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The laptop needed rebooting by the time they were ready to make the connection with Dublin

‘Junior here’ Conor’s hand splayed across her tu it norht’

Tamara chuckled as she spread her hand on top of Conor’s ive him plenty of workouts’

Conor tapped the internet icon ‘Let’s do this’

Oh, boy She parked her butt on a stool, fidgeted with the bracelet on her wrist Not ready So not ready Was she rushing into this without checking out everything about Conor? But, then, how did she do that? And did she really want to? It seemed underhand But last time she’d trusted a ns

‘Hey, Mam, how are you?’ Happiness radiated out of Conor’s eyes as he talked to his mother for a few minutes Then he shifted the laptop so she was in the picture too ‘I’ve got someone I want you to meet’

A gazillion faces appeared before her, each person pushing someone else out of the way The cacophony of excited, al and reminded Tamara of a visit to a bird sanctuary in Queensland oing on when they were all talking at once?

Conor reached for her hand, held it firmly ‘Tamara is my fiancée’

Herfor a slow lead-in, then ‘Ah, um, hi, everyone’

‘Hello, Taeous’

‘What do you see in our lump of a brother?’

‘Hey, Tamara, are you a Kiwi?’

‘Conor,’ hisher and not told me?’

He leaned close to Tamara and whispered, ‘See? Another reason why I came Down Under’

She shook her head at him ‘You have no idea how fortunate you are’ How could he have left Ireland? His family? She’d never have been able to do it

‘You’re not saying much,’ someone, female, said

‘I’,’ she quipped

‘Meet the family,’ Conor’s mum responded ‘It’s like this all the time’

Conor held his hand up ‘Okay, guys, shut up for a s to discuss with you and I only want to say them once’ Instant silence descended

‘Unbelievable’ Tamara smiled

‘Yep,’ he ht in with the next load of news ‘We’re having a baby in sixto Sydney’

Conor continued yabbering to his fa fast Back to nor Conor’s baby she’d become a part of this family So far they hadn’t pulled faces or called her names It had never ceased to shock her how sonised her from camera shots or headlines in the paper could coh she was known to them Worse, they often had plenty of advice for her, froet back on her feet to what she should do to pay back all those

‘Tamara, welcome to our family You don’t kno thrilled I am about this news And you uess we’d better go, but I’ll talk to you again soon’

‘Th-thank y-you’ A tear sneaked down her cheek at the sier Conor’s s really were looking up With such a wonderful faenuine, Conor must be the real deal, surely?

Leaning her head against his shoulder, Taers over his chest ‘Your mother’s lovely So are Dave and all those sisters and their families’

‘You should try contacting your ain’

She stiffened ‘What’s the point? She’ll only tell et on with it Without her’

‘When did you last talk? As in really talk?’