Walking out has consequences...

July 24 2018

Charles

To be honest, I haven't done a spectacular job of providing my new family with a roof over their heads and I find it difficult to have so many things out of my control, it's the army in me! I honestly didn't think things through when I threw my fit and flounced out of the house, I obviously had good reason but rendering myself homeless, well, apart from barracks, was pretty dumb for someone who has always been so in control of themselves! I have heard from dad a couple of times and he has offered us any help we need, as much as we need, I know he feels bad about what's happened, but money isn't the issue. I have more than enough, even after paying for Sam, what with salary, deployment money, savings and my share of the house that Rebecca and I own. We were awarded a 50/50 split when we divorced and that was generous to Rebecca as she never paid a penny towards it but I have done nothing to enforce it up till now, and I am still paying the mortgage, but that will change. I have got Molly and the baby to think about,I can't believe how happy it makes me to keep reminding myself of that and Rebecca should have considered consequences when she threw a tantrum and stopped me from seeing Sam. She will have to live in a house of her means rather than the one of her dreams, or buy me out with her not inconsiderable assets, or get some money from her dad who is seriously loaded and she won't like that one bit! I am on my way to collect Molly from her mum's, that's if I can ever find the bloody place, as it is my turn to meet the family, hope it goes better than when Molly met mine, well, it couldn't go worse, surely?

Molly

He's late, I expect he's lost and being a bloke and army as well, he'd rather drive round for hours trying to follow the sat nav than stop and ring and ask! I'll go down and look around, see if I can see him driving around in circles, we are doing the 'meet the family' bit this morning, I wonder if he's nervous? Mum will be fine, she's always nice to everyone and as he's seriously good looking she'll be even nicer to him than she would be to most. I'm more worried about how Nan will be, she doesn't exactly mince her words when she is a bit pissed at someone, so I hope she won't be too pissed at him. I explained all about him yesterday, well the edited highlights anyway, I left selected bits out for obvious reasons, but I explained why we had to keep our relationship secret and mum was okay about it, but Nan was a bit more unsure, so I will have to wait and see. Of course she is also a sucker for a 'looker' as she calls them, so that'll help.

We have an appointment this afternoon to look at some house in Salisbury that he looked at the other day and that he has put a holding deposit on cos he thinks it might do for us to rent for the moment, but he says he won't do anything for definite till I've seen it and agreed. Whatever it's like it won't be the same as Royal Crescent in Bath and it definitely won't be the same as here, so it will be okay, I just wanna move in together. I haven't seen him for a week and I miss him, texts and phone calls are not enough.

When he finally arrived I was downstairs waiting for him and we just hugged and held onto each other for ages, it was as if we hadn't seen each other for months, not just a week, then we kissed and hugged for ages more. It was the reaction I had wanted so much when I got back from R&R in Afghan, just as well I didn't get the same reaction as the one I actually got back then. I knew mum was watching from upstairs, but I didn't care, I just wanted to hold him as much as he seemed to want to hold me. I don't care what this house is like, we're definitely taking it!

His meeting my mum went pretty much as I expected, mum was her usual lovely self to him and only really embarrassed me once when she whispered, not very quietly, "Can see what you see in him, Mols, I wouldn't kick him out of bed meself" I had to tell her to shut the fuck up cos Charlie was nearly purple with embarrassment and I've never told him that in my family we're all suckers for seriously good looking blokes! Well, wouldn't like him to get big-headed! Dad, of course, just as I expected, never showed at all, well the pubs were open weren't they?

Marj

Belinda rang me when they left to come over, she says he is a bloody good looker and that she reckons he is potty about Mols, well so he should be, she's a real catch for any bloke. Belinda said that he just hugged Mols for ages when he arrived as though he'd really missed her and didn't want to let her out of his sight and that she was obviously pretty happy to see him. Well, young love it might be, that's as maybe, but he has got some questions to answer and knowing Belinda I'll bet she didn't ask him anything at all, especially if he is as handsome as she says he is.

I agree with Belinda about one thing, if I was twenty years younger, alright maybe thirty, I wouldn't hesitate, except that Molly might have something to say about it. They are seriously loved up and as far as I could tell he worships her. He says he has been in love with her for years, ever since they first met back in Afghan, but it was impossible for them to be together then and they went their separate ways until they met up again when they went to Turkey, and this time they ignored the rules. I asked him how come she came home all on her own and pregnant and was so miserable and he said because he didn't know, she didn't tell him and as soon as he found out, he came looking for them both and he's never going to let her out of his sight again. He said that if he'd known he would never have let her go in the first place, and you know what, I believe him. Bleeding hope that was just something you say though, otherwise he sounds a bit like one of them stalkers! I know he is a lot older than her but it didn't seem to matter and I really think that they are going to be happy together, but it probably wouldn't make much difference if we hated him, she's going to move out of here to be with him no matter what we say, just mark my words.

I told him that he'd better be good to her cos if he did anything iffy, I was a real fan of a lady called Bobbit, thought she'd really shown the way. Molly laughed and said "Nan, stop it" but I think Charlie got the point, well he crossed his legs anyway, funny how blokes always do that!

Charles

To say I am relieved would be an understatement. Molly's family are lovely, although I didn't meet her dad, Molly says that I deserve one bit of good luck a day and that was mine for today, hope that is not all I am going to get and that Lady Luck will call and make this house work for us. I really hate the thought of her going home tonight and leaving me. Both her mum and her Nan remind me of Molly, which is not surprising I suppose, but they all say what they think, out loud, and to hell with who can hear them, although Molly is a lot less likely to do that now than she used to be when I first knew her. I was as honest as I could be when her Nan was interrogating me about Turkey, mind you I was very aware that I was being a bit economical with the truth but I didn't want Molly to be embarrassed any more than I wanted to be.

I actually envy Molly her family, it is obvious that they want whatever she wants for herself, why can't my mother behave like that?

Molly and Charles

"What do you think, it's that one?" Charles pointed at the outside of a modern three storey town house with a "To Let" board outside. It was in a quiet cul-de-sac some half a mile from the town centre and had a short front garden and a parking space and Molly made up her mind on the spot that it would do.

"Where do we sign and when can we move in?"

"You haven't seen inside yet, you might hate it"

"It's gonna be fine and I want to live here with you, now"

"Come on, let's go in" Charles laughed as he opened the door "I hope you're not expecting me to carry you over the threshold or anything like that?"

"Wimp! Actually I'd probably cripple you and I want you in once piece" she laughed and stuck her tongue out at him "I have plans for you later"

"Oh, promises, promises!"

They wandered around the bland interior, it had wood floors, cream walls and fairly decent furniture and all the basic utilities. Nothing was top of the range but it was all fairly decent and it was essential that they had a furnished let as neither of them owned a stick of furniture.

"We'll buy a new bed, God knows who's slept on that one" Charles pulled a face "We'll throw it away, then leave the new one when we leave. It's bloody annoying, I own half a houseful of furniture and stuff, and I can't get hold of any of it but I don't fancy going round to Rebecca's with a chain saw and chopping sofas in half this afternoon"

"Well if you do, I'm not coming with you, your family are bloody scarey"

"This from the girl with a Military Cross" he scoffed "and Rebecca is not my family!"

"I'd rather dangle on a rope under a helicopter with an insurgent sniper after me than face your bloody mother again"

"Oh don't! So we take this from 1st August, yeah? for six months? " he grinned and kissed her as she nodded and then hugged her. "I thought you could go shopping for toothbrushes and knickers and stuff for both of us and maybe even new shirts while I do the paperwork with the agent, and then we can find a nice hotel and stay for the weekend, what d'you think?"

Authors notes: No angst in this chapter, more setting the scene for their new lives together. More fireworks next time. For readers who are a lot younger than me, Bobbit was a lady who took a meat cleaver and cut off her husband's important assets because he cheated or upset her, can't remember her Christian name but she was famous for a while.

I write this stuff in my head in the early mornings, my cockwomble gets up at 5.30, but I definitely don't, so I have a couple of hours to imagine stuff, then put it on the laptop at odd intervals during the day and this story is expanding all the time. How far I take it is up to you so thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming, they keep me going! x.