When Fletch suggested that they go away with the kids for the weekend, Jac had been reluctant. At first her excuse had been that Jonny wouldn't agree to her eating into his time with Emma but when he had, she hadn't had a leg to stand on.
Eventually, after hours of pestering from all five children, she had agreed and said that London would be nice since none of the kids had ever been before. (And there was enough to do that she could get away from everybody for a short while if she wanted to.)
"I'm quite excited to see the science museum, and I'd like to go to the V&A if we have time," Evie had suggested enthusiastically and Jac was pleased to see that at least somebody in the car had good taste in culture.
"Hamleys! Hamleys! Hamleys!" Ella chanted, slapping her thighs as she encouraged Emma and Theo to join in with her.
All Mikey was interested in was sponging as many new clothes he could out of his Dad, which Jac could certainly have been more displeased with.
The drive was the most strenuous part of the entire weekend; Evie and Mikey spent two and a half hours fighting for control of the music, Ella got car sick and they had to sit in a lay-by for twenty minutes until she started to feel better, the youngsters were actually the least of the trouble and spent most of the journey asleep.
Fletch sympathised with her. A big family was never exactly her style and she was sucking it up just to make him happy, he had to be thankful for that.
When they finally arrived at the hotel, Jac was more glad about being out of the car than anything else. Miraculously, the hotel hadn't managed to mess anything up so they had three separate rooms in which Jac could take five minutes to listen very intensely to the quiet of the double room.
There was a specific spot by her right temple that felt as though there was a surgical drill boring through it.
"Can we have McDonalds for dinner?" Mikey pleaded, putting on the customary Fletcher pout.
Fletch gave in rather easily, driving them to a dining complex a few minutes down the road and pulling in. It was his way of being considerate; there was no way that Jac was going to eat McDonalds and neither was Evie, come to think of it, so lucky for them, there was a Yo! Sushi just next door.
They agreed that they would go and order respectively and eat on the benches outside. It was quite warm for the middle of May so they ought to make the most of the weather.
"Not a chance, Little Miss," Jac chastised, picking Emma up and carrying her towards the entrance.
They ordered extra, enough for Theo and Ella to try some if they liked, and cucumber maki for Fletch as he had requested. Mikey was the only would who wouldn't be caught dead so close to something that looked healthy.
Fletch turned up with a paper bag that didn't appear to have too much in, a miracle by all accounts.
It actually didn't look like too deadly of a meal, apart from the obscene number of chicken nuggets on the table. Between four of them, they had racked up 30 nuggets and Jac looked slightly appalled, focusing on her own meal.
"Mikey, stay on your side of the table with your disgusting death bites!" Evie snapped as he tried to dip his nugget in her soy sauce. "Jac and Emma make good decisions, why am I stuck with carnivorous beasts for siblings?"
"Hey now, Theo's eating avo maki, isn't he?" Fletch defended. "Don't lump us all in with him!"
"Dad, you currently have a dead baby chicken in your mouth. Please at least try to conceal the evidence before attempting to defend yourself," she responded sarcastically, making Jac choke on her mouthful.
They ate, tidied up after themselves, and piled back into the car.
All of the kids were so excited about the prospect of having a television in their bedroom that they settled in early, leaving Jac and Fletch to entertain themselves for the evening. It was only 8o'clock, three of five kids were already asleep and the other two were looking after themselves, they finally had a little peace and quiet.
Jac savoured the time alone with him. Normally their solitude was always a wall away from another screaming match, and there was no real privacy for them the majority of the time. They'd emerged from the honeymoon phase pretty swiftly, so this was a rare treat for the both of them.
"Can you believe it took coming all the way to London just to get an evening to ourselves for once?"
They were laid in a post-coital bliss, wondering how long it could possibly last. Jac had her head rested on Fletch's bare chest, a hint of a smile on her face as she allowed her eyes to slip shut and fell into an easy sleep.
