Swapped

Chapter 5

"Umm...Mum?" The title still didn't sit right with Airlie, but more so than with Charlie, since Airlie hadn't had a real mother in her old life that she could remember.

"Yes, honey?" Jackie was outside doing what appeared to be a daily routine: ten laps of their twenty-five-metre pool, then thirty skips with her skipping rope, followed by a jog around the borderline of the house, before starting the process again. Currently, Jackie was starting her jog, and Airlie ran to keep up with her, quickly falling into pace with Jackie's footsteps. Jackie smiled at this,

"You haven't joined me in a long time." Her eyes glazed over as a memory pulled her into the past. A few seconds passed, and she blinked, glancing over at Airlie from the corner of her eye. "This isn't going to be a one-time thing, is it? I'd like it if you joined me more often." Airlie shrugged. She'd always wanted to do something routinely with her mother...only she'd never had one before. But maybe Jackie could be that woman? She nodded.

"Sure! I'd love to join you." The promise brought an enthralled light into Jackie's eyes, which warmed Airlie's heart.

"Well that's great." Jackie's smile was one of satisfaction as they continued running together in silence. Several minutes passed by, and Airlie took the time to examine the grounds of the property. It wasn't like some huge estate you see in British movies, but it wasn't tiny like her own family's home either.

Nevertheless, it was still extravagant: a modern take of a traditional home. All in white walls, with a glimmer of the blue curtains from behind the paned windows. Jasmine vines creeped up the façade of the house, and large trees hung over native plants in the garden below, like a part of a rainforest brought into suburbia. It was beautiful, just like its residents.

They ran three laps of the house, which took them just under ten minutes, and as Airlie came to a halt, raising her arms above her head and gasping for air, Jackie dove back into the pool. She began her laps at a fast, but steady pace and Airlie watched on for a moment in awe. The woman was one of the fittest forty-something-year-olds Airlie had ever seen. It was inspiring.

As she finished her tenth lap and climbed back out of the pool, briefly drying off before making her way to her skipping rope, Jackie spoke.

"What was it you wanted to ask me?" That was right. Airlie had gotten so caught up in the idea of finally having a mother that she'd forgotten the real reason she'd sought out Jackie in the first place. She figured she needed to take small steps to gain the trust of the Arnold's, whilst also introducing some new notions that would eventually help Airlie see her real family again. Promising to join Jackie on her runs was already a step in the right direction to obtaining at least her trust. Now for the change:

"I was wondering if it's alright that I decorate my room a bit? It's just that it's a little...plain." There was no other word for it. Macey's bedroom, like much of the rest of the house, as stunning as it was, looked like a show-room in an open-home real-estate sale. Jackie laughed.

"It's your space, of course you can. You don't need to ask my permission – but it's nice that you did." She smiled, and then a thought struck her, and she hastily added. "Just as long as it's nothing too outrageous!" Airlie chuckled.

"Don't worry. I was just thinking a few posters or photos or something for colour. Anything 'outrageous' would reduce the aesthetic." Jackie's laugh was louder this time, and she fumbled as she skipped.

Heaving, but with a joyful glint in her eye, she picked the rope up from where she'd dropped it on the ground, and before continuing her exercise, said:

"You have my blessing." Airlie grinned.

"Thanks!" She turned and began to head back towards Macey's room, where she'd noticed the night before, a purse with a thick wad of cash in it, was awaiting her return, begging to be spent.