'Look Mummy.' Look shouts, staring out the window, Dianne looks over at the seven-year-old child, following her line of pointing. She's met with a sight she didn't quite expect to see, her daughter. 'It's Maddie.' Dianne nods slightly, as she watches the young woman walk up to the door, the bell rings, as she catches Dianne's eye.
Her little sister runs, opening the door and snowballing her way into her sisters' arms. 'Maddie.' Dianne watches as the sisters interact, they are so different to when the older three were little. Maybe it's because they are all old enough to be her parent, Dianne and Joe had a conversation, a few months after Luca was about having another baby. It wouldn't have been impossible for Dianne to have another baby, had they so wanted. If they had, it would have been for Luca's sake. Maybe people would call them selfish, but they weren't going to bring another child into the word for the sake of having a sibling. Luca was an accident, a lovely accident.
It had occurred to them, that, the only child that had been planned was Theo. They knew they wanted two children, Ruby was a complete surprise. They thought they had been careful, evidently not. When she first died, Dianne had a horrible thought that she would have been better of terminating the pregnancy, it would have saved so much heartbreak down the line. Except, she was grateful she had those eighteen years with her daughter. She learnt to be thankful for the fact that she was in their life at all, all four of them. It is amazing how you can have the same parents and all the children end up different. Theo was the good one, barring a couple of weeks, he was good. Maddie had been a nightmare from day one, until Ruby died. She had matured, maybe it was not having her sister to fall back on. In a way, she was on her own now.
Ruby had been better than Maddie, for the most part. Joe and Dianne both knew the dangers of making her seem an angel to everyone. If people didn't remember the 'real' Ruby, they would have failed. Her memory would be alive anymore, because that wasn't her. She wasn't an angel by any stretch, she was better behaved than her younger sister, until she was fourteen. She changed again, when she went into upper six. Something clicked, she stopped drinking so heavily, sneaking out. She became the responsible one, she was responsible right up until she died. Or that's what Joe and Dianne were made to believe. Luca, she was a mixture, only time would tell which way she would go.
'What are you doing home?' Dianne questions her daughter, bringing her in for a hug. 'Does dad know?' She shakes her hair.
'Surprise.' Dianne forces a smile, determined to know why her daughter is in Bath and not London. 'I'll surprise him too.'
'Luca, are you ready for swimming? Daddy will be home soon.' She has started going with the pair, once a month. She was supposed to go today, but Maddie has appeared out of nowhere.
'Can Maddie come?' Dianne shakes her head, as the child runs towards her bedroom. Her swimming costume laid out, for her to change into before her lesson. 'Please.'
'No Luca.' She can tell there is something off with the young woman, she always looked the same when she was worried. She, subconsciously, pulls a face. Her elder daughter looks relieved.
'Why?' She pouts. 'I haven't seen Maddie in ages, she came when I was staying and Anna's.' Dianne shakes her head.
'Maddie will be here when you get back.' She promises the child, she doesn't actually know that, by the look of the size of the bag her daughter brought, she might be staying a few more days. Her daughter is nodding, as Dianne see's her eyes starting to well up.
Before long, a key turning in the lock alerts the house to the fact that Joe was back, equally as shocked to see his daughter home. It wasn't anyone's birthday, not that he could recall. She hadn't been home unannounced since Luca was little, she had settled in London. 'What are you doing home?' He smiles, as he looks at Dianne. 'Did you know?' Dianne shakes her head, as the small child waltzes into the living room. 'Right, mischief, are you ready to go?' She nods, passing him her swimming bag. 'Let's go.'
