“Awh,
Chloe, don’t you look lovely!” Mum says, embracing my small form and pulling me
into a hug.
“Thanks, Mum. I look the same as
always, but I’ll take it,” I laugh.
“Come in, come in.”
My brothers are already sitting in the
living room chatting about some random football game that happened earlier in
the week. Dad is over the stove, cooking potatoes, broccoli, carrots and
whatever else he decided to put on today. As I walk past, I wave to each of
them, sitting in the conservatory next to Aunt Lou and Cousin Kris.
“Where’s Uncle Ste?” I ask Lou.
“You know what he’s like. He’s
probably sniffing out the roasties,” she laughs.
“I’m pretty sure he’s just gone for a
poo,” Kris says, looking up from her phone and then almost instantly looking back
down at it again.
“Lovely,” I say.
“Nan and Gramps are on their way,” Mum
says, popping her head around the door, “Listen out for the door, Chlo.”
“Yes, Mum,” I sigh.
The boys continue talking about the
football, seeing who could wind the other up the most. Uncle Ste and Dad tend
to get involved with my brothers’ antics, taking the piss out of each other and
swearing.
The girls don’t have that same vibe,
but I try and make it work. Aunt Lou is probably the most fun; at least, she tries
to joke about and include me. Mum is a bit more prim and proper,
keeping up a good image and being friendly to everyone. And don’t get me
started on Cousin Kris. She’s too attached to her phone to engage with the real
world.
“Earth to Chloe,” Lou says, waving her
hand in front of me.
“Hello, yes, yes,” I reply, jumping
out of thought.
“The door.”
I nod, thanking her for alerting me.
The bell rings again, signalling that I am clearly not quick enough to the door
for my Grandparents’ liking. I continue to the door at my usual pace, opening
it.
“Oh, hello, Chloe-Ann! What a lovely
surprise.” Gramps says.
“Oh, Chloe-Ann, we haven’t seen you in
such a long time!” Nan says.
I smile at them, welcoming them into
my mum and dad’s home.
“Pass
the spuds, Chloe-Ann,” My brother, Luke, taunts. Calling me by my full
name was usually my brothers’ way of taking the piss out of me when Nan and
Gramps are about.
“Yeah, pass ‘em over, Chloe-Ann,” My
other brother, Ted, chimes in.
“God, chill out! I’m passing them!” I
snap back.
Nan shot up like a rocket.
“Chloe-Ann!” she shouts, “we do not
use God’s name in vain! Absolutely not!”
“Sorry, Nan,” I mutter.
The family dishes out their selection
of carrots, peas, cabbage and roast chicken, plates filling to the brim. Luke’s
and Ted’s plates are always stacked to the extent of nearly spilling over the
edge. I’m amazed at the fact that they never leave a crumb. I put the bowl of
stuffing back into the middle of the table and pick up my knife and fork.
Before I can stab my fork into my roast potato, Mum is already asking me more
questions.
“Have you found another job yet,
Chlo?”
I put my knife and fork down, resting
them on the sides of my plate, knowing that my food would be cold by the time I
finished getting quizzed.
“Yes, Mum,” I smile at her, “Believe
it or not, I have.”
“Oh, that’s fantastic news! I thought
you’d be stuck as a bartender for the rest of your life!” she laughs..
This was a common occurrence for Mum.
A lot of my friends had well-respected jobs after going to university. My family
will never stop giving me shit for going to university for performing arts and never
doing anything with it.
“I still work in the bar, Mum. Just
got another job on top of it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with working in
a bar, Chloe-Ann,” Gramps says.
“Yeah, getting all that old money from
the flirty old men!” Luke laughs.
Nan shoots him a disapproving look,
and he instantly stops laughing. Sometimes, it feels like the family is
embarrassed by me, but it isn’t like I leach off their money. I have my own flat
and can easily fend for myself, so what’s the issue?
“I don’t take shit off those flirty
old men, thanks!” I say to my brother.
“Seriously, Christine, keep your
children in check! Their language is horrendous,” Nan says to Mum as she picks
a carrot on her fork.
I hear a phone ring in the living
room. After a few seconds, I realise it's mine, as I don’t have it in my
pocket. I excuse myself from the table, gaining a disapproving look from Nan
and another from Mum. When I enter the living room, I see the screen light up
with a missed call and five messages from Joanne.
MISSED CALL: JOANNE
(5) NEW MESSAGES:
JOANNE: ?????
JOANNE: Hello?????
JOANNE: Girl, you there???
JOANNE: Let me know ASAP.
JOANNE: Are you free at 3pm? Kay phoned in sick.
I look at the time at the top of the
screen. It reads 14:32. I realise why Joanne was so panicked. I drop her a
quick text explaining that I didn’t have my phone but would be there. Joanne is
a fantastic boss; we’ve been friends since college, so when I heard she was
hiring, I took the opportunity and ran with it.
I walk back into the
dining room and clear my throat in the doorway, gaining everyone’s attention.
“Sorry, everyone, I’m
going to have to leave early,” I start.
Nan buts in before I can
continue, “But you haven’t finished your dinner!”
“I know but I’ve been
called into work, so I need to go.”
Nan shoots my mum a glare,
silently asking her to do something. Mum shrugs and looks at Dad for some help.
Nobody speaks.
“You’re going to miss your
family time,” Nan says, “It’s a Sunday you shouldn’t be working! It’s a day of
rest!”
“Well, I’ll have a rest
another time,” I say, getting frustrated.
“How about we come and see
you at the pub. We’ll have a little drink in the lounge!” Mum suggests.
The rest of the family nod
in agreement. I freeze in my place.
“Only if I don’t have to
pay for my drink,” Luke chimes in.
“You really don’t have
to,” I say.
“Oh, don’t be silly!”
Gramps says, “You better get going, you’ll be late!”
I grit my teeth and wave
goodbye to my family, trying to work out how the hell to get out of this
situation.
“Thank you so much,
Chloe,” Joanne says as I enter the venue.
Joanne notices my stressed
expression and pulls me to the staff room.
“What’s up, girl?” she
asks.
“My family want to come
here.”
“Woo! Woo! Partayyy! You
get to party with your mama!” she laughs.
“No, no. This is bad,” I
say to her.
She looks at me, confused,
and I watch realisation hit her in the face like a brick.
“They don’t know you’re a
pole dancer, do they?” she says.
I shake my head no.
The family think that I’m
a bartender, which is true. However, it isn’t the only thing I do here
at the bar. On a Sunday and Wednesday, we host a pole dancing class in the back
rehearsal room. This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if the room was hidden,
but as you walk to the bathrooms in the pub, you can see the rehearsal through
the glass window.
“Can I just go to the bar
today, and you can teach the class?” I ask her.
“I’m sorry, girl, I gotta
go in five,” she starts, “I’m meeting my sister’s baby boy today.”
“Ah, have fun,” I fake
smile, trying to be happy for her.
“I’m sure they won’t see
you anyway.”
I nod and smile, watching
her disappear into the corridor where her bag and coat are hung up. Joanne
grabs her stuff and waves goodbye to me before disappearing into the bar area.
I look down at my phone to
see a notification from my mum. She tells me that Kris can’t come to the pub
for a drink this afternoon because she’s made other plans and has to leave
early. At least that’s one less person to judge me. It hits three
o’clock. I turn my phone off and shove it into my bag.
“Hello, Sunday afternoon
dancers,” I cheer with a big smile and wave to the class as I walk in, “Kaylee
is unwell this week, so you have me! My name’s Chloe. Are we going to have a
good time today?”
The class cheers and I
start their warm-up.
After the warm-up, I notice a girl
open the door.
“Sorry, I’m late. Traffic
was awful today.”
I freeze and look at the
girl. She stares back. What the hell was my cousin doing here? In this class!
“Kris?”
“Chloe? Where’s Kay?”
“She’s sick,” I tell her,
still in shock.
She puts her bottle down
and finds her space in the room. I carry the class on as usual, trying to
forget that I’m teaching my younger cousin until I give the class a break.
Walking over to her felt like a trek.
“Nan and Gramps and the
family are meant to be coming here for drinks soon,” I tell her.
“What, why?”
“Yeah. We’re fucked. They
think I’m working a bar shift here.”
“Oh my God,” She panics.
We gradually make it to the last
practice of the day. It felt like a lifetime of wondering if they would make an
appearance, but it seems that we’ve dodged a bullet.
Until a woman who looks
awfully like my mother and another like my nan strolls past the window, they
both peer through it, looking in. Mum seems to clock me and is smiling. Nan’s
jaw is on the ground. After a few moments, they walk off as if nothing has
happened. As the class finishes, I pull Kris aside and explained that Mum and Nan
saw us.
“They’re here,” I tell
her.
We leave the rehearsal
room and head to the bar where our family are sat. Nan instantly stands up,
approaching us.
“I cannot believe you two
would lie to us like that!” she starts, “Sneaking off to do some slutty version
of dancing?”
“Nan-” She cuts me off.
“No! You skipped out on
family time and lied to us, even to your mothers! It is not acceptable.”
Nan storms out and my
gramps follows.
Silence falls between the
remaining family members.
“She’ll get over it,” Mum
says, “It’s not like you’re both off drug dealing for Christ sake! It’s just
dancing!”
“I’m glad we’re on the
same page!” Auntie Lou laughs.
“You guys don’t care?”
Kris asks.
I’m just stood in shock
that my Christian family are being so okay about this.
“Nan and Gramps are a bit
more traditional than us let’s say,” Auntie Lou says, “You girls are free to do
whatever jobs you want or have whatever hobbies you want. As long as you’re
happy.”
“Seriously,” I ask.
They nod and embrace, me
and my cousin into a hug.
“Can we have a drink now?”
Mum laughs.
We laugh at her and I head
to the bar, where my friend Bobby is working and order four cocktail pitchers
for the seven of us to share. I carry them back to the table, plopping them
down in the centre.
“Maybe you girls can teach
us some of your skills,” Mum says.
We all laugh, enjoying the
time together.
Maybe it would be
interesting to give Kris, Aunt Lou and Mum a private lesson.
About the author
Gracie Jones is a writer, poet, and playwright who is studying creative writing at the University of Gloucestershire. She has had two poems, RECIPE FORE APPROVAL and THE WEB OF YOUR LOVE, previously published in the university's 2024 UNBREAKABLE anthology.
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