No Filter

by Maxine Morrey

  ‘Yeah, right. I think we both know who has the genius for that in this family. Now get off the phone and get them ready and I’ll be there shortly.’

  ‘You sure? You said you were busy.’

  ‘It’s fine. I can carry on with it when they’re here.’

  ‘Great. Thanks, sis. See you in a bit.’

  I ended the call and turned to Charlie. ‘My brother’s been called in to the hospital. I need to go and pick up my nephews for a few hours. But I can work on this later and give you a call.’

  Charlie nodded, and shrugged. ‘Or I could come with you.’

  ‘Oh! Of course! I didn’t mean to exclude you; I just didn’t think you’d want to get roped into babysitting.’

  ‘It’s fine. I don’t really have anything much planned. Especially now the weather looks on the turn.’

  We both glanced out of the balcony door to see storm clouds building on the horizon. To the east, swathes of dark, ominous streaks reached down from them, linking the sea to the sky.

  I smiled.

  ‘Great. We kind of need to go now, though.’

  ‘Ready when you are.’

  I grabbed my keys, and we hustled out of the door, down towards the car park.

  ‘I’ll drive,’ Charlie said.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Absolutely.’

  And then I remembered.

  ‘No. No way. Absolutely not.’

  He looked at me, confused. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘That!’ I said, pointing at his car. ‘Maybe you didn’t get the full message. We are collecting two small boys whom I cannot guarantee to stay clean for more than ten minutes at a time and that—’ I bent and pointed at the pale leather inside the car ‘—is not going on my tab. So, thanks all the same but we’ll take mine.’

  ‘Come on. It’ll be fine. I take full responsibility.’

  ‘Charlie, I—’

  ‘Libby! I believe we’re in a rush. Just get in the car. Please.’

  I gave him a look. ‘Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’

  ‘No way!’ Liam, my eldest nephew, pushed past my brother’s leg as Charlie pulled to a stop on the drive.

  ‘Awesome!’ added Niall, his eyes big in his face as he took in the swanky car, its engine ticking quietly in cooldown.

  ‘You realise I am never going to be able to get them in my own car again now, don’t you?’ I said to Charlie as he walked round to me.

  ‘Hi, Auntie Libby!’ The boys rushed over and both gave me a hug at the same time. ‘Did you get a new car?’

  ‘No, this is my friend, Charlie. It’s his car.’

  ‘I love your car! It’s awesome!’ Niall repeated.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘It’s like James Bond’s car,’ his brother added, still gawping.

  ‘Less gadgets though, unfortunately,’ Charlie replied.

  I’d forgotten Liam’s James Bond obsession. There was a possibility we’d have to physically remove him from the car later.

  ‘DB11. Very nice,’ my brother said as we approached the front door, the boys trailing behind, heads still turned towards the car.

  ‘This is my friend, Charlie Richmond. Charlie, my brother, Matt.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Charlie said, as the two men exchanged a handshake.

  ‘Thanks for doing this, Libs. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything…’ I saw his eyes flick to Charlie, and I was pretty sure Charlie did too, but we both pretended to ignore it.

  ‘No, not at all. Charlie had just dropped in to say hi, and then offered to drive.’

  Matt peered towards the car and blanched. ‘Oh, God. Pale leather.’

  ‘I warned him.’

  Charlie laughed. ‘Really, it’s fine.’

  Matt handed over a bag of stuff for the boys, plus their booster seats, and thanked me again for taking them.

  ‘I’m not sure what time I’ll be done. Can I call you?’

  ‘Sure. No problem. Have they had lunch?’

  ‘No, I was just about to start finding something when the hospital rang. God, I sound like the worst father, don’t I?

  ‘Don’t be daft. I’ve got stuff for sandwiches at home. I’ll feed them when we get back.’

  In the distance, a low rumble of thunder sounded. Niall looked up and then at his dad. I took the cue for distraction tactics.

  ‘Right. Everybody ready for a ride in the James Bond car?’

  A little chorus of ‘Yeah’s went up as two small boys bounced up and down. I gave Matt a hug and a wave and wished him good luck with whatever it was he was heading into at the hospital. His job and abilities held me in awe and I was glad that I could do something to help, however small.

  ‘Right. Feet on the floor and hands on laps, please,’ I instructed the boys as they got into the small back seat of the Aston Martin. Liam worked his own seat belt and obeyed and I helped Niall with his as Charlie got back in the driver’s seat, and closed his door. I clicked in the belt and made to move away. Niall grabbed my hand, his little face full of concern as he looked at me.

  ‘But my feet don’t touch the floor!’ he whispered.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie smile.

  ‘That’s OK, sweetie. I just meant keep your feet down. Don’t put them on the back of the seat or anything.’

  ‘OK.’

  The truth was they were both good boys and Matt and Maria had instilled respect for people and property in them from an early age. But they were still children and it was still pale cream leather in an Aston Martin.

  I tipped the seat back into position and got in, waving to my brother as I closed the passenger door. Charlie started the engine and blipped the throttle a couple of times, the car letting out a throaty roar each time. In the back the boys cheered loudly. I slanted my glance to him.

  ‘You’re as much of a kid about this car as they are, aren’t you?’

  He gave me an incredulous look. ‘Of course!’

  He gave one more blip and pulled out of the driveway onto the road and headed back towards the marina, taking a longer route, apparently for the benefit of the boys, although I think the enjoyment factor was about the same for all three males.

  Having pulled into a parking space, we extricated the boys from the back seat and I surreptitiously checked the interior for marks and rips. Relief flooded through me. I stood up and shut the door. Charlie was watching. He gave me a little head-shake and smiled. I shrugged and smiled back. He made it hard not to. Traipsing up the stairs, I held Niall’s hand as Liam and Charlie followed close behind, my nephew firing questions at Charlie about the car the whole time. We entered the flat, and I put the boys’ stuff down on the floor, opening the balcony door for ventilation as I did so. The impending storm had made the air thick and humid, and the gentle breeze of earlier had been replaced with an almost eerie stillness.

  ‘Do not go near the balcony,’ I said. As I always said. And they never did. Not once. But it didn’t make me any less paranoid. ‘Boys!’ I said. ‘Are you listening?’

  ‘Yes, Auntie Libby.’

  ‘Yes, Auntie Libby.’

  ‘Right. Thank you. Lunch will be ready in five minutes.’

  I’d already lost their attention to the toys that were coming out of the bag my brother had given me. Not surprisingly, they were cars.

  ‘Charlie! Charlie! Come and play!’

  I raised my eyebrows at him and walked through to the kitchen. From my position I was able to peer out and could see all three now spread on my living-room floor driving little cars around imaginary roads with varying amount of noise and squealing tyre sounds.

  ‘Boys! Lunch is ready. Come and wash your hands, please.’

  Nothing.

  ‘Boys! Now, please.’

  The car noises stopped, replaced by giggling. Charlie appeared at the door with a small boy tucked under each arm, each one wriggling and giggling in joy. I laughed as Charlie put the
m down.

  ‘I’m just going to pull the balcony door across,’ he said. ‘It’s started raining quite heavily now.’

  ‘Oh, thanks!’

  ‘Come on, boys, wash your hands, please,’ I said again, and they did. Niall dragging out his little hop-up so that he could reach the sink, then replacing it back in the corner once he was done. He was well trained – albeit traumatically.

  I’d got him the little step so that he could wash his hands on his own – he liked to be able to do whatever his big brother did, which included washing his hands at the kitchen sink before lunch. The step was just big enough and the more he grew, the easier it got for him. But, of course, I wasn’t used to having it there and one day, shortly after I’d bought it, I forgot about it. Right up until the moment I tripped over it, sending myself flying and catching my chin on the worktop as I went down. It really was quite surprising just how much blood could come out of your chin. Shocked, Niall had immediately gone into hysterics, which was kind of annoying because I’d planned on that very same course of action myself and now felt unable to do so.

  Luckily, it had been a family lunch so Maria had bustled the kids out of the kitchen, enabling me to have my mini hysterics in peace, at the same time allowing Matt to patch me up. All that remained from that day was a tiny little scar at the base of my chin and an ingrained reminder in my youngest nephew never to leave his hop-up out of place.

  We finished lunch and the thunder was now gaining in both volume and frequency. I’d planned to take the boys out for a walk after lunch but the weather had other ideas.

  ‘Can we watch a film, please?’

  ‘OK. And then if the weather clears up we’ll go for a little walk, all right?’

  ‘OK,’ they said, already going to the cupboard where I kept a selection of their favourite DVDs.

  ‘We can start having another look at the blog thing, if you like?’ I said to Charlie. ‘If you still want to stay.’

  ‘Sounds good.’

  As I spoke, I noticed something glinting on the floor of the balcony. So that was where it was! I’d thought I’d lost it – the beautiful Mont Blanc pen my brother had bought me for my birthday last year. I grabbed a pad for notes, and made to go and get my pen from under the lounger. I stopped as the boys’ voices rose.

  ‘I want to see Despicable Me.’

  ‘I want to see Minions.’

  ‘Despicable Me has Minions in it, st—’

  ‘Liam!’ I warned him sharply.

  He stopped immediately. Calling anyone stupid was a definite no-no in their house and their parents’ house rules automatically transferred to mine.

  Liam looked a little sheepish and reached for the Minions DVD.

  ‘It’s all right,’ Niall said, picking up his brother’s choice instead.

  ‘I like Gru. He’s funny.’ He handed his older brother the case, and Liam quickly set about loading it into the DVD player. I gave a glance to Charlie, rolled my eyes, then turned back to dash out and grab my expensive pen before it rolled off somewhere and I really did lose it.

  Everything went quiet as I bounced backwards off the glass. However, the preceding loud bang and slight crunchy noise my face had made as it impacted with the door Charlie had kindly drawn closed earlier was still resonating within my own head. Distracted by the boys, my mind had momentarily forgotten that little nugget of information. I staggered backwards and felt for the couch. Missing it, I found the floor instead. I lay there for a moment hoping that the dampness on my face was just my eyes watering. Through slightly blurred vision I saw three faces looking down at me.

  ‘Awesome,’ Liam said softly, breaking the silence.

  Knowing my nephew’s penchant for goo and gore, I had a pretty good idea that it wasn’t just tears running down my face. I had missed out on the gene that dealt with such things in a sensible, controlled manner and, at his exclamation, felt a wash of ickyness flood over me. I was immediately glad that I was already on the floor. It saved a step in the proceedings. Charlie crouched down next to me.

  ‘Boys. Why don’t you go and watch your film? I’ll be there in a moment.’ I squelched down panic at the fact my voice now sounded all weird and nasally.

  They remained staring at me. I didn’t have the willpower to say it again and I was beginning to feel sick from what I was now absolutely certain was blood leaking into places it wasn’t supposed to be.

  ‘Right. Let’s sit you up,’ Charlie said, and, without waiting for an answer, scooped me up and moved us to the smallest sofa. The boys followed.

  ‘Liam, would you be able to get me a cold flannel from the bathroom, please?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘Um hmm,’ Liam replied, still not taking his eyes off my face. ‘Do you want Auntie Libby’s first-aid kit too?’

  My brother had equipped me with this some time ago. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was for the boys’ benefit or mine. Worryingly, but in a way somewhat comforting, I seemed to be the one who had got the most use out of it so far.

  ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘OK.’ He finally tore his gaze away and hurried off through to the bathroom.

  Through my own streaming eyes, I saw Niall’s face crease.

  ‘What’s the matter, sweetheart?’ I forced the words out.

  ‘You’re crying, and your nose is all leaky and bumpy.’

  Ohgodohgodohgod.

  ‘Niall.’ Charlie smiled at him, reassuringly. ‘Auntie Libby’s absolutely fine. She bumped her nose and sometimes when you do that, it bleeds a little. It’s swollen because of the bump – that’s why it looks a bit funny at the moment.’

  Funny?

  Niall looked at Charlie and then at me, then back at Charlie.

  ‘She’s going to be OK?’

  ‘Of course. I’ll make sure of it. I promise.’

  Niall thought for a moment. ‘You promise?’

  Charlie nodded. ‘I do.’

  ‘OK,’ Niall said quietly before climbing up on the sofa next to me and snuggling in for a cuddle. I mouthed the word ‘thank you’ to Charlie and he gave a little smile.

  Liam returned from the bathroom with a cold flannel and the first-aid kit. Charlie thanked him and took it from him, before very gently wiping my face with the cloth.

  ‘Do you want to take your brother and watch your film for a bit whilst I clean Libby up?’

  ‘OK.’ Liam nodded and held out his hand to Niall. ‘Come on, Niall. Let’s go and watch Gru.’

  Niall wavered. He looked at Charlie, his big green eyes full of concern. ‘You’re going to look after Auntie Libby?’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘You’ll make her all better?’

  ‘Promise.’

  Niall studied Charlie for a moment then took his brother’s hand and they headed off to sit on the other sofa in front of the TV. A few seconds later, the sounds of the film starting filled the silence.

  ‘I’m just going to rinse this. I’ll be right back.’

  I nodded once gently.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ Charlie asked when he returned, gently laying the clean, cold flannel on my face.

  I squirmed a little at the painful touch.

  ‘Sorry.’

  I tried to shake my head but, thanks to the pounding headache I had also now acquired, I opted for a little hand-wave as a gesture instead.

  ‘That was quite the impact.’

  ‘Mmm hmm.’ I paused. ‘Is my nose broken?’ I asked quietly, doing my best to keep calm.

  Charlie’s hands were cool as he gently felt around my increasingly sore face. ‘No, I don’t think so. I think you just gave it a good whack. You have quite the egg on your forehead too. You don’t do much by halves, do you?’

  ‘Not my style,’ I said, my hand gingerly touching my nose.

  ‘You’re very lucky you didn’t break it.’

  I raised my eyebrows in agreement then decided not to do that particular action again for a bit until the pain subsided.

  ‘I’m no doct
or but I think I can patch you up for now and your brother can check you out properly later. You managed to break the skin on the bridge of your nose and it’s still bleeding a little. I’m going to put some butterfly stitches on it.’

  ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine with just a plaster,’ I said, leaning forward to find one in the first-aid box. Charlie put his hand across the top, blocking me.

  ‘No. It won’t. It will bleed straight through. Trust me. Now sit still.’

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘Please.’

  I looked at him.

  ‘Come on,’ he said quietly. ‘I promised Niall that I’d look after you. You’re not going to make me break my promise to a five-year-old, are you?’

  ‘Oh, wow,’ I snuffled out. ‘That’s low.’

  ‘Desperate times call for desperate measures.’

  I gave him a look and sat back against the sofa, as requested.

  A few minutes later my nose cut was butterflied up and Charlie had put a little square of gauze on the top and secured it with paper surgical tape.

  ‘Have you got an ice pack?’

  ‘There’s a gel one in the top bit of the freezer.’

  He headed off to the kitchen and I pushed myself gingerly up off the sofa. The boys were happily laughing at the Minions doing something and I walked over to the mirror on the wall by the front door. Charlie had done a good job of tidying me up. A white strip of gauze ran across the bridge of my nose, covering the stitches, and he wasn’t joking when he said about the egg on my forehead. It really was quite the bump! A very fetching look. Not one I would be highlighting on the beauty pages of my blog any time soon.

  ‘Is this what you meant?’ I turned to find Charlie grinning at me as he held up a gel ice pack in the shape of the Mr Men’s Mr Happy.

  ‘That’s the one.’

  ‘OK. Now come and sit down.’

  I headed over to the couch where the boys were and they shuffled along without taking their eyes off the telly. I sat down next to them and Charlie sat down next to me and gently laid the gel pack on my bump.

  ‘Hopefully this will take some of the swelling down,’ he said, quietly, so as not to disturb the boys’ enjoyment.

  ‘Thank you, Charlie. I’m so sorry about all this. I don’t think I’m up to looking at the blog thing any more today, so if you want to go home, it’s fine.’