The week passed in a blur with Elliot finding himself increasingly anxious at the prospect of Adaline seeing his daughter for the first time. Yet there he was, proudly holding his daughter's hand as she pulled him to each table at the fete, every one of them adorned with Christmas nick knacks. He licked his lips as he followed her lead to a stall garnished with festive cookies and cakes.
"Can I have one daddy? Please," she pointed at a tree shaped cookie, covered in copious amounts of icing sugar and sprinkles. The presentation was so poor he knew instantly it had been made by one of the children at the school. Normally his daughter wouldn't be allowed to eat food with too much sugar - especially when she'd experience a rush like none he'd ever witnessed - but neither he nor her mother could deny her the occasional treat. Pulling out his wallet, Elliot paid the 50p for her biscuit and a further £1.50 for a chocolate cake and lemon drizzle cake. The pair grinned at one another as they simultaneously took a large bite, crumbs falling off their chins.
Her mother had disappeared a short while ago in search of a toilet, the result of the ever expanding bulge that was her stomach. A constant reminder to Elliot of what she had done, of the fact he had failed to maintain the relationship. He was grateful that she'd not brought her boyfriend - the word tasted vile in his mouth - with her especially on a day meant for their child. Spotting her dyed red locks bobbing up and down through the crowd, Elliot pulled his daughter onto his shoulders and meandered his way in the general direction of her mother.
"Mummy, look what daddy got me," she beamed, using one hand to hold her dad's ears and the other to point to her green face. Her mother playfully rolled her eyes and held out her arms for her daughter to climb into.
"I hope daddy got one for mummy too. That looks yummy Bons," she smiled kissing the icing covered cheek of the young girl. Bonnielola squealed as her mother loudly mimicked the sound of eating and tickled her stomach. A lump formed in Elliot's throat as it often did when he saw the interaction between Bonnielola and her mother, wishing the three were living together so she didn't have a broken home. He knew he no longer loved his ex, but it was undeniable that he cared, at least as far as Bonnielola's happiness and safety was concerned. Despite their differences, and the initial hostility when the relationship had fallen apart, he was glad she was Bonnielola's mother. She genuinely loved their daughter more than life itself and had sacrificed so much in order to provide for her. They both had.
The older Bonnielola became, the less Elliot saw of himself in her. She was becoming so much like her mother, the same natural blonde hair, the same round face and large eyes. She even had her mother's laugh and attitude. He adored everything about her, especially the bright red birthmark that covered the entirety of her left thumb. From sucking her thumb in the womb, her health visitor had suggested with shrug when they'd asked her not long after Bonnielola had turned three months. At times people - friends, family and strangers alike - had questioned it, concerned it was a burn. It had angered her parents at first, they hated feeling as though they were being interrogated, as though people thought they could cause her harm. Now they laugh and joke. Why yes it is a burn, she was playing with a fork near the plug socket or we were teaching her how to make a cup of tea, she can't be a true English girl if she doesn't know by the time she's five right? Were just some of the comebacks they had conjured over the years. The look of shock on people's faces before they realised what was happening brought them some joy at the situation.
Bouncing from one foot to another, holding her trousers with small gloved hands, Bonnielola began to grimace. Elliot and her mother looked from her to each other. Sighing in defeat her mother held her hand and led her to the toilet, the little girl almost tripping from trying to walk fast. She's like a mini John Wayne, Elliot chuckled to himself as he watched the pair sink into the crowd. Moving towards the brown wooden fence that enclosed the fete, Elliot watched the passers by. There was little Freddie, the brunette boy with large rimmed glasses in Bonnielola's class with his mum and dad hissing at one another as he trailed behind them. Over there towards the stall filled with homemade jams was Sarah the little girl who rarely listened to anyone. Right now she was pulling the table cloth closer to her despite her mother's best efforts to stop her. And there towards the cookie and cake stall was Umar, Bonnielola's best friend of the week with his mum and dad. Elliot had met his parents, and found them to be rather agreeable people; always polite and ready to talk at the school gates. They waved at him as Umar ushered them the next stall. Waving back, Elliot smiled broadly. Yes he liked those two, much more than he liked Yasmin's mum who turned her nose up at the other parents as though she and her daughter were above the rest of them.
A few minutes passed by before Bonnielola sprinted at her dad's legs almost knocking him sideways. She giggled and clung to his leg, squatting down so that he had to ease his leg forward with her extra weight attached. It was a game they played often and Elliot was thankful for the strength his leg possessed. Though she was small for her age, even Bonnielola could become very heavy very quickly. They continued through the crowd, stopping occasionally to chat with other parents or Bonnielola's teachers, each conversation almost identical so that by the fifth parent Elliot felt a little bored. There was only so much talk of school trips and fake 'let's make a play date soon' comments that Elliot could take before he would zone out entirely.
As time went on, Elliot began to relax more, confident that he wasn't going to see Adaline. It was too crowded, or maybe Joshua was sick and she wasn't going to be there at all. He began to stop scanning the crowd for her, his heart racing every time he saw a brunette woman - which unfortunately for him was almost every second in the playground. The scent of pastry, cinnamon and cloves had his mouth watering as they passed a stall selling mince pies.
"Bons, Laura do you guys want a mince pie? A hot chocolate?"
Bonnielola and Laura nodded quickly, the sweet treats from moments ago not quite satisfying enough to quench their hunger. Paying for a box of six and two hot chocolates - Laura would save some for Bonnielola when it had cooled, neither parent liking the idea of sharing a drink with someone who backwashed like their daughter - Elliot passed the flaky treats to the two girls and herded them towards a bench nearby. Snow started to fall around them, gently at first before picking up pace. They'd have to head back before long so as to avoid the inevitable traffic that would come. Laura glanced towards him a knowing look in her face.
"Just two more stalls Bons, then we'll go and see Santa before we go home. Okay?" Laura said as her daughter licked the crumbs from the tinfoil packet her mince pie had been in. Bonnielola groaned loudly, looking as though she were on the verge of tears. Not wanting another four-year old meltdown Elliot chimed in.
"Hey after this, why don't we take mummy home and you and me can go shopping for her Christmas present?"
Laura threw him a grateful look as Bonnielola cheered and wrapped her arms around her dad's neck. It had become a tradition for he and Laura to separately take their daughter out to choose a gift for the other parent, before returning home and letting her wrap her gift. Naturally, she wasn't very good at that part but she loved it nonetheless. They had together agreed a budget they both deemed fair, £15, as well as whatever the school asked for towards the beginning of December when they allowed their students to choose their parents a gift, for a small fee of course.
"Come on kiddo, let's go and see Santa," Elliot called, pulling Bonnielola's attention away from the reindeer they had stopped to see. The three creatures lay pitifully in their pen, chewing lazily on the hay provided surrounded by excited children pointing and shouting gleefully. I'd be over it too, Elliot thought feeling sorry for them as he followed Bonnielola to the extravagantly decorated grotto. Two teenagers dressed as elves stood either side of the entrance, taking parents money in exchange for a cheap present and a photograph of their child perched on Santa's lap. More often than not the children looked as though they'd rather be anywhere else and yet the parents, Elliot and Laura included, couldn't help themselves when it came to purchasing the memorabilia.
"Elliot is that you?" a familiar voice sounded behind the trio. Elliot felt his hair stand as he began to turn. Sure enough, there behind him was Adaline her family surrounding her, Joshua holding her hand in his. Her eyes dropped down to the small child holding Elliot's hand.
"Daddy, who's this lady?" Bonnielola asked, her head cocked to one side, thumb in her mouth as it often did when she was getting tired.
Multiple emotions played across Adaline's face like a movie projector as the little girl's words began to sink in. Elliot opened and closed his mouth, unsure what to say. Wishing the ground would swallow him up.
YOU ARE READING
Fairy Tale of New Lawke (NaNoWriMo)
Romance||In the process of editing offline|| Adaline hated New Lawke. Hated the constant reminder of Elliot. He was the reason she had fled over 10 years ago to start her life anew. Now recently widowed and with the news of her mother's terminal illness A...
