Take me back

4.

I smile widely as I watch Winnie colour in a triangle shaped bit of paper. We had coloured a long line of them, each with a different word on, forming the sentence "We love you dad" on it.
I wanted to show Dan that I loved him, and I wanted to try this time but I also wanted to get the kids involved. We were here for him and he needed to know that.

Dil sat in his high chair, eating a yogurt and making a huge mess. Dan was due home from filming with Louise in an hour and nothing was tidy.

I start sticking the letters on a long string and in 20 minutes, we have a banner thing. I put my hands on my waist and step back, smiling.

"This looks great kids!" I exclaim to them "He'll love it!"

Winnie leaps about, her hands in the air "Yay!"

"One second honey, let me just get Dil cleaned up and then we can get started on the cupcakes for daddy."

She smiles "Cupcakes!!" She says ferociously.

I pick Dil up and carry him the bathroom to get him cleaned up.  I wipe his face and then his hands, humming to myself as I do so.

"Did you miss me Dil?" I ask him

He nods "Daddy too."

"Daddy did too? I'm sorry Dil, I just needed to visit grandma and grandpa." I say guiltily.

He puts his dummy in his mouth and puts his arms round me and his head on my shoulder, wanting me to hug him.

Even though he could talk, our son was very shy. Whereas Winnie could talk for England, Dil preferred not to speak and usually communicated through actions.

I put my hands on his tiny back, hugging him.

"Now, let's go and make some cupcakes. I'll let you lick the bowl little lion!" I say with enthusiasm

Dil nods furiously and starts to wiggle out of my grip so I put him down. Immediately he runs to the kitchen, as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.

I run after him giggling, wondering what sort of mess will be made baking with these two rascals.

Then,I have an idea.

What if we made it into a video? Making cupcakes with my kids. Yeah. That would be cute.

Quickly dragging some lights across the house, I rapidly set them up, along with the camera.

I get Winnie a stool and I hold Dil in my arms.

I finally press record and then stand back.

"Hey guys! Today I'm here with:" and I point at Winnie to introduce herself but she was already giggling.

I laugh and speak for her "Winnie, and:" I point to Dil, who was holding the 'Shrek' packet of ready mix and was clearly fascinated by the front cover: Shrek looking pleased with himself and the rest of the characters in a line behind him.

"Dil!" I say for him, laughing at his fascination.

"Let's make some cupcakes!" Winnie half shouts.

I look at her and smile "What will we need Winnie?"

"A Delia Smith recipe book and-"

I start laughing "no Delia Smith involved today Winnie, sorry!"

Dil holds up the packet mix and points to it.

"Ah good boy Dil, so we'll need a ready mix of cake. I don't trust these two rascals well enough yet to make cakes from scratch so for now, we'll stick with a Shrek themed ready mix."

Winnie holds out her hands to get the packet from Dil and Dil hands it to her.

She tears it open and we get started.

When we finish, we are a mess, covered in flour and icing and in fits of laughter.

Winnie has cake batter on her nose and Dil has the majority of what was left in the bowl afterwards on his face.

I pull them out of the oven and quickly we say bye to the camera. Dan was going to be home in a few minutes.

I quickly wipe both their faces and they wash their hands and I take off my baking apron.

"Let's hide to surprise daddy." I tell them

I take their hands and we hide behind the chairs in the living room.

The cakes were on the table and the banner was hung high, it wasn't much but it might make Dan smile.

I hear the front door swing open and then it closes.

"Kids? Phil? You home?" He yells

I put my finger to my lips to signal to the kids to be quiet.

The hide giggles, trying to be quiet.

We hear footsteps and then the door of the living room opens. I can see Dan walk in and he smiles as he sees us hiding.

"Winnie? Phil? Dil? What are you do-" and then he sees the banner and the cupcakes and a look of joy spreads across his face.

I jump up, holding the kids' hands and we yell "Surprise!!"

Dan, still with a wide grin on his face comes to hug us. He picks Dil up and Winnie in the other hand. He looks at me.
"Sorry Phil, I don't have enough hands" he laughs. It was great to see him happy again. To have moments like these, seeing Dan happy, seeing our kids happy, yeah, my life was great.

I laugh and put my arms around him, sandwiching Dil and Winnie in the middle.

I can feel Dan holding his breath for a split second, and I know that he's probably blushing. He didn't say but he was a sucker for good hugs.

I pull away from the hug and the children wiggle down from Dan's protecting grip.

"Now, shall we?" I say, gesturing to the cakes.

We dig in, and life is great again.