encourage him, Isabella,’ Angela berated her.
‘Mu-u-u-um.’ The four syllables betrayed Isabella tortured sense of unfairness.
Milo grabbed Antony around the middle and swung him into the air. Antony’s feet just missed clocking a waiter.
‘Aa-a-a-ange,’ said Milo over Antony’s gulping giggles, ‘don’t blame Bella. It’s my fault.’
‘That’s right. It’s Uncle Milo’s fault!’
‘I know it’s your Uncle Milo’s fault,’ Angela said, unamused.
Frank’s feet were tingling from the effort of standing perfectly still while he waited for Milo to reach him, instead of barging through the crowd, shoving people aside as he went. When Milo slid his arms around Frank’s waist, Frank melted into the embrace.
‘I made it.’
‘By the skin of your teeth.’
‘But I made it. I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Happy birthday, gorgeous Bear.’
Frank, his arms wrapped around Milo too, sighed out the last of his tension. ‘I missed you.’
‘Missed you too.’ Milo kissed Frank’s nose, then his lips. ‘No more trips for a while.’
‘Good.’ A deeper kiss, a glad-to-be-home kiss, where home was one another.
‘Not in front of the kids, Frank!’ Angela’s hissed, uncomfortable whisper broke them. Milo cocked a snarky eyebrow at her preparing for battle, which was fair enough, but Frank had really been hoping to avoid another stupid fight with his sometimes insensitive sister.
Their mother Tonia saved him the trouble.
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, Angela, they’re just kissing. You and Michael kissed in front of the kids!’
‘They used to,’ Isabella asserted. ‘Even when I told them it was gross.’ Then the girl’s face crumpled, maybe wishing they were still doing their gross parental kissing instead of divorcing.
‘A birthday kiss is very appropriate,’ Tonia said loudly over the increasing discomfort.
‘Happy birthday, Uncle Fraaaaaaaaaank!’ shouted Antony, at the reminder. Antony had enjoyed shouting it at regular intervals throughout the evening.
‘Thank you Antony-Mantony!’ Frank shouted back, grateful for the interruption. He crouched and spread his arms wide to catch the human torpedo that flung himself into his arms. Frank lifted him up again and swung him around. Antony squealed joyfully.
‘Careful Antony!’ Tonia cautioned. ‘Don’t hurt your Uncle Frank!’
‘Mum, I’m 38 not 150.’
‘Your father’s back went when he was 40.’
Frank didn’t want to admit that whirling a four year old in a circle was in any way putting a strain on his lower back, but he deposited his nephew on the floor again and set him running off towards Isabella again. Milo, fond and sympathetic, tucked himself by Frank’s side and slung an arm around Frank’s waist.
‘I promise not to tell them how flexible you still are,’ he murmured into Frank’s ear. Frank slipped a hand down to pinch Milo’s bottom. Milo wriggled and kissed Frank’s ear.
Before Frank could get too distracted, he caught Olivia laughing at them. She quickly covered that up by joining in a conversation with another guest, Gabriella Valli, while her husband Pete talked football with Frank and Milo’s sometimes-drummer, Minh Do.
‘Wait till you’re 40, sunshine!’ called out Frank’s mate Rob. ‘Not long now!’
‘Fuck you too!’ Frank yelled cheerfully back, then winced as Angela shot him a look.
Isabella came to the not-quite-rescue. ‘It’s okay Mum, I know the word “fuck”.’
‘Isabella Julia Kingsley!’
Isabella Julia Kingsley flushed red and hid behind Tonia, who tutted often but never shouted.
Antony began to sing that ‘Bella said a ruuuuuuuudie!’ and Isabella to protest that it was no big deal, everyone said it, not just Uncle Frank. ‘You and dad said it all the time before you split up.’
Angela stared at her daughter. ‘Fuck it,’ she said, and downed the rest of her chardonnay in a swallow.
‘That’s the spirit, Ange,’ Milo cheered, slipping away from Frank and grabbing a bottle of wine to top up her glass.
Frank genuinely couldn’t work out if this was the best or the worst birthday party he’d ever had. The little family-and-close-friends do was low-key, exactly what he wanted, but still somehow fraught. On the one hand, all of his family were there. On the other hand, all of his family were there. If tonight didn’t kill him, he’d make sure they had two separate parties in future. If he bothered to have any more. Fuck thirty-eight. Maybe it was time to just have cosy nights in with Milo watching costume dramas and sharing a tiramisu.
‘You and Frank are the lucky ones,’ Angela was now saying to Milo. ‘I mean, you should be able to get gay married, but at least you don’t have to get gay divorced.’
‘Yeah,’ deadpanned Milo. ‘It’s a super terrific bonus to not having equal rights.’
Angela, who was holding out her empty glass for refill, missed the snark.
‘Happy birthday, big brother,’ she tossed over her shoulder to Frank. ‘Being gay means never having to explain to your kids that daddy is a cheating bastard liar.’
‘Aaaand maybe that’s enough wine for now.’ Milo steered Angela towards Tonia and pirouetted away to perform some other good-host deed, making up for lost time. Frank wished Milo would come back and kiss him again.
Five minutes later, Milo slipped in behind Frank and hugged him, kissed his neck. ‘Wanna smooch some more and corrupt the kiddies?’
Frank laughed, turned in Milo’s arms and they kissed, though chastely.
‘I’m getting some canapes, I’m starving,’ said Milo, and slipped away again. Frank watched him, feeling that nothing could be too bad, if Milo was around being a charming sod and cheeking the relatives.
Maybe he could go home and cuddle with Milo soon. As soon as they could get everyone else to go away.
‘Step-son!’ Pete waved Milo over.
‘Step-dad!’ Milo wrapped an arm around Pete’s shoulder and gave him a smacking kiss on the side of the head.
‘Minh says they’ve announced a new Hobart Kites footballer to go on that skating show with you.’
Milo nodded. ‘The producers said. Adam Wills. Same team, same charity, all good.’
While they talked football, Frank accepted a hug from Gabriella Valli. ‘Happy birthday, Frank. I don’t think you’re
