my life with you {cheryl tweedy}

October 14th, 2005

Author

"C'mon, baby." Cheryl guided her daughter through the paparazzi-filled streets. Melanie was holding onto her mother's pointer finger for protection. The toddler isn't scared of the swarm of cameras anymore, she's gotten used to it.

"Mamma, up!" Melanie whined and held her hands in the air. The cameras went even crazier as Cheryl picked her daughter up and placed her on her hip.

"You okay?" Cheryl asked as they walked through the paparazzi. There are not as many people as there usually is, but it still annoys Cheryl. Melanie nodded and placed her head on her mother's shoulder.

"C'mon, let's sit down-" Cheryl looked back at her daughter's head as they entered the restaurant. Kimberley and Nicola were sat next to each other on the other side of the table, greeting their best friend.

"No, Mamma!" Melanie whined, signalling that she wanted to sit on her mother's lap. Cheryl gave into her daughter, not wanting to argue with her. The toddler crawled on her mother's lap and started playing with her shirt.

"Baby, don't mess with Mamma's shirt, please," Cheryl said and smiled at her daughter to make her stay calm. Melanie has hit the stage where she knows that she can get what she wants through whining.

"Hey, RoRo. How are you?" Kimberley smiled across the table at her best friend's daughter.

"Good," Melanie said and giggled to herself. Nicola and Kimberley smiled at the toddler, seeing how stressed out Cheryl seems.

"Why don't you come sit with me for a sec," Kimberley suggested to the toddler, making her nod. Cheryl gave her friend a thankful look, needing a break from her child.

"C'mere, honey." Kimberley put the toddler on her lap and played with her. Cheryl talked with Nicola and Kimberley joined in every now and then.

"Has she been misbehaving?" Nicola asked, seeing how stressed Cheryl is today. The thankfulness of having a break was written all over her face.

"Yeah, but we've been working a lot and this is one of our only breaks. If I don't spend time with her, she might forget who I am." Cheryl said, smiling at her best friend and daughter playing together.

"She loves you too much to forget," Nicola added, causing Kimberley to nod in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm scared that she's gonna start asking about him soon, though," Cheryl confessed to her bandmates, needing to tell someone about it.

"You think?" Nicola asked as she took the child off of Kimberley. She started playing with the toddler and tickled her tummy. The giggle that came from Melanie made all three women smile.

"Well, she's gonna start school soon and kids talk. I'm scared that she'll come home and ask us about it." Cheryl explained, making Kimberley give her a sympathetic look.

"What about Ashley?" Kimberley asked, knowing that the toddler sees Ashley as a huge father figure.

"She'll find out at some point," Cheryl said, knowing that she can't tell her daughter that Ashley is her real Dad. She can't lie to her like that.

"You can worry about it when the time comes," Nicola said, trying to change the subject to better things. Cheryl motioned to Nicola to let her take care of Melanie. Once the toddler sat by herself in the high chair, Cheryl sighed with relief.