More Than You, More Than Me

Noodles

2023

Dianne waited in the mudroom at the back of the house for Joe to return with their girls from school and Graham's, holding a surprise tightly, terrified she might drop it. Rumbling of tyres on the gravel of their top drive let her know that they were home and she held her breath, excited, hearing their voices.

"...a bad day."

"A bad day, how come baby?" She heard her Joe say to their daughter who was definitely stomping her way around the car to the boot to retrieve her book-bag.

"Just cos."

"Okay," he was as gentle as ever, "go on, Mum's home, go give her a squeeze and tell her about it if you want."

"Mu-" Connie had pulled the door open and stopped in her tracks surprised Dianne was right there, not hidden further into their house, "oh my god."

"Gosh." Joe corrected over their screams, rather futilely.

"Is is th-"

"Puppy!"

"This is our puppy," Dianne introduced, holding the excitable dog out to Connie.

Connie took it from her and burst into tears as she held it close and the puppy calmed down in her grasp, licking her chin.

"Aww Con, she loves you."

"I love her," she whimpered.

"Puppy!"

"It is, that's our doggy Ellie-Bellie-Boo, all ours!"

"Forever? Do we have to give it back?"

"Forever darling," Dianne rubbed Connie's back stroking the dog, who's tail was wagging wildly.

"Me?"

"Yeah, come on let's go into the kitchen so El can meet her."

"What's she called?" Connie asked, as they walked to the farmhouse kitchen, where the little dog's pen was built.

"Up to you Doodle. Duck's too little so you pick."

"Sunshine? No," she looked at her dad, "Sunny?"

"I love it," he kissed the top of her head, as Ellie chased the dog around the gates area.

"Mama?"

"Sunny Sugg is amazing!"

"And plus, she looks like it too," Connie said, sitting on the floor, smiling when Sunny skidded over and sat in her lap, allowing Ellie to get close. Sunny was a 7-week-old golden labradoodle that came from a farm not too far away from the house. She was excitable yet cuddly and seemingly the perfect dog for their little family.

"Happy?" Joe asked his fiancée who was observing the sight in front of her with a small smile.

"Very," she kissed him, "just need one more now."

"One more? Dot, let's stick with one dog."

"I meant baby," she whispered, "another baby."

Joe nodded pulling her into a hug, just because. Silently communicating with her.

"One day."

"Can we take Sunny on a walk?"

"Later."

///

"Hi Sunny!" Connie shouted, as she entered the house, dipping under her Dad's waiting arms to find the dog.

"Charming. Hi El, good walk?"

"Sunny!"

"Surely you'll stop for me?" He asked, pouting.

"Mmhmm," she quickly pecked him and then slid past to see the puppy.

"Seriously, do I mean nothing?" He sighed dramatically.

"No, you do," Dianne said, straightening up, as he came into the kitchen, "but we're used to you and we've only had Sunny a week."

"Lovely. Take away tonight girls?"

"Ooh! Wagamama?"

"That's all the way in bath."

"Please?" It came from three directions.

Sunny barked as though to emphasise, "hey you need to go that way to pick that thing up from your dad, you may as well do it in one.

"Fine," he sighed, "what are we having then?"

Two hours later saw the little family sat in their cosy living room, the fire burning, as they watched a new film that had just come out on DVD, wagamama balanced on laps, in the case of the parents, and on the coffee table for the younger ones. Sunny was curled up in a dog bed, tired not only from being chased around by Ellie all day but also from her big week leaving her Mummy.

"Oh my god I mean gosh, goodness," the Australian voice interrupted the quiet scene making both girls jump.

"What?" It came from three directions, as Joe leaned to see what had caused such an out of place reaction.

"Just," she held her phone out to him, hand clamped over her mouth.

"No way! That's, Dot that's incredible."

"What what?"

"Nothing, just keep watching," Dianne said waving at the colourful scene on the telly, "I need to check we can tell them," she whispered answering Joe's look.

"That was fast."
"I don't think we have a leg to stand on there," Dianne muttered, focused on typing a message back to the mystery messenger, tilting her phone away from Connie who had turned around to look.

"Mummy, please?"

"Ah ah."

"Not fair," she huffed crossing her arms.

"Okay, I can tell you."

"That was fast," Joe commented, beaming as Connie wiggled to see the phone.

"Shall we pause the telly Nellie," Joe said to his two-year-old who was back engrossed in the film, forgotten about her Mum's excited reaction.

"Why?"

"Mama's got some news from Australia."

"What? What!"

"So, Auntie Mel has a little baby in her belly."

"In her uterus?"

Dianne laughed, "yes, isn't that exciting. You two are getting a cousin!"

"Baby?"

"Yeah, look," Dianne turned her phone around and showed the pair the picture Andrew had sent over, with intention of asking what she thought of the back garden. It was him and Mel stood together, his hands on her tummy and an ultrasound picture in her hand.

"There's a baby growing in Mel's tummy Eleanore. And one day we can go to Australia and see them and the baby will have arrived."

"In Mel tum-tum?" She asked, living her pyjama top up to expose her own.

"Yeah."

"Like auntie Janette!"

"Yeah, Janette is pregnant, how did you know?" Dianne asked.

"I read your messages when Ellie had her nappy changed."

"Doodle," Joe's tone was one of warning, "you shouldn't do that."

"Mummy left it open. I saw the scan."

"I see. Well yes Janette's pregnant, the baby's due in July."

"What about auntie Mel's?"

"Erm well she's 8 weeks so that makes around September I think, Buzz hasn't told me."

"Noodles," Joe suddenly shouted. The crowd looked at him, as he had also sprung up. Dianne followed his gaze and saw a very cute golden labradoodle with a noodle hanging out of her mouth. She noticed the attention and wages her tail.

Connie flopped against the sofa laughing hard, as Joe walked over and praised her mouth open, to find no noodles left. "Naughty Sunny, that's human food."

"She thought it was her because she looks like noodles!" Connie chortled, holding her tummy, as she belly laughed, barely giving herself time to breathe.

Ellie had started crying, and was soon scooped into her mum's comforting arms, it was her noodles that had come a cropper after all. "My noobles, Mama."

"It's okay, we can get some more," Dianne soothed kissing her head comfortingly.

Joe was now holding the excited dog, stood on his phone, presumably googling to see whether noodles were okay for a dog to accidentally eat. "You're okay Sunny, but you don't eat noodles."

"Yeah, don't eat noodles, Noodle," Connie giggled whilst Ellie whined.

"I'll put little miss in her pen for time out and get you some more Ducky, okay?" He put his hand on Ellie's red face and wiped her tears with a pout.

"Silly Sunny," Dianne cooed, turning Ellie around on her lap when Joe returned, a new Peppa Pig bowl filled with her favourite noodles.

"Mama feed Bellie?"

"Sure," Dianne turned her back to her side and began collecting the noodles as they pressed play on the film, Sunny's whines reminding them how much they loved their little doggy.

~~~

"Hi."

"Hello," Dianne smiled, wondering why her fiancé had just greeted her so formally.

"I've been thinking about our new niece or nephew," he said gently, climbing in next to her.

"Mmhmm, excited?"

"Absolutely. Are you?"

"Are you kidding? Of course, I am."

"Really, because actually when you told me I was happy and then-" he stopped, struggling to find the words.

"You thought about the negative tests."

"Mmhmm."

"So did I," she admitted.

"But they'll be positive, we're not properly trying."

"Course they will be. And in the mean time we can cuddle our niece slash nephew or baby Škorjanec. Or Chloe's. Or Nadyia's."

"Nadyia's pregnant?"

"Mmhmm. Twenty weeks but she's not showing."

"Bloody hell. I'm sorry, Dot."

"Why?"

"Because it must be hard. It is hard."

"I am so happy for my friends, Joseph," she dropped her head onto his shoulder, looking at the framed picture from Ellie's first birthday, where hands were settled on the slight curve of her belly.

"Doesn't mean you don't feel upset."

"Of course I do. I'm so jealous, especially of Nadyia and Chloe who are past where I got to last time."

"Dot, you should have told me."

Dianne sat up and looked at him, "what could you do though? Nothing Joe. I'm happy for them that they all have healthy babies who are thriving and growing. What could telling you have done other than make you feel jealous too?"

Joe was silent. He reached out a hand and tugged her back down, curling his arm around her back, "I could have been jealous and upset with you. A problem shared is a problem halved or in this case I think the saying should be, a feeling shared, a feeling halved," he rubbed her side.

"We have a puppy."

"I know, but you and I both know it's not a baby."

"I don't want to put pressure on my body."

Joe nodded, "I understand and we're not. It'll happen, when it happens, right?"

"Of course."

"In the meantime, we have to potty train."

"Which one?"

"Both of them."

Dianne laughed and snuggled in closer, kissing Joe's jaw. "I wish you could just," she clicked her fingers, "and be pregnant. And then click them again and be full term with a healthy baby and then one more time and them be in your arms. Do you know what the hard thing is?"

"What?"

"I only wanted two kids for years and then I held Ellie and I just knew."

"I didn't want any when I got Con. It's so messed up isn't it. Like people could spend years of their life trying and hoping and never get pregnant and then there's people out there who don't even want kids who are suddenly growing one. And ones who give up their babies for their old life and-"

"and there's people like us who got to ensure that Connie wasn't given up on. If we're meant to have one more then we will."

"She asked about Sandra earlier."

"Louise's Mum?"

Joe nodded and sighed, "I want Connie to make the decision about her and Louise's family. It's not my right to do so. We've talked about Sandra a few times. I've tried to explain why Connie hasn't met her; you know Sandra's choices as best I can. And I have asked if she wants me to talk to Sandra and get them to meet but she's always said no. I think, you remember the Sandra incident?"

Dianne sighed as well, "of course I do."

"It's put her off, I think. I don't blame her."

"Neither do I." Dianne shivered remembering the aftermath of emotions they all experienced.

"But I promised myself when I came clean about Lou, if she ever came and asked me a question, I would tell the truth."

"And you have."

They sat in silence for a few minutes Dianne fiddling with his fingers. "How did we get talking about Sandra Bennett? From Baby Buswell?"

"It's us," Dianne giggled, "we always manage."

"Love you Dotty."

"Love you too."

Welcome to the story Sunny Sugg! I hope you like her! I know the chapter is short but I've been so busy with life! Also, loving strictly this year too! I love the amount of representation there is this year! ❤ you all!