Eventually - All or Nothing #2

11th December 2022

The girls had been waiting by the window for John's arrival since the moment he had called Aimee to say the team had landed safely in Birmingham. Several games of I Spy later the car carrying him finally arrived and the girls tore outside, in just their pyjamas and socks, and bounced up and down on the cold doorstep waiting for him. He entered the house with Hattie clinging to his neck and Rosie's arms wrapped around his legs. God, he had missed them.

John had been gone for weeks, and Aimee, although proud he was playing in a World Cup, had hated every second. The bed had felt huge without him sleeping next to her. So many chilly mornings she had woken up and rolled over, in search of his body heat to warm her, but found only a cold empty space. In the kitchen, she'd flick the kettle on for her first cuppa of the day, and her heart would ache at the sight of John's unused mug in the cupboard when she picked out her own. Their usual evening routine would be feeding Rosie (and Hattie, if she was here) dinner early, then eating together, just the two of them, after bedtime. Aimee loved this adult time. It was like going on a day every day, she looked forward to catching up with John, chatting and laughing about everything they had going on. Now, back eating turkey dinosaurs, Alphabites and Peppa Pig pasta shapes with Rosie, like they used to in their little house, made her feel incredibly lonely. It had all been worth it though, to see John thriving, to read the plaudits paid to him by people across the world that made her so proud that she cried... She would do it all again tomorrow if it meant John being in his element like he had been in Qatar.

"You smell like home." Finally, it was Aimee's turn; John had managed to extract himself from the girls' grip, and was pushing his nose into Aimee's hair, inhaling the smell of her coconut shampoo before he kissed the top of her head. Aimee closed her eyes, just letting herself enjoy the feel of his hands on her shoulders. She let her arms wrap around his waist and squeeze tightly, never wanting to let him go again. "Missed you," she buried her own nose against his chest, the soft fabric of his hoodie, providing the perfect cushion, as she took in his familiar smell.

The girls had a busy evening planned for John. It was way past bedtime, but Aimee had let them wait up for him to get home. It would have been cruel not to, they had missed him as much as she had.

Before bed they had re-enacted their school Christmas play that he had sadly missed, each of them playing multiple different roles which was extremely confusing, and he had no idea what the plot even was. Something about a missing angel from the top of the Christmas tree?!

"It was terrible," Aimee had whispered in his ear, as the girls had run off to change out of their costumes and back into their pyjamas. "Be grateful you only had to sit through it once." They had watched from the sofa, Aimee with her legs curled underneath her as she snuggled against John. Him with his arm around her, gently stroking her arm every so often as a reminder that he was really here, it wasn't just one of the dreams she had had so many times whilst he had been in Qatar.

"Daddy! Come on!" Hattie called from the kitchen, now it was time for him to see enough art projects to fill a gallery.

"Sorry," he had kissed Aimee's head again, apologetically this time, as he stood up. Later, he would be all hers.

It had been so long since John had been on bedtime story duty that he couldn't even remember whose turn it was to choose, but the girls never forgot and informed him it was Hattie's turn. John sat in the centre of her double bed with Hattie nestled in the crook of his arm, and Rosie next to her, her head resting on Hattie's arm. Hattie was wearing pyjamas that John hadn't seen before, red with love hearts, his perfect little Valentine. Rosie, still a head shorter than Hattie, was wearing Hattie's fleece pyjamas from last Christmas. John thought she looked adorable, and it was nice seeing Hattie's hand-me-downs again and all the memories they evoked.