Mums Just Wanna Have Fun

by Lucie Wheeler

  we can have a cocktail night and relive our holidays.

  Safe trip xxx

  ‘Aw that’s nice of her isn’t it?’ Nancy said, smiling and putting her phone away but Harriet kept staring at the screen. She’d never really had female friends before; they didn’t tend to like her bolshie attitude and no-nonsense approach to life. So this felt weird. There were actually women out there who wanted to be her friend and spend time with her on a social level – and not just because she had been forced to tag along on one of Nancy’s night outs. Was this what it was like to have girlfriends?

  ‘You OK?’

  Harriet glanced up at Nancy. ‘Yeah I’m fine. Just, well, it’s nice isn’t it?’

  ‘What is?’

  ‘When you make friends like that.’ Now she felt stupid. She was aware how silly she sounded. ‘I just mean that, well, Jayne is nice, and I like her. That’s all.’ She shrugged off the comment feeling self-conscious.

  Nancy put her hand on Harriet’s. ‘It’s OK you know, you are allowed to admit that it’s nice to have friends. I won’t tell the people at work that you’ve gone soft.’

  ‘I haven’t gone bloody soft and don’t you dare go telling people I have.’ She put her hand up to the air hostess who was walking past. ‘Excuse me, can I get I drink please?’

  ‘We are just going to get off the ground and then I will be round to take orders, ma’am.’

  The hostess walked off and Harriet huffed. ‘All I wanted was a Tom Collins.’

  Nancy laughed. ‘I don’t think they do cocktails on here.’

  ‘Are you having a laugh? This is my last bit of relaxation bliss before everything gets hectic again. Are you telling me I have to land on home ground having had no gin?’ Harriet shuffled in her seat and opened the magazine she’d bought at the airport. ‘Well, I guess I’ll just have to make my own then, wont I!’

  ***

  Landing in England, Nancy was tired and in desperate need of a shower. She weaved through the crowds trying to locate the baggage area with Jack holding tightly onto her jumper. It was noisy, frantic and nobody seemed to have any manners whatsoever today as she was shoved from pillar to post trying to get from A to B.

  ‘Nance, wait up!’ Harriet called, pushing through the crowds using Tommy’s stroller as a barge to make people move. Random shouts of hey and watch it were thrown at her as she carelessly kept walking, keeping her gaze forward.

  ‘You just don’t give a monkey’s, do you?’ Nancy laughed.

  Harriet shrugged. ‘Well if they’re not going to move, I’ll just have to move them instead!’ Isla wailed that she was hungry, tired and bored which was not the best combination for any parent to hear from their child in the middle of an airport.

  ‘Nancy!’ She turned around at the sound of her name and saw Cameron and Aiden running towards them. ‘How did you find the flight?’ He smiled and his big blue eyes lit up. He had chosen to travel in a cream-coloured hoody teamed with denim jeans and trainers. It seemed strange seeing him all covered up seeing as she had spent the last week gawping at his body.

  ‘Yeah it was OK actually. I’m shattered now though. I need a shower and some food and I’ll be right as rain.’ She glanced at Aiden who looked just as tired and grumpy as Isla. ‘How about you two?’

  ‘Well this little guy is knackered, bless him, so I reckon he will pass out on the journey home from here.’

  ‘Is it a long journey?’

  ‘About two hours, providing we don’t hit any traffic – which is highly unlikely because we want to get home and whenever anyone wants to get home, every car in the universe decides to come out to play car parks on the motorway.’

  Nancy laughed, not taking her eyes away from his face. Although he was smiling, he looked tired. Whilst he had opened up to her on their holiday, she couldn’t help but worry if he was going to be OK once he got home. She thought of her own situation. Everyone seemed to be going home with huge lifestyle changes to get used to. She felt sad that she wouldn’t get to see Cameron’s story and how it played out.

  Cameron pulled a package out from his holdall. ‘Well, I just wanted to give Jack this present – it’s from the both of us.’

  Nancy looked at the squared gift wrapped in orange wrapping paper and smiled. ‘Nice wrapping.’

  He winked at her. ‘But there is one rule – you can’t open it until you get into your cab.’ He looked at Jack. ‘Deal?’

  Jack nodded, already eyeing up the shiny wrapped parcel.

  ‘Sounds very ominous – why’s that then?’

  ‘No reason, just thought it would be something nice for Jack to do on the journey home and then you can rest.’

  She smiled at him and said, ‘Well, that’s very kind of you.’ She turned to Jack. ‘What do you say to Cameron and Aiden?’

  ‘Thanks.’ He took the gift and shoved it into his backpack, zipping it up tight and then placing on his back again.

  ‘You’ve chosen the right person to keep his word – he won’t touch that now until we are in the cab.’

  ‘Well that’s why I gave it to you and not Mummy, hey?’ The comment made Nancy laugh, mostly because it was true.

  ‘Daddy I’m hungry – I wanna go home.’ Aiden sounded exhausted. Nancy was going to miss this little guy too.

  ‘Listen, I’d better get this one back. It was really lovely meeting you guys.’ He glanced over to Harriet who was perched on a bench with Isla now lying across her lap asleep. ‘And you Harriet!’ He saluted and she waved back.

  ‘You too Cameron and…’ Nancy hesitated for fear of sounding like a total loser but then added, ‘Thank you for making me see that things were, you know, OK.’

  He stepped forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek, brushing his soft lips against her skin and lingering a little longer than he really needed to, his aftershave sending her stomach into knots. He whispered in her ear. ‘You’re doing a great job – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.’ His hot breath on her neck made her tingle from head to toe and as he drew away, the two of them shared a moment. It was only fleeting and Nancy wasn’t even sure it counted as a moment, but just for a second she felt this immense energy between them and it made her feel like they were the only two people within the hustle and bustle of this airport.

  ‘Oh sorry love!’ Nancy was barged backwards as a fellow passenger walked into her shoulder, causing their moment to be well and truly over before it had even got started.

  ‘Bye Nancy.’ And he walked off, his arm around Aiden, without so much as a glance back.

  ***

  In the taxi, Nancy shuffled Jack inside before placing their cases and bags in the boot and sliding in herself.

  Harriet, Isla and Tommy sat in the row in front of them so Nancy and Jack had been banished to the boot seats in the seven-seater. But she didn’t mind. It was nice being back here with just her and Jack.

  ‘I had a good time,’ Jack said.

  Nancy turned away from the window to face her son. ‘Did you?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah.’ He shuffled forward and slipped his arms around Nancy, hugging her close and squeezing so tightly. It was contact. Touching contact. And Jack had instigated it. He sure did keep her on her toes, that was for sure. Never one to be consistent. He pulled back and looked at her face. ‘Love you, Mummy.’

  Nancy smiled. They’d had such a trying year, but this moment was worth it. She felt closer to Jack than she had ever felt. Through all the meltdowns, shouting, rejection and silence, she was never quite sure if Jack had a connection with her. He was always in his own little world and it felt like he’d never let her in. This might have been a one-off moment, and going back to their house might change the dynamics again, but for now, right here, she had that closeness and it felt incredible. ‘Love you too, Jack.’

  ‘Can I open this now?’ he said, pulling out the orange package and looking at her for approval.

  Because of the hassle they’d had at baggage collection and then getting their taxi
, Nancy had completely forgotten about the gift. ‘Of course sweetheart, well done for waiting like you were asked.’

  She watched as he unwrapped the present carefully and meticulously, flap by flap and then opening it up together to reveal a book.

  But it wasn’t just any old book; it was a book on the rebuilding of the hotel they’d stayed in after it had suffered a fire five years ago. The fire had done so much damage they’d had a complete refurb of the whole resort and this book outlined all the works done, the rebuilding, the infrastructure and tons of before, during and after construction pictures. Jack gasped and said ‘wow’ as he turned the pages, looking at the structural frames of the hotel he had just spent a week in. Cameron knew what he was doing when he picked this gift. It wasn’t just thoughtful, it was special.

  ‘Mummy, I like Cameron – he is cool.’ Nancy smiled and nodded. She had to agree with her son. ‘What’s this?’ he asked, holding up an envelope. ‘It was in my book.’

  She turned it over and saw her name scrawled on the front.

  ‘Oh, this must be for me.’

  He shrugged and then resumed looking through his new book, eyes wide in wonderment.

  She slid her finger inside the flap and tore it open, pulling out a small white card with a few handwritten words and instantly she knew what she had to do…

  Stop thinking about what could go wrong,

  and think about what could go right.

  X

  Epilogue

  Twelve Months later…

  ‘Jack, come on, are you nearly ready?’

  Nancy tidied away her desk of all the orders she had to send out this weekend. Packages and packages lined the window sill in the dining room which had now become the storage space for all her products. The dining table had gone and in its place were two rows of floor to ceiling Ikea storage cubes and a storage chest to hold her delivery supplies. A large poster announcing, Deluxe Designs adorned the wall above a little desk that was set up in the corner by the sofa and reminded Nancy everyday of just how far she had come.

  Setting up her own business was never going to be easy, but with Harriet by her side and the support of those around her, she had done it. Now she got to draw and design every day and Jack had even featured on some of the designs that she sold. She was thinking about starting a new range just by him – it could help build his university fund as he said he wanted to go to university to study design. Whether that happened or not, time would tell. But if not, the money from his designs could be for whatever he needed, and it would be something that he himself would have earned

  When she started, she designed posters with quotes and simple sketches foiled onto card and framed, but had since developed onto more bespoke pictures and one-off designs for people’s houses. It was still a small business but with the wonders of Instagram, she had gone from 78 followers to 18.5k followers in just twelve months and still had, she now realised, huge potential to grow. Her most recent design was a Kindness range which seemed to have taken off on a whole new level, hence the piles of orders stacking up.

  ‘Jack!’

  She shuffled some papers and placed them in the to-do pile – she wasn’t sure she would have enough time later on to get these orders complete so she would have to allocate some time tomorrow to finish them off so that they were sent out before the weekend. She picked up the empty coffee cups (yes, plural) from her desk and swiped the water bottle up from the coffee table on her way to the kitchen, pulling open the living room door with her foot as she did. As soon as the door opened, Max sauntered in, squeezing past Nancy’s foot. With his yellow fur, orange collar and irresistible face, the golden Labrador was the new addition to their family.

  ‘Hey!’ she said, walking through to the kitchen as she had her hands full. ‘You know you’re not allowed in there, Mister!’ She placed down the cups and bottle on the side and returned to the living room and just as she expected, Max had already taken up residence underneath her desk. She walked over to him and crouched down, moving her chair out of the way. His big brown eyes stared back at her, innocently gazing. ‘Don’t you try and win me over with your puppy dog eyes; you know you aren’t allowed in this room when I’m not in here. Too many things for you to chew or swallow.’ As she stroked her hand over Max’s golden coat, he turned and exposed his belly. ‘OK, just one tummy rub, then out.’ He definitely knew Nancy’s soft spot. She heard footsteps on the stairs and instantly Max’s ears were up. ‘Who’s that?’ she teased, taking pleasure in watching him jump up and run to the doorway, greeting Jack as he entered the room.

  ‘Maxy! Here boy.’ Jack crouched down and showed Max a treat. Max immediately sat down, not taking his eyes off his master. ‘Ready, waiting…’ Max waited. ‘Paw?’ He lifted his left, and then his right paw to touch Jack’s hand. ‘Good boy. Now leave it…’ Jack placed the treat on Max’s nose and he stayed frozen to the spot. Not so much as a twitch.

  Nancy watched this routine, pride swelling in her heart. Jack had taught Max these tricks pretty much as soon as he’d arrived. It made their bond grow even deeper.

  Nancy had done some research after their holiday last year, looking for ways to help Jack with his everyday life. School was out of her hands, but at home she wanted to make sure she was doing all she could to help. She’d stumbled across a website about animal therapy and had found it fascinating. After weeks of research and a visit to a local provider, she found herself volunteering at the centre to learn more. One thing led to another and she was now the proud owner of Max and she regularly took him to other homes and establishments to talk about the benefits of having a therapy dog. She couldn’t imagine life without him.

  ‘Good boy, here you go.’ Jack gave him the treat. ‘Mummy, he’s so clever.’

  ‘I know he is, such a special boy.’ She stroked Max’s head. ‘Right, you need to get all your bits ready and make sure anything you want to take to the park, you have with you.’ Jack nodded and ran off back upstairs.

  Twenty minutes later, Nancy had pulled up outside Harriet’s place and beeped the horn.

  ‘Alright, keep your knickers on, I was coming.’ Harriet piled into the car after strapping in Tommy and Isla.

  ‘Well, we are going to be late if we don’t get a move on.’

  ‘Oh no, we mustn’t be late for lover boy,’ Harriet teased. ‘OK I’m strapped in, let’s go.

  ***

  Walking across the field that adjoined the playground, Nancy spotted Cameron first. He didn’t see them and was running around playing with Aiden and his niece and nephew. Nancy turned to Jack. ‘Did you read your booklets?’ He nodded.

  ‘Booklets?’ Harriet questioned.

  ‘Yeah, you know the booklet Aiden made last year when we were on holiday, to help Jack get to know him?’ Harriet nodded. ‘Well, when we arranged to meet up with Cameron and his sister, we didn’t know how Jack would react to spending the day around his niece and nephew, so they did another booklet with everyone on Cameron’s side of the family.’

  ‘Look at you getting your feet well and truly under the table.’

  Nancy whacked her friend on the arm. ‘It makes things easier for Jack to have the heads up.’

  Harriet smiled. ‘I’m really glad you two decided to make things official – I couldn’t bear the constant flirting and the we’re just good friends line you both kept trying to spill to everyone for ages.’

  ‘We were just good friends.’

  ‘Hmmm, maybe friends with benefits!’

  Nancy tried to hide the smile creeping up on her face. At that moment Cameron turned and spotted them. He raised a hand to wave and when Aiden saw them he came running over, calling Jack’s name over and over. He finally reached them and said:

  ‘Jack! I got this new game, you gotta see it. It’s awesome. It’s a building one – you’ll love it! Come on!’ He ran off back to Cameron before Jack had a chance to respond.

  Jack turned and looked to Nancy. ‘It’s OK, Jack, go on. You can go. He
re, take Max.’

  He looked apprehensive but slowly took the lead and walked over to where Aiden was sitting. Cameron reached them and immediately made a beeline for Nancy, pulling her to him and pressing his lips to hers. Nancy heard Harriet groan and walk off towards Cameron’s sister, leaving the two of them where they were.

  Nancy let the kiss take hold. His lips were so soft as they parted hers, making way for his tongue to playfully slip in and tease hers. He wrapped both arms around her waist and she reciprocated by wrapping hers around his neck, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss. Every inch of her body ached for him when he did this to her. They were still in the early stages of taking their friendship to this next level and so every time she saw him, her whole body screamed for him to take her into his arms and have his wicked way with her.

  She pulled away, ending the embrace as he groaned inwardly at her stopping his fun. ‘And hello to you too,’ she joked.

  ‘Sorry, just can’t resist it. I spent far too long trying to hold myself back from you.’

  They walked over, hand in hand, to see the others. Harriet had taken up her position on the fold-up camp chair next to the cool box which housed a bottle of wine and she had Tommy on her lap, snuggled in for a cuddle as he had not long woken up. Cameron’s sister, Becca, was still running around with her children, trying to kick a ball and carry a baby at the same time.

  ‘So, you managed to peel off each other long enough to breathe, I see,’ Harriet remarked.

  ‘You’re just jealous, Hari,’ Cameron joked.

  ‘Oh, woe is me, I have no man in my life.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Please, I don’t need a man. I have my beautiful children, my successful job and my Rabbit – what else does a girl need?’

  Nancy gasped. ‘Hari!’

  ‘What? The kids don’t know what a Rabbit is – I could mean a bunny for all they know.’

  Nancy shook her head and plonked herself down on the picnic blanket.

  ‘Coo-ee!’

  Nancy spun round to see Jayne’s bright smile. ‘Hey! You made it!’ She briefly smiled at Jayne’s children as they ran off into the playground.