Never Forget (Memories)

kitchen?'' Alec teases.
    ''For that sexist pig comment, son, I'm showing Lexy the mud picture.''
    ''I'm sorry. I take it back. Please don't,'' he begs. I run my tongue across my top teeth.
    ''That sounds incriminating.'' I grin and Alec visibly holds his breath.
    Jo turns to me, her eyes sparkling. ''He was about, oh, fifteen months, and we'd had a wet few days. He went into the garden to play in the mud – that's okay, really, he's a country boy – but you should know that my boy had a thing for being naked.''
    Alec groans and I purse my lips to hold in my laughter.
    ''He'd pull his clothes off at any opportunity, and he decided he'd go play in the mud starkers. I couldn't find him so assumed he was in the garden. I found a pile of clean clothes at the back door and a naked toddler rolling in a muddy puddle.'' She flicks through the book and shows me a page.
    A mini Alec with chubby cheeks and scraps of messy hair covered head to toe in mud stares back at me. Those cheeks. Oh, my.
    ''You were a cute baby.'' I wink at him.
    ''I.. Just.. No.'' He shakes his head, throws his arms in the air and goes back into the kitchen. ''I need to cook my balls.''
    Both Jo and I do a double-take.
    ''Excuse me?'' Jo cries and jumps up.
    ''Meatballs!'' Alec yells. ''Meatballs, guys. I need to cook my meatballs.''
    Jo sits back down with her hand on her chest. ''Damn boy.''
    I giggle and flick through the pictures. I see one of Alec with singed eyebrows.
    ''Why do I get the feeling this one has a good story behind it?'' I point to it.
    She smiles fondly. ''That's because it does! We were at my parents' house in Exeter and they have an open fire, much like ours. The fire was on because it cold and Alec was about eight. There was a can of aerosol on the side and the little scientist wondered what would happen if he sprayed it on the fire.''
    ''Oh no.''
    ''Oh, yes.'' She nods. ''We hear a big bang from the next room, run in, and Alec is stood in front of the fire minus his eyebrows and plus an inch of soot coating his skin. He wasn't hurt – just filthy.''
    I giggle again. ''Sounds like he was quite the mischief maker.''
    ''Was? He is. We need to watch him cook in the kitchen so he doesn't accost us with super hot chilli powder.''
    ''He hasn't?'' I gasp.
    ''He has,'' she says solemnly and I follow her into the kitchen.

    ALEC

    I curse the onion as my eyes pour with tears and turn away, rubbing them clear with my sleeves. I spot two blurry figures.
    ''Crying, dear?'' Mum says and pours two glasses of wine from the bottle in the fridge.
    ''She's under-age,'' I tease, drying my cheeks.
    ''Oh, for like, seven hours.'' Lexy rolls her eyes. ''Sheesh.''
    ''No such thing as under-age,'' Mum says nonchalantly and hands Lexy a full glass. ''Not in my house.''
    Lexy accepts the glass with a grateful thank you and they both sit at the table.
    ''You can't tell, you know,'' Lexy says, studying me. I turn back to the chopping board.
    ''Can't tell what?'' I dump the onion, pepper and garlic into the pan with the meatballs and the sauce.
    ''That you burnt your eyebrows off.''
    ''Mum.'' I freeze. ''You didn't.'' No-one says anything. I stir the food once and glance over my shoulder. ''Mum?''
    ''I have no intentions of saying anything on the grounds I may incriminate myself.''
    ''The evidence against you is pretty damning,'' I remind her.
    ''Evidence is not an admission of guilt,'' she giggles and she clinks her glass with Lexy's.
    ''I'm done for.'' I turn back to the cooker. ''Now they've teamed up. Fifteen minutes and they're drinking wine and embarrassing me. I should just go and join a monastery.''
    ''Ha!'' Mum cries. ''You? A monk? That's about as likely as oranges turning bright pink.''
    I roll my eyes. She's crazy, but she's all I've got. I look back over at the table and see the brown haired girl smiling and laughing with her.
    No, I'm wrong.
    I have Lexy now, too.

    ~

    ''I can't believe you actually cooked this,'' Lexy says when she's put her fork down. ''It was pretty good.''
    ''Minus the spaghetti mishap,'' yes, I burned the spaghetti, ''I'd say I did okay.''
    ''And calling the meatballs your balls,'' Mum adds. ''You and mixing up your words. It's not the first time, is it?''
    I know where this is going, and I feel the sting as it spreads outwards from my heart. ''Yeah, yeah, I remember.''
    Lexy looks between us and I know she can sense the mood shift. ''Should I ask?''
    ''You can always ask,'' Mum says. ''It's one of the best stories, in