"Rob's asked to see Johnny in prison." Mum whispered as she climbed into bed beside me.
"What?' I said loudly, lifting my head off my pillow. "You're kidding right?"
"No, not kidding, deadly serious." She said, pulling me into her so my head rested on her arm.
"Why? He's never asked to see you in the whole time he's been in there." I said.
"That's what I thought, but it's kind of understandable, I am kind of the reason he's in there." She said.
"No, what he did put him in there. But still why Johnny?" I asked.
"I don't know. Johnny's not seen him for years, let alone spoken to him." She said.
"I don't understand." I sighed.
"That makes two of us." She agreed.
It had only been a few days since Mum and Nick had got engaged and on Friday the two of them were having an engagement party at the bistro to celebrate properly. It was also the same day that Johnny was going to visit Rob, which is why Mum was pacing backwards and forwards on Friday morning while she waited for the kettle to boil.
"We're gonna meet Michelle and Rosie in the café for breakfast, so get a move on." She said as she poured a cup of tea for both of us. I nodded before going into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I was finished, Mum handed me my cup of tea before rushing off to get Isla ready.
Michelle was also equally as confused as Mum and I as to why Rob wanted to see Johnny and it was all the two of them talked about over breakfast. Mum didn't eat though, just picked at Isla's leftovers and fiddled with her mug of coffee. I left them early, after I'd finished eating to go and meet Ruby at the bus stop.
When I got home that evening, I picked Isla up for Mum and walked home to the flat. Mum and Michelle were both there, dancing away while the two of them got ready. Isla was tired so Mum got her in the bath and ready for bed, while I got changed and did my hair. Isla was staying at home with a babysitter, so I put her to bed so Mum could finish getting ready.
When the babysitter arrived, Isla was asleep and the three of us were finally ready, we walked over to the bistro. The place looked amazing, and Mum's eyes lit up as we walked in. She chatted to Nick for a little while as I spoke to Bethany before Mum wandered off with Michelle.
"So, do you think she approves?" Nick asked as I walked over to him.
"I think she does. I really do. Not just the party though. I think she knows she's got you now." I told him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"She's always needed someone, when she was younger it was Rob, then my Dad and after he died it was me and for a long time as boyfriends have come and gone it's been me, but I think she knows now that she has you." I explained.
"I'm not taking her away from you and your sister, you know that don't you?" he said.
"Yeah, I know, you'd struggle to but there's parts of her you can have." I joked.
"Oh yeah, what parts are those?" he asked as we both laughed.
"What are you saying Orabella?" Mum said as she snuck over behind me and pulled me into her.
"Nothing." I said smiling.
"Orla was just giving me a few words of advice." Nick told her.
"I'm sure she was." Mum smiled at me as she squeezed me into her.
"Do you both want a drink?" Nick said, getting two glasses of prosecco off the bar. "Orla can have one for the special occasion, right?" he asked Mum. Mum looked at me and then back at Nick.
"Yeah, just one and I won't be holding your hair back when you're throwing up in the toilet tonight." She said. I took the glass from Nick as Mum kissed me on the cheek and I went over to see Michelle.
"Do you really have to go to work Mum? It's supposed to be the Christmas holidays, we're supposed to be knee deep in wrapping paper, not sat in the factory doing paperwork." I said to Mum. She was getting ready to go to work, while Isla and I were sat on the sofa in our pyjamas watching some children's TV programme.
"What do you think pays for the presents in that wrapping paper? I'm sorry my girl, I have to go in, for the morning at least, I might be able to sneak away this afternoon. And, while Isla has a nap, me and you have a date on this sofa with the rest of those quality street." She said. I sighed and nodded, knowing she had to go. "I love you, we're gonna have a lovely Christmas, I promise you." She continued before kissing my forehead. "And you be good for Orlie." She kissed Isla on the forehead too. "Michelle will do you lunch if you want it too? And if you feel like getting out of your pyjamas, then you pop over and see me." She said before kissing us both again, grabbing her bag and leaving the flat.
Isla and I spent the morning on the sofa, playing with her toys and watching films on the TV. When we both started to get hungry, I had a look in the fridge to see what we could have. There wasn't very much in, so I threw on some leggings and a jumper and put Isla in a comfy outfit before putting her in her pram and taking her over to the Rovers to find Michelle.
"Let me guess, you heard about my offer of lunch?" Michelle asked as I opened the front door of the pub, and she was stood behind the bar.
"Yes please." I said as I smiled at her.
"Come on then. Liz, I'm gonna take my lunch." She said and I followed her with Isla through to the back room. She made Isla and I both a cheese and pickle sandwich with some crisps while I played with Rosie and Isla.
"Chelle, did Mum tell you? About Rob and Johnny?" I asked her.
"Yeah, darling she did. I'm just as confused about it as you and Carla are." She said as she put down my sandwich on the table.
"He went yesterday, and Mum said Rob saw a picture of Johnny in the paper, something to do with the factory, thought Mum had sold up and was hoping there was some money in it for him." I told her.
"He always wants something, I could have bet it was money, that's the only reason we wanted to see Johnny." Michelle said, angrily.
"It's just a shame that he couldn't ask to see Mum herself." I said.
"Yeah, it is my darling." She said stroking my hair, "Now go on, eat up, I might be able to find Steve's stash of Christmas chocolate in the cupboard if you want it."
After lunch, Michelle and I watched a Christmas film while Isla slept in her pram and Rosie slept upstairs. It was quiet in the bar, so Liz said she didn't mind and Steve wasn't home from his shift at streetcars to look after Rosie.
"Hello slackers, some of us have been working hard?" Mum said as she pushed the door of the back room open to find the two of us on the sofa under a blanket.
"Excuse me, we have been working hard, I didn't realise how hard it was to get your daughter to sleep." Michelle said pointing to Isla. She wasn't wrong, we had both taken it in turns to walk up and down the ginnel to settle her to sleep. As a little baby, she had always been an amazing sleeper but recently things had changed.
"Well, I am here to take them both home." She said. "I'm finished for the afternoon, those two are driving me crazy."
"Who?" Michelle asked.
"Aidan and Johnny, they're doing my head in." she said. "Right come on, get your stuff, I want a cuddle on the sofa with a Christmas film, Chelle can't have you all to herself." She said. I pushed the blanket off me and got up from the sofa, put on my shoes and coat before saying goodbye to Michelle and going home.
Mum got Isla back to sleep in her cot while I found us a film on TV. Mum made us both a cup of tea and brought them over with the box of quality street.
"Nick always leaves the rubbish ones." Mum said.
"No way, he leaves the golden finger, that's the best." I told her. "Are you ready?" I asked as she busied herself with the blanket.
"Yeah, wait, just a minute Orlie, I need to ask you something." She said, holding onto my hand.
"If you're gonna ask me if I mind spending Christmas with Nick's family, I don't mind, he spoke to me about it this morning." I said.
"No, no, it's not that. It's about the wedding." She said.
"Have you set a date?" I eagerly asked.
"No, no Orla, just listen." She said. I stopped as Mum held onto both of my hands. "Orla, I need you to do something for me at the wedding?"
"What is it?" I asked.
"I would like for you to walk me down the aisle. I want you to give me away." She said.
"But wouldn't- Oh yeah." I said. I was about to say wouldn't Rob do that, or her Dad but I knew that neither of those would happen. "Of course, I will. I would love nothing more." I said and she pulled me into hug her.
"Thank you, my girl, my big girl. I love you, Orlie." She said. "And I need to make you a promise." She said, pulling away from me. "I need to promise you that you are not going to lose me to Nick, you or Isla. I know in the past I've let a man get in the way of our relationship and I need to promise you that I will never let that happen with Nick." She said. She pulled me back into her, so that my head rested on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, all of this, the past few years with Peter and Rob and Isla, everything that's happened, I'm sorry I put it all on you. You should be out, living your life, being a teenager and instead you're here, looking after Islie for me."
"Mum, you know that I don't mind doing that. I love looking after Isla, although the sleep thing is turning into a bit of a nightmare. I just love us, I love our little family and Michelle and Rosie and Nick and even Johnny, Aidan and Kate sometimes. Because there was once a time where it was just us, just the two of us and it was horrible to be on our own, so to have a family and see you so happy, that is all I want for you." I said "And it's all I want for me too."
"You wise little owl, you will always be my big girl, my caring little owl, the wise head on those strong shoulders. You know that when I was younger, I never wanted to be a Mum, don't you?" I nodded. "But then, I felt you in my stomach and held you in my arms and saw your face, those eyes, your Daddy's eyes and I knew that we, me and you, we'd be ok. And I never wanted to be a mother until then, until you were safe in my arms and since then I loved it, always loved you." She said, kissing my head before squeezing me into her.
"I love you Mumma." I said.
"I love you too Orabella, I'll love you always." She said.
