Silly Love Songs

Chapter 6

26 June 1970

ADALINE'S POV

After our long few weeks in the states, we were finally back home. Though the kids were sad leaving, once they saw Martha they were happy to be back home. It was hard on all of us to leave. Though life's great here in England, the U.S. had just given us a chance to get out of our usual life routine and explore for a while.


Now after being home and settled for a few days, today we were going over to my mum's for family dinner. Everyone was very anxious to hear about the trip, and the kids were excited to see their cousins again.


"Kiddos, come on! We have to get going to Grammy's house!"


"We're coming!" Paul yelled as I heard footsteps run down the stairs and over to me. "Look what we have here! We have Peter Pan and a princess!"


"I wanna show Grammy and Papa and Auntie Mere and everybody my new princess dress!" Mady yelled as she spun around.


"They'll all think you're beautiful, baby girl."


"The gifts in the car?"


"Yep, all loaded in the bag."


"Shall we get going then?"


Mia let out a loud coo, causing both of us to giggle. "I'll take that as a yes. You're so excited to see everyone? Aren't you, peanut?" I rocked her lightly as we all went out to the car.


Soon we arrived at my mother's, unloaded the car and made our way to the door. I didn't even get to knock on the door before I felt my mother grab me and pull me in for a tight hug. "Oh, Adaline, you're here! I've missed you all so much. Come in!"


"We've missed you too, Mum. It's good to be back." I smiled as we all came in.


"I see someone's Peter Pan." Mum said as she looked down at Matt.


He nodded excitedly and ran off to find Andy.


"And then look at this little Disney princess! You look so pretty!"


Mady spun around in her dress. "Grammy, we see all the princesses and the castle and everything!"


"Did you?! Wow! You'll have to tell me all about it!"


"And Mia got Winnie the Pooh!" She pointed you Mia in her cattier with her Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal.


"Did she? That's so cute!" My mum smiled. "The others are all waiting for you in the backyard."


We all proceeded to go out to the backyard. Mady ran straight over to Meredith and Natalie as I saw Matt already playing with Andy.


"You're back!" I looked up to see Lily walk over.


"We are! Look at you! You're getting closer."


"I am. I feel great this time around." She ran her hands over her belly. "We honestly wish it was August already. We're ready for her to be here."


"Oh I bet! Mady's excited to have another little cousin around."


"We have a good feeling this one's a girl so she'll be even more excited."


"Speaking of the little ones, we have gifts for all of them." Paul and I sat down by Mike and Mere and opened up the bag. "For Natalie and the new baby we got Winnie the Pooh and Piglet stuffed animals like the ones we got Mia."


"Oh, Addie, you didn't have to!"


"We wanted to!" I smiled and handed the stuffed animals to Meredith and Lily. "We missed you all while we were gone."


"We missed you too!"


"Mummy!" Matt ran over to me, Andy following behind him.


"Hi, little man! You having fun?"


He nodded happily and gave a toothy grin.


"And for Andy, Matt wanted the two of them to be matching so we have a Peter Pan hat." Paul smiled and put the hat on his head.


"Peter Pan!"


Lily looked at him. "Andy, what do you say?"


"Tank ooo!"


"You're welcome, bud."


"So, tell us all about the trip."


"The kids loved Disney! They got to meet Mickey and Minnie and some other characters." I smiled and took the photographs out of my purse, handing them to the girls.


"I swear we went on the carousel a good dozen times." Paul chuckled. "Mady and Emma loved it."


"So the kids got along well?"


"They really did. Emma and Mady hit it off. They were so sad when we had to leave. Julie and I decided it would be fun if the girls wrote to each other, with our help, of course."


"That's so sweet! That'll be fun for them." Meredith smiled. "Mike and I were talking and we think once Nat's about Mady's age we want to go to Disney. It looks like so much fun from these pictures."


"We should all do a family trip! By then most of the kids will be old enough." Lily suggested.


"Oh, we definitely should! I know the kids would love to go again."


"So, what else happened while you were there?"


"Well, we have some exciting news."


"You're pregnant again?" Alex asked, causing Paul and I to roll our eyes and the others to giggle.


"No, Alex, I'm not pregnant..."


"I've decided to call you Princess Victoria, because I think you're going to have almost as many kids as she did."


"I'm not having nine kids..." I shook my head. "We decided on four."


"Five."


Paul and I both looked at each other. Awkwardly we broke eye contact and looked back at the others. "Anyway...the news is that we bought a house in the states!"


"Did you? That's so exciting! Is it by Julie's?"


"Actually it's in Edgartown, Massachusetts."


"Massachusetts? How did you end up getting a house in the New England area? I thought you liked it near California."


"We did, but it's also so busy over there. Kinda like London. Addie and I wanted somewhere exciting, but also quiet where we won't be recognised as much. Also Addie kinda wanted near a beach since the kids loved it so much. Julie and Blake recommended Florida at first and then said to try the New England states. We did some researching and talking to people they know and we discovered Edgartown."


"It's on the island of Martha's Vineyard and it's so quaint. We found the perfect little cottage for us. Eventually I think I want us to get a boat for when we're there."


"What about boating?"


We looked up to see Charlie walk over.


"Daddy!!" Andy yelled and ran over to him.


"Hi buddy!" He picked him up. "Look at you! You look like Peter Pan!"


"Peter Pan!"


"How was work, honey?"


"Another long day as always. I'm glad to be here." He smiled and looked over at us. "Nice to see that you're all back."


"It's good to be back. We missed everyone." Paul smiled.


"Have you met Mum's new boyfriend?" Charlie asked.


"Mum's what?"


"Mum started dating again. She didn't tell you?"


"No...no she didn't..."


"Well he's coming over ‪for dinner tonight‬ so you'll get to meet him. Alex isn't a fan of him."


"Don't start." Alex snapped. "Just don't."


"What's his name?"


"Harvey Basinger. Apparently they met through a friend of mum's. He's a businessman."


"I didn't realise she was ready to date again..."


"None of us did." Alex scoffed. "Charlie's not a fan of him either, but he won't admit it."


"And here they are!" My mum said as she walked into the back, arms locked with Harvey. "You've met my sons and their wives/girlfriend, but you didn't get to meet my daughter and her family. Adaline, this is my friend Harvey. Harv, this is my daughter Adaline, her husband Paul, and their children Madelynn, Matthew and Mia."


"Ahh yes. The one who married the musician."


"It's nice to meet you." I stood up, adjusting Mia in one arm as I shook his hand with the other.


"I had met your brothers last week at dinner. I was surprised when your mother told me you were in the states for three weeks. I don't know how you could manage being there for that long." He said somewhat disgusted.


Really? This is a hello with him? "We went to Disney and met up with a friend. We actually had a wonderful time." I informed him.


"Well I guess that some people enjoy things like that. Especially with the money you two have."


"Seriously?" Alex snapped.


"Oh, Alexander, Harv was just kidding." My mother chuckled lightly. "Come on, why don't we get ready to eat?"


"Let's get the kids washed up." Lily said to me as we went in, got May and both of the boys all washed up and out for dinner.


"Uncle Alex, can I sit by you?" Mady asked, walking over and taking his hand.


"Of course you can! I missed having my little munchkin around!" He picked her up, spun her around and sat her down in the chair next to his.


"You don't have the children at a separate table?" Harvey asked.


"No...we never do. They're too little." Lily told him.


We all then sat down for dinner. Mum had gone overboard with food as always. For the first ten minutes it was awkwardly quiet.


"So Amelia, I heard your sister just got engaged. That's so exciting!" Lily said to her.


"She did! Adrian proposed to Alena at the same place Dad proposed to Mum." She smiled. "The two of them are thinking about just doing something small in a few months. Just close family and a handful of friends. Probably less than fifty people."


"That's so sweet...Please tell them congrats from us!"


"I will! The two of them are coming over to ours for dinner in a few days."


"You two are living together but you're not married?" Harvey spoke up.


"Alex and I have been together for a year, but have known each other for a little longer. We just moved in together a few months ago."


"Are you planning on getting married soon?"


"No...we're taking thi-"


"Why is that any of your business?" Alex snapped. "Amelia and I can do whatever we want."


"You can, but I think it's inappropriate for you two to be living together and not be married. That always leads to trouble."


I looked over to Alex. I could tell he was slowly brewing with this. It would be only a matter of time before he'll blow.


"Well, moving on from that...Have you two started on the next album, Paul?" Charlie asked.


"We've started writing a few songs. I'm hoping to get started on recording in the fall."


"Haven't there been mixed reviews about your first album though?" Harvey butted it. "I'm surprised that you're jumping into another album this quickly."


"Of course there's going to be mixed reviews. Everyone was shocked by the Beatles breakup and many fans weren't ready to see the lads release their own albums. I personally think it's due to the adjustment that fans are going through." I looked at him. "And we're starting the next album because we want to. Making music is what Paul loves to do and I love working with him on it."


"Addie's right. Part of me expected mixed reviews from the fans. Still, I love making music and I wouldn't have been able to make the last album without her." Paul smiled and took my hand in his.


"Awe. I loved making that album with you..." I smiled and kissed him lightly.


"I love you..."


"I love you too..."


"You two are always so mushy..." Alex joked and gagged.


"Yeah, mushy." Mady copied him and giggled.


Alex burst out laughing. "See? Even your kid agrees with me."


"I see you're an influence on the children..." Harvey mumbled.


"What the bloody hell does that mean?"


"Well your mother said you were the most misbehaved out of the three of you. But she did say that since you met your girlfriend you've gotten better. I'm glad to see you're slowly starting to grown up now."


And that was the final straw. Alex set down his utensils, stood up and took Amelia's hand. "Ames and I have to go. Goodbye." He practically pulled her out of her seat and out to the front.


"Alexander, wait." My mother called out. She went to stand up before Harvey stopped her.


"Don't, Elizabeth. Let him throw his fit."


Charlie and I both looked at each other before looking back down at our plates. We knew we had to let Alex go. He'd call later and go off about this. Frankly though, I don't blame him. This is not a good experience.


"Maybe we should get ready to call it a night." Charlie said.


"Already? But you all usually stay later than this." Mum said.


"It's been a long day. And Lily should get home and put her feet up."


I nodded. "And we're all still a bit tired and jetlagged."


"We're not tha-" Paul started, causing me to kick him lightly under the table.


"And we have to take Matt to a doctor's appointment early ‪tomorrow morning‬. Dr. Smith sent over all of Matt's paperwork from the states and I want to get him checked out here too so we know how to move forward."


"Oh, of course. Well, thank you all for coming to dinner." My mother said.


"We have to meet up with Susan and Anthony ‪this evening‬ anyway. It's probably best that we ended this dinner early." Harvey said.


"There's something we can agree on." Charlie mumbled lightly.


The two of us helped Mum clean up everything from dinner. Once everything was cleaned up we all went out separate ways and went home. Getting the kids bathed and in bed happened rather quickly as they were rather tired from the day.


Paul had taken Martha outside as I went upstairs and got into my nightgown.