Love Of My Life

Chapter Twenty-two - The Show Must Go On

Warning - This chapter you may find upsetting!

Chapter Twenty-two - The Show Must Go On

Thursday 11th July 1985

Two days before Live Aid

The warm evening breeze blew in through the kitchen window as I stirred the pasta, the sounds of Daniel, Joanna and Delilah laughing playing in the garden made me smile. I sipped on a glass of lemonade as the sun dimmed outside, my eyes drifting to the clock seeing, six pm. Where was Roger, he was due back at three. I was concerned but maybe he and the boys had gone for drinks.

I serve the pasta into three small bowls pouring some hot cheese sauce over it placing it down on the table. Lola was sleeping upstairs thankfully making life a little easier, I walked over to the backdoor standing in the doorway watching them giggling. Daniel and Delilah were kicking a football as Joanna sat in the sandpit building castles. Life couldn't get more perfect.

"Dinnertime, wash your hands!" I call out as they drop what they were doing and hurry inside down the hall to the bathroom. I poured out three cups of lemonade and placed them beside the bowls. Joanna was first in and climbing up onto the seat, followed by Daniel and then Delilah.

"What's for pudding mummy" Joanna asked scooping up a big spoon of pasta.

"Hmm, well I was thinking ice cream but I did make fresh cookies" I say sitting down staring at them all smiling "So which would you prefer?"

"Cookies!" Delilah said eating more pasta

"Ice cream" Joanna giggled

"Both" Daniel chuckled. He was so much like Roger, his blond hair shaggy like his daddy, his smile cheeky like Roger

"Only one" I say bopping Daniels nose

"Fine...ice cream" He sighed as I raised opening the freezer taking out a tub of ice cream.

"Where is daddy?" Delilah asked looking at me "He promised to put my night light up" I tilted my head.

"I think daddy has been held up at work, I can always put it up baby" I say looking back at her. This wasn't like Roger. He was always back in time for dinner time, the late nights were a thing he didn't like doing. He didn't like missing out on the children, he loved watching them grow and become their own little person. I had tried calling his mobile so many times, but even he wasn't picking up. None of them were.

After dinner and pudding I took the children upstairs bathing them. This was always a two person job, Roger did Daniel in one bathroom and I did Delilah and Joanna in the other. Thankfully they behaved tonight; normally it was an all scale war. Joanna hated bath times because Delilah pulls the plug threatening to suck Joanna down it. It was reaching the point we almost had to separate them. Delilah grew out of that phase and things couldn't have gone better.

I put them all to bed and hung Delilah's light up on the wall, I yawned and stretched out, Daniel was out like a light with Joanna, Delilah was laid reading some book, she had promised to sleep after. I dimmed the light in the hallway and headed down the hall into our bedroom. I was shattered, today had been hectic. I took everyone to the park and then the movies; The Goonies was a favourite of theirs at the moment. Every day with them was exhausting and with the twins starting playschool in September I wanted to spend all the time I could with them, so did Roger, which is why I couldn't understand where he was.

I showered and got into a silky night dress, wrapping Rogers black and silver silky dressing gown around myself just to feel close to him, I went down into the kitchen pouring out a glass of wine to calm down. It was now coming up to nine pm after I had showered, I had ordered in pizza for myself more because I couldn't be bothered cooking. My heart was in my throat as I went into the garden; I lit the fire pit and sat on the garden lounger. I sipped on my wine before hearing the house phone ring, I pushed the pizza box to the chair beside me and hurried inside, and sliding across the living room floor I grabbed it.