One More Try

Guilt

Reg's guilty conscience kept him up that night. He should have never walked Anne home, he shouldn't have sent her mixed signals which he'd apparently done. And he sure as hell shouldn't have kissed her back for that split second. It had been stupid, he hadn't been thinking. He'd been used to it from their stage kisses, it had been a habit kicking in, not actual desire, but that was no excuse for his wrongdoing.

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Over in Milan, Reg wasn't the only person awake at that time of night. In another part of town, a young girl named Elizabetta Lombardi carefully took a roll of film out of her camera and handed it to her uncle.
"I don't know if there's anything useful on it, but I was out near the theatre tonight and took some pictures." She smiled, she knew that her uncle paid well for any pictures he could sell and that money was a welcome supplement to her pocket money.
"Well, Eliza, I'll have it developed tomorrow afternoon and then we can look at the pictures. I'll pay the film plus a tenner for every picture we use, as usual?" He was more than happy to pay, his niece was a keen photographer, like he'd been in his youth, and he wanted to support and encourage her, much to his brother's dismay. The girl smiled.
"We have a deal, thank you Uncle Tony." And that was that. They had no idea Eliza had accidentally documented what could easily become a massive scandal. For now, Eliza was just happy that maybe one day she would have her big break as a photographer, not knowing that this break would come much sooner and not at all in the way that she had expected.

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Back in London, Jean couldn't sleep either, she couldn't wait to see Reg again, even though the thought of travelling with Ophelia without any help made her a little anxious. All the suitcases were packed, everything was taken care of and so on Friday all she and she had to do was counting down the minutes until Ophelia's last class ended. They drove straight to the airport, there was no reason to wait any longer. Ophelia was excited for her very first flight, the airport and everything that happened fascinated her. She got a window seat and Ophelia enjoyed looking out of the window, seeing the clouds and later the sea, where she spied tiny little boats and later the coastline of mainland Europe. Pheli also had lots of fun with the the little drawing kit the stewardess had brought her and generally enjoyed the whole experience. She truly felt like a young lady. Jean sat next to her daughter and tried to relax, which wasn't easy, despite flying first class. Everything would be fine, that's what she kept telling herself. Usually she wasn't nervous when flying, that was Cissy's specialty, but with Pheli it was different. She always worried about her baby getting hurt and suddenly a plane crash didn't seem too outlandish anymore. She was relieved when they finally landed in Milan and could get off the plane. There were some photographers on the tarmac already, so she put some sunglasses on an did the same for Ophelia. She looked like a smaller version of Jean, which didn't deter the photographers, but at least parts of her face were covered. Jean loathed the thought of having her daughter in the spotlight and not having control over who saw her and knew about her, but that was their life now and they would make it work. Ophelia however couldn't care any less about all the attention, ever since exiting the plane she only had one concern.
"When can we see daddy? Where's he? Is he here yet?" She kept asking her mother who was scrambling to keep everything organised, have their passports ready and a thousand other things.
"You will see daddy very soon, little love. First we need to show our passports and get our suitcases." Thankfully passport control wasn't very crowded that day and they didn't have to wait long for their suitcases either. When they walked through the doors and Ophelia saw Reg waiting for them, she dropped her mother's hand and started running towards him. Jean sighed and shook her head. Reg hadn't spotted them yet, but that changed when Ophelia started shouting.
"DADDY! DADDY!" He finally saw her, chuckled and bent down to hug her, which was good because Ophelia stumbled and almost fell over, but he caught her.
"There's my big girl! I swear, you have grown since last Sunday!" He gave her a big hug and a kiss on her forehead. The photographers loved that scene but he ignored them. He'd missed his daughter. So, so much. "Pheli, darling, where's your mum?"
Pheli shrugged. "Right behind me somewhere I guess. Hi daddy."
"You shouldn't run away from her like that, that could be dangerous." She smiled sheepishly. Jean was pushing the cart with their luggage and gave Reg a wave. He smiled. For a moment there was just pure joy, he finally had his family back, even if it was just for a weekend. He knew that he had to talk to Jean about what had happened the night before and he seriously worried about the outcome of that talk, but for now, he was just so, so excited to see them and especially Jean, looking so lovely in her blue ensemble.
"There she is. Let's go and help her with the luggage." They went over and while Ophelia climbed onto the cart, Reg greeted Jean with a kiss.
"Hello my beloved." He said quietly, he hoped that she knew he meant it.
"Hi there." Jean blushed, suddenly she was a little insecure and shy, maybe things would be weird between them after not seeing each other for a week, even though they had spoken on the phone every night. But there was no reason to worry, Reg was his usual self, even though she seemed to sense something that was off about him, a hint of sadness? Maybe he was just tired.
"I like your outfit." He winked and they both laughed. No, everything seemed to be just fine, just like things always were. They pushed the cart towards the exit where Cissy and Wilf were waiting for them. Ophelia was thrilled to see them and jumped off the cart. "Everyone is there! Hi aunty Cissy, hi Wilf!" She skipped over to them to give them a hug and Jean made a mental note to talk to her daughter about running off in public, especially now that so many people knew who she was. She didn't dare thinking about what could happen.
"Hi there, have you missed us?" Wilf lifted Ophelia up and twirled her around which made her giggle.
"I missed you almost as much as I missed my daddy." Then she spied the most beautiful red car right outside the building. "Uuuhm Wilf, is that your convertible over there?" She asked curiously. Ophelia was fascinated by fast cars and loved driving around in convertibles, feeling the wind in her hair, the sun on her skin and the envious looks of the people they drove past. She was certainly her mother's daughter, with a taste for the finer things in life, even at her young age.
"It is indeed, young lady." Wilf was amused, they had anticipated this exact reaction. Ophelia turned to her mother, tilted her head just a little bit and put on her best puppy eyes. She knew that this would make it very hard for her mum to say no to her.
"Mummy, can I go in their car, pleeeaaase? I want them to take me for a spin." Cissy chuckled a little but Jean was almost a little embarrassed by her daughter's forcefulness.
"How about you ask Cissy and Wilf if it's okay with them first?" Pheli turned around and now gave Cissy and Wilf her very best puppy eyes and even managed a "pretty please", Jean had to bite her lip to not laugh out loud. Her daughter was a force to be reckoned with.
"Of course it is", Cissy replied, "After all, I haven't seen my goddaughter in ages. How would you like to get a tour of the city and we'll take you for some ice cream afterwards?"
"Yes, yes, yes, Mummy, may I? Pleeeaaase?" Ophelia was so incredibly excited, this was easily one of the best days ever, it felt almost like it was like her birthday again. Jean threw Cissy and Wilf a grateful look and Wilf winked at her. They knew that Jean and Reg would need some privacy.
"Alright, as long as you are back for dinner." Jean said, pretending to be strict.
"She will be back at seven, safe and sound." They promised. Jean opened of the suitcases and gave them a booster seat for Ophelia. Safety first, as always, even though Ophelia protested a little because "booster seats are for little babies."
"Have fun, and remember to do what Cissy and Wilf tell you, yes?" Pheli nodded, she just wanted to go already.
"I will. Bye Mum and Dad!" And with those words she took Cissy's hand and walked with them to their car without looking back even once.
"Reggie, you really thought about everything." Jean said quietly and slid her hand into his. Reg smiled at her, for now he would allow himself to enjoy at least a few moments with her.
"I had enough time to plan for your arrival, pretty thing." His attention made Jean's face turn an even deeper shade of red. Reg took her suitcase and another bag and carried them to his car, which was parked a little further away. Only when everything was taken care of, he finally pulled her into his arms and gave her a proper kiss, long, gentle and yet very promising. Jean was on cloud nine and she fully intended to stay there for the remainder of the weekend. She really had no idea and Reg felt another pang of guilt. He was the worst.