Greg, whom we had just bumped into in the children’s play area, asked why we could not talk, with obvious confusion in his eyes and voice.
“This is hardly the place or time, Greg,” I answered, my tone hushed and pleading.
I could not have any kind of personal conversation with him at an event like this, and he knew that as well as I did, because after a short bewildered shake of his head, he changed the subject.
“Julius is around on holiday, we actually came here together, I’m sure he would like to say hi.”
“Yes, I saw a post of his on Facebook saying he was in town; please do send him my regards.”
“I think that’s something you should do in person, don’t you?”
“I know, and I will before he leaves, but not here – please,” I added meaningfully.
After having used his house for so long, I knew it would be incredibly rude not to say hi in person, but just like with Greg, that was too personal and deep a meeting to have in such a public, crowded place. And then just as I thought the moment could not get any more tense or uncomfortable, it did; I suddenly spotted Chris striding purposefully towards us, his jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed angrily.
I felt my blood run cold and I froze as I watched him draw ever closer, my heart thumping wildly as I sent a silent panicky prayer that he would not cause a scene here. Greg sensed my panic and turned to see its cause and when he saw Chris, he too stiffened perceptively and I could almost feel him bracing for a confrontation.
“Greg, I see you have a magnetic pull towards my family; even in the middle of such a crowd you still manage to sniff us out,” Chris said sarcastically as he reached us, before reaching out and reclaiming C.G from Greg’s arms.
“Hi Chris,” Greg answered evenly, looking Chris straight in the eyes, his expression almost warning as he went on: “I actually saw you guys arrive, and was going to come over say hi, when you two took opposite directions, and it just so happened, the kids’ corner was closer; my group and I are just three tents away,” Greg explained.
“Does your ‘group’ happen to include Linda?”
“No, she’s getting heavier, so, she doesn’t like to stay on her feet too much, and opted to stay home.”
“How convenient!” Chris answered wryly, and then turning his back on Greg, turned to face me.
“Stephanie, there are some friends that want to meet you, I was just coming to call you over,” he said tightly, the order in his tone unmistakable.
Because Chris’ interview when we split up had been such a big story at the time, it was inevitable that the sight of him, Greg and I all standing together would attract attention, and I had seen quite a number of curious glances being cast our way. So, eager to diffuse the mounting tension and attention it was attracting, I readily jumped at Chris’ order.
“Sure, where are they?”
“The other side of the field.”
“Well, let’s go say hi then,” I answered and then turned to Greg. “It was nice seeing you again; please do pass my regards to everyone.”
He nodded curtly, but did not say a word, although I could see the disappointment and frustration in his eyes. It was like he wanted to object, but just like me must have noticed our little group was attracting attention and knew he had to let it go.
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