“That sounds so lovely, hon, but I’ve got to get back to work!” Cameron also looks like she’s about to cry, “I can meet you later though?”
“Yeah, and I’ve got to be in a meeting today. I’m so busy, but I might be able to meet you later as well? I’ll pick up all my make up.”
“That’d be really nice!” Oh God, I’m crying again! How is it possible to be this emotional?
* * *
After the girls go back to their jobs, I set about mine. I don’t feel so bad after some breakfast, although I worry about keeping it down. Luckily, I didn’t have too much to do today, just laundry and planning lunches for Marnie’s week at school.
I wait at the gates like Joe and I have done a few times together, and I can’t stop my mind from running. I imagine Joe and I waiting for a little one of our own, with light brown hair and deep blue eyes. Maybe a little boy? A mini Joe, just like Cameron said.
Marnie steps out of her classroom with all of her friends and they hug and say goodbye before she spots me and runs over to give me one of her trademark huge hugs.
“Oh gosh, don’t squeeze me so much! I’m very fragile today,” I say to her, ruffling her immeasurably curly hair.
“Sorry, Ella,” she pouts at me.
“How does your hair get so curly?” I ask her, tangling my fingers through it.
“Daddy says I got it from Mom. I don’t like it.”
“Are you kidding? It’s gorgeous! Who cares where it came from?”
“People keep tangling pencils into it!” Marnie turns around to show a pencil is tangled in the back of her hair.
“Gosh, that’s not very nice. Who did that?” I kneel down, trying not to feel dizzy while also untangling her hair.
“I don’t know. Someone in art class?” she shrugs, not really seeming to care.
“There we go, all out.” I hand her back the pencil and try to stand before walking back home.
“Are you okay, Ella? You look dizzy,” she says, holding my hand.
“Yeah, I’m fine. So what did you do in art class today?”
“I drew us!” she grabs the picture out of her bag, “See look!” she says, proudly, showing me the picture. It’s me and Joe, plus her in the middle. We’re all holding hands and jumping in a puddle, “It’s from when we went for that walk in the rain, and you let me jump in the big puddles!”
I try desperately to hold back the tears and emotions washing over me.
“Oh Marnie, that’s so sweet, I bet daddy will love to see that on the fridge when we get back.” I smile at her as she puts the picture back. Actually we’re on the subject of family, this is good! “So Marnie. What would you say, if the next time you drew that picture there was someone else in it?”
“Like who?”
“Like, maybe a little brother or sister?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t got one—” she freezes for a moment, just like her dad does when he realizes something a little bit late, “Wait! Does that mean?”
I start to cry again and Marnie jumps up and down excitedly.
“Does it mean I’m going to have a little sister? Can I look after her? Will you and Daddy let me babysit! You always tell me how grown up I am, and I can be just like you!”
She is such a sweetheart, I really can’t help crying now! Marnie screams to herself before giving me the gentlest hug ever.
“Marnie, what are you doing?” I ask, laughing at her.
“I don’t want to crush the baby!” she looks up at me, smiling like a little angel.
Chapter 25
Ella
“I’m really glad you guys could come back over,” I say, as I greet my friends at the door.
“Aw!” they chime in together, hugging me.
“This evening is going to be all about you,” Kat says.
“And we promise we’ll be gone before Joe gets home. He won’t suspect a thing, we promise!” Cameron assures me, tapping her nose and winking.
I roll my eyes at them before we head upstairs, “Okay, Marnie is upstairs, she’s looking through the makeup that I have, which isn’t a lot.”
“Which is why we brought ours!” They speak at the same time again, holding up their cases of expensive makeup.
“You guys spend way too much time together, really.” Not to mention too much money on makeup, I think to myself.
We head into my room to find Marnie patiently waiting for us while she looks through my numerous shades of blue eyeshadow.
“Hey Ella, did you know that eye shadow comes in colors other than blue?” Kat asks, making Marnie laugh.
“Very funny, but anything else looks weird with my eyes.” I sigh, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Marnie, these are my best friends, Kat and Cam.”
Marnie waves in an adorable manner, and my friends giggle like they’ve just seen the world’s smallest puppy sneeze.
“Do you remember Cam from the BBQ?” I ask.
Marnie nods, “Hi.”
“Hi, Marnie,” Cameron says with a smile.
“Are you going to be my aunts now?” Marnie asks.
Cameron’s eyes widen. I know she’s always wanted to be the cool aunt for someone. “Of course we are!” she grins, sitting cross legged on the bed.
“Would you like a make-over, Marnie?”
Kat comes over and joins us in a circle on my bed.
“Sure,” she smiles politely.
“I don’t know,” Cameron narrows her eyes at Marnie, “You don’t seem like the girly makeup kind of girl.
Marnie shrugs.
“How about I use some of my stage makeup to transform you into a pretty princess?”
Cameron grins, opening up a huge box of different colored paints and brushes.
“Stage makeup?” Marnie asks, curiously looking over the box.
“Well, in college, I did a few courses on makeup and costume for stage, like Broadway plays and things like that.” Cameron says proudly.
“So, you can make me into anything I want?” Marnie’s ears prick up.
“Whatever you want!” Cameron gets a wicked glint in her eyes, like she knows I’m going to have to clean it all up.
“What about… a dragon?” Marnie asks, excitedly.
“Of course. Hey, why don’t you pick something for all of us to be?”
“Alright, Cam, don’t go too crazy. You’re going to stress Ella out.”
Marnie turns to me and looks a little worried, but I reassure her. “Oh no, not at all, it actually sounds really fun!”
“Okay!” Marnie bounces happily on the bed, “I want to be a dragon and… I want Ella to be a fairy, and Kat can be… a witch!”
“A good witch or a bad witch,” Kat asks, raising an eye brow at Marnie.
“Uh... a bad witch! A queen who’s really powerful and in charge of all the land!”
“This girl speaks my language!” Kat grins, and does her best evil witch cackle, high-fiving Marnie.
“This is going to be so much fun!” Cameron looks like she’s about to explode, she’s wanted to do makeup for shows since before college, but for now she’s just stuck here like the rest of us.
She picks out a few colors and brushes and starts work on Marnie, while Kat does my nails.
“That better be a nice fairy pink you’ve chosen,” Cameron giggles.
“No, Ella has to be a water fairy, because then everything is blue. Just that way she likes it.” Marnie grins.
“I choose to take that as you coming around to my way of thinking,” I reply.
“How about I do one side blue and the other side pink?” Kat asks.
“Oh, come on, that will look silly!” I protest and the three of them look at each other. They are in mutual agreement that the sillier I look, the more fun they’ll have. So they all nod and decide that my nails should be both blue and pink.
* * *
“So, Marnie, are you excited about having a baby sibling?” Cameron asks.
“Yes!” Marnie almost shou
ts, “Ella said I could babysit, because I’m so grown up!”
“I’m not sure if I said that exactly. Maybe when you’re a little bit older. But for now you can help out as much as you like.”
“What about Joe though. Have you told him yet?” Kat asks me.
“What, tell him over the phone? No way! I’m going to wait for a good moment. It has to be perfect!”
“Oh, Ella, always waiting for a perfect moment, I can see why it took you so long to—”
Kat and I clear our throats at Cameron, who freezes, realizing that Marnie is right in front of her.
“To get a boyfriend!” she snaps.
“It’s okay, I know what you’re talking about.” Marnie says, “I’m seven, not stupid.”
“Oh, is that right?” Kat asks.
“Yeah,” Marnie says, “You’re talking about kissing, right?”
The three of us giggle at Marnie and she joins along, not really knowing why, but I think she just wants to fit in.
“Well, Ella. Now that you’re pregnant, don’t you think you should be thinking about marrying Joe?” Cameron asks.
My eyes widen and I can feel my heart racing, “Uh, uh I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.”
We all look over at Marnie who appears to be thinking quite deeply on the issue.
“I think whatever you decide to do, Daddy will always love you,” she smiles. “He just wants you to be happy.”
“Aw!” Kat and Cameron gush over Marnie, their voices reaching new pitches.
I quietly whisper my thanks to Marnie, and she smiles back at me, her half-done dragon makeup in no way lessening the sincerity of her statement.
“Anyways, it sounds like things are going well for you and your rich boyfriend, Mark?” Kat says to Cameron.
“Well, what can I say? He likes spending his money on me… and honestly, I like having money spent on me,” Cameron grins.
“You’re just awful aren’t you?” I say, rolling my eyes.
“You see Marnie, you don’t want to be like her when you grow up, okay?” Kat says, matter-of-factly. “You don’t want to be with a guy for his money. You’ve got to like him for who he is.”
Marnie and I giggle.
“Speaking of,” says Cameron, “Is there anyone you’re into at school Marnie? Any boys fighting for your affections?”
Marnie shrugs, “I haven’t really decided who I’m going to like yet. Everyone at school seems kind of immature.”
“Well, if you’re waiting for boys to stop being immature, you’re going to be waiting a long time,” Kat laughs.
Marnie shrugs again, “Ella waited and she found my dad. So I’m happy waiting if it means I meet someone great!”
“Aw!” we all grin and hug Marnie, trying not to mess up our makeup.
“Did you just hear the doorbell?” Kat asks.
I think for a moment, realizing I got lost in painting Kat’s evil witch nails. I look around at all of us and realize we all look a little silly to be answering the door. Marnie, myself and Kat look pretty fantastic as our characters, Cameron however, is teaching Marnie to make her up to also be a dragon, just by telling Marnie what to do.
I’m pretty sure she hasn’t seen it yet.
I however am covered in glitter. I can’t move without a trail of blue sparkles following me.
The doorbell rings again.
“I’ll go get it,” I say.
“Are you sure?” Kat asks.
“Yeah, really I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
As I get up and leave the room, I hear Marnie saying they can watch from my window!
I roll my eyes.
The doorbell rings again as I walk up to it, “Alright I’m coming!” I say, knowing that they can’t hear me.
I open the door and I’m greeted by a woman. She’s very pretty with long curly dark hair and flawless olive skin. I definitely feel silly being made up to look like a fairy, but I definitely don’t care. I’m having a good time.
She looks down at me and her expression changes from an impatient pout, to pursed lips of disgust.
“Who and what are you supposed to be?” she says.
“I’m Ella. And I’m a water fairy.” Just own it, she can’t break your confidence.
“Of course you are,” she sighs, begrudgingly putting her hand out for me to shake, “I’m Julia.”
I shake her hand and she awkwardly wipes the glitter off.
“Is there something I can do for you?” I ask.
“Is Joe here? Joe Abercrombie?” she asks.
“No, he’s not at the moment. But I can tell him you dropped by.”
“Well, where is he?” she snaps.
“He’s at work. Sorry, who are you?”
“I’m his wife, who are you?” she says, glaring at me.
I stare for a moment, glitter stuck in my eyelashes.
She’s nothing like I imagined. I’d always pictured the wicked stepmother or evil queen from kids films, but she looks, normal. Well, apart from being extremely pretty. I wonder if she’s had work done.
“I’m his—” I pause… do I really want to say girlfriend? The mother of his child that he doesn’t even know about yet? “I’m his daughter’s nanny.”
So much for confidence. “I’m sorry, he’s not here. I’ll tell him you dropped by.”
“Let me speak to my daughter, please,” she demands.
I think back to all the times Marnie’s mom has been mentioned. Even a child could pick up on the fact that Marnie doesn’t like her mother, and given the chance, probably wouldn’t want to see her. Especially without her father there for protection.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I’m sorry? Are you refusing to let me speak to my own child?”
“No. I’m telling you what I believe is right for your estranged child.”
She stares at me like I’ve just thrown red paint all over her fur coat.
“I think it would be unhealthy for you to speak to her at this particular moment.” Where did this confidence come from? Roll with it, Ella! “And I think you should go. I’ll tell Joe you stopped by.”
She glares at me. Gosh, if looks could kill…
“Of course,” she says, turning away, “I’ll be back.” She walks down the path a little, then turns back to me, “Don’t think I don’t know who you are, Miss LeBlanc. You can have him for now, but don’t get too comfortable.”
“Are you threatening me?” I ask.
“Tell Joe I said hello,” she says, before getting in a taxi and leaving.
I look up at Marnie’s window to see Marnie, Kat and Cameron staring out at me, and they quickly hide as I notice them. I hurry back upstairs and they all pretend not to have been listening.
“What is it?” I ask. They mumble a few non-committal things as they pretend to put on makeup. I raise my eyebrow at them, knowing they can’t resist telling me the truth. I’m pregnant! They have to!
“Don’t look directly at her!” Kat says, as the three of them cover their eyes in unison.
I narrow my eyes, knowing it’s only a matter of time before someone cracks and Cameron peeks out though her fingers. “Aha!” I point to her, making her jump, “What do you know! You have to tell me!”
“Oh, okay fine!” Cameron says, “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
She is so easy to break. I know she can’t resist gossiping.
“Mark told me that Joe told him Julia has been trying to get in contact with him. Phoning him and stuff. For the last week now.”
“Why wouldn’t he mention it to me?” I say, dropping down on the bed.
“Wait, have you all been discussing this in front of Marnie?”
Cam, sat up, “It was kind of an accident, when Marnie told us who the woman at the door was, I just blurted it out.”
“It’s okay, Ella. And thank you for not letting her in the house.”
Kat spoke up, “Listen L, he probably didn’t mention
it because he didn’t want to worry you. I’m sure he can handle it, whatever it is,” Kat says, stroking my shoulder.
“I’m sure you’re right,” I smile.
But I can’t help the feeling that it isn’t going to be good.
Chapter 26
Joe
“Hey, Ash, did you get a chance to sort out my schedule?” I ask my assistant, as I come out of my office.
My assistant Asher has been getting along a lot more confidently recently, and he’s made a lot of friends here. I think the trouble he had early on was mainly because when he started here he was stressed about his wedding, which was just around the corner.
Now that he’s back from his honeymoon, he’s chatting up a storm and has gained some confidence. I’m glad that he’s managed to fit in.
Right now, he’s chatting with a small group of employees as they look through his wedding photos.
“Afternoon, Joe!” he says cheerfully, as the others disperse, ready to go home. “I did manage to move a few things around to make it a little easier on you next week.”
“That’s great news. Thank you!”
“Would you like to see photos from my wedding?” he asks, his hand already reaching for the album.
“I’d love to.”
“This is probably my favorite one.”
He shows me a picture of him and his partner, hugging after just getting married. They’re outside in the sun with lots of white chairs and a small gazebo.
“You both look very happy.”
“It was wonderful, and the honeymoon was incredible!” he says, packing the book into his bag. We then turn to leave the building together.
“What about you, Joe? How are things with your new lady friend?”
“Things are great, actually.”
“Are you thinking about popping the question?” he asks, excitedly.
“Uh—” I freeze, “Well, we’re just taking things slowly at the moment. I wasn’t even planning on doing that interview, and exposing her to public scrutiny.”
“But that guy at the bar forced it, really. Honestly, I can’t imagine my partner getting into a fight for me. It’s so romantic,” he sighs, dreamily.
“I don’t know what I was doing, to be honest. But the idea of him bothering her just made me so angry.”
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