Crowns & Chaos

fifteen

Tristan returned with our food a few minutes later, and there was a slight lull in the conversation as we ate. 

"So... Tell me about your family," I said, eyeing him.

"Well, you've met my mother and father already. I've more great aunts and third cousins than I can count on my mom's side in Italy because she had six brothers and both her parents had lots of siblings. My dad has a younger sister, my aunt Nell, who I see often. Her kids Paxton and Lukas are 9 and 13 I believe, and they are the only first cousins I see regularly. I have grandparents in Italy and of course, my father's parents, who live at the palace."

"Wow. No siblings though?"

He sighed. 

"I'm sure you've read the papers. My older brother James fell in love with a waitress in Las Vegas when he was twenty-six and I was seventeen. He abdicated almost immediately after she got pregnant, ran away with her to God knows where and we haven't seen or heard from him since."

"Oh... I'm so sorry."

"I'm not, honestly. After I got over the initial betrayal of it all, I was honestly kinda proud of him."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He knew what he wanted, and he was willing to do whatever it took to find that."

"He must have really loved her. It kinda sucks that he left all the responsibility on you, though."

Peter shrugged. 

"I guess. It feels pretty normal now."

I could see it in his eyes. 

"You really miss him, don't you?"

He nodded, looking at the table. He pushed some food around the plate with his fork. 

"Every day."

"I'm really sorry that I brought it up, I didn't realize-"

He held up his hand. 

"Don't worry about it. I'm honestly glad you know. Practically everyone else in this country does. But what about your family?"

I smiled a little. 

"My dad had no siblings, and we didn't see his mom a lot. That's why the inheritance thing was such a big deal. My mom was born in Halifax, which is where I grew up because Dad moved there to be with her. She has one adopted brother, Alexander, and he's one of my favourite people ever. He doesn't have any kids, but he's a tattoo artist and I love him. My mom's parents are lovely, they have this beach house that we used to go visit every summer, and some of my favourite memories are there. I don't have any siblings, but I lived with my friend Adriana at university and my parents have practically adopted her as a second child."

Peter smiled. 

"Your uncle sounds fun. I'd love to meet him someday."

I had a rather hilarious flash of my 30-year-old, spiky-haired, heavy-metal-listening uncle meeting the prince of England. 

"I'm sure he'd love to meet you. He did tell me after the announcement came out that he would be willing to fly here and stab you with a tattoo needle, should the situation arise."

Peter blanched.  

"I'm sure that won't be necessary."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I watched the genuine fear in his eyes. 

Tristan came to clear our plates. Peter told him to put the meal on his tab and then stood up.

"There is a family-run ice cream place not too far from here. Interested?"