Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Her hand felt heavy as she knocked on the door.

She had debated whether or not to use the spare key under the matt and not bother with knocking. Julia decided against it when she remembered her father’s heart condition.

It might be too much for him to handle.

Jules did know, however, that today was going to be too much for her to handle. Her mother had been raving on the phone, wondering why she had to learn from someone else that she was back in England.

Julia had sent them a few letters over the course of her short deployment but they were barely anything more than a few lines.

Jules couldn’t bring herself to say anything else. Her mother would take it the wrong way and her father and brothers would just worry.

So she sent them the usual lines about the weather and how safe she was. She neglected to mention the RPG and catching a terrorist.

There were some things a mother just didn’t need to know.

The thick oak door swung open with fury to reveal her mother, dressed for an occasion with the apron still tied around her neck and waist.

“Julia!” Katherine exclaimed, announcing her arrival to the entire street, as she lurched forward and caught Julia in a bone-shattering hug.

Jules was stuck for a moment by how tightly her mother was hugging her, it felt strange because Katherine never showed her emotions.

Julia hugged her back, “It’s okay, Mum. I’m here.”

“Yes, you are,” Katherine pulled back and wiped a few tears from her eyes, careful not to dislodge her mascara, “Come on, come on in, everybody’s here.”

“Everybody?” Julia panicked, trying to crane her neck inside to see what chamber of horrors awaited her.

Julia was expecting her mother to step aside so they could enter but when she didn’t Jules looked back and saw that Katherine had just spotted Marcus paying the taxi.

“What,” Katherine spoke without barely moving her lips, Julia thought not for the first time that she could be a ventriloquist, “Is that man doing here?”

“That man,” Julia snapped with frustration, “Is my boyfriend.”

Katherine shot her a look.

“And we’re living together.”

“But Julia- No,” Katherine shook her head, “I will not allow it. He’s already ruined your life once, I can’t-”

Marc was getting closer and this was not how Julia wanted to start the day.

“-Mum,” Julia interrupted her, “Not now. It’s my decision. Be nice to Marc.”

As the last words left Julia’s lips Marc arrived dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt and a navy suit jacket.

He looked handsome as ever.

“Katherine,” Marc smiled, holding out his hand, “Lovely to see you again.”

Julia watched closely as Katherine seemed to examine the person that was Marc before she levelled him with a firm glare and muttered a ‘Good Morning’ before she turned and walked away, leaving Marc’s hand hanging in the air unshaken.

“I think that was good,” Jules murmured.

Marc raised an eyebrow, “That was good? It was worse than meeting the Taliban.”

Jules laughed, “Take it this way, she hasn’t got the kitchen knives out yet so I think you’re in the clear.”

Marc nodded and they stepped inside where they were assaulted with the smell of a full English roast. Julia’s mouth was instantly watering as she smelt her mother’s homemade stuffing cooking.

But what caused her more alarm was the amount of family members they had managed to cram into their low-ceiling cottage.

And the large “Welcome Home, Julia” banner that stretched across the window was burning her eyes.

Jules shared an anguished look with Marc, “Why we did come here?”

Marc laughed as he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “I thought you said this was good?”

Jules narrowed her eyes at him as he was interrupted by her Uncle Bryan.

“Uncle Bryan,” Julia returned his hug, wondering why he was even here.

There hadn’t been this many family members after her ‘accident’.

“I’m glad your back safely,” Uncle Bryan smiled, leaning back so that his wife, Julia’s Aunt Yvonne, could offer a few words.

“I think it’s extremely brave what you did,” Yvonne smiled directly at Julia.

“Thanks,” Julia forced a smile, “But it wasn’t just me. Marc was there as well.”

Marc had been happy watching but now he had to get involved. He sent Julia a glare.

Yvonne stared at Marc, “Oh, you went with our Little Julia to Africa as well? I wonder why Katherine didn’t mention that.”

“I’m sorry?” Julia interjected, “Africa?”

Bryan and Yvonne sent each other a look, “Isn’t that where you were? Helping to install water pipes? Katherine told us that-”

“-Katherine told you,” Julia sighed, looking at Marc in exasperation.

Yvonne could see that she had put her foot in it and quickly tried to extradite herself, “Well, maybe I have it wrong dear, you know Bryan’s half deaf and my hearings not what it used to be.”

“It’s alright, Auntie Yvonne, I’m sure you heard perfectly fine. My mother’s a bit confused that’s all.”

“Oh,” Yvonne smiled awkwardly, hoping she had diffused the situation, “So, you weren’t in Africa?”

“Close,” Marc smiled, “Afghanistan.”

Yvonne and Bryan’s faces were a perfect picture of confusion before realisation dawned.

“Excuse me,” Julia held up a finger and went in search of her mother.

She found her, not surprisingly, in the kitchen.

“Oh Julia, are your father and brothers back yet? They went to the shop for ice but they’ve been gone for-”

“-You told people we were in Africa!?” Julia shouted, resting her fist on the table in anger.

Katherine slowly stood up from where she was peering into the over and smoothed out her dress, “There is no need to shout, dear.”

Katherine peered over her daughter’s shoulder and saw that the entire living room had turned to watch them. Marc was lingering close by, watching them.

Her shoulders straightened as she spotted Marc.

“No, I think this is the perfect time to shout because that’s the only way I can get you to listen to me.” Julia snapped.

“Julia . . .” Katherine stepped forward and caught her daughter by the arms, whispering, “We do not want the neighbours knowing our dirty laundry.”

Jules scoffed, whispering back “That’s all you ever cared about, wasn’t it? Not your daughter, but your social image.”

“I care about you, Julia, you’re my daughter,” Katherine told her, “How do you think I did everything I did if I didn’t care about you?”

“I don’t know,” Julia softened her stance as she heard the emotion in her mother’s voice, “But I need to know why? Why lie to me?”

Katherine gave an exasperated sigh and turned away back to her cooking, “I’ve already explained this Julia, I shall not repeat myself.”

“Okay then,” Jules turned back to the room full of their dearest and closest family members, “Attention everybody!”

She didn’t need to shout, everybody was already looking at them.

“Julia, what are you doing?” Katherine raced to her side.

“You won’t tell me what’s going on, so I’ll tell everybody here the truth about where I really was. Spoiler alert,” Julia smiled at her mother, “It isn’t Africa.”

“Julia, stop,” Katherine gripped her wrist, “Okay, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Jules smiled softly and turned away from the crowd.

“But not here.” Katherine eyed the crowd dubiously, “Outside.”

“I want Marc there,” Julia negotiated.

Katherine eyed Marc carefully, a twinge of fear entering her mother’s eyes, piquing Jules’s interest.

“Okay, okay,” Katherine nodded before she quickly herded them out to the garden.

Marc was intrigued as well, after all, the woman that was going to be his mother-in-law had thrown his grandmother’s engagement ring in the trash.

Once they were outside, Katherine shut the door behind them and navigated them towards the back of the garden beneath a large oak tree.

Marc and Julia shared a look as her mother seemed distressed.

“I know, I know you hate me for my decisions after your . . . accident,” Katherine spoke in a rush, “But when you have a child of your own you’ll understand what I did.”

“The army is dangerous, I never understood why you wanted to join in the first place, and I know I told you that it was Marc,” Katherine sent a pleading look at Marc, asking him not to kill her, “but I lied about that as well.”

Julia shook her head, was there nothing this woman wouldn’t lie about?”

“Oh, don’t look like that, sweetie, I just wanted you to stay away from him.”

“Why?” Marc asked, his voice clear and controlled. Julia needed to know how he could stay impartial.

Later Marc would say that it was the only way he could stop himself from doing something he would regret.

Katherine was begging them not to ask her that question, “Because I knew how much my daughter loved you and I knew she would follow you right back into the Army. You need to understand, I wanted to keep my daughter safe.”

Marc swallowed, “And my grandmother’s engagement ring? What was that, just a bit of malice?”

Katherine’s eyes bulged, “It- It was your grandmothers? Oh,” She began to cry, “I’m sorry I didn’t know.”

Julia tried to stop herself because she knew it would hurt her but she said it anyway, needing to inflict some pain on the woman that had caused her and Marc so much trouble, “You don’t know a lot of things do you.”

Katherine stepped forward and clung to Julia’s arm, begging her to stay, “I still have it.”

Marc stepped forward, “What?”

“The- The ring,” Katherine hiccupped, hugging Julia to her body, terrified of losing her, “I never chucked it away. I just didn’t want Julia to have it.”

“Mum!” Julia exclaimed.

“Get it,” Marc snapped, his body looking large over her mother’s small frame and he looked terrifying, “Now!”

Katherine nodded her head and hurried away inside leaving them there alone.

Julia and Marc shared a look of disbelief but there was a twinge of excitement and relief bubbling beneath Marc’s rage.

Because now he had the ring he could ask the question he had been dying to ask since Julia had come back to him.

And he was fairly certain that she would say yes.