Sophie waited outside the factory for her girlfriend to get off work. She loved to walk home with Maddie, hand in hand, on the days she had off and could do so. The brunette had never really been interested in working at the factory like her mother, but she had known many of the women there for her entire life. It was thrilling to see her girlfriend light up as she talked about all the factory goss. Sophie liked seeing Maddie be part of a group that built her up, rather than tore her down.
Her mother emerged from the factory heading straight for her. She looked a little frazzled but that wasn't unusual. Since she'd gotten the PA job, she had been a little bit more of a stress ball. Training the new management intern hadn't made it any easier either.
"Hey mum" Sophie waved as nonchalantly as she could. However the closer her mum got the more tense she felt just watching her.
"I've got news! Your sister called. She has deemed it acceptable to spend her birthday and new years at home this year" her mother said with her best mix of cheerfulness and anxiety.
"Can you tell your father?" she asked.
"Of course!" Sophie squealed.
Sophie was genuinely surprised and excited to see her wannabe model sister. It had been a while since she had seen her sister although they talked on the phone. Rosie was an expert at finding excuses for not visiting Weatherfield, even though London was only 2 hours away by train. There was always a job, or party, or boyfriend who needed her instead. However Sophie suspected she just didn't want to deal with Tim and her mother's relationship. Or maybe she just didn't want to be reminded of her past or maybe even see Jason Grimshaw.
"I have to try to get Tim to clean up the house. I expect she'll want to stay with us" her mum said frustratedly.
"Oh mum! You'll never get that lazybones to do a decent job. Maddie and I can do it" Sophie offered.
She didn't want Rosie finding any excuse to stay with them. For one reason they didn't have the space, and honestly she liked the idea of putting some space between them. It's not that she didn't love her sister, but Rosie Webster tended to be overwhelming in any room that she inhabited. Sophie was used to it, but Maddie was not, and she didn't want to overload her too quickly.
"Oh great! I hate to ask but there's just so much to do and there's this holiday work do to arrange…" Sally shook her head exasperated.
"No prob mum! Yeah Mads told me you guys are renting out a Mini-bus aye?" Sophie asked.
Actually, Maddie was pretty excited. She'd never been a part of any holiday work party and the goss was that Carla was really splashing the cash. Sally nodded a confirmation then filled her in on the details of the imminent arrival of Hurricane Rosie.
"Maddie will be out in a minute with the rest of the girls" Sally said as she turned toward the factory with a grin.
"Yeah, I'll have to prepare her for Rosie won't I?" Sophie laughed.
"We'll all have to prepare won't we?" Sally laughed back.
"Your sister aye?" Maddie said more to herself then to Sophie.
Sophie shook her head excitedly. Maddie desperately tried to play it cool as they walked home from the factory. However her shaky breathing and inability to look Sophie in the eye were giving her away. She loved to see her girlfriend so soppily happy and excited. It streamed from her body like a kinetic energy that made her even more beautiful.
Nonetheless Maddie instantly felt her insecurity kick in as she realized that now she was meeting another family member. And not just any family member! Sophie had told her some of the crazy epic stories and she had seen the pictures. Now this seemingly larger than life character was going to become a real flesh and bone person. It was a big deal for Maddie Heath. She'd felt the same way when Sophie's father had come home and she had just legged it. Family situations were new and scary territory.
"Everything will be fine" Sophie said squeezing her hand.
"And when is she getting here?" Maddie asked as they turned the corner onto their street.
"In a few hours so we have time to clean up at Mum's for her to stay there" Sophie answered.
"And give Tim fair warning" Maddie smirked. Sophie nodded.
She turned to face Maddie directly while holding both her hands. Maddie couldn't look Sophie in the eyes, so she kept her head down inspecting the cobbles. She felt Sophie place one of hands under Maddie's chin and lift it up to face her.
"Stop fretting. My sister's a bit daft and crazy but you've faced worse than a glamour model aye?" Sophie smiled and kissed her on the lips softly and quickly. Maddie let out a relieved breath and rolled her eyes before returning a grin.
"All right! Just for you!" Maddie smirked.
"Of course you will you softie! It's because you love me!" she laughed as they headed back down the street.
Sophie kept her eyes out the window. Rosie was supposed to arrive by cab at anytime. They had cleaned her mum's house from top to bottom. Of course Tim had escaped to the pub claiming that he had "window cleaning rounds". Sophie and Maddie knew what that meant but didn't feel like calling him out.
"He'll need the liquid fortification to spend a week with my sister" Sophie shrugged.
She didn't feel like dealing with him anyway. Eagerly anticipating her sister's arrival, she was enjoying the calm before the storm. As children the sisters had hated each other intensely. They couldn't be more different which made their rows epic. It was a wonder that lives hadn't been lost.
Yet, Rosie had supported her when she came out. Sophie never forgot that her sister had gone up against her mum supporting her gay sister's side. It had bonded them in a way that wiped away their sibling rivalry. She realized that underneath all that mascara was a big beating heart. Sophie had decided that she no longer felt the need to be angry toward her slapper of a sister. They still fought and disagreed, of course, but Sophie knew that her sister loved her. And that was the most important thing to remember when she was being daft and crazy.
A honk from the street made her rush to the window. Throwing open the curtains she openly squealed in delight. Rosie Webster had arrived.
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