"At least she's coming."
"What?" I handed Gary the scribbled note. 'Happy anniversary, at Jack's all weekend, see you at the party.'"
"Come on, we'd better get ready, don't want to miss our reservation." This sounded worryingly like there would be a surprise at some point during the evening. "Actually we really had better hurry up, the taxi is due in less than an hour."
I didn't know where we were going, evidently it was part of my anniversary surprise that I had been promised.
"Preston, table for two."
"Very good sir, follow me please."
We had barely sat down when a waiter came over with a bottle of champagne, followed by a man in chef whites that I, correctly, presumed to be the boss, and very vaguely recognised, think he's one of Gary's cousins.
"This and, the whole meal in fact are on the house."
"Andy, you didn't need to do that. Miranda, you remember Andy?"
"Were you living in New Zealand?" Hope I had the right one, potentially very embarrassing.
"Yes, we just moved back a couple of months ago, thankfully having a contact in the restaurant world helps, this place needed a new chef and manager so we took the jobs."
We exchanged presents before the food came, easier than trying to guess the interval between courses. Gary gave me a beautiful silver necklace with our birthstones and the date of our wedding engraved in it.
"You took me to Paris for our 10th anniversary, so," I said handing over the envelope that contained his present. "I'm taking you to Rome, so we can spend 4 days wobbling about on Vespa's."
I was expecting a dessert menu, instead we got a cake covered in sparklers and candles, and everyone attempting to sing 'happy anniversary to you' to the tune of happy birthday, which didn't quite work, but was a lovely touch, and the cake was delicious, but we couldn't hide the fact we were eager to get home.
The next afternoon was spent decorating the hall for the party, putting up the streamers and banners, this is where having a tall husband is very useful, and helping mum set up the bu
"Mum, dad. Happy anniversary. I know it's not wrapped, but the shop took longer than we thought to finish it." I took it out of the bag and was surprised to see a canvas print of our first Christmas as a family, with Amy in a mass of wrapping paper and Gary and I in our paper hats. I tried to say thank you, but instead burst into tears. Thankfully Gary saved the day.
"Thank you Amy, it's lovely."
"Actually it's from both of us."
"Well, thank you too Jack, where did you find this photo?"
"I was in the attic with mum looking for the pictures on the walls when I found it, and the place next door to work converts photos to canvases." I finally managed to speak.
"Obviously you won't remember this, but you loved that wrapping paper, in fact you tried to eat some of it."
"Do you have any more embarrassing stories."
"Yes, loads. I'm sure Jack would love to hear them."
"No he wouldn't, and we're going to find the others." To make sure she actually turned up we said she could have a few friends come, as the prospect of spending the whole evening with the family was 'beyond hell' and threatened not to turn up.
The rest of the evening passed in a haze of drinking and goodwill, well it did until Amy and her friends decided that they didn't like the music, and within a couple of songs the non teenage guests (everyone else) were asking each other what they were listening too. The unexpected highlight was definitely mum attempting to dance Gangnam Style (even I know that one) and I did get dragged to the dancefloor by Stevie when Never Forget came on, and then spending the rest of the evening going on about when we went to see them love in uni and that I was no fun for not letting her flash Gary Barlow.
There was a slight mix up with the taxi which almost meant Gary's parents came home with us, which certainly would have put a dampener on Gary's intentions, even now he can make me blush, and the fact that he told me when we were the centre of attention didn't help. I was just getting changed when Gary came in after locking up, and this goes without saying, checking that there isn't a mad axe murderer in any of the rooms or hiding in the cupboard under the stairs (there had to be a downside to all the date nights we spent at uni watching horror movies). Despite knowing this, he decided to creep up on me and tap me on the arm, rather than act like a normal person. Naturally I jumped and screamed in terror.
"The 'Help Me I Think I'm About To Be Murdered' look really suits you."
"If anyone is getting murdered it's you, that' wasn't funny."
"Actually I think it is, I was going to say that you looked great at the party, but this is even better."
"Flattery will get you nowhere."
"Will a back rub help?"
"It might do, we'll just have to try it won't we?"
It was almost a week, if I was what would Gary say? More so what would Amy say?
"Mum, can I stay over at Jack's tonight?"
"No, it's a school night, you know the rules."
"But I'm working all weekend."
"That's not my fault is it?"
"Actually it is, you're the one that made me get a job."
"You want to go to Spain, you pay for it, you don't have to go, and don't go asking your dad behind my back."
"Earth to Miranda." That was when I noticed him waving his hands in front of my face. "I didn't know that wall was so interesting."
"Sorry?"
"You were miles away."
"Sorry, had another argument with Amy."
"I know she rang me because and I quote 'Mum's being a bitch again.'"
"I'm going to miss it though."
"I know, so will I."
I had decided to wait until it was exactly a week, not only to be more certain, but to try and get my head around the idea. I'm 42, nearly 43, have a daughter who's off to uni in a few weeks and I think I might be pregnant. I know mum will be thrilled, almost as soon as we had brought Amy home she was not very subtly asking if we were planning to have anymore. But we were happy as three, and now as we prepare to become two again, we may well be three.
As it was the day Amy was getting her A Level results we had taken the afternoon off and planned to take her out to lunch to congratulate, or in the worst case scenario, commiserate her on her results, but as usual she had made plans with her friends, presumably to practise the essential student skill of drinking. Not that I blame her if she does have a couple of drinks, she text me her results, a text not even a phone call, 4 A* is even better than we expected. As I had been dismissed by my own daughter, and Gary had decided that he could use the afternoon to sort through his VAT receipts I treated myself to lunch in town, though it was somewhat interrupted by people texting me to ask how Amy did, at least that's what I think mum's said, she has a new phone and hasn't quite mastered the predictive text yet.
After lunch I decided to go and get a test of my own, but when I got home I couldn't face it, so alphabetised all the CDs and DVDs and books by author, cleaned the oven, did all the laundry, and even cleared out all of the out of date tins from the cupboard, there were far more than I was expecting which is rather worrying. Eventually I could put it off no longer, checked what I was looking for on the instruction leaflet, that did puzzle me, they aren't the most complicated tests to take, and put all the bits in the bag it came from the chemists. I didn't want anyone to find it, in case I wasn't. Then did the necessary and began the wait, I was even more nervous than when I took the test to see if we were having Amy, at least we were trying then, this is a bit more of a surprise. My phone beeped to tell me that the test was ready and I rather nervously turned it over. It was positive.
I was having a cup of tea and trying to process the news when Gary came in.
"Gary I..."
"Sorry, I've really got..." And headed upstairs. He came down holding the test instructions, I must have forgotten to put them in the bag.
"I think we need to have a word with Amy, how does she think she's going to cope at uni with a baby."
"Gary, Gary, GARY!"
"Sorry."
"I agree that we are going to have to have a word with Amy, but I'm sure she'll cope fine at uni, the test isn't hers, it's mine. I'm pregnant."
"When? How?"
"I don't have to explain it do I."
"No I meant the how did you think you might be?"
"Oh, well I realised I was a couple of days 'late' but decided to wait the full week, today, just to be sure, and the when our anniversary weekend, we can be such a cliche sometimes. Are you OK?"
"More than OK, it not the sort of news you expect to get when you come in from work, that's all."
"I think we'd better wait a couple of weeks before telling Amy, she's got quite a bit on at the moment."
Amy was distinctly unimpressed at being made to wait before she went out.
"Firstly, we will be less than five minutes, and the pub will not close in that time, and secondly we have some important news."
"You're not getting divorced are you?"
"No."
"One of you is dying?"
"No, if you'll let your dad finish, I'm pregnant."