Chapter 37
As it was the holidays they'd decided to go and spend a few days with Eddie's brother and his family in Milton Keynes.
Travelling with six people including two babies meant an awful lot of stuff, but they had finally loaded up the car and were ready to set off.
"Rachel please can we play eye spy?" Ivy asked just five minutes into their journey. Rachel sighed, this was going to be a long journey.
"Yeah okay then"
It actually made the first part of the journey go really quickly however they were all really annoyed when they joined the start of a queue. Rachel looked up the problem on her phone and there had been an accident.
"Rachel I'm bored" Ivy moaned "are we nearly there yet?"
"I'm afraid not. We've still got a while to go yet and we're stuck in traffic"
"I really need the toilet" Taylor announced. She was going to try and hold it because she knew Rachel and Eddie wouldn't want to stop but she was getting more and more bursting.
"Oh Taylor, did you go before we left like I told you to?"
"No I forgot sorry"
"Well can you at least wait until we're out of the traffic jam or it will be a nightmare to join again" eddie said
"I can't I'm desperate"
"Well we just as well stop for a coffee or something, maybe it will be moving a bit more when we come out"
They very slowly moved a bit further, when luckily there was a turn off for a service station
Rachel took the two girls to the loo whilst Eddie took the twins and got a table in costa.
"You can pick a magazine each in the shop if you like soon as the journey is going to be a little longer than we were hoping" Rachel said to Taylor and Ivy after they'd all been to the loo
They then went and joined Eddie and all had a drink and a snack before going into the shop to choose a magazine.
When they got back on the motorway the traffic was still moving a bit slowly but a lot quicker than it was before they left
Eventually they arrived at Eddie's brother's house. He and his wife, Allison, were standing outside to greet them with their three children.
They were all really happy to see each other as it had been quite a while since they'd been together.
Ivy was a bit shy as she'd never met them before. Rachel noticed this so picked her up and put her on her hip before introducing her to everyone.
"This is Ella, and this is Ben, and this is Hannah" Rachel said. Ivy soon got used to them as they all seemed really kind and friendly
They went into the kitchen and had a drink and sat chatting. Soon Rachel and Eddie decided to unload the car.
After a little while Ivy went upstairs to find Rachel who was unpacking all of their stuff.
"Hiya love you alright?" Rachel asked
"Yes thank you. Their house is really nice"
"I know, it's lovely isn't it"
"Rachel where am I going to be sleeping tonight?"
"I think you're going to sleep in Hannah's bedroom with her and Taylor"
"Yay. How old are all of them?"
"Well Ben's 17, Ella's 15 and Hannah's 10"
Ivy stayed chatting to Rachel for a while before going back downstairs and joining the others who were watching TV in the lounge. Ben had gone out with his girlfriend for the day so it was just the four girls.
They were starting to get a bit bored so were trying to think of something to do.
"Do you think Mum would let us walk into town like she let us last weekend?" Hannah asked Ella
"She might do, we'd have to ask Rachel as well though. Do you two fancy doing that? We can just look around the shops and go to a cafe or something?" Ella replied
"Yeah that would be fun, wouldn't it Ivy?"
"Yeah"
Of course Ivy and Taylor were both thrilled with the prospect of being allowed to go out somewhere without an adult.
"Mum please could Taylor, Ivy, Hannah and I go into town for a bit?" Ella asked her Mum
"Urnm, that's fine with me but it's up to Rachel really"
Rachel had a little think about it because Ivy was only six but Rachel knew that Ella was very responsible.
"Well okay girls, but Ella please be really careful with Ivy. Hold her hand all of the time" Rachel instructed
The four girls got their things together before walking out the door and into town.
"I'm really thirsty" Ivy said once they got there
"Okay, let's go get a drink then" Ella said leading them into a nice little cafe
"So Ivy have you got a boyfriend"
"Yes I have three"
"Three?"
"Yes when we were playing kiss chase at school yesterday I got kissed by three boys" Ivy said making them all laugh
"What about you Hannah?" Ella said nudging her younger sister
"No" hannah said immediately
"Taylor has" Ivy told them
Taylor felt her cheeks blush a little, but she didn't really mind them knowing.
"Have you now?" Ella said intrigued
"Well we started going out a couple of weeks ago"
"What's he called?"
"Sam"
Once they'd finished their drinks they decided to have a little look around the shops
They'd all found some pretty skirts and had bought them ready for the summer. They were almost ready to go home when they decided to go in one last clothes shop.
Taylor saw Ella pick up some knickers to buy and she also noticed that they were thongs.
After Ella bought them they walked out of the shop.
"Ella I saw quite a nice top in there, is it okay if I go back in and buy it?" Taylor asked
"Yeah okay, we'll just wait outside" Ella said as the sun had just come out from behind the clouds so she wanted to sit in it
Taylor went back into the shop and picked up a thong before quickly buying it, although she did feel a bit embarrassed, and then putting it into the same bag that her skirt was in.
"Let's see the top then" Ella said once she came out
"I changed my mind" Taylor replied
The four of them started the walk home
"My legs are aching" Ivy moaned
"Well you have done very well, do you want a piggy back?" Ella offered
"Yes please"
They stopped at a nearby bench so that Ivy could get up. They then walked the rest of the way home.
When they got in they showed Rachel and Allison, who were sat in the rather large garden with a glass of pimms, their skirts. They both thought that they had bought some pretty skirts.
The girls then put their bags down before going up to the top of the garden to lounge in the sun.
"What shall we do for dinner then?" Allison asked
"Well it's turned into a lovely spring evening, maybe we could have a BBQ?" Rachel suggested
"Yeah that would be nice. Shall we send the men to Morrisons?"
"Yeah I'll go and interrupt the football" Rachel said laughing
She picked up Taylor and Ivy's shopping bags before going into the lounge and writing a list before giving to the men to get the shopping.
She then went up to the room her and Eddie were staying in to put the girl's skirts away. She was in for a shock when she opened Taylor's bag and saw the thong.
To start with she thought they must be Ella's or something but then she didn't really know why they'd be in Taylor's bag if they were.
Rachel opened the bedroom window as it looked over the back garden.
"Taylor could you come up here a second please?"
"Yeah"
Taylor was about to pick up her bag to put it in her room but panicked when she couldn't see it. She immediately cursed herself for not putting it away as soon as they got home.
Taylor nervously walked into Rachel's room and sat down on the bed. She started to play with Daisy who was lying on the bed so that she didn't have to make eye contact with Rachel because she was certain that was what she wanted to speak to her about
"I think we need to have a little chat about what you bought when you went shopping today love?" Rachel said making Taylor blush with embarrassment
"Did you look through the bag?"
"Yes I did. What's with the thong?" Rachel questioned
"I don't know, I just fancied buying some new knickers"
"Well they're not the sort of knickers you normally wear"
"No but I wanted to get the same ones that Ella bought"
Rachel sighed
"But Ella's 3 years older than you are my love. She's 15 nearly 16 so she's bound to be wearing things that are too grown up for you" Rachel said but really she was shocked at the underwear that Ella was wearing
"I guess" Taylor admitted
"Honestly, you should see how big the knickers were that I used to have to wear when I was your age. Now is the receipt in the bag so that I can take them back?"
"Yes, but please don't do it in front of everyone"
"Don't worry I won't. I'll just nip out in the morning or something"
"Thanks Mum. And sorry for buying them"
"That's okay, but next time ask me first before you buy something that you don't think I'll approve of"
"I will do"
The two of them then went back into the garden. Taylor went back up with the girls whilst Rachel sat down with Allison.
"You'll never guess what Taylor bought today"
"What?"
"A thong. Apparently she saw Ella buying one so wanted one too. I never knew girls wore that sort of underwear even at Ella's age"
"Oh yeah Ella started wearing them a few months back. Is Taylor keeping it?"
"God no. Please don't bring it up, I think she's quite embarrassed about it now"
"Don't worry I won't"
Once Eddie and Chris got back from Morrisons Rachel and Allison went into the kitchen to start making the salad and stuff. Rachel and Allison got on really well so they always enjoyed staying with one another.
Soon Ben came back with his girlfriend so they got to meet Rosie who seemed really nice.
Once they's eaten it started to get a bit chilly so they decided to go inside. After a nice evening Rachel and Allison decided it was time Taylor, Hannah and Ivy were getting to bed.
They got Ivy and Hannah into their pyjamas whilst Taylor got changed in the bathroom and then tucked them in before going downstairs. However after a while they could still hear them chattering so Chris went up knowing how tired they would be tomorrow if they didn't go to sleep now and they wanted them to enjoy the day, and not be tired and teezy.
"Girls, it's really late so I don't want to hear you talking. Now go to sleep please. I don't want to have to ask you again" Chris said quite strictly
Chris hadn't meant to but he had frightened Ivy a little bit. The other two had gone to sleep now but Ivy was still lying there. She was desperate for the toilet but she was scared to move in case Chris shouted again.
She continued to lay there getting more and more bursting. She couldn't get to sleep because all she could think about was her need to get to the loo quickly but she was too scared to move.
At about 12 the adults came to bed too. They were a little bit tipsy but Rachel still decided to check on the girls before going into her room.
She couldn't quite tell but she was pretty sure that Ivy was still awake. She could also see her leg jigging up and down.
"Ivy are you still awake love?" Rachel whispered
"Yes. Rachel please can I go for a wee"
"Of course you can love, come on"
Ivy quickly got out of bed and practically ran into the bathroom. Rachel followed her in.
"I thought I was going to have an accident" Ivy admitted
"Why did you not get out before love?"
"I was worried Chris was going to shout again"
"He wasn't being horrible darling, honestly he wasn't. He just wanted you all to go to sleep because he knew how tired you'd be tomorrow otherwise"
Once Ivy had been for a wee Rachel put her back into bed before getting into bed herself and falling asleep next to Eddie.