Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

Eighteen

Eighteen

 The journey home was pleasantly uneventful. They arrived tired but refreshed. The weekend away having been a welcome break for them all. James did his utmost to wangle an extra day off school, claiming he was jet lagged. He’d learnt the term from a school friend who had recently returned from a holiday in Florida. But his efforts were in vain. By seven thirty he was in bed, bathed and schoolbag packed.

Amy came downstairs shortly after, having convinced Holly that no gremlins from the ’funny shop’ in Polperro had sneaked into her bag and travelled home with her.

“James can be a little bugger at times,” she told Ben.

“Has she settled, now?”

“Yeah, she’s fine.”

“There you go,” he said, handing her a cup of tea.

“Thanks, Ben. I really appreciate you doing this.”

“It’s only a cup of tea.”

“Not the tea, you daft apeth, the weekend away. It was just what we needed.”

“It was,” Ben agreed. “But you don’t need to thank me. You deserve a bit of pampering… a lot of pampering, in fact. You’re amazing and I’m lucky to have you.”

“Good point,” she said with a smile. “So, where are you taking me next weekend? I’ve always fancied Paris.”

 The following morning, after a pleasant hour at Stay and Play with Holly, Amy’s mobile beeped. It was Becky’s day off and she was wondering if Amy was free to meet up for lunch. Amy called her and asked her to come round. She got home just in time to have a quick vacuum before she arrived.

“How was it then?” Becky asked, ruffling Holly’s hair as she went into the kitchen.

“Fantastic. I only wish we could have stayed longer.”

“Isn’t it always the way - well, unless you’re on holiday with ‘Gormless Grant’. That was one holiday I wasn’t sorry to leave behind.”

“Yeah, I know,” Amy laughed. “You dumped him there and came back three days early, as I recall.”

Becky laughed. “He never spoke to me again after that.”

“Really? I wonder why. Anyway, how was your weekend?”

“I, also, had a fantastic time - with Adrian.”

“Oh? And what was it the two of you were doing that was so fantastic?” Amy said, popping a tray of pizza into the oven.

“I won’t give you all the gory details, but suffice to say, we are now officially a couple.”

“Officially. So how many times d’you have to do it before it’s official?”

“More than once - well, on more than one occasion. If you do it five or six times in one night it only counts as one.”

“Five or six! I should be so lucky. So, did you do much ‘officialising’? Or was it just a quick stamp on the paperwork?”

Becky laughed. “No, I definitely wouldn’t call it a quick stamp.”

Amy shook her head, smiling as she chopped a lettuce.

“You’re so efficient,” said Becky. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d have anything in after being away. I was expecting you to suggest eating out or coming to mine.”

“Coming to yours for lunch? Subjecting Holly to your cooking would be tantamount to child abuse. No, I just picked some bits up on the way home.”