Never Truly Living

Chapter 15

As afternoon stretched into early evening and the shadows began to grow, Vera, Oliver, and Vesper's eyelids began to become heavy. The traveling of the day had finally caught up with her, and as it was nearly the babies bedtime and she had hardly slept the night before, she found it very hard to keep her eyes open as she tucked her son and daughter into their new beds.

They both promptly fell asleep and she hesitantly left their darkening room, slipping out into the foreign living room and sinking onto the sofa. It was very quiet in the flat, the stream of people past the window having ended, and the exhaustion was becoming very hard to fight off.

She tried, though. Because as night began to fall the optimism she'd felt in the sun began to slip away, and found herself hesitant to sleep in a new bed. She missed her bedroom in her old town, missed having her children close by in their little cots. She'd not yet purchased a baby monitor, as she had had no use for one previously, and wasn't keen on sleeping so far away from them.

But she soon found herself nodding off on the sofa, and she hesitantly made her way towards the room nonetheless.

She stopped first to check on Vera and Oliver, who were still sound asleep. It was nearing eight o'clock now and she knew they would be awake in six hours or so to eat. She kissed each of them softly on the nose, then exited their room, taking care to leave both her and their doors open so she could hear them if either of them should cry.

She pulled back the covers of her bed and changed clothes quickly, as the olive-green sheets were beginning to look very inviting indeed.

She climbed in, looking out her window at the darkening courtyard. She was suddenly missing London very much. It was funny how nightfall brought on those feelings, that homesick nostalgia, driving home just how alone she truly was. She was alone in a city where she knew no one, had no roots.

But, she knew, tomorrow would be a new day and this was a warm, and vibrant city. And it was out there for her and her children to discover.

There would be plenty of time to get accustomed to it, to become used to calling this home.

So with these thoughts, she drifted off to asleep.

•

As expected, her children woke simultaneously near two in the morning with hungry cries, and she was struck with momentary confusion upon waking in a bed that was not their own.

She ran to their room and carried them to the rocking chair in the corner of their room. Now fed, her children nodded off, and she was helpless to follow them.

She woke up before them that morning, and leaving them to sleep, went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. The sun was beginning to come up, and the sky was cloudless. It was going to be another sunny day in Brighton.

Vesper smiled. As much as she'd loved London, she had always loved the sun, and it was very likely that she would be getting a lot more of it here.

She set about unpacking their belongings as Vera and Oliver slept, putting away her clothes in her wardrobe, and filling their chests of drawers with their little garments.

Vera slept until seven, waking up rather peacefully. She smiled at her daughter's sleepy little face, her eyes blinking tiredly, and quickly changed and dressed her for the day, letting her brother continue to sleep.

She nursed her as she watched the news on CNN, which she had done countless times before in London, and it wasn't much different now that she lived in Brighton.

When her daughter was satisfied, she took her around the flat, showing her the view. It was nearing eight o'clock and Oliver finally woke up. She repeated the same routine of feeding and changing, and took both children over to the window.
There were dog-walkers and pram-pushers, joggers and children in school uniforms. There were also men and women in suits, all rushing past, moving quickly, all early birds trying to get the worm.