I Knew I Loved You

Chapter Eight: Germany vs Ukraine

Charlene took a deep breath feeling a little nervous about what would be happening this evening, she had tried to talk Manuel's parents out of coming around because Abigail was staying but it hadn't worked. 

They were insisting on coming to the house to watch Germany's opening match of the Euros, it was a tradition that had started years ago when Manuel had been first called up to the team and they weren't going to break it now. 

Charlene adored her in-laws and she got along with them well from the start but it was times like this that Charlene wished that she had some way of making them understand that right now wasn't the time for gatherings like this. 

Peeking into the living area, Charlene looked at Abigail and she knew that she would have to warn the little girl about their guests; things had been going well since she had arrived and Charlene wished to keep it that way. 

They were going shopping tomorrow to get more things for Abigail, she had already worn all the clothes that she had brought with her when she had arrived only four days earlier. 

"Abigail?" Charlene called softly, she had no idea how the little girl would take this and she hoped that it would be okay that they would have company. 

The last thing that Charlene wanted was to upset the balance that they had found and Abigail seemed content, something that Charlene wanted to make sure she stayed that way. 

Abigail looked up from the book that she had been reading, her beautiful eyes staring up at Charlene hoping that everything was alright; she liked it here and she liked how safe she felt. 

"I have some guests coming this evening," Charlene explained carefully, she moved to sit down on the couch and hoped that this wasn't going to upset Abigail. 

Blinking Abigail stared up at Charlene, she wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that people would be coming around to the house; she had liked having Charlene to herself. 

"Should I stay in my room?" Abigail asked knowing that was what her mummy had wanted her to do when she had friends over; she would spend hours out of sight while music blasted from the rest of the apartment.

It had been horrible and her mummy had been so grumpy the next morning, Abigail wasn't sure that she would ever understand why her mummy were always so tired after those parties. 

"No... of course not," Charlene insisted with a shake of her head, she didn't want to even think about why Abigail thought she would be banished to her room for the evening. 

It wasn't like it was some super-secret meeting or anything, Charlene was sure that Abigail would have a good time; they usually ended up ordering takeaway and having a good time while they watched Manuel play. 

"I just wanted to warn you that it wouldn't just be the two of us for dinner this evening," Charlene reassured with a smile, she wanted this to go well since it would be the first time that Abigail would be meeting anyone from her family. 

It was a tricky situation since the little girl was practically living in limbo until social services had some idea on what they wanted to do with her; they still hoped to find some sort of relative to place her with. 

However, Charlene was happy to have her here and secretly a small selfish part of her didn't want Abigail to leave at all. 

Abigail blinked surprised that she was getting to stay up and meet the guests, she had never been allowed to do that before and she hoped that they would like her. 

Her fingers twisted at the sleeves of her jumper that had seen better days, she didn't often get to met people and her mummy had never let her stay up.