Consequences

Chapter 5

The rest of the week had gone by quite quickly; as promised, Grace had spoke to Connie every night either on Skype or by phone. The following weekend, Connie had made sure she was off work and left strict instructions not to be contacted unless it was an absolute dire emergency which meant she was needed; early on Saturday, she had put a couple of bags in the boot of her car and drove to Zoe's where Zoe and Grace were waiting outside for her as Zoe was heading into work with Max.

"Where we going mom?" Grace asked as she got in the car after saying bye to Zoe and Max and put her belt on.

"It's a surprise; have you got everything i told you to bring?"

"Yes...but i dont understand why i needed to bring my chargers and my tablet if we're just going out for the day"

"You'll see; pick some music baby" she said as she started driving.

Eventually they had arrived at Connie's surprise destination, a hotel on the seafront not far away from Holby but far enough to be alone; when Grace had realised where she was, her face broke out in a huge grin and hugged her mom as they leant against the bonnet of her car, looking out to the sea.

"So...feel like spending the weekend here?" She asked her daughter.

"No work?"

"Nope; they've been told to only phone me if there is a dire emergency that it means all hands on deck. It's just you, me and the beach all weekend, if you want to?"

"I do..."

"Let's go and explore than baby"

By that evening when they got back to the hotel, they'd both gotten changed into their nightwear before settling down into the double bed and watching a film on the tablet; whereas Grace was interested in watching the screen, Connie wasnt. She was happy and content to see her daughter so happy and care-free; she knew Grace needed to come first and she hoped that the weekend away together would help take another step closer to Grace coming home.

"Mom, you're missing the best bit" Grace said, bringing her mom out of her thoughts.

"Sorry baby"

"You were miles away"

"Just thinking about how perfect today was; have you had fun?"

"It's been nice spending time together and not having your phone going off" she admitted.

"I know i've made some mistakes in the past but i am trying to change things; there is going to be weekends when i have to work. My job isnt your typical 9-5, monday to friday job but i am trying to work it so i can maximise the amount of time we have together; i need you to understand that i am trying baby but it's not going to happen overnight."

"I know mom; it's just nice to have your full attention sometimes"

"And i promise to try harder" she vowed as she kissed her hair.

The next evening, Connie pulled up outside Zoe's apartment block and took Grace's hand as she walked her up to the apartment; after been let in by Zoe, Connie helped her daughter to unpack before hugging her close.

"That was the best weekend ever mom" Grace beamed.

"Yes it was"

"I love you"

"You too baby; you be good for Zoe, okay?" She whispered, not wanting to let her emotions get the better of her.

"I promise"

"And be good at school tomorrow and you call me and let me know how your day went"

"I promise" she repeated.

After finally letting Grace go, she kissed her daughter's hair before finally leaving; she managed to hold it together until she got into her car and then let the tears fall. Spending time with Grace and then leaving her with Zoe was harder than she thought it would be but it was what her daughter wanted so all she could do was suck it up until Grace was ready to come home.