Chapter 18 - It Has Been Nothing But Weird
She parked the ute in front of the house and stopped the engine. She took a moment to herself to prepare for the next couple of hours, thinking of why she said yes to this in the first place. She sighed, took her hands of the wheel and placed them on her stomach. Yeah, this was the reason. She smiled at the thought of what the future would bring - There was still some time to go, she had only just hit 12 weeks but for every week that passed, it was like she grew just a bit more. You still couldn't see she was pregnant, unless you knew - Then the tiny bump was pretty obvious.
"Hi!" A happy voice said as the door to the ute opened. She quickly got pulled out of her thoughts as his voice reached her. She turned her head and got met by a smiling Alex, just as happy as his voice made him out to be. His smile was contagious and she couldn't help but draw out one herself, even though she really didn't feel like she had anything to be smiling about. Dinner with the Ryans - That never ended well.
"Are you ready?" Alex asked and took a step away from the ute, so Claire could get out. He already knew the answer to that but he had to ask. It wasn't like he usually looked forward to these kind of dinners but he had an urge to show just how happy he was - and the fact both Liz and Harry got over the moon when he told them he was going to be a father, gave him a bit of hope for a calm and quiet dinner.
"As ready as I'll ever get" Claire said and frowned at his question, making him smile even more. "It'll be okay, they are so thrilled about all of this" Alex said and closed the door to the ute before guiding her towards the house. "Yeah, that's what's worry me" Claire said and took in a deep breath as they crossed the court to the house.
They walked through the long hall and into the living room. The big window section already revealed both Harry and Liz, but also Nick around the pool table. All the way out there she wanted to turn around a run away from the dinner. She was feeling so nervous and anxious about everything - She just knew how Harry was like and she doubted they could go more than a couple of minutes with a peaceful dining.
Liz's face lit up as Alex and Claire made their way to the table through the chilly grass. "Oh, Claire!" she said and covered her mouth as if she was surprised. "It's so good to see you" she continued as she walked towards her. She embraced her in a hug, leaving Claire feeling out of place. They never hugged. As Liz pulled herself away, their eyes met and it was clear to Claire that she had never seen her this happy before. Somehow it made her feel proud. It wasn't only her and Alex who got a precious gift, it was also Harry and Liz. "Please come sit, the dinner is ready anytime now" Liz said and made way for them to take a seat at the table. Harry nodded as Claire pulled out her chair. He never changed, always having this harsh vibe around him but deep down there probably was some good in him. "Harry" Claire said and gave him a nod back. They never really greeting properly, always just a name and a nod - handshake if it had to be formal but not more than that.
Nick smiled at her from across the table, knowing how Claire must feel like being here. She wasn't at ease, it was pretty clear but he really couldn't blame her - Even he didn't know how a normal dinner with the family would play out. That kinda depended on Harry's agenda for the day.
"I must say - You took us all by surprise there" Harry said and pointed his head towards Claire's almost non-existing bump. "We didn't think we were going to have a grandchild in the near future" Harry spoke again and shared the same happy smile with Liz. "Oh, we have to toast to that!" Liz said and handed out the glasses that had been placed in the middle of the table. "Dom Perignon and homemade juice for the mommy-to be" Harry said with a wide smile as he filled the glasses around the table.
"Oh, this is a good year" Liz said and smelled to the champagne in her glass. Alex and Claire looked at each other, sharing the same look, followed by a smile saying neither one of them knew what they had gotten themselves into exactly.
"The news of a grandchild deserves the best!" Harry said as he placed the bottle on the table again. The word grandchild hit Claire all of the sudden - They were all going to be some sort of family and she wasn't sure how she felt about that and then she started to wonder how much they really knew about this whole thing.
"To the third generation of the Ryans" Harry said and lifted his glass. Claire looked at Alex with a firm expression. She wasn't too keen on this whole Ryan thing. It was her child, well Alex's as well of course but she was a McLeod and her baby would be as well. Alex shook discreetly on his head, telling her to ignore him.
"You didn't had to beat around the bush like that" Liz said after a sip of the champagne. "What do you mean?" Claire asked with a friendly smile and turned her focus to the other end of the table. "We didn't even know you were together before Alex told us the news about the pregnancy" her words made Claire turn to Alex. He hadn't told them how the things worked between them. "I didn't know what to say" Alex said with a low voice, followed by his most apologetic eyes he could find. Nick slowly started to laugh with a low voice, eager to see how they got themselves out of this one.
Claire sighed and looked back at Liz. "We aren't … actually together" she said, well knowing how it sounded and what people like Liz thought of things like that. Liz frowned and went speechless, almost as she was processing what Claire just told her. Harry snorted from the other end of the table, making all of them turn their focus his way. "How is that working? You are pregnant, aren't you?" He asked just as thrown back as Liz.
"Yeah, I am" Claire said collected, trying to strengthen herself for the next part of the conversation. "So you are pregnant but not together?" Liz asked. Claire sighed and looked at Alex with eyes begging to help her out.
"We was together in some way for a while but now we aren't" Alex said, hoping that would close the conversation but it didn't.
"I don't understand" Harry said with a much firmer voice. "How are you going to take care of the kid if you aren't together?" he asked, still with the same frowned face.
"Well .. We are just two really, really good friends, raising a child together" Claire said and started to feel attacked on the choice they had made. "Lots of people do it" Claire continued and looked at them for just the tiniest piece of understanding. "Certainly not in my day" Harry said and grabbed his glass.
"Oh Harry, we don't have to understand all these types of modern relationships" Liz said, noticing how angry Harry was starting to get. "It doesn't change the fact that Claire is carrying around a precious little granddaughter or son" she continued and placed her hand on top of Claire and gave it gentle clap. Claire gave her a smile as to say thank you but she knew Liz only said that to be polite, and that she was of the same opinion as Harry.
"Why do you always have to ruin things, huh?!" Harry hissed at Alex and emptied his glass. "Oi, what's that supposed to mean?" Alex asked and gave his father a hard look. "You know what that means. You are always out and about with girls. No wonder you can't keep to just one" Harry said and kept his firm stare at Alex. Claire felt herself go small. Alex hadn't done anything wrong, it was her - It was her decision not to be together.
Alex snorted and shook his head. He always did this - assumed everything was his fault, always. "Are you implying I cheated on Claire?!" Alex asked, outraged. He loved Claire more than anything, he would never do anything to hurt her.
"You must have done something since she doesn't want you!" Harry answered and looked around the table hoping Nick or Liz would back him up, but they didn't they remained silent. "I think I'm done" Alex said and got up from the chair, without as much as look at any of them. "Off he goes again. Always running when there's trouble" Harry yelled to his back. It took everything in his power not to turn around and plant a fist right in his dads face. He had overstepped a boundary and he had had enough.
Claire was left by herself, feeling the awkward tension slowly creep up on them around the table. She knew that what they were doing, before she got pregnant was a mess, but this had turned out to be so messier than she had thought. Why couldn't they have reacted the same way all of the others did, when they told them they was pregnant? She knew that wish had been too much to ask for. Liz and Harry was from the old school, they did things differently.
"What did he do that was so bad?" Harry asked Claire. "Dad" Nick said, trying to prevent Claire from taking any hits from his father's angriness. Claire frowned at his question - Could he for once try not to assume the worse from his sons?
"Who says he did anything?" Claire asked with a cold voice. She was feeling so angry on behalf of Alex. This wasn't a way to treat your own son, family for that matter. "He knocks you up and decided it's too much for him and run off, but he know he has to own up to his mess - is that what happened?" Harry asked again. "Dad that's enough" Nick said with a firm voice, seeing how uncomfortable both Liz and Claire was getting. Claire snorted and shook her head before she got up from the chair.
"You don't know the first thing about any of your sons" she said and threw the napkin on her unused plate. "If you haven't already figured it out, Alex is thrilled to have this baby. He didn't run away from anything - He's been there more for me, than you ever has for them in your whole life!" Claire continued and turned around, ready to get out of there but she wasn't done. Harry had opened for the whole packaged and she felt ready to explode in any minute. "And that's a shitty way to be a family!" She said and locked eyes with Harry. "You have no part in how your sons turned out - And you can think twice if you ever think, that I will let you affect my child the same way you did with Alex and Nick!" her outburst had shut Harry up. He was blown away by her words. He had never seen her like this before but he wasn't even mad at her, in some way he gained more respect for her - Not that he liked being talked to this way but she really was Jack's daughter in every single way.
"Thanks for dinner" Claire said as her final words before she turned her back towards them, ready to find Alex and tell him how a shit father he has.
"Alex are you in here?" Claire asked and gently knocked on his bedroom door and opened it before he could even answer her. "He makes me so mad Claire" Alex said and looked at her with burning eyes. "I know" was all she said and made her way further into the room. She wasn't sure what to say or do, but she felt like she was the one to blame for Harry's outburst - If she had told them that it was her who didn't wanted a relationship, the fight probably wouldn't have escalated to this extend. Alex placed himself on the edge of his bed with a huge sigh. He couldn't even be surprised by Harry anymore and yet he still was. Claire looked around the room briefly, remembering last time she was up here. Things had changed so much since then. She took the few steps that was between her and the bed and placed herself beside him.
"I'm sorry" she said and made him look confused at her. "For what?" he asked and frowned. "I should have said something down there - That it's me and not you" Alex shook his head at her. It had made no difference anyway, and he didn't wanted to have her beating herself up over it. "I'm just sorry we went to this. I should have known" Alex said and clapped her on her thigh and gave her a reassuring smile. "What are you gonna do?" Claire asked, noticing a bag of clothes on his floor. Alex looked at the bag and shrug on his shoulders. He wasn't really sure. "Guess I'll crash at Nick's" he answered and looked back at her and forced a smile. "Are there room enough for both of you there?"
"Well, there's a couch - I don't need much" Alex said and looked back at the bag on the floor. Claire frowned and shook her head lightly. "I know you don't need much but you can't sleep on the couch for more than a couple of nights and then what?" her question started a spiral of thoughts in him. He probably had to start looking for a new place to stay but he never really thought about that - His whole life was at Killarney, it was all he had ever known for a home and a job. "I just know I can't stay here. Things will get more messy than they are and I can't do that to mum - We both need to cool down a bit" he answered, knowing him and Harry would keep ending up in one blow after the other after today. Claire looked around the room, trying to find a solution to his problems and then it hit her. They had a guest room at Drovers. It wasn't fancy but they could make it work for him, if he wanted to.
"You know. We have a guest room at Drovers. Why don't you stay there for a bit?" Claire asked and gave him a comforting smile. At first he frowned. Was she really offering him to move in there?
"I know it's a bit weird" Claire said, as Alex kept quiet. "But every single thing of this, has been nothing but weird" she continued and made Alex smile and send out a small laugh. "You got that right" he said and shook his head, making Claire laugh as well. "Are you sure?" he asked and looked at her with serious eyes. Considering their past, it might wouldn't be as easy as they wanted it to be. She gave him a smile and nodded on her head. "I'm sure. Beside - It will be easier with the training and we are having a child together. It makes sense" she said and watched his smile get even bigger. "Thank you" he said, happy to know he had such an amazing woman in his life - She just proved yet again, how lovable she really was.
"I'll make sure to help out around the place" he continued and pulled her in for a hug. "Yeah, like you have choice not to" Claire said, making him laugh and shake his head.
"Right" he snorted and felt Claire starting to laugh as well. They sat like that for a couple of minutes. Just laughing and finding comfort in each other's company, as they had so many times before.
