"Can you sayyyyy... HELLO?" Freddie asked his daughter eagerly. She was so small seating on his chest, she weighed like a feather to him.
"Yello..." Elle cried back. Alice leaned to the side of the door, a grin formed on her face. Freddie could comm...
Alice brought with her plastics full of strawberries, raspberries and kiwis, as a gift souvenir. Emma Ainsworth, her cousin living in Brighton came to the door and barely acknowledged her, as if Alice had been dropping over the weekends. She peeked into the groceries bag Alice was holding and plucked the fresh strawberries. "Perfect! I was just baking a cake," she said opening the door wider. "Come on in cousin!"
Alice walked into the house gazing at every corner of the huge loft, she reckon in London a place that size would be expensive but in Brighton, it would be a fraction of the cost in London. She had always admired her cousin Emma, she worked as a freelance painter, living her dream by selling her artwork to pay bills. Emma had moved back after her own Paris layoff six months before, from a stint at an art gallery. The loft was one and half floor with no compartments, an open space that was cozy yet messy with a hint of bohemian feel. It had one big messy area by the corner of the house full of finished paintings and all her ongoing projects. Emma had opted to live near the beach, rather than the cold and wet city of London, and for Alice it was a nice getaway from the drama back at Garden Lodge.
"Grab a seat Al," Emma pointed to her couch in the living room, while taking the groceries bag. She moved into the kitchen and started to slice the strawberries. Emma was not the best baker, but her homemade Strawberry Shortcake was her specialty and it was Alice's favourite. Emma would bake one when Alice is around, more so now since she begged to let her stay for the weekend.
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Alice sat on the couch and glanced at the television. Top of The Pops was playing and a Sex Pistols video played. Sid's face on the television screen reminded her of the argument she had with Freddie,they found out she was pregnant. She bit her lip wondering about Freddie. He was either really upset that she left without telling him or relieved she was not around. Alice's thoughts were disrupted by Emma who turned off the television, she was standing next to Alice and handed her two small plates and two forks.
"Here," Emma called to her. As Alice listened to her voice, she saw her at the age of ten, with a dark cap on top and her dangling ponytail wearing overall jeans, dancing with her at their grandparent's balcony, her skinny legs would wobble and she'd messed up the choreography, but they would laugh together enjoying each other's company even as children. Alice and Emma had been close since they were young, having pet names for each other; "L" and "M", derived from the first syllable of their names. Both of them were of the same age but it had always been Emma who looked out for Alice since they were kids up to their schooling years. Emma walked back into the kitchen and came back to the living room with Alice's favorite cake, the creamy-sugar smell filled up the air. She offered the knife to Alice but Alice shook her head insisting for Emma herself to cut it. She set down the knife carefully and slipped two slices of cake into each of their plates.
"Oh shit, tea!" Emma blurted out, licking the extra cream on her thumb. She sprinted back to the kitchen and hold out a teapot and two mugs on each hand. She slowly kneeled to her knee and poured tea on each of their mug, nudging her chin to Alice to help herself.
