On the next day, I woke up nice and early in order to get ready to leave at 3. I wanted to go out quickly and buy Liam a pair of shoes, seeing as he had already scuffed the edges of the ones I brought in September. I poked my husband in the side to wake him up and see grunted, before slowly opening his eyes.
"I'm going to Clarks" I told him. He nodded, before turning back over.
"I expect you to be ready by 1pm, when I get back" I said to him sternly.
"Sure, yeah, whatever" he answered. I kicked back the covers and quickly got changed. I then proceeded to get Mabel dressed. I opened the door to her room, to see her colouring on the floor, tongue stuck out and pencil in hand.
"Right Maybelline," I said, opening her cupboard to pick out a dress, "We're going to Liam's friend James' house today, you ready?"
"Al house?" she looked at me, still on the floor.
"Yes, Al's house too. And Lily's"
"Baby Lily" she nodded wisely, making me smile. I finally found what I was looking for. A white dress covered in flowers, and a baby pink cardigan. I plucked Mabel of the floor and stood her up.
"Going now?" she frowned. I shook my head.
"Later, we're going out to get Liam some shoes first, then we'll go"
"Daddy come too?"
I nodded.
"Daddy swing me round?"
I shrugged.
"Maybe Mabel, I don't know. He might if you ask him nicely." Mabel grinned and let me put her in the dress.
After 10 minutes of putting her hair in French plaits, I ushered her out of the room and walked into Liam's. I nearly laughed out loud when I saw him trying to get into some too small jeans, making him topple over.
"Liam, sweetie, they're too small" I grinned, lifting him up and sitting him on the bed.
"And you don't even have pants on! You need pants before you put on trousers", I shook my head in despair. Had my son really tried to walk out the house in no pants?
"I just forgot" he shrugged, hopping down from the bed.
"Well, go get some on" I grinned, pulling out a pair of trousers that would fit him. He tugged them over his pants, which were mercifully on him, and grinned at me.
"Did it all by myself"
"No" Mabel said from the doorway, clearly jealous that her brother had changed all by himself.
"Yes" replied Liam, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
"No. You had no pants silly" Mabel retorted.
"Jus' forgot" Liam repeated, glaring at his sister.
"That's enough." I heard myself say, "Mabel, go downstairs for breakfast, and Liam, get a top on and come join us."
Mabel jumped down the stairs and I heard Liam quickly pull open his drawers, searching for a top. I knew he had succeeded when I heard him thud down the stairs, and screech into the hall.
"For the last time, please don't thud" I told him, exasperated. He smiled cheekily and grabbed the Cheerios from the side.
Mabel was sitting at the table eating her own bowl of cereal, looking at Liam as he poured Cheerios all over the counter.
"Liam, stop. Let me do it please" I cried, as he slipped over the splattered O's all over the floor. I pulled him up and poured his Cheerios for him. I gave him the bowl to carry to the table and he sat down eating hungrily.
After another slow hour of eating, playing, and getting ready to go, I had buckled Mabel safely in her seat and had bid farewell to Robert. He waved from the window, making faces at Liam in the front seat. I grinned as I pulled out from our house, and sped off towards the shopping centre.
When we arrived, I headed straight for Clarks, pulling Mabel and Liam away from the toy shops. I lead them both into the warm shoe shop and called for assistance.
"What would you like ma'am?" the young assistant said, grinning down at Liam, who shyly hid away.
"Shoes for this fella." I said, indicating Liam.
"Let's get you measured then" the man said, directing us towards a leather seat as he went to get the foot measurer. Liam plonked himself down, swining his feet, that barely touched the ground. Mabel kept shouting,
"Look! Lelli Kelly Mummy! LOOK! DAISY SHOES!" she yelled suddenly, making several people look round. She tottered towards me holding a black school shoe that said it had a toy in the sole.
"That's a school shoe Mabel" I sighed, putting the shoe back on the shelf.
"But it has a doll" she cried, sitting on the floor. I picked her up and went back to Liam, who was still swinging his feet. The assistant had come back with his little device and he put it against Liam's foot. Liam measured an 11 ½, half a size bigger then when he got measured in September.
"So, what shoe are you looking for?" the man asked me.
"Daisy sh-" Mabel started, before I put a hand over her mouth.
"Trainers please. Just simple, nothing too fancy" I told him. He grinned at Mabel before going into the back to collect the shoes for Liam to try on.
"I want Daisy Shoes Mummy" Mabel cried again. Liam jumped of the stool and looked around the shoes on display, but he quickly returned when he saw the assistant return, laden with boxes. He plopped them down on the floor and peeled back the wrapping on the first one. They looked perfect. Just plain blue, with a light blue crest on the side. I caught the man's eye and nodded discreetly, telling him I wanted these ones, and too not open the other boxes. I lifted his head slightly, and got the shoes out the box.
"Put them on, and walk to the end of the shop" the man said, giving Liam the shoes. Liam looked at me for help, and I hurried forwards, helping him slide his feet into the new shoes.
"How do they feel?" I heard the man ask. Liam smiled.
"Very nice" he answered.
"Could you walk just over there, and back again? Could you do that?" The man asked Liam , after feeling where his toes where on the shoe. Liam nodded and ran up and down the shop.
"Do they still feel nice?"
"Still nice" Liam giggled, bouncing up and down with pleasure. The man grinned, and Liam handed the trainers back to him, to be placed in the box to be paid for.
We walked to the counter and I handed in my debit card. The assistant gave Liam the box and he waved us off. I smiled back to him, and followed Liam out the shop, Mabel still sobbing behind me.
"Mabel, you got a doll on Thursday, so please don't moan" I told her.
"I want shoes" she wailed, while Liam looked immensely smug, hugging his Clarks box tight.
"Well, I want doesn't get" I replied, getting slightly embarrassed by her public shouting.
As soon as I reached the car, I bustled the kids into their seats, shutting the doors behind them. I got in myself, and peered at the dashboard. I was shocked to see it was 12:45, so I clicked in the key and drove off back home.
Robert opened the door when Liam knocked, and I was pleased to see he was fully dressed.
"Glad you remembered" I grinned, kissing him on the cheek. He glanced down at his watch.
"You're late" he said shortly, embracing Mabel, who was hugging his legs.
"Well, your daughter decided to cry because she couldn't get shoes with blooming dolls in the heels" I said, kicking my shoes off, and collapsing on the sofa.
"She's your daughter too, Katie" he reminded me.
"Not at the moment she's not" I muttered under my breath. He obviously heard me, because he grinned.
"Ah, well, she can't get everything she wants" he grinned, starting to tickle Mabel.
"Your too damn right she can't." I said, starting to smile myself.
"Swing me Daddy!" she yelled, reaching out her arms.
"Swing you? Mabel we havet done that, for what, 2 years?" he stared confusedly.
"Al's Daddy swing me round" she pouted.
"Al's Daddy?" he said sharply, looking at me warily.
"Liam's friend James' Dad. Ginny Potter's husband. He was swinging Al, his youngest son, around, and Mabel asked if he could swing her around too." I said before adding, "Don't worry, he was really gentle" because I saw him raise an eyebrow slightly.
"Oh, right, well, Mabel, Daddy's getting older, he can't really swing you around anymore sweetie" he kissed her forehead.
"Be quiet Robert Williams, you're only 38, you're not that old" I said, smirking slightly.
"Very old in comparison to Al's Dad, by the sounds of it" he snapped, scowling.
"Rob… you're… what?" I said, bemused.
"You heard me Kate" he said.
I burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer.
"Please don't tell me you're jealous because Harry swung your daughter around for half a second." I laughed. I caught him grin for a millisecond, before he turned away, and plodded up the stairs. My stomach was aching with laughter and I bounded up after him, a screeching Liam at my heels.
"Daddy eats jelly! Daddy eats jelly!" Liam was chanting, making me laugh even harder at his interpretation of the word 'jealous'. The door of our bedroom creaked open and I saw Roberts eyes appear. I could tell he was laughing, but when he opened the door, the whole family was in hysterics, as the tub of jelly that had somehow appeared in Robert's hand, flew across the air, and landed on the stairs. Liam was laughing so hard I thought he was going to explode. Robert's eyes were closed in laughter as he clutched his side. Mabel was sprawled out on her back, shaking and giggling and my side throbbed painfully. We just laughed and laughed for a good 5 minutes before I said we should start thinking about leaving. Robert nodded and headed down the stairs, picking up the jelly pot on the way.
I followed him, scooping up Mabel on the way. Liam trotted behind me, and together we trooped into the big family car. I clicked up the music and started to play some of the children's favourite music.
We drove up the winding Kent lanes and pulled to a stop outside The Hollies. The tall oak gates were shut, so I popped out the car and pressed the little buzzer pad. Suddenly, the gates slowly started to swing open and were now entering on the Potter's land.
