"But you've never had me Mum's tea," Angus said as we walked down the street. We were in Burwood where he grew up. It was a pretty little place, nice and quiet with a few children playing outside on their summer vacation. We saw one group of kids crack an egg on the footpath to see if it would fry. It wasn't hot enough for that though I was breaking a sweat. Angus held my hand and led me up to a beautiful little house. "Nothin' like a mother's cookin'."

After letting ourselves in Angus stopped at the doorway and looked around. 

"Mum?" he called to no one in particular. 

"She's out right now," a man said from somewhere in the house. Angus closed the door behind us. The man was quite a bit taller than Angus but looked so much like him...

George Young. Easybeats. Easy...beats....

I wobbled where I stood. Pretending like I didn't recognise him I shook his hand when he offered it to me, my palms sweating. "You already know George," Angus said. I certainly did. I knew from the moment I saw him. Guitarist, songwriter, and producer all in one human man. "Where's Mum?"

"Shoppin' for dinner, Dad's at the post. This the woman you won't shut up about?" George gave me a wink much to Angus' dismay. 

"Is there anyone else home?" Angus asked leading me further into the house. There was a fan blowing from the window sill. "Mal? Linda? Anyone?"

"Jus' me," George said pulling out his cigarettes. He sat down on the couch and crossed one leg over the other. "Come on, now." He lit the cigarette and took a puff. "Don't be coy, is this your woman?"

"Hannah, yes," Angus said blushing. "I've only mentioned her a couple of times, ya' know."

"Don't be so modest, Ang, you've been thinkin' of nothin' else your whole tour." I blushed too. George lowered his voice when he spoke directly to me. "You're a keeper, I've heard," he said. Angus looked down at his feet and I looked down at mine. The front door opened, snapping us back to reality. Two women carrying paper bags filled with groceries walked in. "I'll help, Mum." George stood up from the chair and took one bag from each woman and brought them to a kitchen. 

"Thank you, George," she said. "Angus, it's good to see you!" Angus gave her a quick hug then hugged the other woman. 

"Ang," she acknowledged. The older woman stared at me for a minute before looking back to Angus. I shrank in my shoes. Was I too overdressed? Angus assured me that anything was fine except for a loincloth. I picked out my favourite black dress with my leather jacket but began to wonder if it were too much. 

"Hannah?" she asked Angus. He nodded and beamed at me. "Oh, how nice to finally meet you!" She held up her bag. "Let me go put this away so I can see you properly." The younger woman held out her hand as Mrs. Young followed George.

"Pleasure, love, I'm Margaret. My kid brother here loves asparagus so I made sure to buy extra," she said elbowing Angus. 

"Wonderful," he muttered smiling. Mrs. Young came back promptly smoothing her dress out. 

"Oh, let me have a look at you!" she sang, gently cupping my face in her hands. "Lovely. Just lovely. Angus, you should have brought her over earlier!" 

"Should have," he agreed. "Didn't have the time."

"Make the time!" Mrs. Young kindly scolded. "We always have room for family here." I could have teared up. "You both wait right here, I'll make you some tea." She left us in the living room, Angus giving me a nudge with his elbow.

"Watch the master at work," he whispered nodding toward the kitchen. "You'll levitate."

Margaret put away her share of groceries and sat down on the couch, smoothing out her dress. "You can have a seat, Hannah, if you like," she said looking at Angus, grinning. "Since he's too shy to speak up."

"I was jus' gonna say somethin', actually," Angus scoffed. He moved aside a throw pillow from an easy chair and gestured for me to sit down. I took his offer and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down to sit next to me. The chair was only meant for one person but seeing as Angus and I were rather tiny....

He didn't object.

"Did Angus tell you about his days in primary?" Margaret asked me. "Oh, he was so cute."

"Still am," Angus shrugged. I couldn't possibly argue with that. 

"He always drew in class and he was so good at it too! Remember, Angus, you'd draw that moose you liked so much? And you would draw Mum and Dad and show them?" Angus clasped his hands and looked shyly at the carpet. "They'd hang them on the fridge or show friends."

It didn't surprise me. Angus was a terrific artist. I smiled at him with pride. 

"Used to make art out of anythin', ya' know?" he told me. "Like...wood, or...my school desk, ya' know?" He sniffed and looked back down at the floor. "I'm better than I used to be, I was...beginner, ya' know?"

"Oh, he was always great," Margaret said. "He's just being shy."

Before Angus could have disagreed someone started playing piano a room away. "That's George," Angus explained. "He gets ideas for songs out of the blue an' jus' plays 'em."

"He's been playing this song for a few days now," Margaret said listening. "I recognise it. This one might be a hit."

Mrs. Young came back with two cups of tea and handed them to Angus and me. "Drink up, kids, plenty more on the stove! Would you like some Margaret?"

Angus took his cup and looked at me with a smile, waiting for me to drink first. I did and was floored by the taste. My eyes widened and I almost choked on it. "See?' Angus said. "Told ya'."

"What is this?" I asked looking into my cup. 

"Lady Grey with cream, Mum makes it all the time." I took another sip then another. It was quite possibly the best tea I had ever drank. Angus chugged his down and held his cup in his hands. "Make sure to hang on to somethin' before you fly away," he said with a grin. 

"Angus!" called a voice from the next room. "Come here, I want to hear what you think!"

"Be right back, love," Angus said standing up and going to find George. Mrs. Young returned with a third cup of tea for Margaret and sat next to her on the couch. 

"It's so good to finally meet you," she said. "Angus mentioned he met a young lady but he kept delaying the meeting!"

"He works, Mum," Margaret said. "We didn't meet Linda till the day after the wedding, almost!"

"He's a good boy, I know it," Mrs. Young said. "Always such a sweet boy."

"He was not," someone said. We all looked up to the front door and saw Malcolm with Linda on his arm holding a box. "Ang's a menace."

"Nonsense, you both were sweet little boys," Margaret said sipping her tea. "Sure you had scraps with each other and the kids at school-"

"They deserved it," Mal muttered. 

"You were good boys," she insisted. "I raised you right along with Mum, right, Mum?"

Mrs. Young nodded. "You certainly helped out," she said. "I wouldn't say 'raised'..."

"I raised Angus," Malcolm said taking the box from Linda and bringing it to the kitchen. Linda came over to me to give me a hug. "Fed 'im, changed 'im...that's why I started smokin', anythin' to fend off the smell!" Linda and I giggled. 

"You were two!" Mrs. Young called out. Malcolm came back out of the kitchen with his arms crossed. 

"Minutes away from holdin' a yard sale..." Linda gave him a skeptical look. 

"Aren't you glad you didn't go through with that?" she asked reaching out for him. Malcolm took her hand and kissed her knuckles. 

"Yeah, sure. He's a good brother." Angus and George came back from the piano talking about various artists George had been working with lately. I didn't recognise every name but I thought I heard Bowie amongst them. "There he is, thought Ang might have given Hannah directions on a chocolate wrapper."

"Thought you might have gotten halfway here before realisin' you left Linda at home," Angus retaliated. "That's why you're the last one here."

"Nah, I'd never leave my woman behind," Malcolm said pulling her closer to him. "Speakin' of last one here, where's Dad?"

"Mailing a few Christmas cards at the post," Mrs. Young said. "You should be getting them in a couple of weeks."

"Should be gettin' some from Bon too," Malcolm said. "But it's busy, don't know if he's gotten around to it."

I finished my tea. It really was some of the best I'd ever had and I'd have gotten more if I hadn't been so shy. What was I supposed to do, push everyone out of my way to the kitchen and drink all of it? Loudly belch and demand more? No, I'd be satisfied with what I was given. 

"Would you like any more tea, Hannah?" Mrs. Young asked. I smiled. 

Well, if you insist...

"Yes, please," I said and she took my cup to the kitchen. Angus scooted past the crowd and took his place next to me on the chair, holding my hand. I listened as the rest of the group chatted and caught up with lives and careers. In my head I wondered if any of them secretly thought I was gross or the ugliest woman on the planet. Maybe they were too nice to say anything out loud, unlike my brazen family. I kept my eyes to the floor, too shy to join in. I didn't want to interrupt the flow anyway. 

**********

Mr. Young came back from the post just in time for dinner. He shook my hand and took his spot next to his wife telling her how good the food looked. She cooked ravioli and a side salad. And I was ready. I made sure not to serve myself too much as I already drank two cups of tea beforehand but it was so tempting. Sauce kept dribbling down my chin and I must have grabbed about ten napkins before Angus placed more in front of me, laughing. I started laughing too and it took every effort to keep my food from flying out. 

We quieted down as best we could after getting some suspicious attention. George brought out a bottle of champagne from the kitchen and uncorked it. "Sorry, Mum," he said as it poured over the rug. Everyone took some except me. Tea was my alcohol. Malcolm poured himself a glass but Linda passed the bottle on. Even Angus poured half a flute but I only saw him sip at it once. 

"I hope everyone made it back to Australia in one piece," Mrs. Young said eyeing her sons. 

"Oh, yeah," Malcolm said taking a drink. "We're all still covered in icicles an' thawin' out but we're fine."

The fan in the window sill collapsed to the floor scaring all of us senseless. It laid there pitifully, having come unplugged from the wall. "Oh, not again," Mrs. Young sighed. Malcolm stood up to fix it. 

"I got it, hang on..."

"Well done, Mal, you put a curse on it," George said. 

"It's only fallen three times when I've been here," Malcolm said as he set it back up on the window. I could see one of the blades was cracked. 

"An' you were sitting next to it every single time," George said pouring more champagne. "That's pretty telling."

"We've been meaning to find a new one," Mr. Young said. "One you hang on the wall."

"It's not Mal's fault fans swoon around him," I said. Malcolm looked around the table with a smug grin on his face as he resumed his seat. 

"Ya' know, she's right," he said. Linda playfully elbowed him and stood up to fetch the box from the kitchen counter. 

"Mal and I picked up a cake on the way here," she said lifting the lid and holding it up. "Just a small chocolate Christmas cake."

"Tell 'em how much it cost," Malcolm said over his shoulder.

"Mal, that's not important," Linda said grabbing a knife to cut it. "A cake is a cake."

"How much?" George asked. 

"Fifteen." George whistled. Linda grabbed some small plates from a cupboard. 

"Okay, it was a little expensive."

"A little?" Malcolm asked incredulously. "That was the lowest they had, an' I'm all for treatin' the family, but shit." Linda placed a piece of cake in front of him. "Thanks, love. Anyway, food prices are out of control around here."

"Mum and I spent about fifty dollars each on our food," Margaret said accepting her cake slice from Linda. "Maybe a little less...even so."

Malcolm nodded his assent. "See?"

After serving Mr. and Mrs. Young Linda handed over a slice to Angus. "Mal picked this out especially for you, Ang," she said looking at Malcolm who had some frosting on his lip, his mouth full.

"I did?"

"Thanks, Mal," Angus said setting right to work. I took my piece and ate it slowly, savouring every bite. After everyone was given their cake, leaving none left in the box the family talked some more and I sat listening. 

Until Margaret asked a question.

"So, are you two thinking of getting married?" I almost choked on my cake. What do I say to that? The subject had never come up between us. Margaret could see there was something special to our relationship, especially during the napkin debacle over dinner. But marriage was such a big step and the timing was never right. Angus had to leave for the tour again and I was a travelling train wreck. I couldn't even open my mouth to speak. 

"Jus' might," Angus said next to me. I looked at him to see him looking at me with a gentle smile. "We jus' might."

My cheeks burned and I turned back to my cake. In truth I wasn't against the idea at all. Spending the rest of my life with this man...waking up to him in the mornings....holding his hand whenever I wanted...it all sounded pretty great. Then why was my heart racing for no reason? Why was the fork slipping between my sweaty hands? Angus wrapped an arm around me pushing his empty plate away. I leaned into him feeling his comforting warmth. 

One step at a time, I guess.

**********

"Here, I found this," Angus said handing me a button down shirt that appeared to be too big for me. "Mum's got a pile of old clothes stored up from years ago. That used to belong to George, I think."

I inspected the shirt and found it suitable to wear to bed. Instead of sending Angus out of the room I simply changed in front of him, laughing when he turned a little pink. "Nothing you haven't seen before," I said. 

"I wasn't starin'," he said coughing. "Caught me off guard, is all." I buttoned up the shirt and slipped my hands underneath to remove my bra. After pulling it out from under the shirt I hung it around Angus' neck and got into bed. 

Angus and I were sharing a guest room while Malcolm and Linda got a room down the hall. George couldn't stay; he had work early in the morning and wanted a motel that was closer. It was decided Angus and I would spend the night then he would drop me off at my house tomorrow afternoon. Angus took the bra and tossed it to the floor along with my other clothes, a tiny smile on his face. After removing most of his clothes he got into bed next to me and wrapped his arms around my waist copping a quick feel. "I think I prefer the real thing," he said nuzzling into my hair. 

"You don't mind that they're small?" I asked. I could feel his warm breath on my ear.

"Well...they're bigger than mine an' that's what matters," he said kissing my cheek. "Night, love."

"Goodnight."