The Mistakes We Made

Friends reunited

Closing the back door of my Toyota with my foot, I struggled with an overnight bag and my miserable toddler in one arm, who was screaming. His favorite blanket and Digger the stuffed toy dog that he adored in the other, along with my car keys. "Alright, Chase. Mummy knows...Mummy can smell it, Dude." I said pulling a face as I caught a whiff of the damage he had done in a 4 minute drive from my place to Mum's house.

The wind blew my hair all over the place, ruining the quick effort I had made while Chase slept, laundry had been folded and Brad had left me high and dry on the phone.

It was freezing cold tonight. October had treated us to warm evenings and cosy gatherings around the firepit, but November had arrived and brought with it ice cold wind and rain. I managed to walk up Mum's crazy paving with ease but dropped my car keys as I rang the door bell.

"Hiya, Love... Ooh, let me take him. Oh Chase, you are humming!" My mother said as she took my son from me and invited us in. I picked my car keys up, walked in the house and shut the door. "I literally just changed him before we left."I said following her into the kitchen, where I dumped the over night bag on the kitchen table along with Digger the dog and draped the blanket on the back of a chair. "Oh it's okay, we can sort that poopy out, can't we mister!" My Mum said happily, holding Chase up in the air then blowing a raspberry on his tummy. "Thanks Mum, I'm just gonna check my hair then get going. I will pick him up around 8 tomorrrow morning if that's cool with you?" I said walking up to the large framed mirror above the table and adjusting my hair. "I don't mind taking him for a little longer if you want a lay in? I can take him to the market with me, I need to pick up the meat I ordered from Mick's van for the BBQ on Sunday." My Mum said as she rummaged through the overnight bag to get a nappy out for Chase, who was grizzling again.

"Are you sure? I mean, I'm never gonna turn down a lay in. You are crazy having a BBQ for Dad's birthday though. It's freezing out there and it's going to piss it down, I bet." I said fluffing my hair around my shoulders. "Bailey! Don't swear in front of him. I've told you that..." she moaned. "...We will have the gazebo up and Dad bought a heater in the sale. It will be nice." She insisted. "Carbon monoxide poisoning in a giant tent sounds fantastic, Mum." I said sarcastically. Walking back towards my mother, I gave Chase a kiss on his forehead. "Be good for Granny." I said. "He is always good for Granny. What are you doing tonight? going out with Jenny Gin-head?" My Mum teased as she walked me to the door still holding my stinky baby. "Mum, don't call her that, she has a drink problem... but no, Brad is home so it's all stations go! The gang are getting wasted down the Red Lion." I said happily. "Brad, huh!" My Mum said giving me a playful nudge in my side. I felt my cheeks redden.

It was the worst kept secret in our little village that whenever Brad did come home, we would very much hook up. My mother found it equally hilarious and astonishing because yes, Brad had grown up in the small cobbled streets of Burr but unlike the rest of our tight knit group of friends, Brad had managed to escape it in the most amazing fashion by becoming a fucking pop star!

I ignored her and the playful twinkle in her eye. "I will see you tomorrow. Call me if you need me, okay!" I said to my mother and left the house, only turning around once I was in the safety of my Toyota. Giving both her and Chase a farewell wave, I drove myself to the Red Lion.

She was right though, My mother had summed up my feelings in just those two little words. Brad King was great looking when we were at school and he started playing guitar, He got better looking when he won the school talent contest by singing a song that he wrote himself at just 14 years old. Then he scraped through his GCSE's just like myself and our entire group of friends and started doing crappy solo gigs around the local clubs which somehow made him even better looking despite the fact he would be covered in sweat and have the entire friend group up til two in the morning supporting him when the majority of us had to get up for work or college the next day.