CALL:
I stare at the screen, surprised. Euan's calling me? Really? My brother never calls. As in, the last time he called was over a month ago. And that was to ask if he'd left his coat here. I wonder what could be so important? After getting over my surprise, I answer.
"Euan? What the hell are you calling me for?"
"Wow, love you too Cat."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. What do you want?"
"Well actually… could you put mum on please? I tried calling her, but she wasn't picking up. "
"Oh yeah, she forgot to charge her phone again."
"Typical."
"Heh, yeah."
I walk through to the kitchen, where mum is stirring some sauce in a large pot.
"Hey Mum, it's Euan."
"Oh really? Wow, give me a second."
She places the spoon in her other hand, and takes the phone up to her ear. However, I'm only able to hear her side of the conversation.
"Hey Euan, how are you?"
"That's good, yeah."
"Uh-huh, we're free tonight, you can totally come!"
"Another person? Wait, like a… friend?"
"A girl? Well now, you mean like a girlfriend?"
I'd always thought that people spitting out their drink was something that only happened in cartoons, but today I was proven wrong. Mum spat out her tea, coughing, somehow completely missing the sauce, hissing as it splashed against the hob.
"FIANCE?!"
What? That's... not possible. We saw him just a few weeks ago, and since then he's gotten a fiance? I'm distracted from my musings by mum starting to chuckle, slightly nervously.
"Hahahaha… Euan… this is some sort of joke right?"
Mum's eyes widen from Euan's response.
"Um h-hello Monika. It's very nice to talk to you, you're Euan's girlfr- or uh, Fiance, yes?. You're, um, of course very welcome to come over tonight. "
Finally, my curiosity boils over. "Mum, can I speak to him?"
"Uh, sure honey. Euan, do you wanna talk to Catherine? Okay, here you go." She hands over the phone to me, and I hear Euan's voice again.
"Hey Euan… this is a joke yeah? You're just doing this with some friend to wind up mum, aren't you."
Euan, to his credit, seems really upbeat about the whole thing.
"Nope! Of course not. Tell you what, I'll put her on." The phone rustles for a second as I hear a new voice come on.
"Hiya Catherine! I'm Monika, Euan's fiance. I've heard lots about you!"
"Uh, hello. It's very nice to talk to you." I realise I'm completely parotting mum. "I'm looking forward to meeting you."
"Of course! So am I!"
Mum was now gesturing for me to give her the phone back, and I was all too happy to get out of this awkward conversation.
"Okay, well, I think mum wants to talk to you again, I'll put her back on."
I hand the phone back, and mum, still looking a bit shaken speaks again. "So, when are you guys gonna come round? Sarah is coming round actually, so maybe you wanna come at about 6? Dinner should be mostly ready by then. Okay great, see you then. Bye. Love you."
Mum puts down the phone, and we both look at each other for a second. I speak up first.
"Well then. That happened."
"Yeah… I'd better get back to the white sauce."
"Yeah… Euan's Gotta be joking right?"
"Maybe… But who was that girl then?"
"Well I don't know… He's good at voices I guess - maybe it's just him messing with us?"
"Suuuure..."
However, just as she began stirring, the doorbell rang. I went to grab it, and Dad entered, with my older sister Sarah in tow. Sarah was the oldest of us, having finished university last year, and was now a trainee doctor. Upon seeing me, she smiled.
"Oh, hey Cat! How are you?"
"Uh… good. Good yeah. We have some... news."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Get to the kitchen, and mum can tell you."
We went to the kitchen, where dad was already waiting, and mum still had a confused, nervous look on her face.
Before dad could speak up, mum suddenly butted in:
"So Euan has a fiance now."
Dad smiled. "And?"
"No, that isn't a joke. Euan just called me, and introduced me to his fiance, Monika. They're coming round in a couple of hours."
"You're… serious?"
"Completely. Catherine, he did, yeah?"
"Uh-huh. I even spoke to her."
Everyone is silent for a moment, before dad speaks up again.
"So what was she like?"
"Well, we didn't have long to talk, but she seemed nice enough I guess."
"Well… we'd better make sure the house looks nice for them coming."
"Yeah… Tell you what, Catherine, why don't you get in the living room, and we can do the kitchen."
"Ugh, fine okay."
The living room is actually mostly tidy already, only requiring a few things to be put away. When I'm done, I go back into the kitchen, where the topic of conversation doesn't surprise me.
"Look" Mum is exclaiming, now pouring the sauce into a large tray. "I know he's not an idiot, but he makes rash decisions just as much as anyone else. It doesn't get much more rash than marrying someone after knowing them for a month!"
"Wait, since when did he only know her a month? Euan's never exactly been the type to tell us everything has he?" Sarah retorts
"Well… I suppose… But I would've thought he'd tell us this. There's a difference between having a test to do and getting married to someone!"
"Look, Euan's an idiot sometimes, but when it comes to things big like this he takes ages to make decisions. Remember when he took like a month to decide on what gaming chair to buy? He probably took like a year to propose to this girl. If he even did - I'd put money on her being the one to propose."
"Yeah… I guess we can find everything out when he gets here."
I'm filled with a combination of dread and curiosity. What is this girl going to be like? Is she really sweet and cutesy? Is she reserved and quiet? Is she, god forbid, another Euan? As the time ticks by, I can feel the tension in the air thickening. 1 hour… 2 hours… 2 and a half.
But then, finally, the doorbell goes.
Sarah and I get there simultaneously. She gives a small grin.
"Bets this is all a joke?"
"Just… open it."
And she unlocks the door to reveal… a very pretty girl. She's not quite a model, but she's the sort of person who you can tell would look amazing in pretty much everything. Euan is just beside her, looking as shabby as ever. I'm pretty sure I can even see a hole in his shirt.
"Hi guys!"