Read Online Seven Point Eight by Marie A. Harbon - Free Book Online

so…abrupt.”
    Ava wished the floor would swallow her up as Ginny continued.
    “Honestly, men are terrible for cold feet. They never have the courage-.”
    Caroline shot Ginny a warning look and she tried to appear nonchalant about being scolded by her mother’s icy stare. Their older brother, Robert, came to the rescue, a mild mannered and dark haired technician in the army who displayed more refined social skills than their big sister.
    “When you’ve finished your degree in genetics, what do you intend to do next?”
    “Look for a job!” Ava laughed. “But first, I’ve to focus on the last year of study, a dissertation won’t write itself.”
    “What’s your dissertation about?”
    “Telomeres and their role in the aging process. I think they have a big future.”
    “Telomeres?” he queried.
    “The bits on the ends of chromosomes,” she answered, realising it hadn’t enlightened him any more.
    He nodded appreciatively, accepting that he hadn’t a clue what she was talking about.
    Ava’s ears tuned into the discussion between her father and her oldest brother, Jack. He exemplified the classic eighties yuppie, complete with a Filofax, mobile phone as heavy as a house brick, and a monotonous repertoire of conversation topics and jokes about his high-flying lifestyle. Good looking, he fancied himself as a playboy, but unfortunately his obnoxious demeanour acted as a turn off. He showed everyone his pride and joy, complete with chunky antenna, and elaborated on the merits of being able to call someone while walking down the street.
    “Of course,” Jack stated, “not everyone will have one in the future, nice to be part of an elite. I mean, why would anyone want to call someone while on the move, unless you were a businessman?”
    Ava switched off while Jack began to boast eloquently of his last financial conquest.
    Fortunately, if you looked at it that way, the door bell rang and Ava saw this as an opportunity to escape the inane onslaught of finance. However, Robert stood up to answer it, indicating she had every right to sit and enjoy her meal.
    As he left the room, she wondered who rang the doorbell. Two people absent…one or both would exceed her expectations.
    Robert led a young man into the room. Ava smiled affectionately and he returned the gaze, which he held for longer than would be customary. Most of the room’s occupants recognised him and were pleased to see him. This insanely beautiful youth had quite an androgynous look, with intense brown eyes, ebony hair in a contemporary style, an aquiline nose, and slim build. He wore a black shirt, and jeans with a deliberate frayed tear at the knee plus a studded bracelet typical of the eighties, so he looked vaguely like a rock god in formation. Emma’s eyes lit up, which caused Ava to smile, if only she knew he’d only just turned sixteen. However, he didn’t notice Emma. Instead, he appeared to be fixated on Ava, which didn’t go unnoticed by Caroline, her mother.
    “This is Sam, he’s my cousin,” she informed her flatmates, Emma and Jason, who acknowledged him.
    Caroline looked concerned. “Is your father not here?”
    That was a moot point for Sam, and he shrugged bitterly. “Work comes first.” The words were spoken with a degree of vehemence.
    Ava smiled sympathetically at Sam, who tried to hide his feelings and she concealed her own disappointment, for she also wished her uncle could have made it. He’d guided her throughout her life, so it saddened her that he wasn’t here.
    Sam took an empty plate and helped himself to the food, then quietly began to eat. Numerous times he glanced over at Ava, who returned his gaze with some fondness. She remembered him as a young boy, one who’d grown up without a mother and suffered the emptiness of a frequently absent father. As much as she adored her uncle, she didn’t agree with the way he’d nurtured Sam, and in many ways, she’d looked out for him throughout his childhood. Caroline