Chapter 23: New dawn
Jamie ran down the cobbles as fast as her little legs would carry her.
"Jamie!" Carla lagged behind her daughter, her fitness levels having not quite returned to pre-kidney failure standard.
Jamie burst in through the door of the Rovers and scanned the room. Toyah. Toyah could help her.
"Toyah!"
Toyah rushed around the bar and crouched down in front of Jamie.
"Hi sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"I want daddy!"
"You know, your daddy doesn't live here anymore. Can I –"
"Jamie!" Carla panted as she finally caught up with her daughter. "Do not run off like that!"
"Go away! I hate you! I want daddy!"
"Did you want to come out back and I'll call your dad?"
"You stay out of it!" Carla wished Toyah would just disappear. "Jamie, you come with me now."
"Jamie," Toyah decided it was time to play dirty. "Your dad will probably be next door, at your granddad's house."
Jamie wasted no time; she turned and ran to the door.
Carla had so many things she wanted to say to Toyah in that moment, but she had to make do with the filthiest look she could muster before once again giving chase to her daughter. As Carla slammed the pub door behind her, Toyah couldn't help but smirk; she had enjoyed watching Carla being shown up as a not-so-perfect mother after all.
Carla emerged from the Rovers to see Jamie pounding on the front door of No. 1. With any luck, no one would be home and she could get Jamie back to the flat without her spilling the beans. She wasn't ready for the arguments she knew would be coming her way if Jamie revealed what she knew. But, for now, all she could do was stand by her daughter's side and wait.
The door opened; Carla's heart sank.
"Granddad!"
"Hi Carla, Jamie. What –?"
"Daddy! Daddy!" Jamie pushed past Ken and went in search of her daddy.
"Carla?"
"Don't ask. Can I?"
"Yes, of course, come in."
Peter was sat in an armchair in his father's old-fashioned living room when he heard his daughter yelling for him. Immediately he rose to his feet in anticipation; then Jamie burst through the doors, her search finally over.
"Daddy!" Jamie ran up to Peter and almost jumped into his waiting arms, tears streaming down her face.
"Sweetheart," for a moment Peter held his daughter tight before questioning her. "What's the matter? Hey?"
"Mummy," was all Jamie could get out before dissolving once more into sobs.
"Has something happened to mummy?"
Jamie shook her head.
"Then what…?" Peter looked up as Ken and Carla entered the room.
"Carla, what's going on?"
"It's nothing. It's just a tantrum."
"Mummy gonna take me away," Jamie blurted out. "I don't wanna go, daddy."
Peter stared at Carla, a suddenly defensive and questioning look on his face.
"Well? What's she talking about?"
"This isn't how I wanted to tell you."
"Carla, just spit it out, please."
Carla hesitated as long as she could; she knew her news was not going to be received well. "We're moving back to Devon."
"No!" Peter's reaction was instant and definite. "No way are you taking her away again."
"It's happening, Peter. Get used to it."
"Carla," Ken, always the voice of reason, now tried to reason with his ex-daughter-in-law. "Is that really the best thing for Jamie? To be taken away from her family?"
"What's this?" Simon now entered the fray, having heard a commotion from where he had been studying in his bedroom. "You can't move away."
"Si, this is none of your business."
"But it is when you're trying to take my sister away," Simon was getting worked up now. "It's cruel, you know, after everything with Susie."
"Si, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, Carla. Just don't go!"
"Si," Peter, despite his insides churning with almost overwhelming emotion, spoke calmly to his son. "Take Jamie upstairs will you."
"No, daddy," Jamie didn't want to go.
"Sweetheart, Si's gonna take you upstairs to wash your face, okay? Clean up those tears. Can you do that for your dad?"
Jamie studied her dad's face for a few moments before nodding her agreement.
"Good girl," Peter kissed her softly before placing her back on her feet. "Please, Si."
"Fine."
Simon took Jamie's hand in his and led her to the staircase as instructed.
"Dad?" Peter turned to Ken.
"Yes?" Ken was oblivious to Peter's hint.
"Do you mind?"
"Oh," Ken finally understood. "I should get started on dinner. I'll, umm…"
"Thanks, dad."
As soon as Ken was out of earshot, Peter turned to Carla, determined to make sense of her sudden and, in his opinion, irrational decision.
"Is this because of what happened between us?"
"Of course not."
"Because, Carla, I thought I explained that it was too soon. You know, it was the same day that I split up with Toyah."
"I know that –"
"And you know I'm a complete mess at the moment. A wreck. I really am. You and me right now would be a terrible idea. I'm just not in the right head space for anything like that. I mean, it's not like I didn't enjoy –"
"Peter! Stop talking! For one minute, just…"
Peter stopped and stared at Carla.
"Let's get one thing straight. I do not make life-changing decisions because of one stupid kiss. Okay? It was a mistake. I know that. Now, I know you're upset, that this has been a bit of a shock –."
"Just a bit," Peter couldn't help interjecting.
"Why don't we sit down and talk about it properly once everyone's calmed down. Okay?"
"I'm not gonna change my mind."
"Peter."
"Fine. Don't think this is the end of the matter."
"Understood."
"I can't let them leave, dad, I just can't."
Ken looked with pity at his son who, after so recently having lost one daughter, was faced with the prospect of losing another.
"Why don't you meet with Carla, like she suggested, and talk things through rationally. Calmly."
"No, she'll just fob me off again. I need to take action before she does. I need to see a lawyer."
"Surely you can work this out between the two of you?"
"You heard her, dad, she's already made up her mind."
"Talk to her, Peter. She's not an unreasonable person."
"She is when she's trying to take my daughter from me."
"She's just lost her brother in traumatic circumstances. She's not thinking straight, she's making rash decisions. Talk to her, find out why she's doing this."
"No! I need to stop her!"
Peter paced the living room floor, plans quickly turning over in his mind. Ken watched his son despondently, fearful that he might lash out in his desperation to keep his daughter in his life and end up making everything so much worse.
"Don't look at me like that, dad. I'm not like you, I'm willing to fight for my children."
Ken ignored this censure of his past parenting mistakes; it wasn't the first time he'd heard it from Peter's lips, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.
"I know. And I'm proud of you for that. But Peter," Ken reached out and placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't burn your bridges. You and Carla will be that girl's parents for the rest of her life. Don't make things any harder than they have to be."
Carla and Jamie sat at the dinner table in silence. Jamie was refusing to eat her dinner; refusing to even speak with her mother. She simply sat there, arms folded, glaring at Carla.
"Are you going to eat anything?"
Still Jamie sat in silence and glared.
"No? Well, you may as well go to bed then. Go on, get out of here."
With a final dirty look at her mum, Jamie stood and violently pushed her chair away from the table, almost causing it to tip on its side, before storming out of the room.
Carla sighed; this was harder than she'd anticipated. Persuading Jamie to move away from Devon in the first place had been a hard enough task, but persuading her to move back to Devon was proving nigh on impossible. She hadn't bargained on the strong bond that had grown between father and daughter; she was scared that, if she forced the matter, it would serve only to break the precious bond that existed between mother and daughter.
Carla knocked gently on Jamie's bedroom door, slightly ajar as it always was during the night.
"Can I come in?" Carla spoke softly.
"Yes," Jamie's almost instant affirmative reply melted Carla's heart.
Carla entered her daughter's bedroom, lit only by the starry night night-light that projected constellations across her bedroom walls and ceiling. She approached the bed, where Jamie was curled up under her duvet, her hair curling gently where her head lay against the pillow. Clutched close to Jamie's chest was her old well-worn and well-loved teddy. Snowy, as always, was asleep at the foot of Jamie's bed.
Carla sat down on the edge of the bed, leaned down and gently kissed Jamie's forehead.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to upset you."
"You did."
"I know," Carla stroked Jamie's hair as she spoke. "I should've talked to you about it properly, not just told you what was happening."
"Please don't make me go back, mummy."
"But don't you want to see all your old friends? And move back to our old house? Your old bedroom? You know how much you love that bedroom. And then we can go to the beach every day."
"Can daddy come with us? And Si? And Granddad Ken? And Aunty Chelle?"
"No, baby, they live here."
"Then I wanna live here too."
"But I can't. It's too hard." Carla instantly regretted revealing her inner struggles to Jamie; she was meant to be the adult, the parent, the one in control. She shouldn't be offloading her troubles onto her daughter.
Carla's confession opened the floodgates and, even though she desperately tried to stop them, the tears started to fall from her eyes and splash down her cheeks. Jamie saw her mum's tears and instinctively wanted to comfort her. She sat up in bed and flung herself at her mum, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing her.
"Don't cry, mummy. Don't be sad."
Carla clung to her daughter, holding her tight.
"I love you so much, baby. So much."
"I love you, mummy."
Carla sat by her daughter's bedside long after she had fallen asleep. She watched Jamie as she lay there so peacefully, her arms wrapped lovingly around teddy, the stars from the night-light moving softly across her face, creating an atmosphere of pure ethereal magic.
The doorbell rang. Carla looked at her watch; it was a little late for callers.
"Oh, it's you."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure."
Carla stood aside to let Peter in.
"Where's Jamie?"
"Asleep."
"Right."
"So if you could keep your voice down."
"What?" Peter was immediately on edge, seeing ulterior motives in every look and every word. "You think I've come here for an argument or summat?"
"Yeah, I think that's exactly why you're here. To kick off at us moving back home."
"This is her home."
"For now."
"Carla, you're forgetting that Jamie doesn't want to go."
"Well, she didn't want to move here either, but she got used to it. Just like she'll get used to being back home."
"How many times, her home is here."
"Her home is wherever I am."
"Well, my lawyer would disagree with you."
"Your what? You've seen a lawyer?"
"Of course I have. What did you expect, Carla? That I would let you move my daughter to the other side of the country? Just like that? You honestly think I'd be happy seeing her for what? A weekend here and there? Every second Christmas?"
"There's phone calls. Facetime. It won't be like before. You've got a relationship with her now."
"Yes. One that I want to keep."
"And I will do everything in my power to make sure you do."
Peter looked at Carla; he wondered why she was doing this, wondered what her reaction would be if…
"I really didn't want to do this," Peter played his final hand.
"Do what?"
"How do you think a family court judge would react if they were to find out what happened to Jamie a few weeks ago?"
"Peter, I have no idea –"
"Playing with knives? Not exactly a safe environment for a child."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Then you offload her on me so you can, what? Drink yourself senseless?"
Carla couldn't believe what she was hearing; that Peter was threatening to expose her moments of weakness to the world.
"Are you taking me to court?"
"I'm just letting you know that I will do whatever it takes to keep Jamie where she belongs."
"What exactly is it that you want, Peter? Full custody?"
"If that's what it takes to stop you taking her away from me."
"And you're prepared to stand up in court and give testimony that, what? I'm an unfit mother?"
"I don't want to, Carla, it's you that's forcing me to do this."
"Because I was grieving for my brother. You'd use that against me?"
"If I have to. Yes."
Carla couldn't help it; the tears started to fall yet again. Surely one person couldn't cry this many tears?
"How could you do this to me, Peter?"
"Oh, Carla, no. Don't cry."
"Why can't you just let me go."
"Because I don't understand why you're going. Talk to me, Carla. Tell me what's really going on."
"There's nothing –"
Peter laughed.
"What?"
"It's obvious you're running away."
"I'm not."
"Carla, it's me you're talking to."
"Okay. Maybe I am. Why shouldn't I? What's left for me here?"
"There's plenty –"
"Like what? Johnny hates me. Kate hates me. Aidan's gone."
"I know it's hard –"
"Give me one reason, Peter. One single reason to stay."
Peter just looked at her; he wanted to speak, to tell her how he felt, but there was too much at stake.
"Thought so," Carla turned away from Peter, terrified that he would see the truth in her eyes. "Show yourself out."
Carla hurried towards her bedroom; she wanted desperately to reach the safety of her own bed so she could cry with abandon.
"Me. There's your reason, Carla. Stay for me."
Carla slowly turned on the spot and carefully studied Peter's face for the meaning behind his words. But she no longer trusted her own judgement, and she couldn't take the risk of being wrong.
"I already said I'm not going to stand in the way of your relationship with Jamie."
"That's not what I meant."
"Stop talking in riddles, Peter. I can't –"
Carla didn't finish her sentence; Peter decided it was time to act. He strode over to her, cradled her face in his hands and kissed her. If this kiss didn't convince her to stay, then nothing would.
It did.
Carla responded to Peter's kiss; as his lips parted, so did hers; as his tongue entered her mouth, she playfully flicked her tongue around his, seeking entrance to his mouth. As she leaned her head back, exposing the delicate creamy white skin of her neck, Peter greedily kissed and licked and sucked along Carla's jawline, down her neck, and in a long line down her collarbone.
Suddenly, Carla pushed Peter away; she lowered her head and put her hand up to his lips to stop his kisses.
"Hang on a minute," Carla scrutinised Peter's face. "I thought you said you and me was a mistake? That it was too soon, you were too messed up."
"I was wrong. About the mistake part anyway. I'm not gonna lie, I am still a mess. But then I always have been. Yet you, Carla Connor, you still loved me, didn't you?"
"I did."
"Did?"
"Do."
Peter smiled; he didn't mind being a complete train wreck of a man if he had the love of a woman like Carla.
"I love you."
Carla grabbed onto the back of Peter's head with both hands and pulled his face towards hers; she kissed him again with greater passion, greater hunger.
Peter wrapped his arms around Carla's body; one hand roamed freely over her back, skimming up her spine, her neck, raking through her hair; the other hand he reached down to gently squeeze one of her arse cheeks.
Moving both hands to her bottom, Peter lifted Carla into the air. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his body and her arms around his neck. He walked them both over to the sofa and lay her down on her back. She didn't release her grip on his waist and drew him down on top of her, wanting to feel the weight of his body on her.
Carla could feel more than Peter's weight bearing down on her; she could feel the hardness of his erection desperately trying to escape the confines of his jeans. As Peter reignited their fiery kisses, Carla reached down to unbuckle his belt; she slipped his jeans button through the buttonhole and pulled his zip down. Using her feet now, she tucked her toes into the top of his loosened jeans and pushed them down over his arse and down his legs.
She looked down and saw his cock, hard and erect, ready for her. She couldn't help but smile; she looked back up at Peter's face and grinned; they'd waited so long for this moment, years in fact. Neither could quite believe it, but when they kissed, when they touched, they knew it was real, that it was finally happening.
Carla scrambled to quickly rid herself of her own jeans, wanting to do more than see Peter's cock, she wanted to feel it. As she kicked her jeans off onto the ground, Peter once again sunk his body down onto hers. And then she could feel it, his skin against her skin, the heat of his hard cock against the heat and wetness of her pussy. He slid his cock along her skin, over the opening to her vagina, up against her bottom and back down to glide over her clit, engorged and throbbing with desire.
As he moved his hips back and forth in a slow, steady rhythm, Peter pushed the fabric of Carla's top up over her breasts, planting a series of soft, wet kisses on her tummy, up her abdomen and on her breasts. Carla pulled her top up over her head and tossed it onto the growing pile of clothes on her living room floor. Her bra and his t-shirt followed shortly after, leaving them naked, their bare skin pressed together in a heady amalgam of flesh and sweat.
"Let's go to bed."
With Carla's legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her arms around his neck, Peter raised himself up and off the sofa. Peter's arms were around Carla's body, under her bottom, supporting her as he carried her towards the bedroom, their hips grinding into each other, his cock against her fleshy folds.
Desperate to feel him inside of her for the first time in years, Carla leveraged herself slightly off Peter's body and, using one hand to guide him, sank back into him, onto him, allowing his cock to penetrate deep inside her vagina.
Peter gasped as he felt himself enter Carla; he almost lost his grip on her but managed to hold on. He pushed her up against a wall for support as he held his position inside her, moving his hips in a side-to-side motion, thrilling at the feel of her walls contracting around his cock.
Having regained his balance and his composure, he backed her away from the wall and walked again towards the bedroom. Carla moved her hips back and forth over Peter's cock, allowing him to slide in and out of her, all the while their lips were as if they were glued to the other's lips, tongue to the other's tongue.
And so they disappeared into Carla's bedroom, shutting the door on the world, their thoughts only of rediscovering each other's bodies for as long as the night lasted.
Jamie woke early the next morning; she always did. She loved nothing better than to crawl into her mum's bed in the early hours of the morning and cuddle up close to her for those few hours while the sun rose and before the day would really begin.
This morning was no different.
Jamie padded barefoot from her bedroom and into her mum's; she climbed up on the ottoman at the base of the bed – it was a little lower than the bed – and then onto the bed proper. It was only then that she noticed something was different; her mum was not alone.
"Daddy!" Jamie screamed as she launched herself at him.
Startled into a wakefulness that neither were prepared for, Carla and Peter were for a few moments disorientated, until it sunk in that their daughter had arrived for morning cuddles.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Peter kissed Jamie affectionately on the cheek.
Carla reached out to stroke Jamie's hair, "Morning, baby."
"Did you and mummy have a sleepover?"
"We sure did."
"Did you have fun?"
Peter looked at Carla, a cheeky grin on his face.
"I dunno, did we?"
"Yes, darlin'," Carla assured Jamie. "We had lots of fun."
"Daddy?"
"Yes, my love."
"Are you going to live with us?"
"I don't know. Would you like me to?"
Jamie nodded enthusiastically.
"And what about mummy?" Peter turned to Carla, his heart suddenly beating hard and fast; Carla's answer right now would determine his whole future.
"Yes."
"Yay!" Jamie excitedly bounced up and down on the bed at the prospect of her parents living together for the first time in her life.
"Are you sure?"
Carla didn't answer in words; a smile and a kiss was enough to convince Peter that she wanted him there; that she wanted them to be a family at long last.