Thank you for all of the kind reviews. They really do mean a lot to me x
"Come on, Sam, you can do it!"
Sam turned to Molly, a look of utter concentration on his face. "But I'll have to get a strike to beat Dad, he's miles ahead."
"I believe in you, mate."
Sam turned back to the pins, lined up and waiting for him to make his move. As he released the ball, Molly held her breath, silently praying that he was going to get the strike and win the game. If Charles won she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it. She could feel herself watching in slow motion as one by one the pins hit the floor.
"Yes!" She shouted, leaping from her feet as the last pin fell. She ran over to Sam, scooping him into a hug, and then releasing him to lift his arm up in victory. Charles was sat, pretending to look disappointed. Molly knew him well enough to see the pride in his eyes, but for now she was going to play on the disappointment and make one final dig. "You just got beaten by a twelve year old!"
"Guess it's me buying lunch then."
As they grabbed their belongings and left the bowling alley, Molly found herself walking across the street with the biggest smile on her face. Despite only being halfway through the day, it had already been one of the best days she'd had in a long time. Charles' mum had arrived early in the morning, closely followed by Sam. He was so happy to see them all, it had instantly brightened up her morning. Katie had eaten the mashed up banana for breakfast, which in itself was a huge triumph, and she'd even let Molly put the teething gel in her mouth which had worked wonders.
It was Sam who had suggested going bowling and everyone had agreed that it was a great idea. Molly readily admitted that she was terrible at it and Penny had been far too distracted by Katie to put much effort it, but father and son had both taken it very seriously. Yet despite the competiveness of the game, they couldn't have been closer. As they made their way towards the restaurant, she could see the joy on Sam's face as his father gave him a piggy back, jokingly jumping and spinning around, leaving Sam in fits of laughter. She just hated knowing that in a couple of days it was going to be tears again when he had to leave.
Since Rebecca had moved them both in with her new boyfriend George and his two sons, he'd started to become reluctant to go home, to the point that on the last visit he'd shut himself in his bedroom and barricaded the door. He didn't scream or shout, it wasn't in his nature, but the silent protest conveyed his message loud and clear. He wanted to stay. Charles had eventually calmed in down enough to leave with his mum, but it left an impression, and something was telling Molly that it was going to be even worse this time around. His reluctance to go to Paris was a big warning sign in itself. But for now at least, all she could do was make sure that he enjoyed his long weekend with them.
They sat around a table and ordered their food and drinks, still discussing their game. Charles was still feigning disappointed, and Sam was happily ribbing him for losing. The first time any of them broke away from the chat, was when Molly's phone began to ring. Not wanting to be rude, she took her phone outside to answer it.
"Lance Corporal James, how are you?"
Molly felt the wind being knocked out of her as she recognised the voice of her Commanding Officer. Her smile steadily slid from her face, as a nervous knot began to form in her stomach. She wished she hadn't answered, but it was too late now. She had to say something, but it was as though she'd forgotten how to speak. A mere croak escaped her lungs as she tried to respond.
"Sorry James, the signal must be bad. Can you hear me ok?"
"Yes," she managed to say, before suddenly remembering herself. "Yes, Sir."
"Jolly good. I was just wondering if you'd received my letter yet as I haven't heard back from you?"
Molly didn't know what to say. Did she lie and say she hadn't received it, and then have to go through the whole conversation on the phone? Or did she admit to receiving it and then pretend to have read it? Or just be honest and admit that she burnt it and then attempted to drown it? Eventually she decided to go with the only answer that would get him off the phone quickly so that she could return to her family. It was only a slight bend of the truth too, so she knew she didn't have to feel guilty about lying.
"I did receive it, Sir, but my little girl has been teething badly and I've a bit preoccupied by that. If it's ok, Sir, I'll have to get back to you in a few days once she feels a bit better."
"Very well, James, keep in touch. And, Molly…"
"Sir?"
"My wife swore by vanilla extract. Just a drop, straight on the gums."
Molly couldn't help but giggle. Major Reynolds had always been a far tougher commander than Charles ever was, and much more strict on every soldier that served under him. Whilst she was aware that he had a wife and children at home, he refused to ever speak of them. He put firm boundaries in place and never crossed them. Until now anyway, and it made her strangely uncomfortable.
The call ended and Molly returned to the table just as the food arrived. It smelt delicious, the scent quickly filling her nostrils. Whilst her taste buds were happily salivating over what sat in front of her, her stomach was still knotted from the phone call; the thought of eating anything sending waves of nausea through her. As everyone began to tuck in, she simply stared at her plate, pushing a pea around with her fork.
"Who was on the phone?" Charles asked between mouthfuls.
"Reynolds."
Charles turned to her, instantly sensing the shift in her mood from her blunt answer and tone of voice. He looked at her for a moment, trying to find the right thing to say without risking an interrogation from his mum. For now at least, this was something that he and Molly needed to deal with alone.
"Impeccable timing as always. If he wasn't a damn good solider, I doubt he would have progressed beyond Sandhurst; his attitude towards his supposed comrades was shocking to say the least. Although I did heard of rumours that the OIC may have positioned his boot six laces holes where the sun doesn't shine."
"Well that brings a new meaning to boot up the bum!" Penny said, quickly laughing at her own quick wit.
Distracted by the laughter, Molly began to eat her food, and for now at least, her mind was taken elsewhere.
"Try a bit," she heard Charles say, as he held out a spoon with some mashed up carrot on it, and waved it in front of Katie. "Come on, open up, it's yummy." Katie's mouth remained firmly shut as she's stared at her father in confusion. "We've got the hint that you don't like puree and I promise you that this isn't, so please try a bit?"
"Can I have a go?"
Molly, Charles and Penny all turned to Sam, silently considering what he'd said. In the end, Charles decided that it was worth a try, and passed the spoon over to him. To the amazement of all of them, Katie opened her mouth and happily ate everything her brother gave to her. Molly mashed some more carrot with her fork and handed it to Sam, and again, Katie happily ate it all.
"Reckon we might hire you as a full-time babysitter, mate."
"Would that mean I can live with you and Dad properly?" The excitement in his voice wasn't lost on Molly and only added fuel to her belief that he was unsettled in his new home.
"You'd soon get sick of us, mate. Are you enjoying your chicken nuggets?"
"Yes, thank you."
They eventually finished their meals and ordered desserts, all of which arrived quickly. Molly sat, watching in amazement as Sam devoured his ice-cream. Growing up it had been a permanent fixture in her daily diet, but the way that Sam was practically inhaling the contents on the bowl in front of him, she couldn't help but wonder if Rebecca ever let him have it.
Too distracted by her step-son's behaviour, she failed to concentrate on what she was doing. As she lifted the spoon to her mouth, the cool liquid slowly made its way down the length of her arm and onto her top, before settling on her jeans. "You have got to be kidding me!" She yelped, jumping to her feet and frantically wiping the mess away with a napkin.
"How the bloody hell did you manage that, Dawesy? Your mouth's big enough."
"You can off of some people, you know."
Penny and Sam were soon laughing at Molly and Charles as they continued to tease each other. It was only when Sam's laughter abruptly ceased, that Molly suspected her fears were right. Despite his mask of happiness, there was something upsetting him, and she couldn't bear to see it. She knew that it left her with a dilemma, whether to confront Sam, or to tell his dad and leave him to deal with it in whatever way he saw fit. One thing she did know for certain however, was that this wasn't the appropriate time or place for this conversation. If Charles noticed the sadness in his son's face, he'd understandably want to know why. Unfortunately she suspected that he wouldn't wait until getting home to ask him. The best thing that she could do was to get the conversation moved along swiftly.
"Did you bring that new computer game you were saying about, Sam?" She gave herself a mental pat on the back for thinking on her feet.
"Yeah, it's in my bag."
"How about we go home and see if you can beat your dad at that n all?"
As they picked up their things to leave, Molly felt two small arms grab her around the waist from behind. She cautiously placed her hands over them, a gentle, reassuring squeeze to let him know that everything was going to be ok.
"I'm glad my dad married you." The small voice said, causing Molly's heart to swell with happiness.
As Charles and Penny took Katie outside, Molly turned and draped her arm around Sam's shoulders and led him towards the door. "I'm glad I married him too cos it means I get to have you as a step-son."
"You know, don't you, Molly? About-"
"Yeah, mate. I know."
A/N OIC stands for Officer in Command
