CHIM - Life in the limelight SEQUEL

Chapter 14

Cheryl is walking over from the bar with 2 drinks in her hands. All signs of vulnerability are now well and truly gone. The butterflies i felt last night are back in my stomach as i watch her coming my way with the confidence that was just a distant memory days ago. Once again she looks amazing and she knows it. She is dressed in a pair of skin tight jeans, a black lace bodysuit and a leather jacket. I have tried to dress for her in a little red dress because i know how much she loves to see me in red. All night she has been complementing me so i think my plan to impress her worked a treat.

"Pete's done dead well over here, can you believe it?" She says as she reaches the table and hands me the drinks to put onto the table while she sits herself down.

"I know. It's so posh i almost feel out of place" I say which makes Cheryl laugh.

Tonight Cheryl has brought me to a bar which is owned by a nice man called Pete who gets on with Cheryl like a house on fire. That may be due to the fact that they are fellow Geordies and they met each other a few years ago at one of Pete's other bars. This bar is his newest and was only opened last week but it seems to be doing really well already. It is still early but it is pretty full and it makes me happy that Pete is doing so well out here but i expected nothing less. This place is his pride and joy and i can see him from afar keeping a close eye on his staff, making sure that everything is running smoothly and that they are doing what they should be with minimal fuss.

We soon start reminiscing about old times and all of the good laughs we have had in this country. Some memories make me cringe but most of them have me dying with laughter. I am laughing so hard that my sides hurt when she says "Nothing will ever be as funny as the time you thought the pool cleaner was robbing us" her dimples are on display as i almost howl with laughter.

"But what about when we went to Disneyland and you were almost crying on the teacups?"

She is laughing along with me now and we are getting looks from people around us but neither of us care. I'm sure they think we have had one too many but we are near sober. We are only onto our second drink and we have been here for about an hour. Cheryl got herself a cocktail and i am sipping a large glass of wine. It is nice having a night out without the children because i can't remember the last time we spent any quality time together. We love the bones of our girls but it is no secret that they can be a handful so we are enjoying the time alone, we are having a much deserved break. I always thought that Cheryl was a great night out because she would never let the night end but tonight the mood is different. This is a quiet, elegant and stylishly luxurious bar and Cheryl is a loud drunk so i doubt anyone around us would find her drunken antics as hilarious as i do. Joan told me once that Cheryl has always been up for a good night out but Cheryl just insists that it is the geordie in her. Apparently she would go out for 24 hours at a time, laughing and throwing away money with people she didn't even like.

When Cheryl reaches for her purse i ask her what she is doing and she doesn't answer me until she pulls out 2 little photographs. She pushes them into my hand and points at the one on top. It is a picture of us with Paisley at Disneyland years ago. We all have the Minnie ears on that Cheryl forced us to wear and we all look so happy. "This was just after we got off the teacups" She tells me then starts to chuckle. "You can tell by the state of me hair, look at us!"

"You look beautiful" I tell her honestly and then she shows me the other photo of the girls. "Oh my God look how little they were"

"I know" She does a sad smile and looks down at the picture. This is one of my favourite ones. Alaina was just a week old and wrapped in a fluffy pink blanket on Paisley's lap. Cheryl's hand is in the photo supporting her tiny head and Paisley has the biggest smile on her face as she looks at the camera. She was so happy to be a big sister and wore her "I'm the big sister" Tshirt that Joan got her for a week straight. "I know i say this all the time but they really are beautiful aren't they?"