Played By Riggs

6

"Oh, this one is my favourite!" my Mother gushed, laughing. "She was eating her first McDonalds, naked, and before she could finish, her toilet face appeared, and I had to grab her and run for the loo!"

I sunk deeper into the corner of the sofa, trying my damn best to ignore her laughter. And, most importantly, trying to avoid catching sight of the expression on James' face. I had no doubt he would be amused – who wouldn't? My Mother jumped at the chance to explain the story behind that hideous picture, because it was, to my displeasure, absolutely hilarious. But, she wasn't just showing this picture to an Aunt or a neighbour. She was showing it to my business partner. The man I was going to have to work with, face every day.

Of course, I was a sucker at resisting, so I slowly moved my eyes from the television and caught James watching me.

"Who took the picture?" he asked.

"My sister," she answered. "She's in this picture, here. Everyone says she looks just like me."

I watched the surprise paint James' face. "She does," he chuckled. "Kelsey looks like just you, too."

"I do not," I grumbled. "Perhaps I did growing up, but not anymore."

"Of course you're gonna say that," she snickered. "Accept it, KelseyKins. Someone could tell you're my daughter from a mile off. You've got my eyes, my chin. My beauty."

I barked out a laugh. "Always fishing for compliments. Don't fall for it, James."

With an amused smile on his face, his flickered between the two of us. I knew he was trying to confirm the facts my Mother had stated, and if I weren't so flushed from having his eyes on me so much, I would have told him to stop. Take a picture, it'll last longer – isn't that the phrase? I wasn't sure, nor of the reason why I was acting like a teenager. A girly teenager with a crush on the popular guy that played football and had loads of friends. I needed to get a grip. On something sharp and pointy, something dangerous to wake myself up from this behaviour.

My Mother shuffled off the sofa and grabbed another photo album. "This one covers Kelsey's primary school years. Prepare yourself for huge braces and chubby cheeks," she grinned, turning the page. As she did, a small photograph fell out and onto the floor.

James reached down to grab it, turned it over, and curiosity filled his face. "Who's this?"

"Let's see," my Mother smiled, taking a look for herself. And, although I was on my second glass of wine (third, if you really wanted to count the recent re-fill) her face turned white. Really white. I recognised the look. The thunderstorm of sadness and heartbreak that would cloud her eyes only ever visited when my Father was mentioned. "Well, that's Kelsey's Dad." She was silent for a moment. "I don't know why this is in here," she muttered, more to herself.

I hated how her happiness turned to thin air at the mention of him. She didn't deserve to have such a wonderful trait, her trait – if happiness had a second name it would be hers - taken away in spite of a man that didn't deserve the title he had.

"Who's this?" James asked, pointing towards the bottom of the page.

The change of topic was happily taken. I would thank him for that, later.

My Mother cleared her throat and looked in his direction. "Oh!" Her smile returned. "That was Kelsey's first boyfriend, Alfie! A lovely little boy. They were smitten with each other. They even had the supply teacher form a little wedding in the playground. Look here, you see? I wondered why she asked to wear her white summer dress that day."

James looked even more intrigued. "So, you're married? Well, that's not on your Wikipedia page."

"I leave the juicy stuff for myself," I joked.