Easter
"Mam, can we go on one of those?" Michael pointed at the luminous yellow vehicle parked up across the road from the London Eye.
"Eh, I don't know Michael; we've just been on the wheel. Perhaps we can save it fer another time?" Janice was conscious of her budget and was loathe to keep allowing Caroline to pay for things all the time. She never wanted to be accused of not paying her fair share.
"Why not? It's a lovely day and we should get some great views!" Caroline almost sounded as whiny as Michael.
"Can I 'ave a word?" Janice asked her lover with thinly veiled annoyance and a slightly raised eyebrow. Michael looked between the two women and his face fell.
"Are you going to have a row?" The poor lad looked distraught.
"Course not love, go and sit at that bench fer a moment while we decide what to do next." Janice let go of her son's hand and watched as he skipped off into the distance. She turned to Caroline and sighed.
"I can't afford fer us to do two trips in one day an' I refuse to allow you to pay for it, you've already paid fer too much as it is. Won't do 'im any 'arm to wait sometimes." Caroline took Janice's hands in her own and squeezed them gently with what she hoped was reassurance.
"Honey, we've been through this before; how often do we all get the chance to spend time together like this? Besides, who else am I going to spend my money on if not you and the kids?" Caroline glanced over to the bench and saw that Michael was leafing through an abandoned copy of the Metro. She dropped her lover's hands as she stepped closer and encircled her waist. She placed a quick and gentle kiss to her lips.
"Relax, you're on holiday, let me spoil you." Janice sank into the embrace and knew that she was going to give in; how could she resist when Caroline seemed just as excited as Michael?
"What about Telle? They'll be 'ere soon." Janice's older daughter had been staying at a hotel as there hadn't been room for her, Geoff and the baby at Caroline's flat.
"Why don't we get a coffee and wait for them to catch us up? We can all take the tour together then." Janice stepped out of their embrace, conscious of Michael, and nodded in agreement.
"I get far too soft when I'm with you." Janice clasped Caroline's hand as they turned and walked back to Michael.
"That's why you love me!" Caroline grinned before realising what she had said and let her smile drop.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Whether she intended to finish the sentence or not became irrelevant as Michael bounded up to them as he saw them approach. He tugged on each of their free hands, joining the three of them together.
"So, what are we going to do now?" The lad grinned up at the two women, expectation and excitement written all over his face. The brief moment of concern left Janice's face as she laughed with her son and explained their plans. Michael wedged himself between the two women, swinging his hands in theirs as they walked off in search of a coffee shop.
"Can I have a hot chocolate? With cream on top? And chocolate sprinkles?" The youngster looked up at his mum with a big grin on his face. Janice looked at Caroline and smiled, the earlier moment of awkwardness forgotten.
"Yeah Janice, please may I have a hot chocolate with cream on top too?" The American grinned back at her lover and winked at Michael conspiratorially.
"And chocolate sprinkles!" Michael reminded his friend. Janice couldn't help but burst into laughter and hugged Michael and Caroline closer to her.
"What am I going to do with you two?"
"That was awesome! I want another go in the water!" Michael excitedly exclaimed as he jumped out of the large yellow vehicle. Janice tentatively stepped down the small metallic steps that didn't look sturdy enough to her mind. Telle followed and passed baby Coolio down to her mum whilst she disembarked, closely followed by Caroline who didn't look quite so confident. By the time Caroline had helped Telle pop the buggy back up, Michael was harassing the driver, asking all sorts of questions about how the multi-functional vehicle worked. Janice jiggled her slightly grizzly grandson in her arms as she kept an eye on Michael and waited for Telle and Caroline to catch them up. Geoff had declined spending the day with them as he had wanted to go to a comic book shop called Forbidden Planet and explore the Trocadero.
"Auntie Caroline, I'm going to learn how to drive a duck boat when I grow up!" Janice chuckled as the older woman found herself with an armful of nine year old ADD hyperactivity and Coolio's overstuffed day bag wedged between them. Janice sat her grandson in the buggy and strapped him in while Telle untangled the bag from Caroline's shoulders and packed it onto the buggy. Michael wrapped his long skinny limbs around Caroline and she hoisted him up onto her hip.
"Thank you, I've had a brill day!" He kissed her cheek as he snuggled into her arms.
"Michael! Yer cheeky sod! 'ow many times 'ave I told you? Yer not a baby anymore, you've got a pair of legs, use 'em!" He reluctantly let go of Caroline and slid down her body until his feet touched the ground. Instead he took hold of her hand and pressed himself closely into her side as they began to walk to the Southbank for a stroll along the riverfront.
"Mam, you and Caroline...are yer shagging each other?" Janice couldn't say that she was overly surprised at the bluntness of her daughter's words, though she had hoped the young mum would have chosen a better time to have brought the subject up. Janice's hesitation gave her away, as well as the flash of heat that surged through her causing a crimson blush in her cheeks. Not only was she going to have to explain the situation to her daughter but she was certain the older woman had overheard. Caroline had brought Michael and her to a stop a little way in front of them and waited until they had caught up. She looked Telle in the eyes and smiled awkwardly.
"Shall I take Michael and Coolio on ahead?" she glanced over to her lover who gave her a grateful nod. Telle handed Caroline the buggy handles and gave an awkward thanks. Janice waited until Caroline was out of earshot before she turned to Telle to begin.
"Telle, it's not quite what you think..."
"That's what everyone says!" The younger woman began to walk faster in indignation. Janice grabbed hold of her arm and forced her to look at her.
"Don't you dare judge me! I've been nothing but supportive to you and baby Coolio, give me a chance to explain things first yeah?" Telle nodded reluctantly but allowed her mother to talk.
"Yer dad knows; he's known from the beginning. In fact he actually encouraged it." That earned a shocked glance from the young mum, but she remained quiet so that Janice could continue.
"I still don't quite understand it all meself. I know I've been attracted to a few women over the years, before and after I met yer father. But I never allowed myself to explore it; I thought it was wrong an' that I should be getting on meeting lads. I really wanted kids and knew I 'ad to 'ave a normal life for that. So I ignored it and whenever I met someone I liked I tried to pretend that I didn't feel anything. When yer dad and I got together and 'ad you we were 'appy, that I promise you. And I do love 'im, very much so, but there's still this part of me that's always felt...unfulfilled."
"I think I'm even more confused..."
"Yer not the only one!"
"Okay, so Caroline...?"
"You already know we met in Benidorm last year and became friends. Yer dad saw the attraction between us before we even realised it ourselves. He'd seen it happen before with someone else, years ago. He thought that I should get it out of me system, be with a woman I mean."
"You mean sex?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, so that was in Benidorm but what about now? What's all this about?" Janice shrugged.
"We're friends, we like each other, a lot."
"But you're still sleeping with each other." It wasn't a question and Janice had the grace to blush once again.
"Yeah."
"So is it serious? Are you going to leave me dad?" Janice looked ahead and saw Caroline animatedly talking to Michael as she happily pushed Coolio along in the buggy. She'd really connected with her son and he absolutely adored her in return. She'd taken to Telle and Coolio too, despite not really knowing her as well and having no experience with babies. Janice thought about the weekends they'd spent together since Benidorm, essentially living as a couple and how she'd been introduced to Caroline's close friends. Her heart clenched with some unidentified feeling she would have sworn was heartache if she hadn't known better and shook her head.
"No darlin', of course not. It's just casual fun, that's all. I'm sure it will run its course eventually." There was a slight waver to her voice and Janice had to shake herself free from whatever that feeling was that had lodged itself in her throat.
"Come on; let's enjoy the rest of the afternoon."
Meanwhile, back in Manchester, Mick found himself confessing all to the one person he never would have imagined having this conversation with. Madge was a formidable woman at the best of times; she'd never really had a good word to say about him so he wasn't sure he would qualify for her sympathy. At first he had been right, she'd called him an idiot for letting his wife sleep with someone else in the first place. However, as the telephone conversation had progressed he found that he had an ally, someone else who wondered just when this 'casual affair' was going to end so that life could go back to normal once again. Despite initially getting on well; Madge had become wary of Caroline ever since she'd caught her and Janice snogging the face off each other back in Benidorm last year. The burning dislike grew from there; the American seemed a bit dodgy and swanned around with an air of confidence that made her suspicious. She also appeared to flash her money around at will, which of course proved an attractive lure for Janice. Besides, she'd corrupted her daughter with her lesbian ways and that was reason enough in her book. The last straw was when Mick told her that Michael was staying with them in London and Madge couldn't help but wonder what effect that was going to have on the young and impressionable lad.
Janice had demanded that she cook dinner that evening to repay Caroline for her generosity. The older woman wasn't going to complain, they'd done a lot of sightseeing and there were still another two days of holiday left – she needed all the rest she could get! Janice had been out in the kitchen for forty minutes or so before she'd called out and asked if Caroline wanted a glass of wine. When no response had been forthcoming she went out into the living room and couldn't help but smile with tears in her eyes at the sight before her. Caroline was laid out on the settee with her back against the cushions and Michael was tucked up against her, held in place by a protective arm wrapped around his middle. They were both fast asleep and looked so utterly at peace. Janice leaned against the door frame and looked at them for a long time, taking in what a wonderful sight it was.
A short while later Janice was reading a paper at the dining table when Caroline made an appearance in the kitchen. Her hair was mussed and she only looked half awake. Janice smirked and thought it was the cutest sight she had ever seen.
"Hey." Caroline helped herself to a glass of water and sat down beside her lover.
"Evenin', enjoy yer nap?" Caroline swatted Janice's shoulder and leaned in for a small hug. She yawned just as she was about to speak.
"I meant to ask, how was your talk with Telle?"
"Fine, she knows the situation."
"And she was alright with it?"
"She got upset when she thought it meant I was going to leave 'er dad, but I told her that it's just casual between us. She thinks it's weird but she'll live with it." Caroline couldn't help the little clench of her heart when Janice put their relationship in those terms and so non-chalantly too. She'd gone from feeling like a big part of her life to being dismissed so easily in almost a heartbeat. She knew she had no claim to Janice's heart but she had hoped their friendship counted for something. She tried to keep her thoughts from being read in her face.
"Are you okay with her knowing?"
"My sex life wasn't something I particularly wanted to discuss with my nineteen year old daughter, but then again neither was becoming a grandmother in me early forties. But yeah, we've come to an understanding of sorts." Caroline reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair away from Janice's face, pressing a small kiss to her cheek as she dropped her hand and backed away. The moment was disturbed by an almighty thump that seemed to have originated from the living room. Both women stood up sharply and hurriedly made their way into the room. Michael was sprawled out on the floor looking a bit dazed having obviously fallen off the settee in his sleep. Janice wasn't an unfeeling mother but she had to chuckle as Caroline made her way over to the lad and comforted him. Yeah, things were going to be just fine Janice thought as Caroline had her son laughing within moments and the bumped head long forgotten about.