A Mothers Sacrifice #Wattys2017 COMPLETE

16 - DEVASTATION

In the next few days the house was nearly complete.

The whole house had been repainted in neutral, light colours and rooms were decluttered.

Feeling a mixture of emotions I was glad it was done and dusted. I could count it as one last thing to worry about later on. There were still a few family photos but all in all it was ready. Looking around now I wasn't constantly hit by a memory from living here as a child. The house actually looked quite nice and modern. It was a blank canvass for the new owners.

I made a mental note to ask a few estate agents around next week to value the house so I knew what I was looking at. Maybe it was time to use some of the money to make alterations to our other home or even sell both and move somewhere totally new for a fresh start.

It would make sense to start again, to have a new home for our new life if all went well.

Malachi was at an age where his bedroom would need decorating soon. It broke my heart to think all the cartoon character type idols and swap them for football heroes and superheroes.

My baby wasn't a baby any longer he was growing up. I had seen such a difference in the last few weeks. Taking the lead from his father.

Yes he was still eight years old but having a man around him meant he copied his behaviours. It was kind of sweet that he was mimicking his father. After all he needed to teach him important things in life that I was dreading doing when I was on my own with him. My father had never been much of a conversationalist.

To celebrate getting the house finished Aunt Cam wanted to take us out for a treat and something eat, to my surprise Malachi loved the idea.

It was good to see him enthusiastic about leaving the house as the last infection wiped him out and he still hadn't recovered fully. When he wasn't resting or sleeping he favoured things to do at home while he was with me. I really didn't mind this as I had no real desire to go out and bump into Sol and Angela if they were out and about.

Watching Sol make an effort to save his marriage made as much appeal to me as having teeth pulled.

I know, I know I encouraged him that this was the right thing to do but it didn't mean I hurt less or I had turned my feelings off. However I respected and understood what he was doing.

We agreed that Malachi meeting Angela would wait until after he had fully recovered from the operation. Remembering he was still only eight years old and despite his chatter of his worldly knowledge of adult relationships, we both decided he wasn't ready to take in the complicated situation.

It pained me to think of him at their house playing happy families but I knew it was going to be a reality and I didn't want to interfere in his relationship with his father. It was so important and I was sad about the time they had already lost.

'Where are we going Aunt Cam?' Malachi asked her excitedly.

'Well I thought we would go to see the new Dinosaur film at the cinema?' offered Aunt Cam.

She eyed Malachi with caution waiting for his response.

'Wow! Great idea Aunt Cam' he said throwing his arms around her.

Feeling confident that she was on the right path she continued sharing her plan with Malachi.

Sol hadn't seen Malachi today, he had put a lot of work on hold so he could prioritise spending time with his son and attending the hospital whenever needed. He was amazing he had more than risen to the challenge of his new position. It was like he was born to be father of the century.