Hello

Love and Submarines

"Roger, I've gone out for the day with Viv and Chrissie. In the fridge I've left bottles of milk with the time Henry should drink them. Don't get too stressed if he doesn't finish them because he's a little bloke. As for you, there's an entire pantry of ingredients at your (hopefully frugal) disposal so get creative. I love you both, Lolly."

Roger sighed as he finished reading the note aloud. He glanced at Henry who he was holding to his chest.

"Well what the hell do I do now?"

Henry just looked up at his father and grinned before frowning.

"Just smile and shit yourself. If you can do it, I guess I can, too."

Whilst Roger was struggling to not vomit while he changed a diaper, I was getting the most relaxing massage of my life. Sensual porn music in the background, a tall, dark man with bright green eyes rubbed my naked back with the best oil I've ever smelt.

"Lucy, this was the best decision you've ever made." Vivienne told me, her voice muffled. She was on another table next to me, a different man running his hands up and down her spine.

"You're tellin me! You wait until Roger gets a whiff of this oil! Woo! There'll be no sleep tonight in the Taylor Household." I joked, turning my head sideways to check on Chrissie. If she was any deeper relaxed, she would have been asleep. She probably was.

I couldn't fall asleep no matter how relaxed I was. Not only because I tend to drool, but because I knew that the rest of our day included burlesque dancing lessons, a facial and makeover, and a visit to Great Ormond Street Hospital's Children's Ward.

"Hey Luce, what oil did you get?"

"Hazelnut. You?"

"Mint. Hey Chris, what flavour will get Brian hot? Chris! Is she still alive?" Vivienne laughed as her masseur moved onto her legs.

"I think she's too deep. Good for her. I can't stop worrying about Rog. I mean, I've left him at home with a newborn." I blabbered, completely ruining the relaxed feeling I had attained before.

"Keep it together, Lucy. You'll be gone for a few hours! It's not like you're going for a week." Vivienne reassured. I agreed with her silently, inhaling the scent of my hazelnut skin. It could only get better.
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"Hey Luce, you've given Roger head before, right?"

Chrissie covered her ears before I had the chance to reply. I pulled down the sun visor in Vivienne's tiny car to check my face in the mirror.

"A few times. Male genitalia isn't exactly attractive so it's not a regular thing, thank Christ. Then again, the only vaginas I've seen have been in diagrams or been pushing out babies so I can't really compare the two."

I slid the plastic mirror covering to the right to reveal the mirror. I didn't believe what I saw. I gasped, taking it all in. My hair was still the colour of red wine and still a curly mess. My skin looked perfect and fresh, perfectly contoured and blushed in the right places. My eyebrows looked thicker and had a more definitive shape, my eyes looked bigger and supremely less tired, with golden eyelids and long lashes. My lips were a gleaming pale pink and my square jawline looked as though it actually suited me for once. The grey tint under my eyes was completely gone, as were the scratches on my face due to Henry's ever-growing fingernails. I felt beautiful. I looked hot as fuck.

"Stop gawking at yourself in that mirror! I get it, you're pretty." Vivienne laughed, pulling up into the staff car park and displaying her parking permit on the dashboard. I fought the passenger door open, standing up on the uneven concrete. Chrissie followed suit, but with more ease and dignity. Children's ward was the furthest away from the front entrance, so I had worn daggy red converse boots instead of heels. Not that I could walk well in heels, anyway. Elegance is not a trait I inherited from either set of parents.

As soon as the automatic doors slid open, the smell of hand sanitiser and hospital flooded my nose. Home. We followed the grey carpet through the hallways until we reached children's ward. The familiar faces of Erica Jenner and Henrietta Franks greeted me at the door with open arms.

"Nurse May! I heard you gave birth to a beautiful boy!" Erica grinned, embracing me. Her short blonde hair clashed with mine.

"He's my world. Henry Oliver Taylor." I replied, hugging her back. As she released me, I got down on my knees and got eye-level with Henrietta. Today was a special day for her: she was finally going home.

"Hi sweetheart." I whispered. Vivienne laughed at me.

"Thank you."

I gasped and choked up, covering my mouth. Her voice sounded like pure honey, the sweetest of victories. I spent months with her in that hospital as doctors lost faith in her, reprimanding her for choosing to not speak.

"I love you." At this, I completely broke down. I let Henrietta wrap her arms around my neck and hug me. I cried into her long hair, feeling relief flood every cell of my being. Her parents walked up behind her, her mother now wheelchair bound. I looked up at them through clouded eyes. Her father stepped forward as I squeezed Henrietta and stood up wonkily.

George Franks was a broken man. I had seen him plenty of times before his daughter and wife were brought in. He worked as a lawyer in London. One of the finest I've ever death with. He was not dressed in a smart suit and tie, instead in baggy running pants and a plain white shirt.

"Are you the glorious Nurse May?" He asked, half-smiling at me with a pained expression hidden beautifully under hazel eyes.

"Yes sir. Lucy May at your service." I smiled reassuringly, feeling Henrietta grab onto my hand.

"Lorraine and I both want to say thank you. We know you worked intensely with Henrietta and taught her how to communicate again. When she started speaking, all she could talk about was you. You've changed our lives and we can never thank you enough for that. Nurse Jenner told us you had a son and we wanted to get him a gift. We figured Henrietta lost so many months of her life being here, we wanted to make sure every moment of your son's was captured."

Lorraine wheeled herself forward with a wince of pain and reached under the blanket covering her legs. She pulled out a large scrapbook, with HENRY TAYLOR on the cover in rainbow paper letters. Her burnt hands handed the book to me as I flicked through the pages. The first five years of Henry's life would be recorded beautifully.

"Thank you." I whispered, hugging George first. I bent down and kissed the top of Lorraine's head, knowing hugging wasn't an option. Her back and neck were simply too burnt and sore.

"Never give up, Lorraine. It's going to be such an uphill battle but burns heal." I looked over at Henrietta.

"And love heals all wounds."
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"Mummy's home!" I announced, closing the front door behind me.

"Thank god!" Roger replied from the kitchen. I walked up the stairs and hugged him from behind, kissing his shoulder. I inhaled his scent, expecting soap and aftershave. Instead, the invigorating smell of vomit and tears caught me off guard.

"Oh god, Blue! You smell real bad." I laughed. Roger turned around and grinned, hugging me.

"And you smell like nuts. How about, you give me five minutes to scrub off and then you join me, where I will slowly lick every millilitre of that oil off your hot body."

"Baby, I'm a submarine. You've gotta get my hatch above water before you can penetrate me. You have a shower, I'll put some silk sheets on the bed and get him to sleep, and THEN you can taste my nuts?"

"Lucy May, you drive a hard bargain!"