3
Key to the Door
Saturday 19th November 1988
The smell of roast chicken filled the kitchen, enhanced by the additional aroma of thyme. Ava glanced over at the array of vegetables sitting obediently in their serving dishes, plus the array of condiments awaiting attention. Everything was behaving itself.
With the radio blasting ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ by Guns ‘N’ Roses, she performed a little secret dance while her guests chatted at the table in the next room. She even slipped in a quick mime of the chorus, using a kitchen implement as a mock microphone, but the timer pinged and interrupted.
Ava grabbed the oven gloves and reached down to take the chicken out. As she grasped the roasting tray, a surreal sight greeted her eyes. Wrapped around the succulent chicken, she saw two entwined snakes, writhing and poking their tongues out. Ava suppressed a shriek and dropped the tray on the floor.
God damn these hallucinations!
They were beginning to affect her everyday life now, and caught her at the most inopportune moments…like cooking for her entire family for her 21st birthday meal.
One of her flatmates, Emma, poked her head around the door.
“Everything okay?”
They both looked at the roasting tray on the floor, and figured everything wasn’t actually under control. Emma’s hand shot to her mouth, and Ava rescued it before it looked even sorrier than it already did. Thankfully, the chicken hadn’t launched itself onto the tiles, and no one else witnessed the culinary travesty.
“You’re the only person I know who cooks for everyone on her birthday,” Emma commented, assisting Ava in transferring the platters to the dining table, which was already laden with cutlery.
The whole family sat around the table, almost arm to arm with the tight squeeze. Ava and Emma set the chicken onto a plate while her father, David Kavanagh, offered to carve. He possessed a natural air of authority, interlaced with good humour and a warm smile, so he joked about his army days as he sliced the chicken.
Everyone began to help themselves to vegetables. Ava’s flame haired sister, Ginny, slapped the wrist of her husband as he reached over her, and he shot her an irritated glance. In her early thirties, she appeared quite athletic, as if she threw javelins for a living or rode horses, a modern Boudicca to her Roman looking partner. They seemed to have a relationship similar to the Iceni and Romans too, but curtailed their altercations for Ava’s benefit.
“That’s a beautiful scarf you’re wearing, Ava,” her mother commented. “It looks really vintage.”
Caroline Kavanagh’s eyes fixated on the red silk scarf around Ava’s neck, which she’d tied loosely.
“I found it recently,” she explained.
She gave Ava a broad smile, exemplifying her once carefree and hedonistic nature, as if she’d been a flower power queen in the sixties.
As they tucked into their meal, her father poured the wine and everyone raised their glasses.
“Happy birthday!”
She tried to shrug it off with modesty, but appreciated their toast. However, her gaze drifted over to the two empty chairs.
“Well, almost the whole family is here,” she said.
After a short while, Ginny decided to make polite conversation with Ava as the men discussed cars and technology.
“So, is there a special man in your life?”
Ava wanted to grit her teeth, as her oldest sister always became obsessed with other people’s relationships. Instead, she forced a polite reply. “No. I split with Michael a few months ago.” The regrets were difficult to hide though, and her voice faltered a little.
“Sorry to hear that, you were such a promising couple,” she consoled.
“No harm in leading a single life,” her other flatmate, Jason, interjected.
“I thought you two were going to leave for the States after you’ve finished your degree. This is so…abrupt.”
Ava wished the floor would swallow her up as Ginny continued.
“Honestly, men are terrible for cold feet. They never have the courage-.”
Caroline shot Ginny a warning look and she tried to appear nonchalant about being scolded by her mother’s icy stare. Their older brother, Robert, came to the rescue, a mild mannered and dark haired technician in the army who displayed more refined social skills than their big sister.
“When you’ve finished your degree in genetics, what do you intend to do next?”
“Look for a job!” Ava laughed. “But first, I’ve to focus on the last year of study, a dissertation won’t write itself.”
“What’s your dissertation about?”
“Telomeres and their role in the aging process. I think they have a big future.”
“Telomeres?” he queried.
“The bits on the ends of chromosomes,” she answered, realising it hadn’t enlightened him any more.
He nodded appreciatively, accepting that he hadn’t a clue what she was talking about.
Ava’s ears tuned into the discussion between her father and her oldest brother, Jack. He exemplified the classic eighties yuppie, complete with a Filofax, mobile phone as heavy as a house brick, and a monotonous repertoire of conversation topics and jokes about his high-flying lifestyle. Good looking, he fancied himself as a playboy, but unfortunately his obnoxious demeanour acted as a turn off. He showed everyone his pride and joy, complete with chunky antenna, and elaborated on the merits of being able to call someone while walking down the street.
“Of course,” Jack stated, “not everyone will have one in the future, nice to be part of an elite. I mean, why would anyone want to call someone while on the move, unless you were a businessman?”
Ava switched off while Jack began to boast eloquently of his last financial conquest.
Fortunately, if you looked at it that way, the door bell rang and Ava saw this as an opportunity to escape the inane onslaught of finance. However, Robert stood up to answer it, indicating she had every right to sit and enjoy her meal.
As he left the room, she wondered who rang the doorbell. Two people absent…one or both would exceed her expectations.
Robert led a young man into the room. Ava smiled affectionately and he returned the gaze, which he held for longer than would be customary. Most of the room’s occupants recognised him and were pleased to see him. This insanely beautiful youth had quite an androgynous look, with intense brown eyes, ebony hair in a contemporary style, an aquiline nose, and slim build. He wore a black shirt, and jeans with a deliberate frayed tear at the knee plus a studded bracelet typical of the eighties, so he looked vaguely like a rock god in formation. Emma’s eyes lit up, which caused Ava to smile, if only she knew he’d only just turned sixteen. However, he didn’t notice Emma. Instead, he appeared to be fixated on Ava, which didn’t go unnoticed by Caroline, her mother.
“This is Sam, he’s my cousin,” she informed her flatmates, Emma and Jason, who acknowledged him.
Caroline looked concerned. “Is your father not here?”
That was a moot point for Sam, and he shrugged bitterly. “Work comes first.” The words were spoken with a degree of vehemence.
Ava smiled sympathetically at Sam, who tried to hide his feelings and she concealed her own disappointment, for she also wished her uncle could have made it. He’d guided her throughout her life, so it saddened her that he wasn’t here.
Sam took an empty plate and helped himself to the food, then quietly began to eat. Numerous times he glanced over at Ava, who returned his gaze with some fondness. She remembered him as a young boy, one who’d grown up without a mother and suffered the emptiness of a frequently absent father. As much as she adored her uncle, she didn’t agree with the way he’d nurtured Sam, and in many ways, she’d looked out for him throughout his childhood. Caroline had always been there for him, and in his father’s absence he’d stayed with Ava’s family many a time. Therefore, Sam had high regards for Ava and the rest of the clan.
“So,” Robert said, “what are you doing nowadays? Have you finished school yet?”
“No, I’m in my final year,” Sam answered.
“Oh, so that must mean you’re ready to take your exams. What are your specialist subjects?”
“Music and art, they’re my passion. Do you remember when Aunt Caroline bought me the piano, and kept it at your house?”
Jack interjected. “Where’s the money in music and art? I can’t say your father was too pleased.”
Sam transposed from a placid manner to one decidedly cockier.
“Well, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was number one on the album chart for thirty seven weeks and it generated seven top ten singles, making him $125 million. U2’s ‘Joshua Tree’ sold more than fourteen million copies worldwide and the tour grossed $40 million. I think that could be regarded as more substantial than mere pocket money. Would you like me to continue?"
Jack appeared embarrassed at his snappy response. Everyone looked at their plates with sudden interest, and silence fell upon the room, only broken by the sound of knives cutting chicken. A few people cleared their throats. Caroline sensed the imminent explosion and used diplomacy.
“Do you play any other instrument besides the piano?”
Sam smiled and stated proudly, “The guitar, not like my father cares but I have my own path to follow. It’s as valid as anyone else’s.”
Ava gave him a supportive look. “You must play for me sometime, I haven’t heard you perform for about five years now.”
“Yeah, I’ve improved enormously since Yankee Doodle Dandy,” he joked.
Once the meal concluded, Caroline helped shift all the dirty plates to the sink, and Jason began browsing their CD collection for the early evening entertainment. Emma wanted commercial pop, while Jason insisted on the Smiths and the Sisters of Mercy, plus a little Bauhaus when everyone had consumed too much wine.
“This is my birthday, not my funeral,” Ava objected, “and we have conservative guests today.”
Jason sighed in concession, and chart music won. Ava laughed inwardly though. Conservative her family may be, but they were like dynamite and earthquakes together sometimes.
Kylie Minogue kicked off the evening with a song entitled ‘I Should Be So Lucky.’
“One hit wonder,” Jack scoffed.
At this point, the door bell rang again and Caroline answered it. A few minutes later, a bohemian looking woman a little older than Ava breezed in, with her boyfriend in tow. She had a henna rinse on her hair and wore a stripy long sleeved t -shirt. Handing Ava a bottle of wine, she gave her a hug.
“Sorry sis, we couldn’t make the meal, we only got back from Goa last night. Happy birthday!”
“Glad you finally made it, Nettie, just in time for the wine!”
Jack butted in, clutching a bottle of Budweiser and looking more arrogant than usual.
“If you don’t find a suitable job, you can always start as my assistant. You’ll soon work your way to the top.”
Sam cut in, after eavesdropping. “I think my father is interested in recruiting you, Ava, when you’ve finished your degree of course. You know how he has a vested interest in science.”
“It’s okay, I’ll find something, there’s an abundance of jobs in the scientific field.”
She used Sam as a cue to exit Jack’s company, and the monotonous train of conversation concerning finance and accounts.
“Shall we open this bottle and dispense the wine?”
They moved into the kitchen, and Ava rummaged in the drawers for a corkscrew. Sam watched her uncork the wine, with the adulation of a teenager in love for the first time.
“You become more beautiful every day,” he said.
Ava stood looking at him with the bottle in her hand, unsure about his intentions. Prince began to sing ‘When Doves Cry’ in the background.
She replied with a compliment. “And you’re turning into a handsome young man, I’m sure you’ll have no shortage of girlfriends.”
“As long as they’re like you, and are as intelligent as you.”
She averted her eyes for a moment, trying to deal with the strange feelings his comment churned up. How could he think like that?
“Sam, I love you as a member of the family. I know I’ve played a huge role in your childhood, but, you’re my cousin….”
“Adopted cousin, remember?” he pointed out.
Yes, adopted. They both knew that all too well. Her parentage had become a sensitive issue since Caroline had told her about the adoption years ago, just as the hidden identity of Sam’s mother gnawed at him occasionally.
He moved closer to her and placed one hand on her hip. She paused, bottle of wine still in her hand, unsure what to think. Sam placed her hand on his stomach, and began to sing along with the music, referring to the lyrics.
“Can you feel how my stomach trembles inside?”
His infatuation confused her, it being so direct and unexpected. He continued singing along and enjoyed the feel of her hand on his stomach. As he received no rebuttal, he began to move her hand further down his body, and a little thrill of sexual arousal tingled throughout her nervous system.
This is so wrong.
Her sister, Annette, burst onto the scene, thankfully not excruciatingly drunk. At this point Sam pulled away, a little embarrassed and feeling his moment had been cruelly deflated. As much as Ava wanted Sam’s company, his unexpected romantic interest had disturbed her deeply and thrown up some confusing feelings. Nettie provided a much needed distraction.
“Life has turned upside down this summer!” she declared.
Ava became fascinated by the drama and mystery. “Is this concerning your latest travels?”
“Well, sort of.”
“Where have you been this time?”
“To another freaking dimension! Seeing as it’s the summer of love, I took part in a little drug experimentation…”
In the background the music changed to Bon Jovi, ‘Living on a Prayer’, to which Jason and Emma began to sing along in their semi drunken state.
“Drugs???” Ava blurted out, shocked.
“Shhhh! Don’t let mum hear, it was just LSD.”
“Just LSD?” Ava lowered her voice. “Why would you do that?”
Annette rolled her eyes. “To free my mind, you really should try it. The colours are amazing and when it peaks, everything you think is so profound, and the hallucinations really are out of this world. I sat in someone’s house after a party, and the carpet was just writhing with snakes.”
“Snakes?”
Warning sirens began to sound in Ava’s head.
Nettie takes acid and sees snakes.
I saw snakes today, in the roasting tin.
Coincidence?
Ava made wild connections, or were they wild?
Am I tripping on LSD, or something?
Nothing made sense anymore. Surely someone hadn’t been spiking her drinks or food, had they?