A French Wedding by Hannah Tunnicliffe

Author:Hannah Tunnicliffe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 2016-03-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Max

The least charming person he has ever met.

Max has met some really uncharming people before. Some champs. Some medal winners. But Soleil would take out the podium. And what was truly irritating about Soleil was that she looked perfectly normal, as though she should be charming. Perfectly sweet, other than the hair; Max hates the hair. He wants to touch it, and that makes him feel weird.

He stands to join Nina who is perusing the lounge shelves, filled mainly with photography books.

‘She’s something,’ Max mutters, as Nina runs her index finger down the spines.

‘Who?’

‘Soleil.’

Nina frowns. ‘You didn’t need to call her a rich girl.’

Max scowls.

‘I think that upset Helen,’ Nina adds.

‘She’s not exactly friendly herself,’ Max replies petulantly.

‘She’s young,’ Nina says. ‘Hey, you’ve got some beautiful books here.’

‘She’s not that young,’ Max says. ‘She’s not a teenager,’ he adds.

‘Don’t talk to me about teenagers,’ Nina says in an almost wistful voice.

‘She’s rude,’ Max presses.

‘Oh, Max.’

Max shifts his weight. He hasn’t much experience with mothers; Nina might come as close as he is going to get. Something about the tone of her voice is the bittersweet blend of love and disappointment. The kind that makes you feel both good and terrible about yourself at once.

‘Well, she is.’

‘She’s Helen’s sister.’

‘It’s bloody hard to believe,’ Max mumbles.

‘You should probably try being nicer.’

‘I don’t see why that’s my job. She should try being nice to me.’

Nina straightens and raises an eyebrow at him. ‘You sound like Hugo.’

‘Jesus Christ, Nina!’

Nina bursts into laughter.

‘Take that back.’

Nina’s voice softens. ‘You can be nice, Max. It’s your birthday. Have fun. Surely there are bigger things to worry about than Soleil. You seem wound up; it’s not like you.’

Max glances across the room at Helen. Her head is resting in the cup of her hand. She is smiling at something Rosie is saying. He stares at her hand and takes a deep breath.

Next to Helen, Soleil is perched on the arm of the couch, stiff and straight.

‘I’m okay,’ Max says. ‘Got to loosen up a bit though, eh? You’re right.’

Nina pats his shoulder and smiles, returning to scanning the books.

Max looks down at the drink Juliette has brought him. Tequila with big chunks of ice. It is meant to be sipped. He tips his head back and takes a swig that burns all the way down his throat. It feels just right.

*

The Cure.

The Smiths.

Jane’s Addiction.

R.E.M.

These are the greats. These are the songs Max knows inside and out. Every beat, every moment between beats, any imperfection.

Max falls into music the way a person falls into cool water; he swims in it. It is tangible to him and yet fluid, like the silk of water against skin. It fills him. It makes him whole.

Music is his saviour, that much is clear to him and probably everyone else. It hadn’t mattered that his father teased him about it, had once broken a record over his head; music is in Max’s blood and veins, there is no getting rid of it. Music is the one constant.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.