Sleepwalking // Sam Fender

36

Two years later (2021)

"Alice! There's a family here waiting to meet their new friend, can you come over and help them?" Claire, the receptionist of the shelter in Newcastle told me through the phone.

I sighed, looking at all the paperwork I had left. "Sure, I'll be there in five"

As I was making my way to the front door, while tying my hair in a ponytail, I thought that I had indeed changed. My hair was now long and naturally brown. I had put on weight, thing that I needed. I had grown out of my piercings, and I finally had the breast surgery that I long awaited for. Being a mother is still a thing that feels like a cliff. No one teaches you how to be a mother but in a blink of an eye, I had the two most wonderful kids and I had to learn how to deal with motherhood. Life had improved as well, I had a stable job as the boss of several animal shelters scattered around Manchester, Newcastle and the outskirts of London. My baby girl was now seven (not really a baby anymore) and my lovely son was three. Beth and Elliot were everything I lived for.

It was a busy day, about to be Christmas, so the shelter was full of families eager to adopt a puppy to abandon it a few months later. It is something I still haven't learnt how to cope with. I enjoyed being at my office doing paperwork, but I loved interviewing families and getting to select their ideal dog. I absolutely adored the face of the children when they saw those four tiny legs walking through the door.

As I crossed the last door that separated the hallway from the main entrance, I checked the hour. Just a few minutes before Sam goes to pick up the kids from school. Sam had also been busy the last couple of months as he became even more famous and had released his second album two months ago. Since the day he came back, guitar in hand, to sing Get You Down as an apology, our relationship had only improved.

"How can I help you?" I asked the family once I had sat down in front of them. My job, then, consisted in listening to their wants and needs as well as observing each family member. A family may be willing to adopt a calm down but if one of the kids is cheeky, there was no way a calm or an elder dog was going to cope with that child.

Right after the family had decided to adopt a female golden retriever, I ran to my car and drove all the way to North Shields. I was finally confident enough to drive a car by myself in England. I mean, after four years in Newcastle, Sam insisted that it was about time that I learnt how to drive a car again. We had moved, again, to a bigger house since Sam and I were waiting for baby number two but let's just say that the pregnancy didn't go as planned. Now, we had a spare room full of baby stuff which Sam and I refused to go in so it just stayed there, frozen in time since 2020.

Once I arrived home, I opened the door to the sound of Pulp's Disco 2000. I frowned with a light smile as no one ran to the door to greet me, although, judging by the volume of the music, no one had heard the door. I followed the melody to Elliott's room to find Sam, Beth and Elliott dancing around to the song. I leaned against the door frame with a wide smile on my face and cleared my throat, causing the three of them to turn around.

"Mam!" Both of my kids ran to my arms. Elliott obviously had a Geordie, being born and raised in Newcastle, but Beth had developed herself a Geordie accent, which she was incredibly proud of.

"Hiya, kids" I kneeled down to their heights to give them a hug. "How was school?" Both of the kids started talking at the same time.

"Oi!" Sam said, causing both of the children to shut up. "What have we said about speaking at the same time?" I smiled sweetly at Sam, gesture that he returned.

"I had a really good day, mam. Sarah has asked me if I could stay over at her house one day during Christmas break" Beth said.

"As a sleepover?" Beth nodded. "Let me think about it, alright? I have to ask your father anyways" Beth rolled her eyes. Her relationship with Alex had worsen since he started his normal routine of releasing an album every two years and constant touring in between. Sam had also released Seventeen Going Under two years after his debut album but he was around every single time he could and if he felt like he hadn't spent enough time at home, he would often take the kids on tour with him for a few days.