A/N in this story Carla never has the gambling addiction and she needs money for the factory in order to buy Peter out.
"Come on Islie, come and get your doggy." I said as I sat on the floor in the living room of the flat. Isla was stood by the armchair, and I held out her favourite doggy toy in an attempt to get her to walk.
The front door of the flat opened and as it did, Isla took her first few little steps towards me before she fell into my arms. Mum cheered and clapped from the door before dumping her bag on the sofa and lifting Isla up and cheering.
"Oh my Islie, you clever girl. My god Orla, how have you got her to do that?" she asked before putting Isla back down where she returned to her toys on the floor. "Orlie, do you remember Grandad's cousin Johnny?" Mum asked as I stood up from the floor. I shook my head. "Well Johnny had a son, Daddy's cousin Aidan, this is Aidan." Mum said.
"My god Orabella Connor, I haven't seen you since you were running around in nappies in the garden of your grandparents house in Ireland." Aidan said, laughing. Mum and I laughed too, before Mum went over to the kitchen and got out a bottle of wine.
"You'll have a drink, won't you Aidan? To celebrate a little family reunion. Nick's gonna join us in a little bit." Mum said.
"Yeah, I'll have a glass," Aidan said. Mum poured them both a glass of wine. They sat up at the island while I played with Isla for a little while until Nick got there. Mum asked me to take Isla and put her to bed which I was happy to do. Over the summer holidays, I had essentially worked as a babysitter as Mum had gone back to work at the factory. In September, Isla was starting nursery, so I was really helping her out.
I took her and gave her a bath, got her dressed into her pyjamas and read her a story with some milk before taking her into the living room for Mum to say good night to her. She cuddled her and gave her kisses before Isla waved to everybody as we went to her room where I put her to sleep.
"What are you doing this evening Orlie Belle?" Mum said as I walked towards her sat at the kitchen island.
"I'm quite tired, I think I'm going to watch a film and go to sleep." I said. She stroked my hair and kissed my forehead.
"Ok, let me know if you want anything." She said.
"I will. I spoke to Auntie Chelle this morning, she said her, Steve and Rosie with be back next week." I said. Mum nodded before kissing my head again.
"Good night, Orla Belle." She said.
"I will. Good night, Mum, night Aidan, night Nick." I said before disappearing off to my room. I was glad Michelle was going to be home soon. She had given birth to a little girl at the end of June. They called her Roisin but called her Rosie for short. They had spent the past month or so over in Ireland with Grandma and Grandad. I went over for the first week with them, Isla and Mum before the three of us came home as Mum had lots of work to do in the factory.
The factory had taken a bit of a hit in the last few months. Mum had tried to take as much maternity leave as she could, but things got busy, and she got to a point where Isla went in with her each day and Mum worked and looked after her all at the same time. I'd come home from school and take Isla home and put her to bed while Mum stayed and worked even more. Mum needed someone to buy Peter's share of the factory, someone who could play a bit more of a role in the day to day running of things. Peter had checked in with Mum a few times since Islie was born. He always offered her money and asked how she was but aside from that, their conversations were pretty slim.
I think that's why Aidan was here, Mum needed someone who she could trust to help her out and I think she knew Aidan would be able to do that. I had met him when I was a child but didn't really remember him. I was just happy that someone was here to help Mum out.
I found a film to watch on my laptop before getting into bed and watching it. I could faintly hear Mum, Nick and Aidan in the living room, chatting and laughing away. I'm glad Mum was relaxing a little, having a break from always working or looking after Isla and me.
I fell asleep mid-way through my film and woke up when Mum snuck into my room much later. She sat on the edge of my bed and shut my laptop and put it on my bedside table before wiping my hair from my face and kissing my forehead.
"I love you little angel girl. I'm so proud of you always." She whispered before kissing my head again. I was too sleepy to reply so just lay there as she stroked my hair which eventually sent me back to sleep.
A few days later, Isla and I had just left the factory to visit Mum while she had lunch. I let Isla walk along the street as she had become so much better over the last few days. We walked down the road from the factory towards home when a taxi pulled up outside the pub. I stopped as the door opened and Steve got out one side and Michelle the other, with Steve grabbing Rosie's car seat too.
"Is that a little Isla Smiler walking?" Michelle said, as she crossed the road towards us. I let go of Isla's hand and let her walk into Michelle's arms. She was still wobbly but managed the four or five steps to Michelle. Michelle picked her up and lifted her onto her hip. "You've grown so much little girl. And you, my big girl, I've missed you." She said pulling me into her to hug her. "Grandma and Grandad are very proud of you being such a star for your Mum. They've given me a little something for you, which is in my suitcase." She continued before pulling away.
"Thank you. I missed you." I said.
"I missed you too. How's your Mum?" she asked. Isla got restless in her arms so she handed her over to me.
"She's alright. Better than she was this time last week when she was considering getting rid of the factory, but do you remember your cousin Aidan?" I said and Michelle nodded. "Well he got here last week and he's going to buy Peter's share and help Mum out with everything over there." I told her.
"That's good news. Now what are you doing now? Rosie bear will be awake soon and would love to see you and Islie, how about you two come in for a cuppa?" she said.
"That would be nice, thank you Chelle." I said before grabbing Isla's pram and following Michelle over to the pub.
"And so, what's the story at the moment with your Mum and Nick?" Michelle asked as the two of us sat in the back room with a cup of tea. Rosie was asleep in her Moses basket beside Michelle, while Isla slept in Rosie's cot upstairs.
"I don't know. Nick broke up with Erica last week, well actually Erica broke up with Nick. Something about her knowing he had feelings for someone else, that someone else I presume is Mum. I think she's too busy to think about what day it is at the moment, let alone try to have a relationship." I said.
"Has she been at home much, since you got back from Ireland?" she asked.
"No, she's paying me to look after Isla during the day, which I'd obviously do for free but she felt terrible for missing out on an entire summer. I don't mind, but I miss her and it's going to be strange when I go back to school and Isla goes to nursery and the three of us live in the same house but never see each other." I said.
"I know, I understand. Maybe I could have a word? I could even talk to Aidan, get him to encourage her to have a day in the week where she had Islie. Don't worry, I'll see what I can do Orlie." She said. "Oh, wait there, I'll go and get your present from my suitcase. Watch Rosie for me." I waited in the back room and sipped my tea as Rosie silently slept in her basket. She looked exactly like Michelle. When she was first born, we compared my baby pictures to Rosie, and they were very similar. When I was a baby, I looked exactly like my Dad but as I've grown up, I've come to look more like my Mum. "Here you go." Michelle said as she reappeared with an envelope in her hand. I took it from her and opened it. Inside was a card which read
Dear Orla,
We are so proud of you and everything you have been through over the last few months. You are the most amazing big sister and we cannot wait to see you soon! Here's a little treat to buy something nice and we'll send some more over to Mum for your savings account.
Love always,
Maimeó and Daideó
This was the Irish for Grandma and Grandad, which is what they referred to themselves as. I put the card safely in my handbag at the bottom of Isla's pram.
"Chelle, I miss Dad." I said to her. She put her hand on mine.
"Me too Orlie, but you know he'll love you always." She said.