I spent the next half hour at the barbecue grilling meats and observing the party as the guests who arrived in small groups. My sisters came by every now and again to keep me company and introduce me to some of their friends. I was quite bad with names and learning so many in such a short period was a sure-fire way for me to forget absolutely everything about them.
Emily spent the most time with me. She sat on the stone-topped bench behind me and we chatted about music, movies and books we enjoyed reading. I found out she was particularly fond of high-fantasy novels, and that her favourite animals were wolves.
Each of my sisters dropped a drink off to me when I was starting to run low, and I was beginning to suspect they were keeping an eye on me. Each time my brew was down to its last m
