Every Breath She Takes [CURRENTLY ON HOLD]

Chapter 19: Life Moves On, Life Catches Up

We were all sad to see Nanna and Grandpa leave, but they needed to go. The day that they did, I went down to my bookshop, where Mrs Trump was in already, getting the shop ready for the day. She turned around at my entrance, and beamed at me.

“Congratulations, Ro!” She hurried over, and enveloped me in a huge bear hug before drawing back, sniffing a little. “You looked beautiful, my dear. Where did you find your dress? Everyone was wondering.”

I smiled, and put Cam down. “My grandmother made it for me,” I replied. She stared at me as I moved behind the counter, for once at a loss of what to say.  Keeping one eye on Cam, I busied myself, hoping that I could begin to run the shop by myself once again.

“She made it?”

I nodded, not looking up. “Yes.”

“Oh! That’s just wonderful! It was exactly what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

I nodded again, not really listening, but enjoying the flow of words. “Yes.”

She was silent for a while, and when I looked up, I found her eyeing me.

“What?”

“Is Cam going to get a sibling?”

I went bright red, much to her entertainment. She laughed, and came over, patting my shoulder.

“Don’t feel like it has to happen straight away,” she told me in a whisper. “He’s only young, after all.”

With difficulty, I managed to answer with a level voice. “I want another, yes,” I replied. “But not now. Perhaps in a few years.”

“Ah.” Her tone of voice made it clear that she thought it would happen much sooner, and I looked at her. “We all saw you two, Ro. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen two young people look at each other like you two did.”

I went red again, this time with pleasure. “Thank you,” I whispered.

She hugged me gently for a moment, and then walked to the back of the store, tactfully leaving me on my own for a few minutes before the hordes came in. It was school holidays now, and we were flooded with school children, all eager to get their hands on a few books, or just to hide away from the heat of summer.

After a few months, Mrs Trump stopped coming to the store. She knew I could handle it on my own now, and since Jack worked at home, I could leave Cam with him, although I had to be prepared for a mess when I came home if I did. I never minded. It reminded me of my childhood, mess and fun, always laughter somewhere. In the meantime, Jack finished another book, and I was the first to have it on my shelves. To my delight, it was nearly sold out the next day, and he couldn’t stop grinning when I told him. We danced around the house, almost tripping over Cam, who wanted to join in. Finally, breathless, we stopped, and I collapsed onto the lounge.

“That’s never happened before.”

I looked at Jack. “What hasn’t?”

“One of my books sold out in a day. It must be your sales skills.”

I laughed, knowing that he was teasing me. “No. I think it’s more along the lines that everyone knows you,” I replied, and picked Cam up with a grunt. He was getting almost too heavy for this. “Come on, you. It’s dinner time.”

“Food?” Cam caught the only part of our talk that made sense to him, and held onto it. “Pease?”

“Yes, darling.” I put him down and he raced for his highchair. Once he had worked out how to take a step, he became eternally in motion, never seeming to stop.