A Surprise ⇢ Callum Ilott

THIRTYONE

Weeks passed after the drunk voicemail of Callum. He never replied to Catherine's message, and Catherine didn't look after him anymore. Of course, they were thinking of each other, but with no need to contact each other. They both closed the chapter when the new year started last week.

Catherine had some time off with her two nephews and niece; it was the auntie Ted weekend. It was the last weekend before school started again, and Thomas, Finn and Lydia were begging to spend a day with their aunt. Catherine didn't mind it, she liked spending time with her nephews and niece.

The weather in England was beautiful for the winter; it was on the chilly side, but the sun was shining, making it a beautiful day to go out. Catherine took the three children to their favourite playground in the woods.

Catherine sat on a bench on the side of the playground and ate an apple. The playground was filled with other families and kids. Seeing so many children made it for Catherine more essential to keep having an eye on her family. Lydia, the youngest, was playing with sand in front of Catherine. Thomas and Finn, the oldest and middle, were playing football on the other side.

"Auntie Ted!" Finn said and ran towards Catherine.

Catherine's eyes shot up, and she smiled. "Yes, Finn," she said and straightened her back.

"Saskia doesn't know where her parents are," he said and looked around.

"Okay... That is not very good," she replied and looked around. Her eyes fell on Thomas, who was walking with a girl towards Catherine, that must be Saskia. The girl looked upset. "Hey, what's wrong?" Catherine sweetly asked when the girl was standing in front of her.

"I don't know where mummy and daddy are," Saskia explained and her eyes rounded. Tears filled her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry," Catherine comforted her. "Have you tried to find them?" The little girl nodded. "Where did you see them for the last time?"

"At the restaurant, but I can't find them," Saskia mumbled.

Catherine nodded. "We will find them, alright? Shall we start at the playground and then the restaurant?"

Saskia nodded and looked around.

Catherine threw the apple in the bin and put the black backpack on her back. She stepped towards Lydia. "Are you going with me?" She looked at Lydia. The small girl nodded and got up. "Let's get the sand off you," Catherine muttered and removed the sand from Lydia's clothes.

"Auntie Ted, what are we going to do?" Finn asked curiously.

"We are gonna look for Saskia's parents," she replied and placed Lydia on her hip when Lydia asked for it. "How do your parents look like?" Catherine asked Saskia.

"Uhm..." Saskia began. "My dad has glasses and my mum has blonde hair."

"Okay," Catherine said and looked around for a man with glasses and a woman with blonde hair. She followed Saskia. Not many people reacted to Saskia, so her parents weren't here.

"Saskia, if you can't find your parents, you can have dinner at ours. Auntie Ted is a very good chef!" Thomas cheerfully said.

Catherine looked disapproving at Thomas. "Tom, now is not the time," she mentioned. He said it with a good intention, but no... "Shall we go to the restaurant and see if your parents are there?" There was a restaurant next to the playground in the woods.

"Yes," Saskia nodded, and her lip trembled.

"It's going to be alright, we will find your parents, don't worry," Catherine assured the little girl and gave her a warm smile. Saskia grabbed Catherine's free hand, she was scared. "Where at the restaurant, did you see them for the last time?"

Saskia was silence for a while. "At the table."

"Have you looked at the table?"

The little girl nodded.

Catherine softly smiled. "We will look at the table again," she comforted Saskia.

They entered the restaurant. The warmth slammed against their faces, they now realised how cold it actually was outside. Catherine looked at Lydia on her hip, she was almost falling asleep. The two boys were taking the lead, not knowing what they were doing. Catherine scanned the restaurant, the place was filled with people. No wonder why Saskia lost her parents.

"Where is the table?" Catherine asked. She saw a few people with glasses and blonde hair, but they didn't match together; the man had glasses, on his nose, but the woman didn't have blonde hair, or vice versa.

Saskia led Catherine to their table, but on their way towards the table, Saskia got called by a man. Both Catherine and Saskia turned to the man. Saskia didn't hesitate and let go of Catherine's hand before running away. Catherine saw the confused look on the faces of Saskia's parents, which made sense. If a random woman walked with your daughter in a restaurant, you would be confused as well. However, those people looked oddly familiar to Catherine.

"I think Saskia has found her parents," Thomas said and nodded. The boy was only eight years old, but he could behave like an adult sometimes. "Can I say goodbye to her?"

"Sure," Catherine said and followed Thomas and Finn to Saskia. "Good afternoon," Catherine politely smiled.

"Hello," the dad with the glasses said. "Thank you for helping Saskia," he said. "She must have mixed a few tables up."

Catherine was shaking her head. "No problem," she smiled and looked at Thomas and Finn who were talking to Saskia.

"That's Simba!" Lydia said and pointed at the dog, who was laying under the table.

"No, no, that's not Simba," Catherine smirked when her niece confused the dog with the dog of Catherine's parents. "That's another cute dog."

"Do you want to pet Poppy?" The dad asked Lydia. "You can pet her," he smiled.

Catherine put Lydia on the ground, and Lydia petted the dog. "She's obsessed with my parents' dog, she believes every dog is their dog," she explained.

The mother quickly laughed. "We have been through that phase as well," she shared. "What kind of dog do your parents have?"

"A beagle."

"Oh, that's quite different," the mother smirked. "Do you want a cup of tea or something else to drink? It's cold outside," she offered.

Catherine looked up and noticed someone was walking towards the table. Her heart stopped beating for a moment when she recognised the man. Saskia... Poppy... Of course, great, better than this isn't going to get it. Callum had a seat at the table and looked at Catherine. "No, thank you. We should get going, I'm afraid. It's getting late," she politely declined the offer.

"It's getting late indeed," the dad said when he looked at his watch. "Thank you again, for helping Saskia."

A smile curved on her lips and she looked at Thomas and Finn. "Boys, we're going home," she mentioned to them. "Lydia, are you coming?" Lydia nodded and raised her arms in the air. Catherine lifted the young girl, she had small trouble with it due to her right wrist, but she managed to place Lydia on her hip. She felt Callum's eyes burn on her face. "Have a nice evening," Catherine wished the family.

"Thank you, you too."

When Catherine was about to walk away, her eyes met Callum's eyes for a few seconds. Fuck, here we go again. Just when he wasn't spooking around in her head anymore, it was back with one look.

"Bye," Callum softly said.

"Bye," Catherine replied and showed a smile with mixed feelings; there were positive feelings and also confused feelings.