Callaghan

36

36

THURSDAY 24TH, OLIVIA

I still couldn’t get over the fact Dan had asked me to this restaurant. I didn’t know how to feel about it; should I have been pleased? Was it a joke? I was gobsmacked. I spent forever and a bit more, trying to make myself look presentable. Keith, my step dad kindly dropped me off. He had never seen Izzy’s house before so I just pretended Dan’s house was actually Izzy’s. I couldn’t let them know I was with a boy, God only knows what would have happened.

The outside of Dan’s house was extremely imposing. The front door was massive, two identical statues stood outside the front garden and the size of the house itself had to be at least 3 or 4 stories high. In my whole time of living in this small town of Peterbound, how had I never even spotted this marvellous house before?

I rung the doorbell and, straightaway, Dan answered. He invited me inside. As I stepped in, there was a giant chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling. Dan led me into one of the living rooms where I found both his parents. I gulped. What if they didn’t approve of me? What if they even didn’t know I was supposed to be there?

“Hiya!” Dan’s mum, Catherine, said exclaimed, in an enthusiastic tone. His dad smiled and waved, acknowledging my presence.

“Mum, dad – this is Liv.” I grinned at the couple, slyly nudging at Dan because it was awkward. He showed me around some of his house and I was beyond star-struck. There were so many rooms, all large in size. They were fancily decorated with tons of expensive paintings and furniture. The garden was massive, beautifully set out with a range of flowers, shrubs, trees and a water fountain. We didn’t spend too long at his house as we wanted to make the most of the time at the restaurant. Just as we were about to leave, a phone rang. It was Dan’s mum’s phone.

“My mum is in the toilet, I better get it for her.” Dan announced.

He didn’t say anything during the call; just hung up after a few seconds of answering. He looked puzzled. “Who was it?”

“A woman was asking about my mum having some sort of check up at the hospital? They must have dialled the wrong number.”