Three Whole Words Only Eight Letters Long (Sequel to LCDD)

Chapter 87- Epilogue I

"That can't be true though can it?" I frowned down at her in confusion.

"Why not?" I replied and the girl shrugged at me.

"It just can't, I mean, you're pulling my leg right mum?" I laughed at my daughter and shook my head.

"I would do nothing of the sort" I replied and she snorted, the way I always did and it seemed she had adopted the bad habit off me.

"Sure, that's why you tease Auntie Summer and Uncle Dan so much?" she asked, lifting her eyebrow at me.

"Hey there missy, who's the parent here?" I asked her and she giggled.

"I am usually" I huffed at her response. She had a point there but I shrugged.

"Actually you know you agree with me. It's fun watching them become uncomfortable" I grinned at my daughter and she rolled her eyes but smirked at me.

"Yes mum, it's hilarious watching them blush, but even more fun to see you and dad blush" she poked her tongue out at me and I scowled at her.

"Well you definitely are your mother's daughter" I sighed, not believing that she enjoyed watching her parents' discomfort.

     She sat in silence for a while, allowing me to study her eagerly and feeling my heart swell with love and pride that she was mine. Louise was ten years old and looked a lot like me, just with her father's eyes. She had my long, curly hair though it wasn't my light brown colour and it wasn't her father's hair. It was a shade lighter than my sister's dark brown hair, though her hair had a slight reddish tint in the sunlight. In this lighting her blue eyes shone brightly as she looked back at me and I could see the hazel rimming the outside of her eyes. I remembered a conversation I had with my mum about how beautiful her eyes were, but we were both biased. I loved my daughter and thought she was the most beautiful being on the planet and I knew my mum loved her just as much and spoiled her rotten, but Louise never became a spoiled brat and I loved how down-to-earth she was. She reminded me a little of her father in that way.

"You still don't believe me?" I asked her and she shrugged but looked more convinced than she had five minutes ago when I finished telling her the story. I smiled at her.

"That's fine darling, but ask any of your aunts or uncles or even your grandparents and they will tell you that the story I've just told you is true. You asked me to tell you how I met your father and what happened to bring us to this point in time and there you go, that's the story of how we met. You know that I never lie Lou, I tease but I never lie. The two are completely different things" I stated and she pursed her lips in thought, something she'd acquired from her father. She sighed and nodded in response, knowing that I had a point when I said that.

"I know you don't lie about anything mum, it's just completely different to what I expected" she explained with a shrug and I grinned at her.

"Yeah, it seems like something from a romance novel" I nodded agreeing with her and she blinked up at me and I saw in her eyes that she'd realised something.

"So that explains the scars you have" she stated and I smiled at her before nodding in agreement since she had seen the scar on my abdomen as well as tiny scars on parts of my arms and legs since some of the glass created scars.

"So what happened next? What did you do?" she asked and I grinned at her.

"Well I went to see your Uncle Dylan in Sheffield and after he took a day apologising for not coming and me lecturing him saying that my parents were right in not letting him come to visit me, well we relaxed, I got to meet Violet who I loved straight away and he helped me decide how to go about asking Jay and Marie to help us out as well as giving me ideas on how to get started" I shrugged and Louise nodded in understanding.

     We became silent again as Louise thought, though it seemed that her questions had fizzled out at the moment. I glanced around the cosy, but spacious living room. Louise and I were currently seated on the fabric couch which seated two people as I told her the story. The fireplace crackled opposite us since it was the middle of November and British weather meant that it was cold, as it always was in winter. A recliner chair was positioned to the right of the couch we were on and a three-seater placed on the left, all of which were part of the matching suite. The chimney breast was covered with photos: most of them were of Louise through her ten years as well as all of us. There were a few pictures of Summer and I when were younger, some that Kayleigh had taken when Josh and I had become a couple and were riding the London Eye, as well as many pictures taken throughout the years after that. There were even wedding photos for us all. It was a real family treasure trove. The walls were painted a cool mint green colour which blended in perfectly with the cream furniture- luckily Louise had never been one for getting dirty and I think I'd created more of the stains on the furniture than what she had growing up here. The carpet was a deep beige colour and blended in with the detailed parts of the living room.

     There was a door behind where we were sitting which led into the hallway and there was a door behind the three-seater couch which led into the kitchen. Unlike my younger years I'd gone for a house that wasn't open plan but had much more character. It was a lot older, built around the 50's I believed and was located just outside of Birmingham. I hadn't wanted to leave home and I still had access to my parents here. Louise had grown up here and she loved the place, it was also amazing that it used to be a four-bedroomed house. Two bedrooms were currently being used by Louise and me and her father of course. The third was a guest bedroom just in case we had guests over while the final room had been turned into a library. Something which both myself and Louise loved since we were both bookworms, something which made Summer laugh at us, often.

"Are you happy mum?" Louise asked and I looked down at her in surprise for a second. I offered her a smile.

"Of course I am sweetie, what an odd thing to ask me" I replied and she shrugged slightly.

"Well in the story everyone kept saying about how you needed to do something that made you happy, because you always put their happiness above your own. I was just curious" she sighed and I smiled at her before pulling her to my side as I hugged her before kissing her hair and smoothing it out afterwards.

"Of course I'm happy baby. I have you, I have your father and everyone else. I couldn't be happier" I stated and my daughter pulled away from me before looking up at me, tears in her eyes. I felt my own eyes well up and knew instantly what was making my baby girl so unhappy.

"Oh Lou" I sighed and pulled her back to me, hugging her tightly against my body as the doorbell rang, before the door opened and closed.

"Lizzie, Louise? You two here?" he asked and I smiled.

"We'll meet you in the kitchen" I said but Louise had jumped out of my arms and ran into the hallway to meet her Uncle. I shook my head but smiled to myself as I thought about the last thirteen years and realised that after everything that had happened previously as well as the heartbreaks I'd had since, that here at this point of time I knew that I was blessed.

"Hey there kiddo" I heard Louise's uncle say and I smiled to myself, happy that I had such an amazing family, because I knew that I wouldn't be as strong as I was now if it hadn't been for them