Found Again

two

Elliot

I watched Elsie and Caspar leave before turning back to Joe. He had his arms wrapped around my waist, and his head resting on my shoulder, causing him to slouch a little.

"I know we're upset, love, but we have options. We can think of them after the wedding, okay?" Joe smiled sadly at me, lifting his head off my shoulder to look me in the eye.

I nodded, hiccuping slightly from her earlier crying. I squeezed his hand in my own, and kissed his cheek.

"I need to put some makeup on."

He followed me downstairs and into the bathroom where one of my make-up bags was. I had one in each apartment, just incase, and to stop hassle.

I washed off my current face of makeup, before applying a light foundation, followed by concealer and powder. I really needed as much coverage as I could get. I couldn't be bothered with eyeshadow today, and simply put on a little eyeliner and mascara, with a pink lip.

I was already dressed, so Joe and I left for the elevator, finding Elsie and Caspar waiting for us, Ellie held tightly in the tall boy's arms. Joe kissed my forehead before leaving me for Caspar. The two boys walked in first, joking around with Ellie and making her smile. Elsie and I followed slowly, and she linked arms with me, smiling encouragingly.

"Where are we going then?" Joe smiled, pressing the buttons to get us to the bottom floor.

"We were thinking," Caspar started. "That we could go shopping, out for dinner, maybe?"

"We know how much you too love clothes so..." Elsie added.

"Sure, sounds great."

And with that, the five of us left the apartment block, climbing into a taxi that drove us into the heart of London.

---

"Where first?"

The four of us argued aimlessly about where to go, clearly neither side succeeding in winning the other over.

"Why don't we split up?" Joe suggested. "We could meet at Nando's or something later on, maybe sixish?"

Of course he'd pick Nando's - his favourite restaurant here it seemed. We all agreed with him, before splitting into two groups - girls and boys. Ellie came with us, there is no way the boys could handle her for a couple of hours. We would probably spoil her rotten though, and spend way way way too much.

Once the boys had disappeared around the corner, Elsie and I headed for Topshop. She'd been working hard and had worked off the majority of excess baby fat, and only had a couple stretch marks left. She was well chuffed with herself - she used to wear crop-tops a lot, and she stopped when the baby arrived (and obviously slightly before that too). Finally, we could refill her wardrobe with crop tops again!

The shop, for once, wasn't incredibly busy, and it's probably because it's a Tuesday lunchtime. We kindly shook our heads when the shop assistant said her usual "Do you need any help?" We took our chance then, and traveled to the back of the shop to get away.

"Els, look at this! Should I get it?"

I got far too excited when I saw the array of high waisted shorts, and grabbed a slightly ripped black pair. Elsie simply rolled her eyes at me.

"As if you don't already have about a hundred pairs identical to them."

"When has that ever stopped me?" I smirked at her and shoved them in my basket.

There were a pair of black lace-up wedge boots on sale. I didn't hesitate once when I shoved it into my basket, along with a number of other items of clothes. I'd already spent way too much.

"Els, you have to get this! It'd be so cute on you!" I grinned.

Elsie nodded, and I was honest she'd done so well at shopping with a baby on her arm. She too had several items in her arms, as she checked out the cut-out denim dress I'd suggested. There was a large triangular section on the stomach, and some decoration buttons above. She turned it over, and back again, and after a few seconds of consultation, she threw it in the basket too.

We came out of the shop a couple hundred pounds down, and we'd only just started, as we made our way to many other shops, already weighed down with two big bags each (although I eventually took one from Elsie due to the baby).

---

"This would be so cute on Ellie! I have to buy it for her!"

I grinned, throwing the most adorable floral dress into my Zara basket. I knew I'd end up spoiling the little one on this trip. I'd already picked up a few shirts and some dungarees, and this wasn't including all the stuff Elsie had bought for her.

By now, it was nearly six, and Elsie and I had countless amounts of bags stringed over our arms and clutched in our hands. We'd been swapping Ellie between us all day - she had cried once, out of the many hours we'd been out.

We arrived outside Nando's out of breath, to see the boys holding about three or four bags each, barely bothered by the weight of them. When they saw us, the pointed and laughed to each other, basically just publicly embarrassing us to everyone.

On the way in, Elsie and Caspar asked for a table, and got a baby chair for Ellie. They really were great parents.

Joe and I sat opposite each other, and Elsie was next to me as she usually was. Joe and I took the window seats in the booth, so the two could be closer to their child, who still had a brilliant grin on her face. She still didn't cry, although sometimes she'd make a gurgling noise, making us laugh a little.

Caspar went to order for the four of us, while Joe grabbed my hands over the table. Elsie grinned at us, before turning back to Ellie, who she'd previously been playing with.

The food didn't take long to arrive, probably about five or ten minutes, and I immediately tucked in. I was starving! I wasn't great with spicy foods, and even though I'd only gotten medium, my tongue still tingled when I ate it. It was amazing, however I had to constantly have a drink beside me.

As we were leaving, we split the bill - Joe and I paying half, while Caspar and Elsie payed the other. We called a taxi to get us, and after a short wait, it took us home. I was thankful for my bed that night, I was shattered. And honestly, I was very glad for my friends, who really, I considered the only family I've got.