Forty One

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               📍3rd July 2022 - London, UK

"He hasn't called yet?" Francesca asked across the hotel room as Amber waltzed around to retrieve the bunny toy to calm down Luca as he screamed into the air.

"He's got a lot to read, Fran." Amber shook her head as she handed the soft plush toy towards the screaming infant. "It's okay, sweetie." She cooed over at Luca.

"Here, you take him." Francesca said as she placed her son in her friends' arms. "He always seems to want everyone else but me, at the moment."

Francesca couldn't hide her face from the small amount of disappointment in her eyes as she spoke her previous statement.

"Don't put yourself down." Amber tried to reassure her but Francesca's shaking head soon put a stop to this.

"It's hard." Francesca said as she took a seat on the edge of her hotel bed. "Being a single mom is hard."

Her bottom lip wobbled slightly as she let out a breath to try and comfort herself.

"Fran." Amber sighed out as she rocked Luca gently from side to side.

"I'm sorry, I know you have this big thing with Daniel tonight and you're going to be so mentally exhausted from that, just forget I said anything." She waved her hand in the air and placed on a fake smile.

"I'm not forgetting anything." Amber said as she took a careful seat by the side of her friend, just slowly enough that she didn't cause Luca to burst into further tears. "What do you mean by single mom? Michael's helping, isn't he?"

"As best as he can." Francesca's body exhaled. "He's got other commitments which means I'm doing the large majority of this, alone."

"Have you talked to him about this?" Amber asked as her index finger softly touched Luca's red cheek as he grizzled lowly beneath her.

"Of course I haven't." Francesca said. "Otherwise he'd he here right now, instead of running around with his friends."

"Don't get me wrong, he's a brilliant father. I just think that, maybe, he could help more." Amber agreed as she turned to face her friend. "When was the last time you did something for yourself?"

"I can't remember." Francesca shrugged. "Before I was pregnant with Luca, probably."

"I think that we deserve a break." Amber giggled slightly to try and lift the mood.

"You don't get a break when you have kids." Francesca laughed as she looked across to her son. "I can't be mad at him, though. I mean, look at him."

Amber's smile grew immediately as she noticed the pride beaming across Francesca's face as she looked at her offspring.

"I can't believe he's real. He's mine." Her pride spilled from her mouth as she quietly moved her hand underneath Luca's body and took ahold of him, bringing his small frame up towards her chest.

"You're the luckiest." Amber said as her heart pained in her chest just a little bit more.

"With or without Mike, I'll never take back the decision to have him." Francesca said as she placed a soft kiss on the top of her baby's head, brushing her lips across the tufts of his hair. "I just wished that Mike and I had a better relationship; one where we both wanted the same things."

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