Symphony

Decoding

Jack had been gone for just over six hours, Nikki knew for sure he wasn't at the gym that long and had probably gone to drink his sorrows away at the pub. Nikki was in luck for once as Josephine had already offered yesterday to pick all four girls up from school and take them to the park for an hour or two before bringing them home. 

Nikki had sat in silence the entire six hours of Jack being out of the house, she just had to process the thought that she is pregnant at forty. The doorbell soon rings and Nikki glances at the clock to see it is almost five in the afternoon meaning Josephine would be dropping the girls off now. 

Getting up she blows out the candle burning on the fireplace and then heads through to the hallway and answers the front door. "Mummy!" the four girls smile in unison as they dash past Nikki into the house, briefly Maddison wraps her arms around her mother's legs, and then she pulls away does her usual routine of stroking the door handles in the hallway before heading into the lounge. 

Josephine smiles watching the four girls disperse before setting her eyes on Nikki, "Is Jack in?" She asks. 
"No!" Nikki responds biting her lip hoping she wouldn't start crying in front of the woman she couldn't actually stand at all. 

"Will you tell him to call me," Josephine asks. 
"Sure, what's it about," She responds. 

"The girls..." She speaks. 
"Well, what about them? I am their mother after all," Nikki replies, Josephine would always go to her son about the girls even if Nikki was about. This always annoyed Nikki making her wonder if Josephine hated her son's choices in women. 

"I'm was going to suggest I have the girls overnight on Saturday, give you and Jack some well-earned me-time. I mean make up for your wedding anniversary as you had to cancel due to the girls all coming down with another bug."

Nikki laughs at the suggestion and rolls her eyes as she looks up at the ceiling, "There will be no need, Jack and I... we've had a 'disagreement'. I haven't seen him in six hours," She responds. 

Josephine frowns and gives her daughter-in-law the look to proceed with the issue. Nikki steps back and allows Josephine inside as she doesn't want the whole world knowing she is pregnant. Nikki shuts the front door and follows Josephine into the kitchen where she instantly boils the kettle for Nikki, "Here I can do that," Nikki smiles. 

"No, no... you sit down, now tell me what you and Jack have fallen out over," Josephine asks. 
Nikki looks up at her and takes a breath, "It's just everything... he can't just agree with me, he sees everything as complete and nothing else could be added and he just tells me that I can just get rid of it."

"Wait... slow down, get rid of what?" Josephine asks. 
"Look I know we don't see eye to eye sometimes, and you have the best interest for your son, just like I have my best interests for my daughters. This all just happened so quick, but..." She stumbles over her words. 

Josephine grabs hold of Nikki's hand sensing how nervous she is, "Out with it girl," She smiles. 
Nikki closes her eyes briefly the thought of what she is about to announce knocking her sick, "I'm... pregnant" She announces suddenly. 

She bites her lip as she tries to decipher Josephine's facial expressions, from what she could tell it was a mixture of shock and happiness. "At your age, isn't that a bit risky?" Josephine responds. 

Nikki's eyes are once again glazing over as she watches her mother-in-law take in the information. "Ha... you could say that. Anyway, it's not as easy as getting rid of it anymore, I'm around twenty weeks," She announces. 

"Twenty weeks! And your periods didn't seem to stop or become abnormal?" 
Nikki shakes her head, "I thought it was early onset menopause, not pregnancy," Nikki explains as the tears finally spill down her cheeks. "We have no choice now, we're having another baby. Five... god sake people are going to think I can't keep my legs shut, out of the five... one was planned, one! And what if I have another child who is autistic or deaf... it's genetic" Nikki cries. 

Josephine steps forwards and pulls Nikki into a tight embrace, "It's okay darling... You and Jack have given these girls brilliant lives, you care for them and would go to the ends of the earth to see those little girls smile. Sadly both you and Jack have come from broken backgrounds and homes... don't let them girls end up like that, you both didn't have much of a childhood, but they have so much company and it's the best way for them to grow up," She explains as she flattens down Nikki's hair as she continues to hug her. 

Nikki smiles as she pulls away from the hug, "Jack hates me..." She stutters. 
"He doesn't hate you darlin', Jack is a good man with a good heart. He loves you beyond compare, and those girls are is entire world another wee one in the house would just add to his and of course your happiness," Josephine responds. 

Nikki nods and takes a breath as she notices Freya stood at the kitchen door looking at her mother. Crouching down Freya comes running over to her Mum and wraps her arms around her neck, pulling away Freya smiles at her mother, "Did you have a good day at school?" Nikki smiles as she tries to remember the sign language she had learned to help communicate with Freya further. 

The four-year-old smiles and responds back to her, "It was good Mummy, I made a picture," She giggles her voice sounding somewhat hallow, which was expected after her hearing surgery was a failure causing Freya to lose all hearing in her left ear. 

Josephine smiles as she watches Nikki interact with her daughter, once Freya has skipped off merrily to join her sisters in the back garden Nikki sets about preparing their dinners, and as a relief to Nikki, Josephine offers to help even though Nikki is simply preparing chicken nuggets, chips with peas and sweetcorn as something simple and easy due to it being hair washing night, which naturally is always entertaining with four girls.