. Ye didnae need to meet them."

Jamie had phoned his mum Lillie earlier that day and said he wanted to talk to her and Ryan as soon as possible. When could he come to see them?

The phone call panicked Ryan briefly. He racked his brain for anything he might or might not have done recently. Jamie was easy-going as far as uncles went. He let Ryan drink, he didn't check up on what Ryan looked at online when he was at his flat, and he tolerated – even encouraged – his rudeness to his best friend Matt.

Still, Ryan couldn't help but do a mental check list, trying to remember if there were any misdemeanours that might have offended Jamie.

That dodgy site he'd looked at, might he have noticed that? Ryan didn't think so. The site had come up in Jamie's browsing history anyway, so he doubted his own perusal of youporn.com had caused any annoyance. And when he'd used Jamie's credit card the other week to download that Twin Atlantic album, it hadn't been that much money. Jamie wouldn't have noticed it yet, surely?

But as it turned out, Jamie had another surprise to spring on Ryan and his mum.

They lived in a semi-detached house in Bearsden. His mother had married six years ago – a guy called Scott who worked for the council as a planner. He was kind and he was nice to Ryan, if a little dull. He'd also been wise enough not to try to be a father to Ryan, seeing as that position – or at least the position of male relative closest to Ryan – was already taken. He and Lillie had their own child too, his half-sister Laura who was five years old. Scott was scrupulously fair, but Ryan thought an outsider would always know who was Scott's blood relative and who wasn't.

"So, what's with the dramatics?" Lillie said as she opened the door to Jamie.

Jamie followed her through to their kitchen, and she fixed him a cup of coffee, the two of them exchanging the usual questions they always did. I'm fine. Work's fine. No, I was seeing someone for a wee while, but it didnae work oot – the latter answer Jamie's of course.

"Shall we sit outside?" Lilly gestured towards the small garden, handing cups of coffee to both Jamie and Ryan, and pulling out the biscuit tin. She took out two Kit-Kats. Ryan refused his, still nervous about what his uncle wanted to discuss.

It was one of those rare Glasgow days – warm and sunny, and as ever the populace took advantage. There was a smell of barbecue in the air, charcoal and burnt sausages.

Sat at the table outside, Jamie broke the Kit-Kat into four, offering a finger to the two of them.

"I've met Mark's sister-in-law."

The statement left neither of them any the wiser, and Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Him! Ye ken, Ryan's dad. His sister-in-law."

Lillie breathed in and out deeply.

"They want tae meet you Ryan – aye, the sister-in-law and his brother, not Mark."

"Why now," Lillie asked, her eyes darting to Ryan's.

"Believe it or no', they didnae ken about ye till now. I met her on a night oot – me and Matt were up the toon and we bumped into a couple of lassies. I got talking to her, then I bumped into her again a few days later. We chatted, I talked about this terrible nephew I had..." He winked at Ryan. "...and then she contacted me to say she thought Ryan was her brother-in-law's boy."

Watching his uncle closely, Ryan thought he had blushed slightly when he mentioned bumping into a couple of lassies and talking to the sister-in-law. Had he liked her, perhaps? Matt would know the full story.

"He never told his family!" Lillie's frowned. Her knuckles were white, clasping the coffee cup tightly.

"No," Jamie shrugged. "Well, he was a wanker then, Lillie, and he still one the noo. No surprises there, eh?"

Ryan tried and failed to work out what he was feeling. When he'd been a little boy, he'd asked his mum about his father. Did he have one and where was he? She'd explained as best as she could, trying not to make it hurtful. Ah, your dad was awfy young when I got pregnant and he mebbe didn't really understand...

He hadn't been that unusual at school – a boy whose father wasn't around – so he'd lost interest for a while. When his mum got together with Scott, the interest started up again. This time, it felt more personal. Why had this man never been in touch? Wasn't he in the least bit curious?

But it faded again. Jamie continued his regular uncle visits and invited him to stay regularly – just as he'd done since Ryan had been five years old. Matt teased him and the two of them treated him a bit like their younger brother. The father vacuum filled. Who needed one?

"Do ye want tae meet them Ryan? I said to the woman – her name's Nell, by the way and her husband's called Daniel, that's Mark's oldest brother – that I'd need to check with youse first."

His voice softened slightly when he said the woman's name.

Lillie put her coffee cup down and turned slightly so she was facing Ryan. "It's up to you sweetheart. They're your family."

Her intense gaze bothered Ryan. He didn't know what to think and he wanted to be by himself so he could work out what he did feel about it. Having his mum and his uncle stare at him intently wasn't helping matters.

"Dunno."

Attracted by the smell of chocolate – Lillie swore her daughter could smell chocolate three doors away – Laura had appeared in the garden, doing her best to smile winsomely at her uncle. He looked at his sister to check if it was okay first before handing her the finger of Kit-Kat Ryan had refused.

Chocolate eaten and mouth smeared brown, Laura looked at the three of them. "What's a wanker, Mummy?" Jamie and Ryan both snorted with laughter.

"A wanker is my dad, Laurie-loo," Ryan told her.

"Not my dad?" she checked, and he shook his head. "No, not yours."

Lillie cleared her throat. "Ahem! A wanker is a naughty word, and your uncle and brother should nae say it in front of you."

"He is, though, isn't he? It's no' him that wants to meet me. It's his brother and sister-in-law," Ryan kicked at the table in front of him. True, wasn't it?

"Nell says his brother is nothing like Mark," Jamie added, again with that slight emphasis on the word Nell. "And mind, they didnae know about you before. I think they woulda wanted to meet you before now if they had known."

Finishing off his coffee and Kit-Kat, Jamie leaned back in the garden seat. "Another uncle might be nice for ye, Ryan Take ye to the fitba. Let ye use his computer."

As he said the last, his face assumed a bland expression. Shit, he must have noticed what Ryan had been looking at the other night. Maybe he'd better own up about the Twin Atlantic album sooner rather than later too.

"Do you want to stay for your dinner, Jamie?" Lillie asked, getting up from the table. "It's Scott's turn to cook and he's doing chicken curry."

Scott was a good cook, and his chicken curry restaurant standard.

Jamie shook his head regretfully, standing up himself. "Nah, I need to get home. Cocoa needs a long walk. D'ye want tae think about meeting your uncle, Ryan? Nae hurry."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Well, I'll let Nell know you're havin' a wee think about it. See youse." He tousled Laura's hair on the way out.

"What do you think?" his mum asked, as she returned from seeing Jamie to the door.

"Dunno."

"Do you want to talk about it," she tried, but he shook his head furiously.

Ryan did not want to talk about it. Talking was for...girls. But now he knew what they, these prospective relatives, were called, he might look them up. You could find anyone online, couldn't you?

:b:tB''~f