CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
London swirls the paint brush along the page and cheerily grins. A light blue trail winds across the page and bursts through the pastel purple line. She drops the paint brush and slides her index finger through the cool paint.
"Please use the paintbrush, Lo." I sigh.
Her wide blue eyes flicker to mine and she pouts.
"But Mummy, I like running my fingers through the paint." Her bottom lip droops lower, just like my will to persuade her to use the paintbrush.
I grimace at the mess it'll make, but I sigh and nod my head. Working on her fine motor skills is better than watching whatever unicorn show she begged for.
"Fine, but you're going straight inside once you're done playing with the paint."
"Yay," she cheers. "Thank you."
London slides her fingers through the pale yellow paint and grins at me.
"Is it cold between your fingers?" I chuckle.
London nods as she squishes her fingers. She presses her hand on the page and it sticks. Lo waves her hand, but the paper just flaps through the air and she pouts.
"Come here." I wave her closer.
She holds her hand out and I peel the page away and place it on the grass.
"Can I mix the colours?" She smiles.
"What colour does pink and yellow make?"
Lo tilts her head to the side and shrugs her shoulders.
"We're about to find out then." I giggle.
She wiggles her fingers into the pink paint and bits of orange form as the paint mixes. Lo drags her fingertips across the grass and bits of paint stick to it.
"Keep the paint on the page, missy."
London giggles as she reaches for another blank page. More paint covers the pages, then the brush, and before I know it, she's covered in paint.
"How do you have so much paint on you? I don't remember putting that much in the containers." I sigh.
Lo brushes hair out of her face, which means more paint on her skin.
"I wonder what colour the bath is going to turn."
She grins and I can't help but smile.
"I love you so much, even when you're covered in paint."
The door slides open and Blake's boots clonk against the wooden deck. London leaps up and races across the grass. As she reaches the stairs, Blake crouches down and gasps.
"What happened to you?"
Lo looks at her hands and giggles.
"Do you want to play with me?"
Blake peers to the side and frowns.
"Is there any paint left or are you wearing it all?"
She clasps her hands together and looks down. Blake pokes her sides and she erupts in laughter. Despite being covered in paint, Blake swings London into the air and she clings to his fluro yellow work clothing. He crosses the grass and plonks beside the mess.
"Hey bubs." Blake smiles.
"Today we exploded how paint feels on our hands, welp, our whole body, and the colours it makes if we mix them up." I grin. "How about you? Was everything okay at work?"
"Work was good, but nothing as fun or exciting as this." He pouts.
"Daddy, I made this for you!" She pushes Blake's chest and climbs out of his lap. London grabs the soggy page and passes it to him. Blake pinches the page and thoughtfully inspects it.
"It's, um, it's beautiful."
"Can we hang it on the fridge?"
"Yes, but once it dries."
"How about you paint something for your grandparents? Grandma Angela is upset that she doesn't have any new paintings from you."
"Oh no." Lo gasps.
She grabs another page and quickly slaps paint onto it. While she's busy, I shuffle across the grass and lean against Blake's side. He wraps his arm around my waist and kisses my temple. I cup his cheek and direct his warm lips to mine.
He grabs my face and pushes his fingers into my hair. His fingers get caught in my brown hair, and it gently tugs. Shivers coil down my spine and I sigh with content.
"Eww." We break apart and find London sticking her tongue out.
"I preferred it when she was little," Blake whispers.
London leaps into his arms and he blows raspberries into her neck. She squeals loudly as she tries to shove him away. Paint is smeared across Blake but he doesn't seem to mind.
"We should get you cleaned up." Blake chuckles. "But first . . ."
Blake hoists London into the air and they wander to the pool. He opens the fence and they slip inside. Lo whispers something which makes him laugh.
He leaps into the pool and water splashes onto the pavement. When they resurface, Lo's blonde hair is plastered across her face. She smooshes it away and shakes her head. Blake cups her cheek and brushes some paint off her cheek.
Blake and Lo look at me and I sink into the grass.
"Join us," he shouts.
I slide my hands over my belly and shake my head.
"I don't know." I bite my lip.
"Do it, do it!" Blake chants.
Lo splashes her arms and water sprays across Blake's chest. With a sigh, I push myself up and wander to the pool. Blake swims to the steps in the shallow section and sets London on them.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," I mutter.
Blake flicks water and I gasp as the cold droplets shower across my warm skin.
"Excuse me!" I raise my hands to cover my face.
"Come in, my body will keep you warm."
I roll my eyes and plonk down the steps until I'm wrapped in his warm arms. I nuzzle into his chest and London clings to my arm. I scoop her between us and she wraps one arm around each of us.
"Daddy, can we paddle around the pool?"
Blake reluctantly nods as he drifts back. London clings onto his arm and she paddles after him. He swings her around and she squeals with delight. I drift through the water and sigh at how relaxing it is.
The back door slides open and Blake darts to the end of the pool. His shoulders relax and I smile.
"Hey," Charlotte shouts.
I paddle over to Blake and grin. Kyle and Charlotte stride across the grass and rest on the metal pool gate.
"How's the water?" Kyle raises an eyebrow.
"Cold, but nice."
"What's the surprise visit for?" Blake laughs.
"Or did I forget about something?" I sheepishly smile.
"No, we thought we'd come and see you! Perhaps grab something for dinner. We couldn't decide on what to bring, so we came here first."
"We love these kind of surprise visits." Blake grins.
With a sigh, I shake my head. It's true, though, I love these visits. Especially with Mum and Angela come over with food because they're worried we're not eating enough.
"Could you grab us some towels and we'll hop out."
"Sure." Charlotte nods.
"Aw, but I want to keep playing." Lo frowns.
"We can go swimming on the weekend when we've got more time."
"Okay." She frowns.
When Charlotte returns, Blake lifts London out of the water and directs her to Char. She wraps the towel around her body and cuddles Lo to her chest. Blake and I swim to the steps and he helps me out. The cold air causes shivers to spiral down my spine. He races ahead and tosses a towel, which I quickly wrap around me.
We move into the house and I take London into the bathroom. I remove the wet clothes and nudge her towards the shower. She looks up at the shower head, then to me.
"Step back, the water will be cold."
I turn the shower on and Lo jumps back and squeals. She stands under the shower and swooshes her hair under the water.
Lo steps to the side and grins. "Aren't you coming in?"
"Um." I bite my lip.
Warm specs from the shower sprinkle across my cheeks and I sigh. I drop the towel and peel my cold clothes off and toss them onto the floor. I step into the shower and Lo giggles. She leans up and places her hands on my tummy and kisses it. I cover her hands with mine.
"Your little sister is getting so big!"
I grab the soap and sponge and get to work cleaning her up. Once we're clean, we step out of the shower and I wrap her in a towel. The door subtly opens and a hand appears holding a stack of clothes.
"These are for you," Char says.
"Thanks."
I take the clothes and place them on the bench. I help London into her clothes before dressing. Once we're done, we leave the bathroom and I toss our wet clothes into the washing machine.
I join the lot in the family room. Kyle scatters containers of Pasta Cup across the table, while Charlotte fishes bowls and cutlery from the kitchen. I take a seat beside Blake, while Lo and Char sit opposite us. Kyle nabs the seat between Blake and London.
"There should be something everyone likes because I ordered most items on the menus." Kyle chuckles.
"Mm, pasta, yummy!"
London grabs the serving tongs and attempts to dish up pasta, but the long strands slide out the tongs and scatter across the table and to her plate. Charlotte hovers over her, but Lo tries again. I nudge the container towards her plate and smile.
Life is messy, I don't know why I bother trying to contain it.
Once dinner is done, Blake takes the stacks of dishes into the kitchen while I clean Lo up. There's pasta everywhere, which makes us laugh. I squat down and collect the bits off the floor, then tug myself up. Pain shoots through my back and I groan.
Blake races to my side and shakes his head.
"I told you to be more careful."
"I was just picking up pasta."
"You're super pregnant, let me do it."
"Fine." I sigh.
London and Blake stack the dishes into the dishwasher while Kyle and Charlotte restore the dining table to its former glory. Dusty plastic plants in a large crystal vase which sits in the centre of the table.
Once the mess is cleaned up, Char produces her wedding book and I force a smile. Lo creeps into the lounge room with a board game. Even though we've played it a million times, I wish I was playing it with them.
"I just need some advice about napkin colours, the seating chart, the playlist, the food we're serving and if I should bother with a little lolly cart or not. I need to get these done so that I can progress with some other things."
"What napkins do you have in mind?"
Charlotte produces three different napkins and runs her fingers through her long brown hair. Each napkin is a different shade of white, which seems impossible because white is white, but not in the land of napkins.
"Which one should I pick? I need it to match the table clothes. I was thinking of a pastel pink or purple of the table clothes."
"Um." I bite my lip. "How about the third one?"
When Blake and I looked at napkins, he laughed at how tedious the job was. He tugged on a smile and pretended to be serious for a whole five seconds.
"I was thinking about the second one."
"Yeah, we could do that."
"Or even the first one. I'm so stuck!" She sighs.
"How about you spend another night thinking about it? The answer might come to you tomorrow." I yawn.
"Alright, I understand." Charlotte gathers her things and throws them into her bag. She scribbles a list onto the page and slides it towards me. "Could you do these things for me?"
"Yeah, sure." I nod.
Char swings the bag over her arm and Kyle jumps up from the couch.
"We'll see you soon."
Char and Kyle swiftly leave and Blake wrangles London to bed.
She slides under the covers and pouts. Blake grabs a couple of stories from the bookshelf and flips through them. She snuggles into her side and sighs with content. I kiss London's forehead and stroke her cheek.
"Goodnight, Lo." I smile.
"Goodnight." She grins.
Blake catches my hand and squeezes it.
"Go to bed and I'll be there soon."
"Okay." I nod.
I kiss Blake's forehead and wander to our bedroom. I place the list on my side table and change into my pj's and slide under the covers.
Blake wanders into the room and yawns. He strips out of his clothes and swipes the list. He shakes his head with annoyance and puts the list down.
"You're pregnant, you can't run around to all these places."
"I can do it."
"You need to rest."
"Don't make me tie you to the bed, because I will do it."
"I need to do this because she helped me."
"She wasn't pregnant, though."
"Blake, don't be like this."
"I don't care about coloured napkins, or what flowers they have at their wedding, I care about you."
"Fine, I'll tell her I can't do the list."
"Thank you."
"I never picked you to be the controlling husband."
"Well now you know my dark secret." He laughs.
He jumps into bed and I snuggle into his side. I love this man, but I'm not a delicate flower.
Thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.