Embroiled

She was embroiled, and there was nothing she could do. Sinking deeper, she feels like there's no one to turn to and she's all alone….But she's so wrong

Chapter 7 – Explained

Grace tiptoed down the stairs at 6am, feeling a small spring in her step. She had slept for a good 11, maybe 11 and a half hours, and she felt energised. Her body clock would take a while to adjust, but for now she was relatively satisfied. She crept along the hallway, not wanting to wake her mother and father, into the living room and through to the kitchen, so she could get herself some milk.

At first, she didn't notice her parents snuggled together on the sofa, sound asleep, but she made the quick decision to go and watch some television before they woke up. And that's when she saw them.

'Interesting,' she whispered to herself with a grin, resolving to have a little bit of fun with her parents. 'Mum,' she said softly. 'Dad…..Wake up!'

'What, hmmm, Grace, oh,' said Connie quietly as she lifted her head, realising the position she was in. 'It's not what it looks like?'

'That is a shame,' replied Grace. 'I keep telling Dad it would be nice to see you get on.'

'We are getting on,' she replied with a smile as Sam snored. 'You never could wake him up, he sleeps like he's in a coma.'

'You're telling me,' said Grace whilst rolling her eyes. 'So are you getting back together?'

'No baby,' replied Connie gently, moving onto the other sofa with Grace and stroking her hair. 'Too much has happened. I don't think we could ever go back.'

'No matter how much you want to?' said Grace, looking into her mother's eyes, searching for the truth.

'I need to focus on getting better and being the best Mum to you,' said Connie, avoiding the question. 'Romance is not on my priority list.'

'You have a list?' asked Grace. 'Of course you have a list.'

'My therapist tells me its because I'm a control freak,' said Connie, mimicking Grace's eye roll. 'Right, I tell you what, let's raid the fridge and make breakfast, then we can wake your dad up in the only way I know how. With freshly brewed coffee and food.'

'Nothing's changed then,' she replied with a smirk as they got to work making pancakes with blueberry sauce and strawberries as the coffee brewed.

'I never did get why adults love coffee so much,' said Grace as Connie loaded up the machine.

'I'm not a fan of coffee anymore,' admitted Connie. 'It tends to make me feel sick. These are from before I was like that. Luckily the coffee machine does all the work.'

'Does anything else make you sick?' asked Grace in curiosity as she watched Connie flip the pancakes.

'Not so far,' she replied. 'It just seems to be coffee. To think I used to live on the stuff. The pancakes are almost ready, I'll dish them up and you can stick them under your dad's nose until he wakes up.'

'How long do you reckon it'll take?' asked Grace. 'I reckon 10 seconds flat.'

'I'll give him 15,' Connie replied. 'I'll take you to the zoo if you're right.'

'And if you're right, I'll…come and visit in every holiday I have from school,' she replied.

'Deal,' said Connie, trying not to think about the prospect of Grace going back to America as she handed her daughter the plate. 'I'll bring the coffee to make sure you don't cheat.'

'Would I?' said Grace with a false angelic smile.

'Three words my girl,' replied her mother with a smirk. 'Snakes and ladders.'

'I totally didn't cheat at that,' replied Grace fervently. 'I definitely scored a 6 when you were out of the room.'

'Of course,' said Connie with another smirk as she carried the coffee into the living room alongside Grace and the plate of pancakes. 'Ready? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…..'

'Hmm?' said Sam with a sniff. 'Breakfast and coffee?'

'And good morning to you to Mr sleepy head,' replied Grace. 'I had a bet with mum on how long it would take you to wake up with food in front of you. I won, of course.'

'Unfair advantage though,' replied Connie as Sam started to eat. 'You've been living with him for months, I haven't had him around for years.'

'Good point, but you still owe me a trip to the zoo,' replied Grace. 'I'll go and get our pancakes and put them on a tray.'

'Well aren't you good?' replied Connie. 'Your father has housetrained you well.'

'I even know not to poo on the floor like a good little puppy or to beg at the table,' said Grace with a characteristically Connie smirk as she retrieved their breakfast. 'So Dad, Mum was saying about how coffee makes her feel sick now. Isn't that weird? She said so herself, she used to survive on the stuff.'

It was at that point that Connie and Sam made eye contact, a silent agreement that now was the time to tell her.

'Well, umm, Grace, I didn't want to tell you when your dad was asleep. But the reason I don't like coffee at the moment is because I'm having a baby. You're going to be a big sister,' she said slowly, afraid of her reaction.

'Did you two?' asked Grace, gesturing between the two.

'No, oh god no,' they replied in unison.

'Quick discussion of the birds and the bees, it takes some time for a woman to find out. I haven't been in the same country as your dad for about 5 years,' said Connie.

'Oh, ok,' replied Grace. 'So a half brother or sister? Awesome. So am I going to be meeting this new boyfriend of yours Mum? The father of my little sibling?'

'Umm, not if I have anything to do with it,' grimaced Connie. 'Let's just say, this baby wasn't planned, me and the baby's father were a mistake, and I hope we don't see him again.'

'Ohhhh,' replied Grace. 'Say no more, I don't think I'll be psychologically prepared for this talk for a good few years. Don't scar me.'

'We won't,' replied Sam, ruffling her hair to squealed protests from his daughter. 'No more birds and the bees talks until its necessary.'

'Good,' replied Grace with a firm nod. 'So you're going to do this all by yourself Mum? Are you sure you can?'

'I'm a tough cookie Grace,' replied Connie with an optimistic smile. 'I'll get through it. So what are you hoping for, a brother or sister?'

'Either would be fine I think,' mused Grace. 'But a sister would be nice, to do girly things with. But I won't go mad if I have a brother. It's exciting.'

'It is, isn't it?' said Connie with a grin, her mind filled with plans and possibilities for the future. Before she discovered she was pregnant, she didn't think she would have a future, now here she was, slowly moving towards happiness and contentment.

Song of the day/chapter – Ed Sheeran – Lego House – 'I'm gonna pick up the pieces, and build a lego house, if things go wrong we can knock it down'