Ain't This Life So Sweet | Joanne

Chapter One

"It's only been two days, and I already miss you so much".

Dianne leaned back against her pillow. She was having the most amazing time being back in Australia but saying goodbye to Joe had been hard. They had been dancing together for months and had spent pretty much every moment outside of the studio with one another. It had been a big shock to the system to not have him around.

"I know," Joe sighed. "But you're spending time with your family. And with your baby."

Dianne smiled, her eyes lighting up as they always did at the mention of her six-year-old daughter who was currently sleeping in the next room. Emelia had been waiting for her at the airport, along with her mum and dad, with a homemade banner she had apparently been working on for a week. Dianne had run straight to her and picked her up, smothering her in kisses.

She had spent the first night battling jet lag and had crept into her daughter's room early in the morning. She hadn't been home since Emelia's birthday in June, and she had missed so many little things about her. When she was tiny, Dianne had watched her sleeping almost every night. She was astonished by the way her tiny fingers wiggled as she dreamed, the way her long, dark eyelashes brushed against her chubby cheeks. Even now, at six years old, Dianne loved the way that Emelia still looked so much like that little baby when she slept.

She had crawled in next to her daughter, in her tiny, pink bed, and had curled around her, breathing in the delicate scent she wished she could bottle and take home with her. It was only then she had finally fallen asleep. Seventeen hours on a plane had been worth it just for that moment.

"Do you think she's going to like her surprise?" Joe asked. Dianne smiled, and nodded.

"I'm definitely going to cry when I give it to her."

Since the end of Strictly, Joe had been thinking hard about how to thank Dianne for everything she had done to get him through the competition. He had taken her to the treehouse with his sister and Alfie, had taken her for lunch or dinner when they could and had got her some amazing Christmas presents, but it hadn't felt like enough. He wished there had been something more special he could do.

One night, when the two of them had been curled up in bed, Joe had turned to her and had asked about Emelia's school holidays. When she would be expected back at school, how easy it would be for her to take extra holiday in term time, how her family were fixed over the next few weeks. Dianne had been confused by all of his questions, until he had turned to face her and explained what he wanted to do.

Dianne had cried then. When Joe had asked her if it would be possible to bring Emelia back with her to stay with them and had offered to pay for her plane tickets. He knew Dianne's brother was going to be travelling around Europe after Christmas, and that he would be flying back from London to Australia in January, which meant he could help take Emelia home again. As his words had sunk in, Dianne had thrown her arms around him, sobbing quietly and whispering 'thank you' over and over again.

"I talked to Byron about it. He has offered to go and stay with Emily for a bit so that Emelia can have her own room."

Dianne was beaming. "I can't wait."

///

On Christmas morning, Dianne was awoken early by three excitable children.

"Oh, no. Not yet!" She had said sternly, rolling over away from the doorway where three little heads peeked through. "It's far too early!"

Emelia had laughed and tiptoed across the carpet. "Mama, we're excited. Can we have presents?"

Dianne shook her head. "No. Grandma said nobody is opening any presents or going anywhere near the living room until morning. Is the sunshine up on your clock yet?"

Dianne had bought Emelia the clock to help her learn when it was day and night. It worked most days, but Christmas morning was never going to be one of them. Emelia pouted.

"I don't want to go back to sleep." She stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Dianne shot her a look that said 'don't even try it, little lady'.

Dianne sat up, realizing that she was never going to get any more sleep. Throwing on a hoodie that she had definitely stolen from Joe, she marched her niece, nephew and daughter back into Emelia's bedroom. Pulling open the wardrobe, she had found a box of crayons and a stack of paper.

"I want you to stay in here until seven, ok? Seven o'clock." Dianne turned to Mia, who was the eldest. "Mia, you can tell the time so you're in charge. You can play with toys, you can play on the iPad or you can colour. Maybe you could make a Christmas card for Grandma and Grandpa? Or draw them a nice picture?"

She walked back towards the door, hoping for at least another hour in bed.

"What time can you leave?"

The three children looked up at her. "Seven o'clock."

Dianne closed the door and padded quietly back to her own bedroom. There was no way she could get back to sleep now, but there was a way she could use the time. Picking up her phone, she quickly worked out the time in the UK before calling Joe.

"Hey! Merry Christmas! Well, it's still Christmas Eve here. I haven't gone to bed yet and Santa definitely hasn't been by," Joe said, smiling. He quickly worked out the time difference. "Hey- it's really early! Why are you up?"

Dianne rolled her eyes. "I'll give you one guess."

Joe laughed. "Me and Zoe used to be exactly the same."

"They're back in Emelia's room. I've given them the iPad and a load of toys and told them they can't come out until seven. Which gives me another hour and a half of peace."

"Why haven't you gone back to sleep?" Joe asked. Dianne shook her head.

"Because I'm too excited." They both laughed.