Saturday Morning came and that meant that Carla and Jada had been back in Weatherfield for more than a week now. Peter and Simon had both prepared breakfast and had laid it out on the table. The breakfast consisted of French toast, and to go with it, Peter had fried up some bacon. He and Simon often had it with syrup and as Simon got it out of the cupboard, Carla and Jada emerged from their bedroom.
"Morning ladies." Peter said as Carla approached the table with a tired Jada in her arms.
"Morning." Carla said half way through a yawn, whilst Jada clung onto Simba. "What's all this?"
"Breakfast." Peter replied, unable to refrain from staring at both Carla and Jada. He secretly loved when Carla carried Jada like that, so effortlessly and lovingly, it was a look that Peter thought really suited her but that wasn't the only reason he was staring.
Jada was wearing a pair of red and white Minnie Mouse pyjamas, her brown hair was in a rather messy pony tail and as always she looked utterly adorable, Carla on the other hand, looked good too, although she looked more stunning than adorable.
She was wearing a pair of black pyjama shorts and a white vest with her freshly washed light brown hair hanging either side of her shoulders.
It was probably the least dressed Peter had seen her in years…
If you don't include the rather awkward moment when Peter almost walked in on Carla whilst she was in the shower earlier on that morning that is.
It happened at just gone eight am and Peter had literally just woken up, he rolled off the sofa to use the toilet and had taken off his T-shirt during the night after getting hot so he was only wearing his boxers as rubbed his eyes and he stumbled into the bathroom, he didn't realise that Carla was in there until it was too late.
"Oh god I'm so sorry!" Peter cried, turning around straight away as Carla let out a surprised squeal. For some reason she had totally forgotten to close the shower curtain that hung next to the bath although she didn't actually care that Peter had walked in on her, it more that she hadn't expected to see anyone there and it had made her jump.
"Peter…" Carla began, attempting to tell him it was okay but before she knew it, he had very quickly left the bathroom.
After she had finished in the shower, she got out and wrapped herself in a towel. As she dried herself she imagined Peter was probably sitting in the very next room feeling very embarrassed about things for no reason, so she took a deep breath before leaving the bathroom and decided that she should just quickly go out there and defuse the inevitable tension.
Steam came flowing out of the bathroom as she left and soon enough she found Peter sat on top of his duvet on the sofa. He was still topless and he was trying very hard to pretend like he hadn't just walked in on his estranged wife naked.
Carla approached him gingerly and shook her head before sitting down on the sofa next to him.
They didn't dare look at each other at first, they both stared ahead and sat in a humorous silence for a moment.
Carla eventually cleared her throat and was about to say something when Peter suddenly spoke first,
"Sorry." He said again but he had a small smirk on his face as he said it, one that if Carla had seen it, she would have known he wasn't actually that sorry. "I just woke up… I didn't think that you'd be in the shower so early."
It was glaringly obvious that he and Carla found the situation slightly funny but still, it was rather awkward, so awkward in fact that they both just continued to stare ahead of them.
"It's fine…" Carla began, not daring to look at Peter first because she was well aware that they were both sat closer a lot closer than normal and that she and Peter were both practically naked too. "It seems that Jada was having a little lay in so I thought I'd quickly jump in the shower before she woke up y'know…."
"Makes sense." Peter said licking his lips, "I err really should ave knocked first though."
"Don't worry about it…" Carla said, biting the bullet and turning to look at him first, "Besides, you've seen it all before Peter." She said with half a smile, knowing this was all rather ridiculous before she and Peter had probably seen each other naked thousands of times. Peter finally turned to look at Carla and couldn't help but grin when he catch her slightly embarrassed gaze.
"I sure ave…" Peter smirked, "Although if it makes you feel better I didn't actually see anything just then..." Peter then got up and off the sofa because as much as he wanted to sit next to a half naked Carla, he still needed to use the loo.
"You sound like your disappointed Barlow…" Carla called after him, she was grinning as Peter walked away from her and before he walked into the bathroom, he said,
"Oh... I am." He left Carla on the sofa alone in her fluffy white towel and he was more than a little disappointed when he returned and found that she was gone.
Breakfast was the next time that they were seeing each other and as Peter's gaze danced over Carla's bare legs as she and Jada approached the breakfast table, they were both reminded of the slightly mortifying moment this morning.
"What?" Carla said, trying not to grin foolishly when she realised that Peter was still watching her as she sat down with Jada on her lap.
"Nothing…" Peter said, trying to keep a straight face.
"Oh come on... it's not nothing is it?" Carla asked, "Not when you've got that ever so wicked grin on your face."
"Well..." Peter began in a highly mischievous mood. "I guess I'm just not used to seeing you with so many clothes on." He smirked.
"Oh ha ha..." Carla cried, kicking a fully dressed Peter lightly under the table, he laughed as he had received this kick and then turned his attention to his precious little daughter who was rubbing her eyes and still holding onto Simba.
"Good morning Jada." Peter said, getting up and leaning over the table so that he could get a kiss from Jada. She got up on Carla's knees so she could reach and gave her Dad a very wet kiss before rubbing her eyes again and saying,
"Toast Daddy." She was now staring down at the plate beneath her but Peter wasn't following her gaze. He had lingered over the table for a moment and kept his eyes totally fixated on Carla. She already had a piece of toast in hand and was chewing it slowly but she also had eyes locked onto his. "Daddy!" Jada cried, slamming her little hand down on the table impatiently.
The surprisingly loud noise of Jada's hand hitting the table made Peter actually jump back into his seat and as Carla laughed at their almost two year old's temper he said,
"Sorry love." Carla placed Jada down on the seat next to her as Simon came and sat down at the table also, in the chair on the other side of his sister. Peter handed Jada some toast and a beaker full of water as Carla looked at the lovingly prepared meal that was before her.
She was soon, so deep in thought that she had missed out on all the conversation at the table between Peter, Simon and even Jada.
"So do ya fancy coming with us then?" Peter asked Carla, suddenly snapping her out of her daydream.
"Where?" Carla asked picking up the cup of coffee that Simon had kindly made for her, she had given him a grateful nod and was in the middle of a sip when Peter raised an eyebrow and said,
"Swimming."
"Swimming?" Carla asked, confused because she hadn't been listening when Peter and Simon were just discussing about maybe taking Jada with them for a swim.
"Yeah… you know, swimming…" Peter said slowly with a chuckle "Where you get into a large pool of water and move about… n stuff." Peter mimed swimming comically as he spoke, making Simon laugh right out loud.
"Oh… Swimming." Carla nodded, furrowing her eyebrows together and playing up to Peter's sarcastic tone.
Things were slightly better between them after their little chat last night but now they even better after what had happened this morning, Simon watched his Dad and Carla who were still grinning at each other infectiously and then said,
"Yeah we wanted to take Jada with us, there's this new leisure centre in town that has a really nice pool, it's got these amazing slides too it's fun for all ages, We should all go.." Simon looked at Jada was thoroughly enjoying her slice of toast and kept licking her little lips and couldn't wait to take her with him to the swimming pool, he was always watching kids there looking after their siblings and a part of his heart always sunk because he knew he couldn't take his own sister swimming... until now of course.
"So what do ya say?" Peter asked, looking at Carla as hopefully as he could although he knew it was rather a long shot. "Do ya fancy coming swimming?"
He wondered if Carla had already made plans for today, or maybe that she just wouldn't want to go swimming because of just washing her hair or something like that.
"Well I would but… Me n Jada haven't got any swimming stuff with us?" Carla said, truthfully at that because when packing for her and Jada's impromptu visit back home to Manchester, swimming had been the last thing on her mind.
"Oh like that's an excuse…" Peter joked, clearly thinking about earlier and smirking at Carla who rolled her eyes at him.
"Well what do ya expect us to do Peter? Go completely starkers?" She replied and this comment did not help Peter's grin fade, in fact it had only enriched it.
"Course not…" He said after taking a rather relaxed sip of his coffee, "I mean I don't know how it works in L.A but over ere I reckon they probably frown upon that sort of thing but we could stop off at the shops and get you and Jada a swimming costume… Only if you wanted too of course..." Simon nodded at this seemingly good idea and bent down towards Jada.
"Jada do you want to go swimming?" he asked.
"Yes!" Jada cried excitedly, waving her arm so wildly that the piece of french toast in her hand went flying across the room. "Uh oh!" She said over dramatically, cupping her hand over her mouth as Simon laughed and went to fetch Jada's piece of toast.
"Well?" Peter asked casually although he could feel his heart pounding beneath his pyjama T-Shirt as he spoke.
He would have been lying if he said the feeling of the kiss she had left on his right cheek last night wasn't still lingering on his face.
He would have also been lying if he said that almost seeing Carla naked this morning hadn't sparked something inside of him, something that only made him want to get close to her and he would also be lying if he said he wasn't desperate for Carla to join them all at the swimming pool.
The idea of the four of them all driving down to the leisure centre together as a family and going swimming was almost too much for Peter to bear and he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it if Carla said no.
"Come on Carla…" Simon said, egging her on and also looking hopefully at her.
"Erm…" Carla said, looking down at an excited Jada who jumped up and down on her chair and said,
"Mummy swimmy pool!" She repeated it over and over again and stared so intently at her mother that Peter grinned and said,
"Oh come on… how can you say no to that face eh?" He was smiling dotingly at Jada who was gazing up at Carla with her bright green eyes sparkling.
"Yeah go on Carla, please..." Simon said and he put his best puppy dog expression on too, one that was so similar to Jada's that it made Carla's heart actually ache.
Peter looked between his two children who were both watching Carla hopefully and grinned because he knew there was no way on earth she would be able to resist saying Yes.
What Peter didn't realise was that it was also him that Carla couldn't seem to resist.
He got up of his chair and stood behind Jada and Simon, bending down so that his head was rested on Simon's and said,
"Well?" Carla smiled broadly as she closed her eyes for a moment just so she didn't have to gaze at the delectable sight before her for too long and after pretending to think about it for another second,
"Okay… Let's go swimming."
"Yay!" Simon and Peter cried in unison, actually going as far as high fiving each other as they stood up. Jada's reaction was only slightly delayed and she also shouted,
"Yay!" Then she held up her hands and giggled as her Dad and Simon high fived them too.
"Right then…" Peter said triumphantly, "Let's finish breakfast and start getting ready."
Carla had been a bit apprehensive to actually go to the swimming pool at first.
Mainly because she was suddenly feeling rather nervous about spending so much time with a once again half naked Peter because even after everything, it was clear that there was a very powerful attraction there but she was also a little reluctant to go swimming because she was worried that she wouldn't find a costume that she actually liked in the shops because after all, she was going swimming with an ex and as silly as it sounded, she had to make sure she looked perfect.
Luckily in the second shop that Carla, Peter and Jada had visited, Carla found a stylish black swimming costume that seemed like it was perfect, she decided that would do very nicely but only after trying it on of course.
Whilst she had been in the changing room, Peter had been left to take Jada to the kid's section and pick out a swimming costume for her, whilst there he ran into an old friend from school, He very proudly introduced Jada to his friend and couldn't stop himself from once again, grinning like an idiot.
It was moment's like that when he realised just how lucky he was to have this small but very decent chance to spend with not only Jada but Carla too and he tried his very best not to think about the fact that it would soon all be over.
After finally getting to where all the toddlers swimming costumes were in the shop, Peter bent down to Jada's level and said,
"Jada… you need to pick a swimming costume so we can all go swimming okay sweetie..." Jada nodded up at her Daddy and then gazed ahead at the choices that she had available.
As it was winter, there wasn't too many choices for Jada to pick from but the moment she saw a green and purple mermaid themed swimming costume she fell in love.
"Maymaid maymaid!" Jada cried, pointing up at the swimming costume that she wanted in excitement. Peter followed her gaze and smiled when he saw the one she had chosen.
"Oh that is too cute… Mummy's going to love it." He said, pulling the green and purple swimsuit of the shelf and checking the size. He suddenly felt slightly useless at this point because he didn't actually know what size clothes Jada actually wore and as Carla was still in the changing rooms he had no one to ask.
In the end he just held a few of the swimming costumes, right up against an enthusiastic Jada and guessed that she'd probably need the one in size one and a half to two years old because even though Jada turned two next week, she was still rather dinky and it really didn't look like she'd need a bigger size.
On the way to the till Peter couldn't help but pick up a few other bits of clothing for Jada and by the time Carla had found them at the cash desk, he was also clutching a hairbrush, a pair of socks and a set of hair clips, all items which Jada had picked of the shelf whilst walking past.
Carla had asked to see Jada's new swimming costume after Peter had paid for it but he insisted on keeping it as a surprise and said that Carla could see it when they got to the pool. They had left Simon in the car with his iphone because he really detested shopping and after returning it to it at around twelve thirty pm, they were soon on their way to the leisure centre.
They all got dressed in the family changing rooms, Peter taking Jada with him whilst Simon and Carla got into their swimming gear on their own.
Peter bent down and helped Jada wiggled out her clothes, praying that the swimming costume would fit her properly because he wanted to show Carla he had made the right decision and that he could handle something like that.
"Wowee..." Peter said, looking at Jada once she was dressed in her shiny new swimsuit. It fitted like a dream and Jada looked utterly delightful.
"Ariel…" Jada said, stroking her tummy at the start of the tail part of her costume. She had been referring to the Little Mermaid, another one of her favourite movies but this one wasn't one that Peter was all too familiar with so he looked confused.
"Ariel?" He repeated but Jada didn't have time to reply because they suddenly both heard,
"Come on you two get a wiggle on." It was Carla and she had been ready in her swimming costume for a good few minutes now, She was stood outside the little cubicle Peter and Jada had gone into. Simon was there too and he was just finishing blowing up the arm bands that they had bought for Jada in the swimming pool shop.
Carla was staring into the mirror near by as she tied her long hair into a braid but when she saw Jada and Peter finally walk out of the cubicle, she was diverted.
"Look Mummy! Jada maymaid!" Jada said beaming proudly down at her self, She had walked out of her and her Dad's changing cubicle so slowly and delicately it was as if she thought walking too fast would somehow ruin her mermaid costume. "Look me look me!" She repeated, as she slowly approached her proud Mum.
"You look beautiful baby." Carla said, half laughing and half wanting to cry at how cute her daughter looked. Peter smiled as Carla bent down and gave Jada a hug and patted Simon on the back happily as Jada then realised she hadn't shown her big brother her swimming costume.
"Look Simon…" She said, gazing up at him. "Maymaid… Ariel."
"What's Ariel?" Peter asked with a chuckle as he and Carla made their way to the shallow pool with Jada and Simon in tow.
"You mean who." Carla said grinning, "Ariel's the little mermaid... She has a purple top and green tail, I think that's where the inspiration for her swimming costume came from."
"Oh… right." Peter said with a nod, Simon had bent down further ahead and was helping Jada into her armbands as Carla said,
"I'm surprised you avent heard Jada mention her before, that's another one of her favourite movies actually…" She smiled at the sight of Simon on his knees in front of his little sister and then said, "God she looks so cute, good choice Peter."
"Oh well, I can't actually take credit for it… it was all Jada's choice" He said strolling next to Carla who he couldn't help but keep staring at when he wasn't looking at Jada and Simon of course.
Carla was more than aware that she was being watched and smiled sheepishly down at herself as they reached Jada and Simon who were stood hand in had at the edge of the shallow pool.
"Swimmy time!" Jada said jumping up and down suddenly, looking totally excited to get into the pool with her family. Peter smiled at Carla one last time before scooping Jada up and taking her into the pool with him.
They all messed about in the very shallow part of the pool for a while, where Jada kicked the water at her feet wildly and thoroughly enjoyed wetting her brother, mother and Dad but she soon kept venturing towards the deeper part of the pool and wanting to go in, so Peter put her on his back and swam further in with her. Simon soon followed afterwards but Carla on the other hand went sat on the edge of the pool, leaving just her legs in the water.
At first, Peter and Simon had just left her too it, but after a while, Peter swam up to Simon and said,
"Ere… take Jada for a minute will ya." He handed Jada to Simon and as Jada pointed over at the slide, which was near by, Peter slowly swam towards Carla who was smiling at him with her head on one side.
"You alright?" Peter breathed, watching her closely.
"Course." She said, nodding at Peter truthfully, she was more than all right actually and was simply enjoying the image of Peter and Simon playing with Jada. He nodded at her and moved closer so that he was directly in front of her legs which she had hanging into the pool. "What?" Carla sighed, shaking her head and grinning at Peter who was in front of her. She could instantly tell he had a smart comment on the way.
"Well… it's just… you know swimming… it usually means you have to get into the water." Peter said, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Yeah I did get into the water..." Carla replied, folding her arms and looking down on Peter in the water.
"Hardly..." Peter smirked, "Look at you... you're practically bone dry."
"I am not..." Carla said, kicking so that she splashed Peter with water. He dodged it expertly and then flicked his hand, sending rather a lot of water her way.
"Stop!" Carla cried, shaking her head as her hair dripped with water. Peter let her be because she then glanced up at Simon and Jada who were in line to go down a little elephant slide together, Carla started laughing because Jada was waving wilding at her shouting,
"Mummy look!"
"Hello Jada!" Carla called, waving back and then sighing happily. She and Peter watched as Simon climbed up onto the slide that he was really much too big for and put Jada on his lap. "She's having such a good time." Carla smiled, laughing as Jada and Simon shot down the slide together, they both went splashing into the pool and Jada was in fits of laughter when she emerged from the water.
"Yeah she's a right little water baby." Peter said smiling over at his kids with complete pride, Simon and Jada both went for another turn on the slide and as they went down again Peter asked, "Do you two go swimming much in California?"
The moment he had asked that question, he felt like an idiot.
He was sure that Carla and Jada must go swimming a lot there, he was also sure that Carla's best friend Susie had a swimming pool in her back garden and guessed that Jada and Carla probably spent many afternoons there enjoying the sunshine.
"Yes." Carla nodded, "We go on Fridays… Jada actually has little swimming lessons."
"Ahhh I should ave guessed." Peter said nodding because Jada had seemed very very confident in the water when they had first arrived.
"It's nothing too serious, they just float about and learn how to kick n stuff…" Carla said smiling, "It's actually really cute because they have all this music playing, Jada loves it."
"And what about her mother?" Peter said, leaning against the wall of the pool next to Carla.
"Me?" She asked with an eyebrow raised, "I already know how to swim."
"Yeah I know that." Peter laughed, "I mean what do you love… what do ya do for fun?" Carla shrugged at first, taking another look at Simon and Jada who were now floating across the pool on a large rectangular float which a life guard had given them.
She tried to think about what she did for fun but everything she came up with was something to do with Jada and she knew that wasn't what Peter meant.
She'd guessed he wanted to know more about what she did on her own and she really couldn't come up with anything.
"Erm… Well I like to shop." Carla said, earning a very sarcastic
"No!" from Peter, he laughed at first as Carla gave him a gentle kick under the water but then, after she didn't speak he looked serious. "Is that it?" He asked, not meaning to sound so intruding but wanting to find out a little more about Carla's life in L.A.
There was a part of him that wanted to come right out and say,
"Did you date anyone in L.A?" But he knew he couldn't, especially since a public swimming pool wasn't the place for that kind of conversation.
"I mean... don't you go out at night n stuff?" He ended up asking, trying to act subtle but not actually managing it.
"You're a right a nosy parker." said Carla, smiling at him coyly.
"Sorry..." Peter nodded, "I was trying to show an interest in the mother of my child that's all..." Carla nodded and him and gazed into the distance at Jada and Simon as she spoke,
"I do go out... with some of the girls from work... but not that often."
"Why not?" Peter said, biting his lip and lifting up his legs so that he was now floating in the water.
"I don't really ave anyone to leave Jada with other than Susie, I'm not the kinda person who'd just leave her with a random babysitter y'know, So a lot of the time, it's just me n Jada at home." Carla said smiling but Peter wasn't smiling and she could tell it was because he felt like a lot of this was his fault. "It's fine Peter…" She said watching his rather guilty expression and shaking her head, "That's how I like it.
Peter nodded at Carla, a little dismayed to hear that she didn't get the chance to go out much and decided that he was definitely going to do something about that later, for now though, He looked over at Jada and Simon who were still floating about the pool and then back at Carla who said,
"So what do you do then? For fun?"
"Erm..." Peter replied, suddenly deep in thought as Carla laughed.
"Not such an easy question to answer is it?" She said smugly.
"No... it's not." Peter said, putting his legs down and standing up in the water properly, Jada and Simon were still floating about the pool together, Simon sat cross legged on the float with a delighted Jada on his lap. "Right..." Peter said, deciding to change the subject as he flashed Carla a wicked grin. "Let's get you wet."
"Don't even think about it Barlow." Carla said pointing at Peter and knowing exactly what the grin on Peter's face meant. He moved closer towards her as she cried, "Peter... No!" but before she knew it, She had been pulled head first into the water below.
After a fun filled afternoon of swimming, Peter, Carla, Simon and Jada all had an afternoon nap when they had gotten back to the flat. Carla had been the one to fall asleep first, only going into the bedroom to find something but being found fast asleep on the bed by Simon moments later, when he went to ask if she wanted a cup of tea.
Jada fell asleep next, in her Dad's arms on the sofa with Simba in her arms and it was Simon who fell asleep last, in his own bed after he had decided that he might as well have a nap too because soon after Jada had fallen asleep, his Dad had joined her.
Hours and hours later and Peter had been the one to wake up first. He very gently got up and put Jada in bed with her Mum. Jada moved as Peter put her down and curled up against Carla who, half asleep, put an arm over her daughters middle and cuddled her close.
Peter smiled warmly at the sight before him and even though he could have watched them both sleep all afternoon, he decided that he was going to go over and see his Dad, just so that he could tell him all about his fun filled day.
As soon as he got through the front door of Number One, Peter told his Dad all about his swimming trip with Jada, Simon and Carla and even after that, he still didn't stop talking about them all, Filling Ken in on every funny conversation and sweet thing that Jada did.
Even though Peter did tend to go on a bit, His Dad still smiled and listened intently because he truly felt like he hadn't seen his son this happy in years and it was a sight that he just couldn't get enough of.
When Amy and Tracy came in fresh from a shopping trip, Peter started his swimming story all over again and he couldn't help but smile every time he said Carla and Jada's names.
He eventually ran out of steam and left his Dad's house at Six forty five pm. He had intended on going straight back to his flat but then he had a sudden brain wave, one that had him turning back on himself and going into the Rover's Return pub.
When Peter returned home properly, it was seven pm and when he walked through the front door he was pleasantly surprised.
He walked into his flat to see Carla and Jada stood in his kitchen. They were listening to music on Carla's phone and were both wearing aprons, it appeared that they were cooking and as Peter got closer he saw that they really were.
Jada was standing on one of the dining room chairs so she could reach the counter. Her apron was actually an adult one which Carla had tied so it fitted her properly and she had her tiny hands delved into a large bowl of grated cheese.
Simon was sat on the sofa with some school books on his lap and as Peter got closer to him he very quickly and truthfully said,
"They wouldn't let me help Dad." Peter smiled at Simon as he approached the kitchen and saw that Jada was busy sprinkling a rather large amount of cheese on top of what looked like an uncooked lasagne.
After four days of Peter's cooking, Carla had decided it was time she helped out and cooked a meal for them all instead.
Peter had been so surprised the other day when he learnt that she now knew how to cook and Carla couldn't help but feel like she needed to show him just how good at cooking she had actually become.
Before Jada, whenever Carla had tried to cook, she would burn anything and everything and when it came to following recipes she was utterly useless at getting the measurements just right but now she could cook all sorts of different meals and actually had some of her favourite recipes memorised, one of those recipes being the lasagne.
"Hey… how was your Dad?" Carla asked Peter, as Jada went for another handful of cheese.
"Yeah he's good thanks." Peter nodded, "He's invited us all round for dinner tomorrow if you're up for it."
"Course… I am..." Carla began and then she laughed at Jada who was going for another lot of cheese. "Yeah I think that's enough darlin…" She took the bowl of grated cheese off Jada who was done anyway because she had suddenly realised Peter was there.
"Daddy Jada helping." She said, raising her arms and showing Peter that she wanted him to hold her. When Peter had picked her up she kissed him on the lips lovingly and put her arms right around his neck. Carla smiled fondly at them both as she picked up the lasagne dish and walked towards the oven.
"Wow…" Peter said, staring at the dish Carla now had in her hand, he then glanced around the kitchen which didn't look too bad considering she had been cooking. "Did you make that from scratch?" He asked, he didn't know too much about lasagne but he knew it must take a lot of effort to prepare.
"Yes." Carla replied, Peter grinned at her and then looked over at Simon who said,
"She did Dad, I saw it."
"Cheek!" Carla said, pretending to be offended at the way Peter had looked at Simon, as she bent down to put it the lasagne the oven she said, "Although I didn't make the garlic bread… that's from Freshco's."
"Right." Peter chuckled, still holding Jada in his arms. Carla nodded at him with a smile and as she took her apron off she said,
"It'll be ready in about half n hour."
"Can't wait." Peter replied, genuinely excited to try what Carla had cooked. It was clear that she knew exactly what she had been doing by the lack of mess she had made because in the past, a simple fry up would have caused his kitchen to be a total state of chaos and as Carla put the cheese into the fridge and set a timer on her phone, Peter couldn't help but admire this change in her.
She slowly walked past him as he put Jada down and then he remembered what he had just done and where he had just been.
"Oh…" He said, taking off Jada's apron and gaining Carla's attention again. "I saw Chelle when I was on me way back ere…"
"Oh yeah?" Carla asked, walking back towards the kitchen, she stopped in front of Peter who stood back up and as Jada ran towards the sofa where Simon was sat with his books.
"Yeah… she told me to tell you that she wanted you both to go out tonight…" Peter said innocently. "N I was thinking about what you said earlier… about not going out much… So… what d'ya reckon… d'ya wanna go?"
"Erm… I guess." Carla said, "I mean… if you don't mind."
"Course not." Peter scoffed, He smiled at Carla who looked slightly thrilled at the prospect of going out and then added, "Chelle said to call her if you wanted to go."
"Alright…" Carla said excitedly, nodding at Peter before going to get her phone, she smiled at him before walking into her bedroom and knew that this idea of her going out with Michelle had to be one of his.
Carla's lasagne shocked Simon and Peter to their very cores. It was delicious and had them both going back to the kitchen for second helpings.
At first they had been messing about and talking about the last time Carla had cooked them meal but after they had taken their first bite, their eyes both widened and it was clear that Carla had gotten extremely good at cooking.
"Carla that was delicious." Peter said in awe, putting his fork down onto his empty plate. Jada was licking sauce of her fingers and was being cleaned up as Simon nodded and said,
"I agree."
"Awww thanks you two." Carla said, beaming with pride. She was covered in sauce thanks to sitting next to Jada and when she had finished wiping Jada down with some wipes she had started to gather all the plates together.
"No… leave em." Peter said, looking down at his watch, "Didn't you say you were meeting Michelle across the road at Nine?"
"Yes…" Carla began, but Peter wasn't having any of it. He got up and took the plates of Carla as he said,
"Well then, leave the plates, I'll do it. You go n get ready for your night out."
Carla had planned on helping Peter but when he insisted, she headed towards the bedroom and started to get ready.
She appeared back into the living room just over half an hour later and was met by the sight of Peter, Simon and Jada sat on the sofa watching television. Jada was sat in Peter's arms with her thumb in her mouth, she was staring at the television but her eye lids were drooping and it was clear she was going to fall asleep any minute now.
Carla smiled affectionately over at the sofa and walked over to the armchair with her shoes in hand, Peter glanced over at her and then did a double take before tapping Jada gently on the shoulder and saying,
"Oh Jada… doesn't Mummy look gorgeous…" Carla tried very hard not to blush as Jada took her attention away from the TV and looked at her Mum before taking her thumb out of her mouth and saying,
"Pretty Mummy."
Carla was wearing a pair of black faux leather leggings and a white shirt, which she hadn't quite buttoned the entire way up so she was showing quite a bit of skin. She had left her hair in it's natural wavy state after swimming earlier and had put on a pair of hooped earrings on which Peter could see underneath it.
Her make up was minimal but she had applied a thick coat of mascara to her eyelashes, which made her eyes stand out even more than they already did and as Carla sat down on the armchair she said,
"Thank you." She then reached over and poked Jada in the tummy before smiling at Peter and beginning to put on her boots.
"Where Mummy going?" Jada said, staring up at Peter curiously.
"Mummy's going out with Auntie Chelle." Peter said, as Simon nodded and said,
"You do look dead nice Carla."
"Cheers Si." Carla said, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious, she sat with Peter, Jada and Simon for a while to watch TV but it soon became time for her to leave.
"Ave a good night." Peter said, getting up off the sofa with Jada who was asleep once more, she still had Simba underneath an arm and as Peter rose, Simba fell onto the floor.
"Thanks." Carla said with a whisper, bending down and picking up Simba. "I won't be out too late."
"Dont be silly..." Peter said, taking Simba of Carla. "Stay out as late as you want, it's nothing to do with me."
"I know..." Carla said, reaching out and tenderly stroking Jada's head. "But still... I won't be out too late..." She then bent forwards to kiss Jada gently on the head as she said, "Bye bye Jada."
"Bye bye Mummy." Peter said softly, smiling at Carla warmly. She fought against the urge she had to hug him goodbye and gave him a coy wave before saying,
"See ya later."
She met Michelle outside the pub at nine pm, and as they linked arms excitedly Carla said,
"Right, where we going?"
"No idea..." Michelle said with a shrug, dressed in a black dress and black heels. "Where do ya fancy?"
"I dunno..." Carla said, as they walked down Coronation Street, "I'm not too fussed really, just somewhere we can have a good catch up."
Michelle and Carla were in the middle of discussing where to go when a suited and booted Nick Tilsley walked past them towards his resturant.
"Alright Nick?" Michelle called, causing Nick to turn around and smiled at her and Carla.
"Yeah I can't complain... How are you two?" He asked, still smiling at the sight of a dressed up Carla and Michelle.
"Yeah we're alright, aren't we Carla?" Michelle nodded, Carla nodded too and then said,
"We're just deciding where to go tonight."
"Is that so?" Nick asked, his smile wider than ever as his gaze suddenly fixed right on Carla. "Well may I suggest the bistro down the road... I've heard it's very good."
"Oh yeah?" Carla laughed,
"Yeah," Nick grinned, "I know the owner." Carla laughed again, Michelle did too and then cheekily said,
"Well I don't suppose the owner would let us ave a bottle of wine on the house would he?" Carla nudged her best friend in the stomach but Nick just laughed cheerily and said,
"Hmmm maybe, if you're very nice to him that is." He began walking on again, turning back to nod at Carla and Michelle before going right into the Bistro.
"What d'ya reckon? Should we go to the bistro for a quick drink before heading into town?" Michelle asked, Carla looked down at her high heels and then over at the Bistro which was literally a few feet away,
"Yeah why not, Might as well get a few free drinks in eh?" She nodded and with that, her and Michelle headed towards Nick's Bistro.