From now on

Chapter thirteen

"Emelia Buswell, please hold my hand."

The Buswells were all walking over to the local church, and were all chatting away. Mark and Rina were at the front, leading the way and Andrew, Billy, Mia and Mel followed close behind, then by Brendan and Anna who were with Emelia and Dianne.

She did as she was told. "Thank you." As Dianne engaged into conversation with Brendan, Emelia took the chance to look around Bunbury, how pretty it all was at night. It was all lit up with Christmas decorations, the beach not too far out in the distance. She let go of Dianne's hand, going ahead to see Mark and Rina.

Rina smiled down at her. "You alright little miss, ready to sing your heart out?"

"Yeah, I know most of the words. I'm ready."

"That's good."

"Can you pick me up please?" She asked innocently, Rina smiling before picking her up and resting her on her hip. "I'm tall now."

Rina chuckled. "You're getting a big girl, aren't you."

"I'm a big girl, and I'm going to get bigger and bigger. Mummy says I'm getting to big too fast. She also says I'll always be her little girl, even when I'm all grown up."

Rina smiled over at Mark as Emelia's words settled in. "She's absolutely right, and you'll always be my grand baby, the same way that Dianne will always be my little girl, even now."

"Even now?"

"Even now."

"Nana, are we almost there?" Mia asked, skipping up to them and holding Rina's free hand. "My legs are tired."

"Your legs are tired? Try ballroom dancing!" Andrew chuckled from behind, earning a scowl from Mia. He laughed, squeezing Mel's hand. "And nearly there, around five minutes or so left."

Mia pouted. "That's so long, I'll never be able to walk again." She used her arms to speak, speaking dramatically.

Emelia giggled. "You sound like Joe, after Strictly he was very tired."

"I would think so. How is he?" Rina took the chance to ask about him, and how things were going from Emelia's point of view. She had heard tons from Dianne about him, all about their relationship and where they were headed, which was a very bright future together, but knew it was important to include Emelia in the equation. She was a part of it as anyone.

She smiled, looking around the town. "He's good. I think he's going to his mum's for Christmas, where everyone talks like farmers. After Strictly me, mummy, Joe and his sister and her boyfriend all went to a treehouse together, it was so cool."

"Aw, was it fun? What did you do?"

"We went swimming, played cards, watched Christmas films, and wore onesies. I brought mine with me, it's so comfy. Zoe got us them, she's fun."

Rina nodded, putting Emelia down. "That sounds amazing, and Zoe is Joe's sister, right?" She nodded, holding Rina's other hand. "Ok. You and mama are living with Joe now aren't you? Are you excited?"

Emelia beamed. "Yeah! We can redecorate the room all pink, and then maybe, we can ask if we can get a dog!"

Rina and Mark couldn't help but chuckle. Rina turned back to catch Dianne's eye, signalling her over. "You hear that, Dot?"

"What?" Dianne called out, meandering between her family members to get to the front, alongside Emelia, Rina and Mia. Mark had fallen back to engage in conversation with Andrew and Mel, who were entertaining Billy. "What's that?"