The Weekend - Completed

Chapter 42

Much to my surprise and disappointment it was Katie, and unfortunately Chris, who had come to retrieve me from the airport. With everything else swirling around my mind I had hoped I would be able to travel back in silence, internally alone with my thoughts. My dad and I were definitely cut from the same cloth, neither would force the other into conversation, we could respect each other's privacy; leave the other to their thoughts.

However Katie did not follow the same set of social rules and restraint and although I loved her dearly I cursed my dad for surrendering to her haranguing and assenting to her picking me up from the airport.

"Alex, Alex, over here" As always I could hear her loud, overly enthusiastic voice long before I could see her, blushing slightly as the other passengers turned to look at the centre of Katie's attention. I waved subtly at the bobbing ball of excitement that was my best friend.

"Ooh you're so tanned, you look fantastic!" She announced flinging her arms around my neck, Chris's sneer said otherwise. I hugged her back and gave her the brightest smile I could muster, considering my shitty mood.

"I've missed you so much" She said speaking loudly into my face before again pulling me in for another bone crunching embrace. "Right let's get you home should we?" Although a question I knew it was an order, I nodded my submission and reached for my bags.

"Chris, get her bags" She ordered as she pulled me towards the entrance doors. I saw Chris huff in annoyance but he didn't dare complain, he picked my bag up and followed behind us.

"Yeah, I've got him well trained" she whispered in a giggle out of ear shot of him, clearly I hadn't hidden my amusement at his subservience from my face. About time I thought remembering how much of an arse he'd been that first night.

I helped Chris with the bags as Katie got in the car, but not before she ordered him to sit in the back, she and I had lots to talk about apparently. I sighed unenthusiastically knowing it was going to be a long, depressing drive home.

"You're very quiet." She observed, after we'd been on the road for about ten minutes.

She was right I'd been little more than a mute but even if I'd had the burning desire to share my holiday experience with her she hadn't given me a chance. In the oh so close proximity of her mum's car I'd heard her endless twittering, like a fog of White noise filling the space. I'd of course remembered my manners and smiled and nodded every thirty seconds or so but my subconscious was still watching reruns of the Adam and Alex show from earlier, sad to say but that was the only conversation I was interested in.

"So how was Spain? How's your Gran?" I opened my mouth to answer at least one of her questions but before a single word had left me she had turned her head fleetingly to Chris.

"Oh Chris, Alex's Gran has a beautiful cottage in southern Spain, it's right on the coast about ten minutes walk from the beach. I've been there a few times, some of the best holidays I've ever had." Uninterested Chris's mouth turns up and he nods clearly like me not listening to a word she was saying. But now she was again on a roll and her voice sung out.

"Oh and Chris, you should see Alex's Gran, talk about glamorously granny. She's got all the ex-pats drooling after her offering to help this poor defenceless female out with gardening, DIY, heavy bags...you get the picture, whilst their haggard wives seethe. But Alex's Gran is sooo nice, everyone loves her so..." Pausing for a second a smile played across her face, then reaching over she squeezed my hand before continuing. "She's just like Alex." My eyes flicked from her to the rear view mirror, I was curious how Chris would respond to this evaluation of me. His raised ginger eyebrows said it all.

"So Alex, you've told me nothing!" She pouted, but in my defence there'd been little to no opportunity to slip even a word or two between her incessant rabbiting.