The Heart of Deception

Epilogue

Four-year-old Jessica came bursting into the kitchen, looking frustrated. Running up to Lauren, she began tugging at her clothing.

“Mummy, Uncle Max is winding me up again,” she complained, looking up at her with huge chocolate brown eyes. Her rich auburn hair was pulled away from her face with a green and cream, floral print Alice band, to fall down her back in a riot of curls.

“He says that little Joshie is really my Uncle Joshua.”

The irate little girl pointed to the dribbling infant, crawling into a cupboard filled with plastic containers and bowls.

They watched as he turned to laugh at them, showing off four perfect little white teeth. Lauren still couldn’t get over how much her baby brother looked like Michael, or herself for that matter.

She crouched to smile at Jessica, and then looked up at Helen for support.

“He’s right, Sweetheart. Well, you know that Granddad is my father.”

Jessica nodded.

“Now they got married, and had Joshua. Which means Joshua is really my brother, so that makes him your uncle.”

“But he’s too small,” protested the little girl, watching the baby banging two tumblers together. “Can’t I be his auntie?” she asked seriously.

The two women laughed, shaking their heads. This was obviously something that would take the children a while to sort out in their own little minds.

Max appeared in the kitchen doorway, with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“Now, if you really want to confuse her, you can try to explain that he’s also her cousin. Or how about, that your baby will be her cousin as well as her sibling,” teased Max, as he wandered over to the fridge to take out another beer.

“Trouble maker,” chirped Helen light-heartedly.

He ducked, as both women threw their dishtowels at him.

“I was only trying to be helpful,” he exclaimed, feigning repentance, when they advanced on him with mocked menace.

Jessica squealed with delight as he lifted her up, in front of him, to use her as a shield of defence.

Just then, two equally large masculine figures stepped into the midst of the chaos, the younger man, blonde, while the older had dark, reddish-brown hair. Both stopped to take in the scene before them wearing expressions of amused satisfaction.

“Reinforcements,” cried Max, pretending to be relieved to see his friends.

“No such luck old man,” smiled Kurt, from behind Lauren wrapping his arms around his wife. “We’ve only come in to admire our handy work.”

He nuzzled her neck, allowing his hands to caress the swollen expanse of her abdomen. The life inside her responded by kicking against his hand.

“Don’t my girls look great? Both barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen,” laughed Michael. He caught Helen in a close embrace, before she could wield her retrieved dishtowel in his direction.

Max bent down to pick up his little godson, with his free arm. Joshua reached out a wet, sticky little hand to grab his moustache. He looked fondly down at the two little auburn heads, and headed towards the door with them.

“Come on you two, I’ve found a site advertising kiddies’ motorcycles. Let’s go choose your Christmas presents,” he told the children.

“Baby-sitting has its price folks,” his cheerful voice floated over his shoulder to the groaning parents they had left behind in the kitchen.

THE END

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Emma Lainge