From now on

Chapter seven

"Which outfit do you want to wear today Em?" Dianne had picked out two outfits for Emelia to wear to Elstree, and now had laid them both out on her bed.

Emelia thought for a moment, sat on the end of her bed. She eventually pointed to the dungaree and t shirt outfit. "That one please."

"Okay dokay, could you put it on while I put the other clothes away?" Emelia nodded. "Good girl."

"Mama?" Emelia began to change, buzzing for the day ahead. As she pulled on her dungarees, she smiled. "How many days until Australia?"

"Ooh, about just under a week, four or five days?" Dianne knew the rough answer, but it was too early in the morning to be doing calculations. "Are you excited?"

"Yes. I'm really excited, because I get to see Billy and Mia again. We can all play together again!"
Aside from singing and dancing, doing everyone's, mainly Joe's, hair and drawing, one of her favourite things to do was play with her cousins. They didn't get to do it often, but when they did, it was tons of fun. "I miss them."

"I do too, Angel." Dianne sat down next to Emelia on the bed, giving Emelia a little cuddle. "They all miss us too, but we're going to be there before you know it, only a few more sleeps."

Emelia nodded. "Ok. Can you do my hair now please?"

Dianne chuckled, quick change of subject, and nodded. She pat her lap, Emelia shuffling to sit there before she began to part her hair, doing what she normally did, two bunches.

"Where's Joe?" Emelia asked.

"He's just making us coffees, and you a hot chocolate as you're too young for coffee. He should be in any minute now." Just as she said that, he did in fact come in, placing the three drinks on Emelia's bedside table. "See. We were just wondering where you were."

He chuckled, quickly pecking her cheek before sitting next to her. "Oh. By the way, Ranj just texted me asking if we wanted to share a cab ride to the studios?"

"Dr Ranj?" Emelia beamed, gasping. "I love Dr Ranj! He's really cool!"

"I think you've just got your answer there, Joseph." Dianne chuckled, Joe nodding and texting back Dr Ranj, who only lived a few doors down. She tied the two ponytails, making sure they were even. "All done."

"Thank you." Emelia jumped up before bouncing into the living room, deciding to continue one of her many drawings, this one a flower she would give to Zoe at the treehouses in a couple of days.

Dianne watched her skip off, sighing. "She's happy as Larry, not a care in the world."

"Who's Larry?"

"Shut up, you know what I meant." She giggled, rolling her eyes at his terrible joke.

He pulled her close, wrapping both arms around her. "Yes. Yes I did. And she is, I would do anything to be five again." She nodded in agreement, wrapping both arms around him in return. "Was everything alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just Em talking about Australia." Her smile began to fade, holding him closer. "You're not going to be with us. We're going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too, love." He said, a dampened tone to his voice. When Dianne and Emelia would leave for Australia, the apartment would feel so different. There'd be no excitable Emelia going around, putting drawings up everywhere, or Dianne leaving clothes all over the bedroom floor, or reading bedtime stories, which he had come to enjoy. It was going to be very different. "I'm going to miss you both terribly, it's not going to be the same."

She nodded, the two cuddling in a silence, just rocking in one another's arms, to eventually topple backwards, both laughing about it after. He pulled her on top of him, wrapping his arms around her back and not wanting to let her go. "I'm not letting you go now."