A Family for Christmas by Jay Northcote

Author:Jay Northcote [Northcote, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jaybird Press
Published: 2016-11-15T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

“What sort of games?” Zac grabbed Rudy’s arm, holding him back in the hallway as the others went into the living room.

“Oh, just stuff like Pictionary, maybe Give Us a Clue. And sometimes the kids play Murder in the Dark or Sardines or something.” Rudy looked sheepish. “Don’t worry. It’s fun, honestly.”

Zac huffed. It was hard to be annoyed with Rudy, though, and if the beer and wine had lowered Zac’s inhibitions enough to kiss Rudy under the mistletoe, then he was sure he’d cope with whatever family games they had planned. His mind lingered on the kiss. Rudy was so damn sweet. The way he’d looked at Zac from under his lashes and blushed afterwards was way too appealing.

Don’t let things get complicated.

Somehow, Zac kept hold of Rudy’s arm as they walked into the living room, and he only realised he was doing it when Rose’s gaze slid to where they were touching. She caught Zac’s eye and gave him a small private smile.

Zac was flooded with mixed emotions: happiness that she accepted him so easily, guilt that they were deceiving her. He let go of Rudy quickly, but took a seat beside him on one of the sofas.

Jamie was kneeling on the floor, bouncing impatiently. “What are we gonna play, then? Anyone up for Twister?”

“God, no,” Natalie groaned. “Not after dinner. Maybe tomorrow,” she added when Jamie’s face fell.

“Anyway, Ro and Granddad can’t play Twister,” Rose said. “What about Give Us a Clue? We can all join in with that.”

“Okay. I’ll go and get paper and pens.” Jamie scampered off.

They organised themselves into two teams, and Rudy explained the rules to Zac.

“You act out whatever’s on the piece of paper. It will be a film, TV show, or book. Use your fingers to show how many words, then your fingers on your arm like this to show how many syllables in a word. You can break it up, and use sounds-like and stuff. Yeah?”

“Okay.” Zac had played something similar at a party once, but it had been a while ago.

When they started playing, Zac found that Rudy’s family were very varied in their acting skills. Natalie and Sid were really good at it, but Jack kept repeating the same action over and over, and he got frustrated when people didn’t understand what he was trying to do. He drew a circle in the air and then made a gesture that looked like rain falling. His team, which Rudy and Zac were part of, weren’t getting anywhere.

Sid suggested. “Try doing it a different way, Dad. Or is there a sounds-like you can do?”

Jack huffed and shook his head.

“Time’s up!” Natalie said as the timer on her phone chimed.

“It was The Shining!” Jack said, exasperated. “How did you not get that? I was doing the sun!”

“Sorry, Dad.” Rudy shrugged.

When it was Zac’s turn to act, his piece of paper said Moby Dick in handwriting that made him suspect Jamie. And Jamie was on the other team, so that wouldn’t help their own team get it quickly.

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