1.
I came home from college one hot summer afternoon to find a big black BMW parked in the driveway and the front door open. Wondering if my Mum had visitors, I stepped inside and peeked into the living room. There was nobody there.
"Hello?" I said.
"We're in the kitchen!"
"Who's 'we'?" I shouted, walking through to the kitchen. I kicked off my shoes and took the clips out of my hair, letting it fall free.
I got my answer a second later when I arrived in the kitchen and saw my Mum there with an older man, both of them sitting down at the table where the hazy sunshine fell. The man was broad-chested, with short black hair, greying at the temples but still thick. He was wearing a dress shirt and slacks, and there was a pair of sunglasses in his chest pocket.
'Well, hello,' I thought to myself, smiling at him. I was instantly glad for the weather; it had been so hot that all I was wearing was a short denim skirt and a pink halterneck. It showed off my legs and my shoulders rather nicely, and I could see something in his eyes that told me he'd noticed.
"Hi," I said to them both, but mainly to him. I flicked my blonde hair back from my ear and fixed him with my killer stare.
"Hi, darling," said Mum. She grinned at me. "Can you guess who this is?"
I blinked and looked at the man. Suddenly I realised there was something familiar about him - the line of his jaw, and the way his nose was ever-so-crooked.
"Do I know you?" I said, narrowing my eyes.
He smiled suddenly, showing a perfect line of white teeth.
"You could say that." He showed me his profile, then winked at me.
I looked at him, shaking my head. I couldn't quite place him, but I really wished I could...
"The name 'Karl' doesn't ring any bells?" said Mum.
Karl?
The penny dropped.
"Uncle Karl!" My mother's older brother, who lived in Spain and was in the car business. God. I hadn't recognised him. All of a sudden I was painfully aware of how I must have just come across: a flirty, skimpily dressed teenage fashion victim with nothing between my ears except fluff. Great - real classy, Britt.
"Hi," I said, feeling my cheeks pinking.
He laughed, looking me up and down. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have recognized you either. You've changed quite a bit in the last...how many years?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"At least eight," Mum said. "You were there at Britt's tenth birthday. Remember?"
Uncle Karl shook his head, looking at me, eyes twinkling. "My little sister's girl is really eighteen? God, where does the time go?"
He really had the most wonderful eyes. I looked away and said "Shall we have a drink?"
"Sure," Mum said.
We sat whiling away the late afternoon, chatting and drinking wine. I could hardly take my eyes off Uncle Karl. I couldn't get over how good he looked. I suppose at the age of ten, which was when I'd last seen him, you don't really noticed those things. Well, I noticed them now.
"What are you doing back here?" I asked him.
"Just visiting. It's been so long since I've seen your mother here, and I had decided to take a few weeks holiday, so I just thought 'hey, why not?'"
"What about Aunt Julie? And the boys?" I said.
Karl shrugged. "They're at home. It does me good to get away every once in a while."
Mum laughed. "How I wish I could do that. Just up sticks and take off for a week or two."
"You always were more of a grown up than me."
I looked at them. They really were similar, I decided. Something in their faces. You could tell they were brother and sister. I wondered if people would notice the same thing about me and Uncle Karl - is it easy to spot an uncle and neice?
I finished off my wine and went to get another bottle from the fridge. While I did so I forced myself to stop thinking about Uncle Karl and his wonderful eyes.
By the time Dad came home we'd finished another bottle of wine between us and had already eaten dinner. I went to bed early and tossed and turned under the covers, my thoughts always turning to the same subject.
2.
The next day was a Friday. I came back from college early and found Uncle Karl and Mum drinking more wine in the kitchen, with the cord-less phone on the table in front of them.
"Hi, Britt," Uncle Karl said, smiling.
"What's going on?" I said. Even though the previous night I'd told myself I should stop thinking about him and dress conservatively, for some reason after waking I'd impulsively put on a thin blue summer dress, shoulder-strapped and high on my thighs. I noticed his eyes ever-so-briefly linger on my legs, my chest...and told myself not to be so silly.
"We're organizing a barbeque!" said Mum. "We're calling up the whole family. Your grandparents, your cousins, your Dad's brothers. We're doing it tomorrow. Short notice, but it looks like everybody's coming."
"I'm everybody's favourite uncle," said Uncle Karl.
I giggled. 'You're certainly mine,' I thought.
"So keep your calender free, girl," said Mum. "No gadding about with your friends. It's family day tomorrow."
"Okay," I said. "Don't worry. I'm looking forward to it."
I caught Uncle Karl's eye and he winked at me, grinning.
I lay in bed later that night thinking about that wink, and that grin. No matter how wrong I knew it was, I just couldn't get it out of my mind...and what might come after. I put my hand between my legs and closed my eyes, thinking...
3.
The sun was out in full; the sky broad and blue and clear. Perfect barbeque weather. We rushed around the house, getting everything ready.
"We haven't got enough red wine!" Mum suddenly realised, kneeling down by the wine rack and running her fingers through her hair. "And everyone's going to be here in an hour!"
"Isn't it 'bring your own'?" Dad shouted through from the garden, where he was setting up the barbeque.
"I'll go," Karl said. "How many do you want?"
"Would you?" Mum said. "Bring five or six."
Karl nodded. "Five or six. Tell me where the shop is, before I go. I'm new round here, remember?"
"I'll go!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. "With Uncle Karl, I mean." I looked at him. "I'll show him the way."
Karl nodded. "Problem solved."
"Thanks, darling," Mum said.
We got into his BMW.
"Nice car!" I said, cringing inwardly as soon as I'd opened my mouth. Way to sound like a pathetic groupy.
"Thanks," he said, starting the engine. He grinned at me and put on his sunglasses. Oh well. No chance to stare into his beautiful brown eyes, but at least I had the chance to be alone with him for a while. I was wearing a halterneck top that revealed the perfect amount of cleavage whenever I bent over, a sinfully short skirt, and strappy sandals - all the best to show off the tan I'd been working on the whole summer. It would be enough to drive him wild, I knew.