Paper House
Hurry up, Ellie! Were going to be late!
Coming, Dad! Ellie was hopping on one foot, wrangling with a sock.
Her socks were, frankly, a sight. Odd coloursone pink, one lime green. Her aunt, Kate, had given them to her. The trainers too. Also mismatched. Apparently, fashion, these days, is a serious dare. Kates word is gospelshes practically a walking Vogue cover. She always said, When you havent been favoured in the looks department, you have to get creative.
Ellie didnt quite share her aunts opinion about looks. Sure, she wasnt exactly pageant material: skinny as a breadstick, olive-skinned with those unmistakably British grey eyes. Kate was unforgettable; walking beside her, Ellie could only laugh when people turned to stare.
No one ever notices you? Oh really! Therethree people just nearly walked into a lamp post!
Who? Kate would spin round, genuinely baffled.
Ellie would cackle. For all her grown up persona, Kate was as innocent as a schoolgirl. True, she was a few years older, but Ellie sometimes felt the more mature of the pair.
Naivety was Kates secret superpower.
He actually told me he liked me! Ellie, what am I supposed to do now?
Well, do you like him?
“I do! But hes terrifying!
“Why?”
Too good-looking. All the women at my office are after him. But for some reason, hes into me. Its utterly bonkers!
Kate, you are not bonkers! Youre lovely and clever! Why wouldnt he like you?
Of course, Ellies question didnt actually require an answer. No matter how hard she tried, she couldnt puncture Kates fortress of self-doubt. Ellie sometimes got frustrated to the point of tears.
Its hard to break down whats been built for years, love, her dad, Oliver, would say, shaking his head, looking every inch the long-suffering British dad.
Built by who, Dad? And why? You didnt raise me to be so uncertain!
No, I didnt. You and Kate had very different teachers.
You mean Grandma, right? Funny how you never say that out loud.
Well, what am I meant to say? That your gran wasnt exactly a Child Whisperer? That wouldnt be fair, would it? She brought me up all alone, until my stepdad turned up. You know, I always respected Peter. He wasnt just a stepdadhe was Dad. He tolerated me, then taught me more than Ill ever grasp. He believed only men should raise men, so your gran focused on Kate.
Still, Dad, its sad. Its not like Kate is a disaster! Shes just… so anxious, and frightened of everyone. Why is that?
Gran always worried. She near enough escorted Kate everywhere until sixth form. Bit obsessed, really. Shed convinced herself something would happen to her, if you ask me. Kate was her hardest bitgran spent her entire pregnancy practically at the Royal Liverpool.
Thats when you and grandad got close, wasnt it? Ellie prompted.
Dad grinned. Thats right. Peter made homemade broth and fresh pomegranate juice and braved Smithdown Market at dawn for the liver gran craved. I learned a thing or two about being a proper dad.
I remember the rocking horse he made for me, Ellie grinned.
Crafted it while he was waiting for you. Its still up in the loft, waiting for some future grandchild.
Dad!
Oh relax, not for a while, I hope?
Exactly! Then, mock-relieved, hed clutch his chesta classic dad move.
Growing up in their house had its quirks. Kate used to call it a paper house.
But why paper, Katey? Dad, a busy, spotty sixth-former, would actually make time for his little sister.
Because, Kate would say, holding up one of his meticulously folded origami tulips, its pretty, but empty. Watch. Shed smack the paper flower flat with a dramatic slap.
Oi! Why would you do that? Oliver exclaimed.
Its hollow inside. See? Make another one.
Dont squash this one, yeah?
Just watch. Shed stuff playdough into the stalk until it was solid, then beam. Now you cant squash it. Its still a paper flower, but its strong. Then, much too wise for her years, shed add, Our house needs this. Its beautiful but hollow. Needs stuffing.
Oliver stared at the flower, genuinely taken aback his sister understood the situation more deeply than most adults.
Hed learned the art from Alina, his seatmate. She never stopped folding, even mid-lesson. Teachers never scoldedshe could answer any question, even while fashioning a flock of paper swans. Oliver dutifully brought home little origami creatures for Kate, knowing their mother would not exactly approve of him inviting Alina home.
Larissa, their mother, was not a woman to cross. She loved her children insistently, but everything was learn, achieve, and above all, dont get hurt! Any affection was measured and practical.
There are no friends, only familythats enough, shed say. Neighbours, classmates, teacherseveryone was suspect. Overbearing caution was the family theme tune.
Oliver never quite got why she was so convinced disaster lurked round every suburban corner, but he saw how she scrambled about, changing jobs for flexibility, learning to drive to chaperone every club and lesson.
Eventually, Oliver got a life of his ownone with Alina, who turned out to be as fragile as her crafts.
When Alina became pregnant, Gran was horrified. Oliver! So soon? What about your degree? Couldnt you at least have waited?
He stood his ground: Mum, Im not a child. Alinas having our baby and thats that. The stand-off ended with Peters quiet support: Youre doing right, son. Your child should have a proper home.
So, when Peter quietly left the world, only a week before Ellie was born, Oliver just stiffened his upper lip and got on with it. Someone had to keep the house together, after all.
Ellie grew up in that paper house; Kate thrived a little, knowing her brother kept a little origami tulip above his desk.
Why do you keep it? shed ask.
Reminds me not to turn hollow, Kate. Reminds me to fill all our lives with a bit more than empty space.
Life trundled on with new routines. Gran, almost rigid before, now seemed to retreat into a prickly solitude after Peter died. Kates and Grans relationship teetered on a proverbial knife-edge: one wrong word and cold silence stretched between them.
Worse still, Alinas health faltered. Five years after Ellie was born, she never woke up one quiet morning. Oliver, making tea, dropped the kettle and, only when scalded water startled the family cat off the counter, did the finality of things hit him. He wandered to the childs room, found Ellies favourite toy, and howled at the loss.
For weeks, Oliver remembered nothing, shuffling through, feeding Ellie, who, sensing things, quietly attached herself to him like a baby barnacle. It wasnt until he found her, whispering softly to a photo of Alina in the empty bedroom, that he realised his own grief had blinded him to hers.
Who told you? he asked, burying his face in her hair.
Grandma. She said not to talk about Mum because youd be sad, said Ellie.
Oliver pulled her tighter. You can talk about Mum whenever you want. And ignore everything else. Promise me? Ellies wretched sob told Oliver hed left her adrift too long.
Tensions rose to a boil. One rainy night, Kate arrived, soaked and broken, collapsing into Olivers arms with unexplained bruises.
He guessed easily enough. Was it Mum?
Kate nodded. Dont send me back. Not yet. Im scared, Oliver
Careful not to escalate things, Oliver got her talking. It seemed Mum had found out about the harmless cinema dates with Maxa harmless, fluffy-haired chap with the worlds most inoffensive intentions, who hadnt even tried for a peck on the cheek.
She screamed at me, called me terrible things… said I’d end up like you Kate gasped. Oh, sorry, I shouldnt
Forget it, Oliver grunted, physically restraining Kates bout of tears in his arms. No ones letting you be hurt again. Not Mum, not anyone. Not on my watch. Dad made me promise.
He calmed her and went off to lay down the law. The argument with their mother was ugly. She alternated between anger and weapon-grade guilt trips. But for once, Oliver stood firm: Kate stays here, for as long as she needs. You need to let go, Mum.
Grandma tried to protestschool, exams, trophiesbut Oliver cut her off: Shes got me now. She wants to become a vet, not a doctor. And she willIll make sure of it!
You cant make her choices for her!
Its about supporting, not pressuring! he snapped, seeing for once a hint of doubt in her eyes instead of iron certainty. If you keep on, you’ll end up alone, Mum.
He left her flat, feeling older than the stairs he’d known since childhood. He suddenly wonderedhow many steps did the old staircase have, anyway?
His tactic worked. Grandma lasted barely two days before showing up, contrite and awkward. The journey back to ordinary family relations was not a speedy one. For five years, relations between Kate and their mother rattled back and forth like a lopsided see-saw, both never quite sure which way they’d crash.
Eventually, with Olivers support, Kate got her veterinary degree and joined a bustling London practice. Ellie, now a teenager, watched in amusement as her aunt periodically appeared with her latest patients.
“Kate! That’s a python!”
Only till his owner’s back from a conference. Hes lovely once you get to know him. His names George, by the way.
George? He has a name?
Of course.
Ellie threatened to follow Aunt Kate’s footsteps. Oliver feigned horror. The close-knit, paper-walled chaos became family mythology.
Bit by bit, everyone found a sort of normal. Kate moved forward, if a bit on autopilot, her romantic attempts routinely observed by a nosy niece.
Thendrumrollnews broke.
I want to introduce you to my boyfriend, Kate said, blushing fiercely. Promise not to mock?
Oh, well definitely cry with happiness! Ellie whooped, hugging her aunt.
One of Kates odd trainers, nicked by her last patient, was found lurking under the bed, and Ellie, shoes on the wrong feet, almost bowled herself down the hallway.
Im ready!
Really? Oliver gave a classic, eyebrow-arched British dad stare. Well, dont rush, Kate will never forgive us if we mess this up.
Dont exaggerate, Dad. We still have half an hour!
Approaching the park, Oliver and Ellie spotted the couple from afar.
Dad, is it him? Is it Max? The fluffy one?
Max grinned at Ellies theatrically-whispered interrogation. Kate blushed furiously.
In a miraculous display of social competence, Max stepped forward. Im Max.
Oliver, said Dad.
He gave an excellent handshake, classic British smile, nod and all.
Im Ellie.
Ah, Fluffy! Thats me, I suppose? Max winked. Kate scowled, then couldnt help laughing. I just want you to keep smiling like this forever, he told her. Wow, those are some shoes! Where do I get a pair?
Ellie burst out laughing and, catching a new sparkle in Kates eyes, clapped her hands in delight. Something had changeda little less steel, a bit more silver, and it suited her aunt perfectly.
Dont be alarmed, Max, Ellie shrugged, were all round the bend here. Youll fit right in!
Phew! I was a bit nervous, but youve reassured me. Can I join the collective?
Not collectivefamily! Ellie proceeded to link arms with her dad, laughter echoing in the London air.
