I Knew I Loved You

Chapter Twelve: Exploring Paris

Charlene smiled to herself, looking out of her window, and admiring the beautiful day outside, it had been a couple of days since Abigail had met Manuel and she was relieved that the little girl was getting used to him. 

It had been a big worry to Charlene that the two wouldn't get along and she was sure that it would only get better with time; especially since from what she knew of Abigail's past, Abigail hadn't spent much time around men in general. 

Her life had been rather sheltered from the start with only her mother to count on, it didn't even appear that she had been to nursery. 

There were no signs that Abigail had spent time with children of her own age, it made Charlene's heartache watching her be so shy when the other children at the hotel tried to befriend and play with her and she didn't know what to do. 

Germany had just beaten Italy in the Quarter finals on penalties and were due to play France in a couple of days' time and Charlene knew that the pressure was on to reach the final. 

The atmosphere at the training camp was intense and Charlene did her best not to distract Manuel too much when she knew what a privilege it was to be allowed to stay with the team. 

Charlene quietly moved away from the window trying not to make too much noise in case she woke Abigail, they were going sight-seeing today and she was looking forward to exploring Paris for a couple of hours. 

Manuel wouldn't be able to join them since he had training but he had wished them well and he hoped that they wouldn't have too much trouble with the media. 

Charlene and Abigail didn't deserve to be harassed while they were out enjoying themselves and he knew that this wasn't going to be easy no matter what happened with them. 

The couple knew that it was only a matter of time before they heard from social services and they would soon learn what Abigail's fate was going to be; a small part of them dreading saying goodbye to her. 

Charlene headed towards the bathroom, she had time for a shower before Abigail woke up and she longed to make memories that Abigail would remember for the rest of her life.

***

Abigail couldn't help but stare up at the Eiffel Tower in awe, it was so big and she felt like an ant when she was standing at the base of it; it seemed to reach the sky itself from where she was standing. 

It had been a long day and the two had even managed to fit in some shopping before they had reached the tower; it had been good and Abigail was excited for the next part of their trip. 

"Are we going up it?" Abigail asked looking at Charlene as they walked towards the tower, it was still pretty busy and she was in awe of the fact that they were stood under something that was so big. 

Charlene nodded her head, they had their tickets already and she didn't want to linger around the base; the last time that she had been here had been when she was in high school. 

It had been a great trip and she had loved going up the tower when she had been thirteen, however the trip had stuck in her mind because her teacher had been pick-pocketed at the base of the tower and had sat in a café at the top crying while she called her husband and told him what had happened. 

The two of them made their way to the bottom of the tower and prepared to travel to the top, they were both excited to make the trip up and it wasn't long before they were on their way in the different lifts to the top. 

Charlene was almost relieved when they arrived and she kept a tight hold of Abigail's hand so that they didn't get separated; the last thing that she wanted was for them to be separated.