Family Visit: Chapter 3
The doorbell rang and Finn sprinted down the stairs and opened the door, as Sybil and Tom turned off the TV and walked towards the front door. They all knew it was Mary, Matthew and George. Finn said a quick hello to Mary and Matthew and George did the same to Sybil and Tom, but then the boys were upstairs before the adults had a chance to speak. They all chuckled a little as they saw the boys disappear up the stairs. They all then came further into the house and hugged and said hello. Tom offered to make tea, to which they all said yes. So, as Tom went to the kitchen, Mary, Matthew and Sybil sat in the living room and chatted about how things were going. "… and Mama and Papa send their love, Edith is missing you and would like to see Finn more often, and Granny hasn't changed – she still thinks you shouldn't be here with Tom!" Mary said to Sybil as Tom walked in with the tea on a tray.
"Well, I don't expect her to have changed her mind. As much as I love her, I know I'm right on this one – she can't be right all the time, can she?"
"I wouldn't ask Violet that!" Matthew laughed. Tom sat next to Sybil and she leant against him.
"No, neither would I," Sybil replied, "but that doesn't change the fact that I'm right!"
"So, how's George been?" Tom asked. "He seemed cheerful when he arrived, but I didn't see him for long!"
"Well, he's had ups and downs. He was being bullied at school a while ago, but we think that's pretty much sorted now, and he been ever so excited to come down here ever since we told him that we were visiting," Matthew said.
"Yes, well, so's Finn! We managed to keep him busy this morning – Tom took him out in to fly his aeroplane, but they ended up getting drenched," Sybil looked at Tom accusingly. He looked back and smirked. "But he's been wanting to see George for quite some time now."
Later in the evening, they'd all eaten their supper, and Mary and Sybil were trying to get the boys into bed. "Come on, George, we're all going to the zoo tomorrow, so we all need our rest, don't we?" Mary told her son.
"But it's not bedtime," Finn protested.
"No, it's half an hour past bedtime!" Sybil said to both boys. "Come on, pyjamas on and in bed please." The two boys gave in, knowing that their mothers would refuse to lose. They both got changed into warm pyjamas and soon were in bed and both fast asleep. They were clearly exhausted from all the excitement. Mary and Sybil quietly tiptoed downstairs where Tom and Matthew were chatting. "The boys are in bed and both fell asleep as soon as they hit the pillow," Sybil told them.
"I'm not surprised!" Tom said. "I think then, we can pop down the pub," he continued, looking at Matthew. Both men said goodbye to their women with a few kisses and then they were gone.
"Just you and me then Sybil," Mary said.
"Looks like it!" As soon as Sybil and Mary had sat down the phone rang. Sybil leant backwards to pick it up from the table beside the sofa. "Hello," she said into the phone. Mary just looked at her little sister while she spoke to someone that Mary probably didn't know. "Yes, that's me. Oh right. Really? Oh! Gosh, okay. Well, thank you for ringing. Okay, thank you. Bye." Sybil took the phone away from her ear and pressed the red button, but she didn't look up at Mary. Instead, she looked down into her lap.
"Is everything okay?" Mary asked, worried that something might be wrong.
"Yes, everything's fine," Sybil looked up at Mary with tears in her eyes. "I'm pregnant again!" Mary and Sybil simultaneously reached forward into a hug. Mary pulled back from the hug.
"Oh, Sybil, congratulations!" She wiped the tears away from her sister's face and asked, "How do you know? Who was that on the phone?"
"Well, this morning I went to see my doctor because I really haven't been feeling well and they did a blood test and they've just given me the results. Pregnancy didn't even cross my mind – I didn't feel this horrible with Finn."
"Well, how far along are you?"
"About a month, apparently," Sybil replied. She'd stopped crying so much and was now just thinking that she had another child on the way. She and Tom were trying for another child a few years ago, but nothing ever happened. She knew that Tom would be pleased.
"Are you going to tell Tom?"
"Of course I am, but I won't ring him now. I'd rather tell him face to face and anyway, I don't think I should stop him having a men's night out with Matthew. They haven't seen each other for the same amount of time that we've been apart, after all." Mary hugged Sybil again and they continued chatting, though this time the conversation was a lot more about babies and what had happened with George and Finn when they were babies and toddlers. Once both ladies had caught up enough, knowing that they'd have a few days to continue talking, they took themselves to bed and waited for their men to arrive back from the pub.
Sybil sat up in bed, reading and thinking. She heard a thud which was obviously the front door. It was really rather loud so she hopped out of bed and tiptoed to the top of the stairs, knowing that there were creaks in the floorboard. She didn't want to tread on one and wake anyone, but she soon realised that Mary was behind her. Sybil carefully descended the stairs and whispered with authority, "The boys are asleep, do you fancy waking them up and have them pestering us all night?" Matthew and Tom were only slightly drunk. They were sober enough to know that they certainly were not the leaders in this particular household.
"Sorry Sybil," Matthew said. He walked towards Mary who was half way up the stairs. She took his hand and led him upstairs, trying to stop him from treading on any of the particularly creaky floorboards. Sybil did the same to Tom, but only after Tom kissed her deeply. Once Sybil and Tom were safely in their room, she helped him undress. Buttons aren't the friendliest of things if you're drunk. She was already in a night dress, and he refused to put on pyjamas because it was apparently too hot, so she let him stay in his boxers. They climbed into bed and Sybil propped herself up on her elbow, looking at Tom, who looked back at her lovingly. Should I tell him now, or should I wait until he's completely sober? She thought. She decided that she'd tell him now, she couldn't wait.
"Tom?" she whispered. He looked at her more intently but said nothing. "You know that the results for my blood test were supposed to come back today or tomorrow?"
"Mmm," Tom mumbled, still looking Sybil in the eye.
"They came back after you'd gone." Tom propped himself up on his elbow to be level with Sybil.
"Yes? And?" Tom was interested now. At any sign of possible bad news about Sybil, all the alcohol suddenly had no effect on his body. His face looked serious, thinking the worst.
"I'm pregnant again!" Tom smiled slowly and kissed his gorgeous wife.
"But… how?" Tom was struggling to find any words.
"Well, you should know – you were there!" Sybil laughed quietly, knowing that the walls of her house were paper thin and that any sound they made, Mary and Matthew could probably hear it next door. "I'm about a month gone," Sybil looked Tom in the eye and grinned along with him. That night, Sybil stayed in Tom's grip all night. He refused to let her go, knowing what the good news was. Sybil had made Tom a very happy man that night and both of them went to sleep with smiles on their faces.
Sorry if there are loads of mistakes, or it doesn't make sense - I haven't checked it through. I really can't be bothered to say much here, but review if you wish.
