MagicAnimalClub: Happenings

47: Left-Overs

JOES POV

It was the middle of the night. About midnight anyway.
Beth rang me up, I answered immediately,
"Hi." I said, why is it still awkward?
"Hi, Joe.. About earlier.."
"-I love the name of the cat." I told her, smiling. She laughed,
"It was the first thing that came to my head." She said to me.
Then my door opened slightly, it was Emily. She had tears around her eyes.
"Oh, gotta go, Emily is loo-"
"Leave it on." Beth said, "pretend I'm not listening." She said. I put down the phone and lifted Emily into my bed.
"Hey Emily, what's up?" I put my arms around her.
"I had a bad dream." She whispered, crying.
"Hey, it's okay, everyone has bad dreams,"
"Can you tell me a story?" She asked, climbing under the covers beside me.
"Okay, but I want you to close your eyes." I watched Emily close her pretty blue eyes. She looked just like Beth. So beautiful, so.. No wait.. No.. We aren't together.. I can't think these things about Beth..
"There was once a cat." I began, feeling a hint of nostalgia shiver through my body.
"He was called Stampy." I said, Emily smiled. This wasn't just a story for her.. it was for Beth on the phone.
"Now cats have nine lives, Stampy had a life, in a strange place."
"Stampy was a builder, he built big games and roller coasters but also houses and shops, he had a few friends, like a squid and a bear and a mermaid and.. And once he met a duck. This duck was called.. Sqaishey. Sqaishey and Stampy became the best of friends, they went exploring together, they made houses at the sky's limit and in the bottom of the earth. "
"Did they love each other?" Emily asked me, I went quite red, but I would never lie to my daughter. She meant the world to me.
"Yes... yes they did.. Now Stampy is in his next life sitting in your mums house.

"Did you used to love mum?" Emily asked me,

I hesitated with my answer,
"Yes."

"I love it when you are happy together." She whispered, closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep.
"I love it too." I whispered.

I didn't bother turning off the phone. I just wrapped myself around Emily and comforted her throughout the night, hoping that Beth would hang up eventually. There was nothing in this world I loved more than Emily, but part of me, deep inside wanted Beth back, I almost kissed her today.. What if I did?! What would I be doing now? Oh that would be wrong... No..

DAVIDS POV

I lay in bed beside Nicole, I picked up my phone and caught myself in the selfie mode of my camera.
"Oh my god Nicole." I said,
"What?"
"Look at all my grey hairs!" I looked into my roots to see that it was all grey.
"Oh god David!" She said, poking her hands through my hair. "You gonna get it dyed?"
"Nah, kinda like grey hair to be honest, I'm one of those people." I said, putting down my phone.
"Dave.. I know you probably don't want to talk about this but.."
I looked at her and flicked my hair to the side.
"You and Joe.."
"-you're right.. I don't want to talk about this-" my mood as lowered again.
"Dave.. I was talking to Ashton.. Look I know he's only six but he says he loves Emily."
"He'll grow out of it." I replied.
I looked to the door as Rosie walked in. Rosie had grown to be a beautiful, slim girl, with her mothers pale skin and bright blue eyes, her hair was a beautiful dark brown with a few natural curls.
"Rosie what are you doing awake?" I looked at my nine year old daughter in confusion.
"You were talking about someone I remember." She said, my stomach tensed.
I was about to tell her to go back to bed but Nicole bid her sit in our bed.
"Joe?" Nicole said, Rosie nodded.
"Joe met up with us a lot when you were little, but there was a bit of a falling out between your dad and him." I was annoyed that she mentioned that.
"What happened?"
"It's a long story." I replied, "come on you have school tomorrow, you should go to bed."
"But I wanna know." She said,
"He- he accidentally killed my dad." I sighed. Remembering the sight I saw about seven years ago and the fight we had.
"What?! How?!"
"Shh! Keep it down the others are sleeping. Anyway, I think it's better we save this for another time, " I said, she looked at my with great confusion and eagerness.
"Please, Rosie." I whispered, feeling nostalgic in the worst way.
"Here, I'll bring you to bed." Nicole said, stepping out of bed and out the door holding Rosie's hand.

When the door closed I put my hands against my head and sighed, before resting against a pillow and staring at the pattern of my closed curtains. They always annoyed me, the squares, there was no obvious pattern, and I had spent hours on end searching for one, knowing, really, that there was none.
A tear trickled down my face as I looked back upon the happy memories and the sad memories I had with Joe, his speech, the war, his heart attack, the drunken laughs we had together, YouTube...

It only struck me then how much I missed Ash, -not my son- my old best friend. Yes, he was without a doubt the best friend I had ever had. I missed him. I missed him enough that if I didn't have a family I would die to see him and have another laugh with him.

Why are you dead, and I am left here?
You died so young.. and I'm left here, I have lived such a long life already. I have been allowed to keep going. I have been allowed to grow old and have a family.. while you died nearly a decade ago.
Why is life so cruel...

Nicole walked back into the room, she sat on the bed beside me, looking to the roof.
"I miss the good old days with Beth and Joe." She sighed, "We could recreate those days, you know, we could be friends again."
"It wouldn't be the same." I muttered.
"No, I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens." Nicole said, I nodded before closing my eyes and falling asleep.