Together

Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'

Well... this is the second to last chapter of the book, and in all honestly, I still don't have a name for Book 3. Haha. I'll come up with one tomorrow, I guess! I'll let you all know next update xxx. Until then, here's some pure, cute fluff to hold you over. Enjoy/comment/vote if you wish and I love you all lots! Xxxx
-ab

————————————————-

December 21, 2026

Harper

"Sweet, sweet, Christmas break," my husband murmurs as he opens his eyes next to me on a chilly winter day. It's his first official day off, not counting the weekend, when he never has to go to work, and he couldn't be more excited. While he loves his job, he is so ready for a bit of a break, and a chance to start over in the new year.

"Did you sleep well, lovie?" I ask him. It's rare that he sleeps later than I do, but I'm naturally an early riser, unless I have a show the night before, so the two of us may be starting to settle into a new routine.

"Yeah," he tells me, snuggling his body into mine. "It's nice and cozy under here."

"It is, but we've got to get up eventually." I've been relishing in the warmth of the duvet for nearly an hour, and I'm getting a bit fidgety, though I don't know what I'd do if I was to get out of bed. Start with breakfast, I suppose.

Before getting up, I check my phone to see if I've gotten any important messages.

As luck would have it, I did. Quite a while ago, as the matter of fact. I realize that both of us slept in much later than we normally do, and it's nearly 10:00.

Mum: Would you and Patrick be willing to have some company today? I hear that you're going with Taylor and Joe for Christmas day, but I'd like to see you two at some point over the holidays.

I look at Patrick. "Is it alright if my mum comes over today?"

"Sure," he replies.

Just as I'm about to type up a reply to her, we hear the doorbell ringing.

Patrick curses under his breath, then springs out of bed and starts to pull on a hoodie over his bare chest.

I follow suit, wrapping myself in a dressing gown before leaving the room to go see who is at the door.

It turns out to be my mum.

"Hey," I say, blushing a bit as Patrick walks up behind me and both of us are still in pyjamas.

"Sorry to catch you kids off guard... did I wake you up?"

"No, I had just seen your text..." I reply, awkwardly, slipping my hand into Patrick's.

"I was coming into London anyway, to get some Christmas shopping done, so when you didn't reply, I just figured that I'd pop by to see how you two are."

"Oh, that was sweet of you," I smile at her. "Um, would you mind if we went and got dressed...?"

"Oh, of course," Mum laughs. Patrick and I, embarrassed, scurry out of the room to our bedroom.

"Oh my god," I say, flopping down onto our bed, face first. "That was awkward."

"It's okay, hon. It's just your mum. It's not like we were naked or anything. We were both fully clothed. I've got a hoodie and trousers on, and you have a shirt, trousers, and a dressing gown."

"But still... I look so disgusting right now, and you weren't expecting it, and I just feel really bad. I should have read my texts sooner."

"Love, it's alright. Deep breaths. You lived with your mum for eighteen years. She's seen you in pyjamas before. And for the record, I think you look beautiful. I think you were just caught off guard and you're stressing about it."

"Well, it's just, I didn't get to clean up, and what if she thinks that our lives are always in a constant state of mess? And what if she thinks that we are irresponsible, or something, for sleeping in so late? And-"

"Hey, it's alright, like I've said. It's just your mum. There are so many people who could have shown up who would have been way worse."

"That's true," I concede.

"Now, just pick out some clothes, get dressed, and let's go out and chat with your mum, because she came here to see her little girl."

"Right..." I say, taking a deep breath. I pair a dark red dress with my grey tights and combat boots, then brush my hair out and pull it into a ponytail.

"Look at how gorgeous you look," my husband says to me, slipping his hand around my waist and allowing his fingers to travel downwards. He cheekily squeezes my bum, causing me to squeal.

"Patrick Alwyn!" I exclaim. "What on earth was that?"

"You know what it was," he winks at me, at which I roll my eyes.

"Don't give me that stupid smile. God, sometimes, I think that you're sixteen."

"You love me."

"That I do," I say, walking over to him and planting a quick kiss on his lips. "Now, are you all ready?"

"Yep," he replies. "Let's go back out there and properly greet your mum."

"That sounds good," I giggle, slipping my fingers into his before the two of us walk out of our room and downstairs to the living room, where my mum is sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone.

She looks up at the sound of our footsteps. "There are my two favourite early risers."

"Shut up," I giggle, rolling my eyes at Mum's sarcasm. The two of us sit down on our sofa.

"You two cleaned up nicely," she remarks. "Tell me, how have you been? How was New York, Harper? Broadway?"

"It was amazing," I smile at her. "I made some nice new friends, and it was really just an absolute dream to get to play Cosette again."

"That's amazing. I'm so happy for you. Remind me, Patrick, were you able to make it over there on a last minute flight to see her?"

"Yeah, Joe and I took Taylor's private jet and made it just in time for her Broadway debut performance."

"Oh, that's so lovely. I'm so glad that you got to go."

"Me too," he smiles, putting his arm around my shoulder. I rest my head on his shoulder, causing my mum to smile. She can tell that we are all loved up.

"I see that you two are still happy after your first year of marriage."

"She's the best thing to ever happen to me," Patrick assures my mum. "I'm taking good care of her."

"And any progress on the grandchildren?"

This question causes both Patrick and I to blush. We know that my mum wants grandchildren. That's no secret. We just don't love discussing the topic.

"When the time is right," Patrick manages to muster up.

While my mum and I have a good relationship, we don't have the sort of relationship where I love discussing my relationships with her. I never have. While she likes finding out the details, I don't like giving them to her, necessarily.

I was so uncomfortable even telling her when I was dating Patrick. I don't know how I'm going to tell her when the day comes that I'm pregnant. I know that she'll be overjoyed, but perhaps that's going to be the issue. She'll be too excited...

But that day isn't here yet, so right now, we just quickly change the topic.

We spend a nice few hours visiting with my mum, and she even takes us out for a nice lunch, her treat, as, "Harper is unemployed now. You're a one income family."

"Patrick makes good money," I insist, embarrassed.

"I know, love. You'll be just fine. I just want to treat my daughter and son-in-law. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Mum."

"You're very welcome, sweetie."