That Word Everybody Hates (Complete)

Chapter Eleven

Sang:

This weekend we are celebrating mine and Nathan’s birthday with a BBQ. My boys have gone all out, inviting the few close family members we have like Erica, Uncle and Jessica. Kayli and her boys are coming, they are also bringing Wil and his girlfriend Sophie, The Anderson Family are coming to and so is Dr. Roberts and his wife.

Owen parks his car in a car parking space at the store. He jumps out and opens my door while Axel jumps out from the back seat and opens Kayli’s door. When we’re all out, Owen takes my hand in his and leads us inside.

I look over at my best friend, my sister and smile when I see her bright happy eyes, a smile that could light up a dark room and her small petite bump that has started to show through her clothing. The tight tank top she’s wearing makes her breast looks larger –none of her boys complaining- and her jump look like a little ball hiding up her shirt. Pregnancy suite hers.

When she sees me looking at her, she smiles and winks over at me which I return before focusing on the task at hand. Owen gets a cart and we start making our way round the store. I pick up burgers, sausages, spare ribs, chicks sticks, skewers with lamb donner meat on, pork chops, etc, etc. Kayli loads up on rolls, white and brown, some for burgers, some for the sausages. Axel loads up on salad fillings while Owen fills up the rest of the small space with bottles of wine, beer and soda’s.

I pick up other party foods such as cocktail sausages, mini pizza’s and pork pie’s. By the time we reach the checkout we have every different sauce you can think of; chilli, BBQ, tomatoes and mayonnaise. A selection of crisps and variety of different nibbles.

Together, we start emptying the cart and putting them on the till to be scanned, bagged and paid for.

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.” A little girl laughing for her mother has both me and Kayli looking up and to where the little girl stands. She’s around four years old with hair that hangs half way down her back in a braid. She wear a purple little sundress.

“How cute.” Kayli says, smiling over at the little girl. However, I have my head tilted to the side because for some strange reason, she seems...oddly familiar but I can’t place where.

Owen comes up to my other side. “Are you okay, Sang?”

I nod my head. “Yeah, it’s just...she looks familiar.” I tell Owen, not moving my eyes from the little girl as she dances on the spot, a wide beautiful smile on her lips.

Just as Owen follows my line of sight, someone I haven’t seen in years comes from down the aisle pushing her cart. She stops the cart and turns to the little girl with a smile on her face, a smile I had never seen on her face before. Looking at her more closely, the shadows of hurt that used to lie upon her face are no longer there. Instead, like Kayli, her face is bright and happy all because of motherhood.

Marie bends down and picks up the little girl, placing her on her hip. She tickles the little girl, causing her to let out a squeal of laughter. “Mommy, no, please, no it tickles.” The little girl cries through her laughter.

Marie places the little girl back on her feet and holds a hand out to her, that the little girl gladly accepts, linking their fingers together. Marie smiles down at her daughter once more and then looks up, her eyes colliding with mine. Her eyes widen momentarily before she takes in my state, the grey scarf on my head, my hollow cheeks and tired eyes, the tank top that sits upon my body to loosely.

She locks her eyes back onto me and I inhale a huge breath.

I reach for Owen’s hand to hold me up, which he does as the look I receive from my sister is a look I have craved of her my whole life.