Torn

Moving on

"Please, remember what I said on the phone, try to be nice. We're back together now and this time it's for good." Today was the first of a potentially tense couple of days for Nevaeh and Seb was quick to remind his mother as he met her outside. "Neev's a bit stressed about going to Spain so she won't need you......"

"I get it." Heike cut in. "I will be civil but you have to remember, she left you, she kept your child a secret from you and while you might find it easy to forgive and forget, I cannot."

"I love Neev and you need to remember that she only left because of me and the way I treated her during our marriage. It wasn't all her fault. I'm not going to go over it again so please, just be kind. If you won't do it for me then do it for your grandchild."

Nevaeh loitered anxiously in the hallway, able to hear Seb's tense voice as he spoke to his mother. Speaking in German, she wasn't entirely sure what was being said but knew that it was about herself after hearing her name. She reminded herself to be nice to Heike, not to stoop down to her level if she made some catty remark and that she was doing them a favour by staying here and taking care of Anaya while they went to Spain. As the door opened she plastered on a smile. "Good morning Heike, it's great to see you, good journey?"

"Hallo Nevaeh, yes it was ok." Heike forced herself to smile also, watching as her son pressed an affectionate kiss to Neev's head who then shot an anxious look at him as they followed the older woman into the lounge.

"Thanks so much for coming to look after Anaya, she's really looking forward to having her grandma pick her up from Kindergarten later." Neev decided to head straight to the topic of her daughter, she was the only thing Heike seemed to be able to talk about without sniping.

Heike dropped her overnight bag onto the sofa and removed her coat while looking around the room. She'd half expected that Neev would have made some changes now that she was back living here but thankfully everything still looked the same. "It's no trouble, I love spending time with her, I'll always be happy to look after her."

"Is dad still coming tomorrow?" Seb asked, sticking to English for Neev's benefit and briefly linking his fingers with hers until his phone started to ring.

"Yes, he's bringing our case with him so that we can stay while you're in Brazil." Heike replied, noticing the sweet moment. She couldn't deny how happy her son was to have Neev back in his life; he'd had girlfriends since his divorce but it had been clear where his heart had always laid, being a father and having Anaya with him too was the cherry on top of the cake for him. She just hoped that Neev stuck around this time and didn't flee if or when things got tough.

"I'll have to take this, it's Britta." He shot both women an apologetic look and let go of Neev's hand to head upstairs.

Neev looked out of the door towards the stairs until Seb was out of sight, not relishing the prospect of being alone with her former mother-in-law. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Orange juice? Tea?" She asked, looking for an excuse to escape to the kitchen.

"Coffee, thank you." Heike replied tersely.

Neev almost ran from the lounge but unfortunately for her, Heike followed.

She took a seat at the kitchen table, watching Neev as she busied herself fetching a mug and switching on the coffee machine before removing its water tank to empty it and refill it with fresh water. Neev looked very much at home, knowing where everything was - as if she'd never been away. But she also looked quite nervous. "So my son fetched you home from the Seychelles, where you was going to marry Fernando. Would you have married him if Sebastian hadn't turned up?"

With her back temporarily turned to Heike, Neev dropped the water tank into the sink as it slipped from her grasp. How should she answer this? What had Seb already told her? Picking up the plastic container, she rinsed it again under the tap and then refilled it once more. "I don't know what Seb has already told you." She replied nervously as she turned around.