Lisa Hall - Between You and Me

Finally, after what might possibly be the longest evening of my life, in which I have had to suffer hours of inane jabbering from Sal’s entire family and have batted away countless attempts to discover all manner of details about my life, the meal is over and we are free to go. I endure kisses from Maria and all of the sisters, while Sal is hugged and squeezed to death and they all behave as if they aren’t going to see each other for years and years. This is all completely foreign to me, and I thank my lucky stars that Sal hasn’t asked to meet my mother yet.

‘Well? What did you think of them? Aren’t they amazing?’ Sal waves frantically at the gathering on the doorstep, before turning to me once we are safely seated in the car and heading back towards our house.

‘Honestly, Sal? It’s all a bit much, isn’t it? I mean, your mum treats you like you’re five years old. And you’re not a fucking god, you know, despite what your sisters might think.’ Sal reels back slightly and couldn’t have looked more shocked if I’d delivered a slap across the face.

‘What? Nobody thinks that! We’re a close family; I didn’t see them all summer because I stayed in London with you! It’s not normally that intense, to be honest; it’s only that they were excited to meet you. And my mum is just … a normal mum. She likes it when I go home; she likes to cook a big meal and spoil us all. She’s excited that you’re going to be part of the family. They were just trying to make you feel welcome.’ Sal doesn’t look at me, choosing instead to concentrate hard on the road.

I stare out of the passenger window, biting my tongue hard in order not to give rise to the anger that is bubbling away deep inside my belly. I’m not going to be part of the family. I don’t want to be part of the family. Your mum didn’t even seat us together at the dinner table, for Christ’s sake. I don’t want Sal’s sisters and mum poking their noses into our business, knowing everything about us. I want it to just be Sal and me on our own, always. I don’t have anything to do with my family, and I’m OK. We don’t need Sal’s family in our lives, not to that extent. Signalling to take the turn leading to the motorway, I resolve that the less we see of Sal’s family, the better.

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