The Royals and The Baby

dinner at mom's (13)

I watch William as he straightens his tie and puts on his coat before turning towards the bed where I'm sitting. Playing with the hem of my top.

"When are you going to leave?" He asks me.

"I'm ready. I was just waiting for you." I say.

He motions towards the door. "I'll walk you out."

I follow him out of the room and together we descend the stairs. When we reach the car, he opens my door for me and squeezes my hand before kissing my forehead.

"Please tell her that I'm really sorry." He tells me and I nod my head as I get in.

He closes the door after me and the driver slides in and starts to drive towards our destination. I sigh and lean my head against the head rest. I wish I hadn't taken things as far as his aunt over this one dinner.

He might not be mad at me but he still maintains this safe distance and he hasn't touched me except one or two kisses on the head, that's all.

After about ten minutes the driver opens my door and I step out. I take a deep breath and walk towards the front door which I opened and closed so many times the past twenty years that I spent in this house.

I raise my hand to knock but before my hand can touch the wood the door is thrown open and a pair of arms envelope me into a hug.

"Hi mom!" I say into her shoulder.

She pulls away and rests her hands on my shoulders. "It's so good to see you."

"I know. You too." I tell her as she ushers me inside.

Ella and Leo are waiting for me in the kitchen. Ella at once gets up and hugs me but Leo who's sitting on the counter hopelessly swings his legs to try and get off.

I walk to him and throws his little arms around my neck and kisses my cheek. I ruffle his hair. "How is my little monkey?"

He beams at me as I turn back towards my mother and sister who're smiling at me.

"Where's Henry?" I ask Ella.

"Mom told me that William's not going to come so Henry decided to take care of some work too." She replies.

I nod and turn to mom. "Mom, he's really sorry. He wanted to but..." She stops me. "It's no big deal. I get it that he's a busy man." But he's also your son-in-law.

Ella turns to me. "Leo has school tomorrow, so I can't stay for dinner. I just wanted to stop by and see you."

"Thank you." With one last hug and a kiss from Leo they both leave.

I turn to mom. "What's for dinner?"

"Fish and chips." She replies, walking over to the oven which holds a platter full of food. She sets it on the table while I take out plates and forks.

We're about to start eating when a knock sounds on the door. Mom gets up before I can. "Start eating, I'll answer it."

I get up from my seat and fill a glass with water. I'm about to take a sip when she comes back but there is someone with her. William!

"You made it." I blurt out, a smile spreading across your face.

"We were about to start eating. You made it just on time. Though, dinner isn't anything magnificent. It's just simple fish and chips. They used to be Cassy's favorite." Mom tells him.

"Really? In the light of recent events I'd say that it was pasta." He laughs.

"Pasta? I never even imagined she would come to like it." Mom says as she sits down next to me and William across from us.

"Ella was here, she just left." I tell William.

"Yeah, I know. I caught them just as they were about to leave." He replies, helping himself to some fish.

"Leo's grown quite a lot since I last saw him." I comment.

Mom nods. "I know. His third birthday is coming up, remember?"

I swallow a bite. "No! I completely forgot."

"Your cooking is amazing." William comments.

"Well, it's the result of being a mother." She replies.

William's face goes sad all of a sudden which makes me whisper. "Mom." This makes her realize what she just did.

"I'm really sorry." She says.

By now William has regained control and he waves his off. "No, you don't have anything to apologize for."

Once we've finished I help mom clear away the dishes while William talks to someone on the phone. I'm standing with my back against the counter while mom gets the orphanage project details out of William.

"This dinner might've seemed really informal compared to the dinners at the palace." She says.

I laugh at this. "You have no idea how informal those dinners are."

Will smiles. "I second that."

"Wow! Royal life is different from what I had in mind." I nod my head at this to tell her how true that is.

"But getting to experience a normal life for even one dinner is more than I ever wished to get." He says, sighing and moving his phone around on the table.

"You're most welcome to come visit any time you want." Mom tells us.

After staying for a few more minutes we say goodbye. William drives the car I came here in while the two drivers take the other car and the escort car follows some distance back.

After driving in silence for the first few minutes I decide to say what I've wanted to since the moment he showed up at the house.

"Thank you for skipping that dinner for me."

He takes my hand and kisses it before squeezing it. I watch the other cars blur past us as we drive towards the palace.

"I'm really sorry about dragging your aunt into that..." I trail off.

He stops at a signal and turns to me. "Actually, she deserves to be dragged into a mess after what she said to you."

I sigh. "No matter what. She's still your aunt."

"Can you please stop talking like father? Because I do not want you to team up against me." I laugh at this as the car starts to move again.

I sober down as we pass through the palace gates. When we finally stop I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out. I take the lead up the stairs and start walking towards our room.

I close the door when the door opens and I spin around only to find myself pressed against William. I push a hand through his hair and pull him to me.

He kicks the door shut behind him with his foot and pulls out a little box which he hands me. I open it to find a pair of diamond earrings.

I look at him in question and he kisses my cheek, before saying. "Happy valentine's day!" 

Imagine the picture above to be a royal picture.

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