FIVE YEARS
Chapter 16
As usual she's dozed off soon after leaving their cottage, and he's pleased that normal service has been restored. Although it is a little later than planned, they've made good time on the journey and are still going to be in Bath in time for a late lunch.
They're on the outskirts of the city when she starts to stir.
He glances over at her, only briefly taking his eyes off the road, and gives her a quick smile.
"Hey"
She stretches out her body and peers out the windscreen.
"Sorry, I must have dozed off for a few minutes… are we there already?"
He laughs, loving the familiarity of her words.
"Almost. You don't have to make excuses you know…. you are recovering from a serious head injury and pregnant."
She considers this for a moment or two.
"True, plus took myself off for a stupidly long walk this morning which was quite tiring and of course not forgetting that someone didn't let me get much sleep last night….."
He smiles at the memory of their night together, happy in the knowledge that it wasn't going to be a one-off now he's told her about the baby.
"Well, there is that I suppose, but that's not quite how I remember it."
He pulls up at a set of traffic lights, glancing over at her as she gives him a mischievous grin.
"Hmmm…. you're right. I suppose I did kind of make the first move. Must be those pregnancy hormones running wild."
He returns her a lustful look of his own.
"Let's hope they continue running wild…. I'm definitely not complaining about them."
She places her hand deliberately on his thigh, and he involuntarily tenses upon her touch. He gives her hand a quick squeeze before putting his hand back on the steering wheel and concentrating on the traffic moving off ahead.
"I think you'd better remove that hand as I don't think I can concentrate on getting us there safely with it where it is."
She removes her hand, but not before moving purposefully moving it closer to his groin and gently squeezing his inner thigh causing him to suck in a quick breath.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to distract you."
He laughs at her insincere apology.
"Ok, so… your parents.. what do I need to know?"
"Mum, Liz, retired midwife. Slightly over the top, but always well meaning. She loves you like the daughter she never had. Dad, Peter, known to everyone as PJ, a barrister, well QC actually… still practicing from time to time.. specialises in international arbitration. He's not as boring as he might sound.. usually life and soul of the party.. a bit of a player in his youth from what I gather."
"They sound… intimidating."
He can hear the faint doubt in her voice.
"They might sound it, but they're not, I promise. They're good people and I'm not just saying that because they're my parents. You like them too."
"And you're an only child?"
"Yes, not by design. My mum was mid-thirties when they got together and I didn't come along until she was nearly forty, which was old to be a first-time mum back then. They tried for years to have another baby, but it just didn't happen for them."
"So they're going to be excited when they find out they're gonna have another grandchild."
"Yes, you could say that. They have a tendency to indulge Sam somewhat, which of course he loves and takes full advantage of."
"Grandparents are special though. I've always got on with my nan, particularly when things were tough at home when I was younger."
"Yes, the generational gap. I was the same with my grandparents, not that they're alive now. Mum's from a military family, her father was a Brigadier. It was his stories which made me want to join up in the first place."
"Ok. Anything else I need to know?"
"Well, I probably should warn you that my parents have quite an impressive house. It's on something called the Royal Crescent… it's a bit of Bath landmark. To me it's just home, but you were a bit shocked the first time you saw it."
She looks out the window, taking in the stunning Georgian architecture of the City Centre.
"Ok, thanks for the warning. Well I can see that it's a nice place."
-OG-
As they pull into Royal Crescent she lets out a surprised gasp.
"You weren't joking then…. This is where you grew up? It's a bit different to Newham!"
He stops outside a white door, mid-terrace.
"Yep, this is it."
As they get out of the car, the front door opens and his mum rushes down the steps to meet them, immediately enveloping her in a big, warm hug. Although she is startled by the public and overt show of affection, there is something undoubtedly familiar about the embrace and the smell of her perfume.
"Molly, dear. Welcome home."
He joins them and gives his mum a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hello mum, and please put her down, you promised not to make a fuss."
"It's alright Charles, thank you … Mrs James… I mean Liz."
Liz releases her from the hug, and take her by the hands.
"Now, let me take a good look at you. How are you feeling? I hope my son has been looking after you properly."
"I'm fine thank you. Yes, he's been looking after me very well."
Liz leads her towards the house.
"Good, good, glad to hear it. Right, let's get you inside. Would you like a cuppa? A spot of lunch? You probably want to freshen up after the journey too. Charlie, grab the bags and take them up to your room. There's a good boy."
She turns around to see him shaking his head in what she takes as amused disbelief at his mum's behaviour.
As she enters the house, she knows instantly that she has been here before. It's like a feeling of deja-vu as she takes in the black and white tiled entrance hall, floor to ceiling length mirror, pale yellow two-tone painted hallway and the grand winding staircase lined with pictures leading to the floors upstairs and a huge sparkling chandelier. She has a clear memory of being slowly led up those stairs by him, sporting an aircast walking boot; dressed casually in jeans, a white shirt and a dark navy jacket. She remembers it was it was very early on in their relationship; their first date in fact. She has a recollection of laying on his bed as he gently caressed her face, before kissing her, carefully underdressing her and then them tentatively and unhurriedly making love for the first time.
She's brought back to the present, by Liz concernedly rubbing her arm.
"Are you alright Molly, I seem to have lost you there."
Although she knows there is no way Liz can know what she is thinking, she still feels a bit embarrassed at her memory.
"Er, yes, I …. remember being here before."
"Really? Well that's just wonderful."
He closes the front door and joins them in the hallway.
"Charlie, did you hear that? Molly can remember being here before! Isn't that just wonderful!"
She gives him a meaningful look.
"Yeah, I had a memory of the first time I visited you."
"Right."
He tries to sound casual in front of his mum, recollecting to himself how he'd tentatively suggested she could come back to the house after their lunch date, that it was empty as his parents were at Lake Garda; how she'd laughed and told him it sounded like he was trying to lure her back, how he'd asked her if it had worked and how she'd told him that she'd thought she was going to have to go halves on a travel lodge. He remembers how hard it had been to take it slow when they'd finally been alone together for the first time; when they no longer had any reason to wait out.
Liz lets out a little cough, "Right, I'll put the kettle on if you two want to go upstairs…. and freshen up."
She watches his mum turn and head towards the kitchen before extending her hand and quickly leading him upstairs, instinctively knowing where she is going.
They are barely inside his bedroom before their lips crash together, setting a distinctly more urgent pace than the first time they made love in the very same room, five years earlier.
-OG-