Completely & Stupidly: Forever and Ever

Chapter 6. Vanessa

 Vanessa knew that Charity was on her way home before she could see her figure pass by the window because the unmistakable sound of bickering could be heard near the front door as right on queue her sister and wife to be traipsed inside. Luckily though they seemed to be in a rather playful mood and so she took a sharp exhale of breath, glad that she wasn't about to be caught up in one of their silly arguments, again. "V will you tell her?" Tracey moaned, jamming her fingers in her ears, following her sentence up with a string of 'La La La's'. "Aw God, what's she done now?" Vanessa joked, throwing her head back. "I was just telling your sister how much I love you" Charity confessed, as she leaned over to kiss her on the forehead from behind the sofa. "And the rest" Tracey huffed trying desperately to block out the unwanted images formed in her mind of Charity's very detailed description of her love. "Aw that's nice" Vanessa cooed, enjoying the attention either way, "What are you doing back here anyway? Are you stopping for tea? Although I have to warn you, Charity's cooking tonight" Vanessa laughed to herself. "No, no, I came to steal away Johnny and Moses for the night, again" She said, shooting a glance at Charity as she spoke. "Oh? How come?", "Charity wants to show you how much she loves you" Tracey mumbled, not daring to look at the expressions on either of their faces as Vanessa connected the dots to her sugar-coated words. Though unfortunately for her; Vanessa's lips slipped out a quiet growl as she allowed Charity to pull her close for another kiss, this time on the lips. "Oh, please wait until I've left before you go ripping each other's clothes off" Tracey cried, using her hand to cover her eyes. "That wouldn't take very long" Charity flirted as she tugged at the cord on Vanessa's dressing gown and peered down at her cleavage beneath the Criss crossed material . Vanessa giggled but pulled herself away from her before she accidentally exposed herself. "Talking about leaving, are Sarah and Noah around?" Charity asked, cocking her head to see if she could hear either of their voices muffled from up the stairs. "Nope, left about an hour ago. I thought I was going to have to fight Sarah over the length of her skirt but luckily my amazing compromising skills meant it didn't end in raised voices after all" Vanessa told, "Oh? What did you give her? Not more money?", "Uh no, an extra hour out in exchange for an age appropriate outfit" Vanessa said proudly with a smug smile. Charity let her head bounce from side to side as she weighed up the compromise in her head before nodding her agreement. "Ah, so that just leaves the gruesome twosome then" Charity joked. "Boys'' she added, shouting up the stairs for Johnny and Moses. "I'll go'' Vanessa smiled and she ran up to help their little ones quickly get ready for another sleepover with their favourite auntie. As a short silence filled up the room around them, Charity awkwardly slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and took a few steps over to the kitchen in order to catch Tracey's eye. "Trace, on a serious note though, thank you for your help today. I've been stuck in such a rut trying to get my feelings written down-" She spoke softly to make sure Vanessa couldn't overhear them, "You're welcome" Tracey beamed, "What you said was beautiful so I'm sure what you got from the recording is super special and that V will love it", "I hope so" Charity smiled shyly as her insides started to flutter again just thinking about her vows. As they stood smiling at one another, Vanessa briskly reappeared with an overnight bag and Johnny and Moses, who were already in their matching dinosaur pyjamas. "Oh wow" Tracey exclaimed as Moses interrupted them as he pulled forcefully at the hem of his t-shirt to proudly show off the cartoon T-Rex upon it. The two boys giggled while they roared ferociously at one another for a moment. "Alright, Alright, you little terrors. Pop your coats on, we don't want to keep Auntie Tracey waiting any longer, do we?" Charity called out over the racket as the room filled with laughter and rubbish dinosaur impressions, easily slipping back into her teasing of Tracey by winking at her over boys' heads. Tracey cringed and immediately knelt down to help the kids put on their shoes as Vanessa forced their stumpy little arms into their coats, zipping them up nice and warm, while Charity stood laughing to herself. "Any problems, just give me a text and I'll get back to you" Vanessa insisted, "When possible" Charity butted in, slipping her arm around Vanessa's waist. Tracey sighed at yet another of Charity's attempts to gross her out but didn't take the bite. Instead, she smiled and took the boys hands and headed for the door. "Well, goodnight then" She said with an awkward bow that reflected the confusion on all of their faces as she stood upright again. "Yeah, goodnight" Charity rushed over to the door with pursed lips and quickly locked it the second they stepped over the threshold. As their sons headed back over to Tug Ghyll, Vanessa could feel her heart begin to pound in her chest as she and Charity finally found themselves alone. Slowly, Charity turned to face her and for just a moment they stood completely still with their eyes locked on one another before Charity ran her tongue across her lip and launched herself forwards. Vanessa let out a loud squeal and a burst of adrenaline coursed through her as she was chased across the room and up the stairs. When they made it to the top, their hurried footsteps quietened and their flirtatious laughter died out behind passionate kisses as they reached their bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them.
 The doorbell rang unexpectedly early and made Charity and Vanessa jump at the sound of its ringing causing them both to glance towards the clock. "Well that's the fastest they've ever been" Charity mentioned, as she rose from the sofa. "Good cause I am starving" Vanessa replied. The two of them almost bumped into each other and ended up looking as if they had burst into an unplanned dance as they attempted to sidestep past one another on their way to opposite sides of the room. "Hi, thank you, thank you" Charity emphasised her words as she handed over a handful of cash in exchange for the takeaway they had ordered, while the loud clattering and clanging of cutlery echoed from the kitchen as Vanessa prepared their plates. The letterbox fluttered as the door closed and Charity rushed to the coffee table as their hot food began to burn at her fingertips. "Smell that" She called out excitedly, inhaling a deep breath as the room filled with the distinct scent of sweet and sour sauce. One by one she unloaded the little silver cartons and with one of the forks Vanessa had brought over she scooped out their contents onto the plates. "Aw no" Vanessa gasped as she rummaged around inside the now empty plastic bag. "What?" Charity asked, turning her head quickly to see what was wrong. "They forgot the prawn crackers" Vanessa replied, poking out her bottom lip as she thought about eating her food without the sound of rice crackling upon the little white crackers. "What? I'm not having that" Charity overreacted, "No wonder it came so soon-", "No, Charity please don't make a fuss. The last time you called a restaurant to complain they black listed us" Vanessa sighed, not wanting to be banned from ordering from another Chinese takeaway. "But babe, prawn crackers" Charity stressed, gesturing to the empty bag with her outstretched hands. "It's fine, we'll just stick a comment in the box next time and ask for double", "Demand double" Charity insisted. Vanessa took a deep inhale which caused her shoulders to rise as they both looked at their cracker less dinners in disappointment but dug in anyway.
 Cuddling on the sofa had become a favourite pastime of Vanessa's as of late. Saving for the wedding had meant they were forced to spend more weekends at home rather than at the pub or swanky restaurants but she really didn't mind, she much preferred relaxing at home being Charity's big spoon while they watched old TV dramas or cheesy 80s movies in the dark. "There's a jumpy part coming, I can sense it" Charity whispered, her head resting upon Vanessa's chest. "Shh" Vanessa whispered as she patted down Charity's hair as it had now gotten in the way as she tried to see over the top of her head. "Oh, I can't look," Charity squirmed as the character on the screen took a corner under the night sky, and so she held her hand over her eyes but parted her fingers so she could still see between them. "He should have stayed home, she's going to get him now" Vanessa spoke softly, anticipating the villain's next move. Charity's body tensed up against Vanessa's and so she subconsciously gave her a little comforting squeeze. Eerie music trickled through the speakers as the big murder scene began to build up tension on screen and as a terrifying screech sounded and the flash of a knife became visible on screen, a loud banging and shouting thundered from the living room window. In unison, Charity and Vanessa screamed in horror only to find Sarah and Noah laughing on the other side of the glass. Vanessa's heart skipped a beat but she laughed it off with the kids as they fell through the door in hysterics. Charity on the other hand had clutched her chest in fear and took a moment longer to realise that there was no real danger. "You pair of bloody idiots" She shouted, her words coming out in bursts as she threw a cushion at each of them as hard as she could. "You should have seen your faces" Sarah howled, pointing and falling into Noah as she laughed. Noah had managed to catch one of the cushions and threw it back at his mother who now sat perched on the end of the sofa attempting to catch her breath. "Did you think the big scary monster was going to get you?" Noah asked in a feigned sacred voice as he thrusted the cushion back at her. "It wasn't a monster actually, it was a person so it was much more realistic, thank you very much" Charity snapped, kicking herself on the inside that she had let the kids see how much they had actually frightened her. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," Vanessa chuckled, wrapping her arms around Charity, who attempted to wriggle free from her grasp. "Oh, you will, will you? Cause I could have actually died just now but I didn't see you protecting me then babe?" Charity gasped, trying to make Vanessa feel bad for laughing rather than jumping to her defence. Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Drama Queen" She muttered. Charity turned and smiled smugly, and forced the cushion that was on her lap into Vanessa's face, which only made her laugh again. "Did you have a good night? We weren't expecting you just yet" Vanessa spoke, surprised that two rebellious teenagers had not only come home on time, but half an hour early too. "Yeah it was alright, I couldn't get a taxi so we jumped in with a mate from school" Sarah explained. "Aw, you should have phoned, I'd have come and picked you up", "Erm, no don't ever do that. It would be bad enough being seen being picked up by my Mum, never mind my Granny's wife" Sarah laughed. "Granny's wife?" Vanessa repeated Sarah's description and pulled a face at the sudden realisation that she was right, she would soon technically be her and Jack's step-grandmother. "Granny's wife" Charity laughed not remembering that she was the said 'Granny' in the conversation. "Oi you. Anyway, I'm not your wife yet" Vanessa teased. "Ooh, yet" Charity mocked, poking Vanessa playfully until they both giggled excitedly like schoolgirls. "And on that note, I'm off to bed" Noah breathed, not wanting to witness his mother snogging, or anything else, as the supposed 'adults' once again turned the conversation into a soppy love fest. "Aw not without a goodnight kiss from your mother" Charity cried out playfully, rising from the sofa to attempt to kiss her teenage son, who proceeded to run up the stairs as fast as he could. Charity stopped at the bottom of the stairs and laughed to herself as Noah shot her a smile from the top. "Goodnight" Sarah breathed as she too followed Noah's lead and headed up the stairs to bed. "Goodnight" Charity nodded. While her back was still turned, Vanessa snook over to the staircase and crept up on Charity, and grabbed her by the hips and laughed maniacally. Once again, Charity let out a scream and felt her legs turn to jelly for a moment before Vanessa's face appeared clearly before her, her eyes wrinkled with laughter. "Idiot" She muttered. "You love me though" Vanessa whispered, popping her arms around Charity's neck, leaning in for another kiss. "Do I?" Charity questioned, but broke rank with a small smile and kissed her anyway. "Yes, I do" she then followed up as they broke away again. "Not long until we'll be saying those words for real" Vanessa smiled, looking up into Charity's eyes. "Are you nervous?" Charity asked quietly. Vanessa tilted her head, wondering why Charity seemed so down all of a sudden. "It's just. You are going to turn up, right? You're not going to leave me waiting at the aisle. Cause if you get cold feet and don't want to marry me anymore-" She rushed. "Where's all this come from?" Vanessa interrupted. She felt a wave of emotion come over her and wanted to scoop Charity up into her arms. "Of course, I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you" She insisted, as she took her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm just so used to messing everything up and wrecking everything good in my life. And I really don't want to mess up what I have with you" Charity explained. "And you won't. We're in this together, you, me and the kids. We're a family" Vanessa cooed and rubbed her thumb across Charity's cheek, making her smile in the process. "I am nervous though. Not about turning up or anything like that. I'm nervous about hearing these vows of yours. And how dirty they're going to be, or-", "Dirty?" Charity gasped, a sparkle starting to appear in her eye. "What do you take me for? There we'll be standing in front of all our friends and family and you think I'm going to say something rude?" Charity teased, her mood lightening back up tremendously. "Well, I wouldn't put it past you" Vanessa giggled. "Why, what were you expecting me to say?" Charity cocked her head and brought her lips to Vanessa's ear and whispered. Small goosebumps scattered across her skin as her warm breath cascaded with her neck and she whispered sweet nothings to her while pulling her in closer. "Something like that?" She asked, trying her best to look innocent as Vanessa began to fluster and blush. "Or, maybe something like this?" She purred and once again she spoke of naughty fantasies that made Vanessa fidget. Frustrated, she bit down on her lip and allowed Charity to whisk her over to the sofa with a hint that she knew what was about to happen.