"Mummy, I'm bored."
Charlotte had hoped to get at least five minutes more in bed before the chaos of Saturday morning started.
"And I'm sad."
She sits up, noticing a pouting Maisie sat at the foot of the bed. "You're sad?"
"Yeah. I want to do something fun but we can't go swimming or bowling because of Ava's silly arm." In her head, Charlotte gives Maisie a little credit for saying 'silly' instead of 'stupid' like she knows she wanted to. "And now I'm bored."
"Well, what do you want to do?" Charlotte rubs the sleep from her eyes, not quite daring to fully look at the clock to check the time. "I'll tell you what. You go and ask Ava what you'd like to do. Come to a shared decision and then I'll make us all pancakes. How does that sound?"
Maisie doesn't hesitate in leaving Charlotte's bed to barge into her big sister's room.
The girls are sat patiently at the table when Charlotte emerges from upstairs. She knocks together a quick batter for pancakes and pours out two glasses of fruit juice.
"So, have you decided?"
Maisie nods at Ava, who sits up straight. "Yes. We... we would like to have a girls' day please. Like we had before."
Charlotte nods approvingly. "I think a girls' day sounds great. Any requests?"
"Pink drink" Maisie chimes in. "From Costa." She pauses for a moment, comically tapping her chin. "And Smyth's." She smiles at Charlotte. "Please."
Charlotte smiles. "Sounds great. Ava," she looks at her older daughter who, thankfully had a much better night, "is there anything you would like to do on girls' day?"
"Please can we go to the deli for lunch?" Ava's eyes widen as she gets a better idea. "Actually, can we get takeaway from the deli and have a picnic in the park?"
Charlotte smiles at both her girls as she brings over the first couple of pancakes. "Absolutely. That sounds perfect."
As they eat, Charlotte's mind wanders back to the parenting books and advice she has been reading ever since she first contemplated leaving Ben. She hadn't paid much attention at the time to the pages entitled 'introducing a new partner' but now she's wondering when might be the best time. All the advice is about baby steps, keeping things simple. Charlotte knows it makes sense, but she also knows what she feels.
With the girls distracted, she pulls out her phone and messages Mia.
We're going to have a picnic in Queen Victoria park at lunch. How would you feel about a brief introduction?
Charlotte pauses, then adds to her message.
I know it might feel a bit weird, but I don't want to have to go a whole weekend without seeing you. I'm fed up of hiding you. Plus, I would really like a hug.
Part of her feels pathetic for admitting it, but the other part of Charlotte is proud that she's in touch with her emotions.
She leaves her phone on the side and focuses once again on the girls.
Girls' day goes exactly as Ava and Maisie want it to. They stop off at Costa and then head into the heaving retail park to wander around Smyth's. Neither of them find anything they particularly want, which is a relief to Charlotte. Instead, they spend time trying to find the most expensive toys that the shop sells and wondering out loud who on earth would spend that much money on Lego.
The deli Ava wants to go to is an old favourite. It's close to the river, at the edge of the park, and is run by a delightful old Italian couple. The girls have been going there for years and already have their own favourites.
"Could we please have a panini with chicken, sweetcorn and cheese cut in half and in two bags, please? And then could I also have an Italian special ciabatta with extra olives and no tomatoes." Charlotte watches as Giuseppe, the owner, quickly puts together their usual order. "I'll also have a mixed fruit salad, please. And four cookies."
For a moment, Charlotte pauses, wondering if Ava in particular might have picked up on the extra cookie in their order. Luckily, both girls are far too enthralled watching Giuseppe's wife icing a batch of cakes behind the counter.
"Ciao. Grazie." Charlotte takes the bag of food. "Come on, girls."
They find a good spot in the park, close to the path and to the river and set down their blanket. Charlotte uses spare napkins as makeshift plates and puts out an array of food for both girls, including their favourite panini. As soon as they are sat eating, she pulls out her phone and sends her live location to Mia.
It isn't long before she sees familiar burgundy hair on the horizon, moving towards them. Bracing herself, Charlotte puts down her sandwich, suddenly not hungry at all.
"Oh, hi." To her credit, Mia does a great job of pretending to have just noticed Charlotte and the girls. "I didn't expect to see you here." Charlotte stands and, as naturally as she can, lets Mia pull her into a hug. She settles into the embrace, mindful not to stay there too long, but taking the time to enjoy being close to Mia.
"And these must be your girls." Mia turns towards Ava and Maisie. "Hi. I'm... I'm Mia. I work with your mummy. I've heard so much about you." She glances between them. "You'll have to help me out though. I'm good with names but I'm not so good at remembering who is who. So, which one of you is Maisie and which one of you is Ava?"
The conversation between them flows as well as it can when you're dealing with a 7 and a 5 year old. Mia compliments Maisie's t-shirt and chats to Ava about her arm. She asks about their day and gets them chatting about everything they saw in the toy shop.
When Maisie reaches across for the bag and offers Mia a cookie, Charlotte can't help but smile.
She could get used to this.
YOU ARE READING
Throwing Shadows (A Mialotte Story)
FanfictionA mialotte fanfiction based on the recent Nursery Nurse videos. Updating every day at 7pm. Title inspired by 'She's Always a Woman' by Billy Joel. Follows canon as much as possible, but will become its own story.
