With very little argument Tina's idea was agreed by everyone. Even Ruby seemed on board with combining Ruby's and R&R for one night so that everyone could celebrate together. She was even incredibly keen on Ronnie and Roxy's '80s theme idea.
On New Year's Eve, Katy had offered to go to James' grave with her mother, but Ronnie had told her that she and Jack were going together. Her daughter nodded in understanding and held out the small teddy that she'd bought and asked Ronnie to put it on the grave. Choking back a small sob, the older blonde had pulled her daughter into a tight hug and promised that she would.
"I can't believe it's been so long." Roxy murmured, wrapping an arm around her niece's shoulder as they watched Jack and Ronnie heading off to the tube station together. "Nine years…"
"A lot's happened in those nine years, too." Katy reminded her with a soft sigh.
"We do regret what we did, you know?" Her aunt said quietly. "We thought it was the best thing to do, but…"
Katy smiled. "I know. I was angry but… things got put into perspective and life's too short to punish everyone by holding that grudge. We just need to move on and put it behind us. We got through it and we'll be stronger than ever now."
Roxy looked at her for a long moment, before pressing a kiss to the side of her head and propelled her gently in the direction of the bar so that she could help with the decorating. They laughed as they worked, reminiscing about past New Year's Eve parties and gradually moving on to talking about Roxy's nights out in general. Katy snorted with laughter as she reminded her aunt about the time she and Christian had got drunk and serenaded Ronnie, much to the older Mitchell sister's irritation.
"This place looks great!"
Both women turned at the sound of Ronnie's voice, their laughing dying immediately. Smiling at them, the older woman placed her bag on the bar and moved to the optics. As she poured herself a double vodka, Roxy and Katy exchanged a quick, wary look, before moving to lean against the bar.
"You alright, Ron?"
"How was it?"
"It was fine… well, as fine as visiting your baby's grave can be." Ronnie told them lightly.
"Has… did something happen?" Roxy narrowed her eyes slightly. "Did you and Jack argue?"
"No? Why would you think that?"
Katy furrowed her eyebrows, understanding why her aunt had come to that conclusion. There was something strange about the way Ronnie was acting. It was almost as though she was trying too hard to be casual, fixing them both with a slightly amused gaze as they watched her closely.
"You just seem a little… strange."
"Oh, thank you very much, Roxanne." Ronnie laughed, draining her glass and turning to refill it. "What else needs doing? Is Ruby in the office?"
Katy shrugged. "Haven't seen her yet. She must have been here earlier, though, because all that was done before we got here." She motioned towards the neon 'New Year' signs behind them. "I think everything's pretty much sorted; 'fridges are stocked, we've made sure there's plenty of everything in reserve, the notice is up on R&R telling people to come over here…"
"It's party time!" Roxy concluded, stealing the glass out of her sister's hand and downing the liquid quickly. "All that's left to do is go and get changed."
"I dread to think what you're wearing." Ronnie told her, shooting a quick wink at her daughter. "Don't forget, I had to live through the actual '80s with you!"
"I was a child, Veronica. I hardly think you can blame me for any rubbish outfits I wore."
"But I can blame you for the ones you wear now."
"Oi!"
Katy shook her head fondly, chuckling at their bickering as they made their way towards the office. She pottered around the bar, tidying the last few things that were out of place as she waited for them to collect their things, before leaning against the wall and smirking as they reappeared.
"You alright, sweetie?" Ronnie asked gently as Roxy locked up.
"I'm absolutely fine." Katy assured her firmly. "Looking forward to spending New Year's Eve with you two again."
"Without a swimming pool in sight!"
"Roxy!" Ronnie glared at her indignantly. "Really?"
"What? Too soon?"
Katy grinned, nudging her aunt in the side. "Remind me never to go near water with either of you ever again. I mean, I don't even think I'll venture out with you if it's raining too heavily."
"You two are terrible." Ronnie mock scolded them, slipping her arms through theirs as they wandered down Bridge Street towards the Square. "Although, I am glad we're in a place where we can make totally inappropriate jokes about it."
Laughing, Katy shook her head and led the way into the house. She was incredibly grateful that Dot and Sonia had agreed to hold a New Year's Eve party at theirs for the younger members of the family, meaning that she didn't have to try and work out who she could ask to babysit the children. She knew that Glenda probably would have done so if she'd asked nicely enough, but she would have felt guilty if her grandmother couldn't go out and enjoy the night as well. Instead, the older woman had said that she had Kathy would probably head over to the party that Karen Taylor was throwing, before making their way to the club for midnight.
She had also tried to persuade Whitney to come to the club, but her friend was incredibly reluctant. The younger woman was still on edge after everything that had happened with Leo and didn't seem to agree with Katy's view that she needed to try and put it behind her. When the blonde had reminded her that if she just stayed at home and stopped living her life it meant he'd won, Whitney had just sighed and shrugged, before saying she'd think about it. Knowing that it was the best she was probably going to get, Katy had dropped the subject.
"Oh my god it's like falling back 30 years." Roxy exclaimed dramatically when Ronnie entered the living room, dressed and ready for the night.
Her sister rolled her eyes, fiddling with her gloves. "I thought you were supposed to be wearing a costume?"
"Ha ha." Roxy replied sarcastically. She motioned to herself with a theatrical flourish. "I love the '80s."
"Me too." Katy agreed, appearing in the doorway. "I really think tutus and leg warmers should be brought back as a fashion staple."
Laughing, her mother appraised her carefully for a moment, while Roxy let out a low whistle. "It's like looking at Ronnie in her heyday."
"Oi!" She complained, glaring at her sister. "I'm still very much in my heyday, thanks."
"Whatever you say, Veronica." Roxy teased. She held out three glasses of vodka, waiting until the other two had taken theirs before holding hers up in a toast. "Right… to the Mitchell sisters and Katy… let's make 2020 the best year yet."
"To us!" Katy agreed with a grin. "Let's show them what the Mitchell women can do."
"To us." Ronnie agreed. "This is the year we're going to make our family stronger than ever."
They considered each other for a moment, before draining their glasses in one and placing them on the coffee table. A strange sort of tension seemed to descend over them as they moved around the flat, grabbing everything they needed and making final adjustments to their costumes.
As the event was being held in Ruby's, the R&R staff had been given the night off. Katy had sold some of them discount tickets to the event, hoping to encourage them to bring their friends along. She hadn't considered it earlier, but it was strange walking back into the club for a shift, not having done so for years. Ronnie and Roxy didn't seem to feel odd about it, though, slipping into their roles as soon as they walked through the doors.
"Dad?" Katy shook her head in slight confusion as she turned to serve the next punter and realised who was waiting at the bar. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to Karen's party?"
"D's over there, but I thought I'd come and support you lot over here." Jack told her with a shrug and a grin. "Max was going on about it so much that I thought it would shut him up."
Handing him a lager, shaking her head as he attempted to pay her, she grinned. "I'm glad you're here. It's nice to have you all around again."
"Your mum in the office?" Jack asked, glancing around. He spotted Roxy and Ruby serving further along the bar, but there was no sign of Ronnie.
"Yeah, she was on the phone, I think."
"I'll just pop in and say hi."
Watching him thoughtfully as he wandered away, Katy barely noticed the next customer trying to get her attention. Starting, she apologised quickly and moved away to make their drinks. Her father's behaviour seemed strange somehow, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
There was no time to think about it, however, as the orders kept coming in thick and fast. Katy grinned at Ruby as they passed each other, remarking that combining the two venues had been a brilliant idea. The brunette nodded in agreement, suggesting they thought of more joint events in the future.
"I thought you weren't coming?" Katy beamed at her best friend over the bar, glancing towards Lee curiously. "Lee… long time no see. How are you doing?"
"I'm good, thanks. Much better than when I left." He told her. "How are you?"
"Still alive." She smiled, handing them each a glass of champagne. "On the house."
"You gonna be behind the bar all night or can you come and dance?" Whitney asked, grinning at her.
Katy glanced along the bar for a moment before holding up a finger in their direction. "Gimme a minute, I'll go and see where Mum is. If I can find her, I'll make her take over for a while."
Heading towards the office, where she assumed her mother was still hiding away, Katy entered the code and walked in without bothering to knock on the door. She froze at the sight that greeted her, before turning and leaving quickly, not wanting her parents to realise that she'd caught them.
Outside, Katy just stood for a couple of moments, trying to recover from the shock of seeing her parents kissing. At least, she told herself, that was all they'd been doing. With a shudder, she returned behind the bar and told Whitney that she'd have to wait a little while because Ronnie was caught up with something important.