Chapter three

Georgie and Charlie walked through the park with Amelia between them, holding both their hands.

'Swing me! Swing me!' She cried, jumping awkwardly in the air.

'Alright.' Charlie replied. 'One two three..'

On three they both raised their arms and swung Amelia through the air. She squealed with delight. 'Again, again!'

'One more time.' Georgie said. 'And then we'll have our picnic.'

'Ok.' Amelia replied.

On the count of three they swung her again, and she laughed as her feet touched back down on the ground.

'Here looks like a good picnic spot.' Charlie said, and they stopped while he spread the picnic blanket out under a tree. It was quite a warm day and the sun was strong.

'I want to sit with you.' Amelia said, flopping herself in to Georgie's lap.

'Ok.' Georgie replied, smoothing Amelia's curly hair away from her face. 'Why don't you sit next to me, then I can get the food out the basket?'

Amelia obediently jumped out of Georgie's lap and sat expectantly on the picnic blanket next to her. Georgie pulled out a few sandwiches and passed one to Charlie and one to Amelia.

'Thank you.' He said, tucking in hungrily.

Georgie watched as Amelia climbed on to Charlie's lap and wrapped her chubby arm around his neck, eating her sandwich with the other hand. They were like two peas in a pod. Georgie smiled as she thought about what their own child might look like. Would they be more like her, or like Charlie? She could just picture picnics in the park with Amelia and Sam both doting on their younger sibling.

'What are you grinning at?' Charlie asked, taking another bite of his sandwich.

'Oh, nothing.' Georgie replied. 'It's just nice to see you two together, that's all.'

Once they had finished their picnic, they went to the pond and threw bread for the ducks. Georgie smiled as Charlie showed Amelia how to aim the bread on the ducks' backs. Amelia roared with laughter and Georgie couldn't help but laugh too, her laugh was infectious.

'Poor ducks.' She said. 'They don't stand a chance against you two!'

She studied Charlie's face next to Amelia's. They had the same shaped eyes, and Amelia's hair was tightly curled like Charlie's. It made Georgie feel quite emotional when she thought about how much she loved them both, and she was deep in thought as Charlie turned round and frowned with concern.

'Hey, are you alright?' He asked her, placing his hand on the small of her back.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' Georgie replied, wiping her wet eyes quickly. 'Pollen count must be high today.'

He looked at her a bit suspiciously but then turned back to Amelia who was getting over excited and about to jump in the pond with the ducks.

'Careful, darling!' Georgie said, taking her hand and pulling her back away from the edge. 'How about we go for a quick go on the swings before we head back?'

...

By the time they got home, Amelia had fallen asleep on Charlie's shoulder and he carefully lay her down on the sofa.

'She's exhausted.' He said, putting his arm around Georgie who was standing in the doorway.

'So am I!' Georgie answered. And she was. It was the exhaustion which had caused her to take the test in the first place. She felt unusually tired - it hadn't been a particularly strenuous day and it wasn't over yet, but she felt like she had been awake for days.

'You tired too, huh?' Charlie asked as she yawned. 'Still recovering from being woken up early.'

'Yeah.' Georgie said. She didn't want to tell him yet. She would wait until this evening, she had a plan already. She couldn't wait to see his face, seven months they had been trying for a baby and she knew he would be as excited as she was.

'Come on.' Charlie said, taking her by the hand and pulling her to the other sofa. 'We may as well make the most of it.'

They collapsed together on the sofa, and Georgie closed her eyes as she breathed in his scent. She pictured the three of them cuddled up on the sofa like this, their baby sleeping peacefully on his chest. She couldn't wait.