Chapter 26
Jim had had a brilliant night, he thought as he got up the next day. The meal had gone even better than he had hoped for.
He and Gwen had got on like a house of on fire. They had made each other laugh, and were on the same wave length. It was wonderful.
When they had left the house it felt weird, going out and leaving Katie to be with a women, like to date. But it felt good to be seeing some one again.
Almost like he was librated. He felt more free than he had in years. Maybe he had needed it with out realising it. He really enjoyed adult company.
Deirdre and Garry were both right, he decided. He could be both a romantically involved and a good dad to his kids and that was just what he intended to be. What he had to be, for himself and them. Every one was going to be happy with any luck. Not that he trusted to luck. He had given up on that years ago.
Going in to the kitchen to put the kettle on he was the first one up that Sunday morning.
It was then as he out a tea bag in to a cup that he saw his daughter come in to the room. She had her pajamas on, and was still wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"Hello darling, are you ok?" he said as she came in.
"Yeah, did you have a good time last night?" she asked him.
"Not too bad." he said to her, not wanting to make a big deal of it to her. It was too soon for her to know too much.
"Do you want cup of tea." he asked her.
"Yeah. Are we going to church this morning." she asked him.
"Yes we are, so why don't you go and get ready." He told her. He wasn't going to let it changed how they lived normally. Him having a new partner should be no big deal. But he knew some where in his heart
---
"Katie?" Jim said as he went in to her room. It was later that day. He had been thinking about every thing that was going on in his life, all the great changes and he had decided to ask Gwen over to met Katie, properly. He wanted them to know each other and get on well.
"Yes daddy?" she said to him.
"I have some thing to tell you." he said gently.
"What?"
"Well you know daddy's new friend?" he asked.
"yeah." she said turning to him.
"Well I was thinking about asking her to come over to dinner. Are you okay with hat?"
"Yup."
She kept smiling trying to keep up appearances she was fine with in but inside, dread set in.
-
"And you are she is ok with me coming over?"
"Yeah well she seems to be." said Jim, as she gave her coat to him.
"Good." she smiled.
"Right com through. I have put a pizza on. I hope that's ok…" he said.
"Sounds great!" she nodded.
Going through to the living room she saw Katie again.
"Hello." she said to her. It was like the first time all over again.
"Hey." she said nervously, biting her lip. They were as nervous as each other were.
"Are you ok sweetheart?"
"Yeah are you?" Katie asked trying to keep the conversation going already wishing it was just her and her dad again.
"Yes I am." she said as she watched Jim go through to the kitchen.
"Some thing smells good" she said to him, trying to break the tension.
"That would be pizza!" he told her.
"Yum, do you like what your dad cooking Katie?"
"Yeah its one of my favorites." she said to her.
Gwen smiled as Katie told her some thing about her self, even if it was something rather small. Clearly she was comfortable with his Gwen thought. She was a chatty fun child.
"Mine too. I like pizza with mushrooms on."
Katie's face screwed up in a fashion that told Gwen on no uncertain terms she did not like mushrooms.
"Well maybe we should just stick to cheese and tomato." Gwen smiled at Jim knowingly.
He seemed thrilled with the way that they were getting on.
"Dads favorite is ham and pineapple."
"Is it? Well I am going to have to remember that for when you two come over for me for your tea one day."
"Yeah maybe." said Katie as she walked through in to the kitchen to be nearer her dad. She was not finding it as easy as she was making out.
She remembered still very clearly the chat she had had with the two Webster girls and she knew her father would never do any thing to hurt her, but... there was…something…she couldn't put her finger on it but she was nervous.
Os if this new women made him happy she should accept it.
Her father ruffled her hair as she came up to him and leant in to him, none the wiser about what she was thinking.
"Why are you being clinging?" He said to her gently. "You coming over all shy?" he asked and she said nothing but hid her face in his shirt laughing a little.
"I think that that is a yes." he said as he picked her up and begun tickling her. "I think it is so I do!"
The three of them were in a comfortable silence after that. Katie felt a lot happier closer to her father when all this was going on.
She had a feeling she was going to have to get to know Gwen and that she was going to be in her life quite a bit from now on. And she did not like it much.
The meal went quite well. Or it had been till she had reached for her drink.
Her hands had been quite steady, for her, but despite this she had knocked it as she had gone too pick it up and it went all over Gwen's lap by accident as it had been on the edge of the table and Katie had been sitting in-between the two adults.
"I am so sorry!" she said as she watched the elder women jump popup.
"Katherine," her father scolded her. "Go get some kitchen towel lass."
"No, no it's ok, I'm ok." said Gwen not wanting to embarrass Katie, it was all over the little girls face that it had been a genuine accident.
But still Katie got in a right panic as she did as her father had told her and as she got wound up her hands begun to snake more and more.
"I didn't mean it." she told them as she walked back in to the lounge.
"Aye we know." said Jim to her.
"It doesn't matter sweet heart." Gwen smiled at her.
-
Katie still felt like an idiot though as she got in to bed that night.
Laying back against her pillow she shut her eyes tiredly, and wondered if Gwen had meant it when he had said it was ok. Katie would bet money she hated her now.
"Hey." she heard a voice from the door.
"You ok Steve?" she asked miserably.
"What's wrong." he said as he went in and sat on the edge of the bed. He hadn't seen her looking so down in a while he thought.
"I spilled my drink down Gwen when she was her tonight."
"Oh dear. And was it a 'mistake' or an accident?"
"I didn't do it on purpose." she said to him miserably. They had said it was ok but she still felt as if she had been bad. Tonight was her first big impression on Gwen. Now she thought she was a fool.
"I know you didn't." he smiled. He shouldn't judge her by his standards. "Do you want a cuddle?" he asked.
She nodded and crawled in to his arms.
-
Jim was doing every thing he could to get Gwen involved in his life. He felt as if she had given him a new lease of it.
It was so odd to be getting close to some one again, he wasn't that used to it. The only people he had ever been in this way that he had was Fiona and Liz. And both of them had ended badly. He hoped this time he'd luck had changed.
He was looking forward to a good few months ahead of him.
For once things were going to be ok.
Due to his determination to gets things going the Malletts had tried to help there best friend settle Gwen in to the new life she had been making for herself.
So when Judy got the idea of going to the park for the day with the kids she decided it might be a good for Gwen to go with them.
"Well I don't know, it sounds like a bit of a family thing." Gwen said to him.
"And that is a good thing, and why you should come." Judy said to him. "you know Jim really cares for you." she said to her.
"I know he does. He is a very sweet man, I like the way that he is with his kids. He's a good dad and everybody seems to be his mate. But it is just to - perfect. I mean not perfect but far too soon." she nodded.
"What do you mean too soon?" Judy asked thinking that Jim was not as sweet as she thought he was. She had seen what that man could do with his fists and it wasn't nice. But she wasn't going to say that. Not yet. It was too soon, and Gwen didn't need to know.
"Since my marriage broke up." she admitted. "What I went through to get there it was not nice. He did things to me what no man should do to his wife."
"You mean he hit you?" she asked and remembered that day when Liz had turned up black and blue from her husband. Did she owe it to Gwen to tell her?
"I don't want to talk a bout it. Let's just say that I was living in this hell and I have got out of the box, to find this nice guy who makes me laugh. And he has this ready made lovely little family with a sweet little girl and I think it is too much, too good, some thing is going to go wrong."
"What too much to let your self have a bit of happiness from time to time. Come on Gwen." she said to her. "We are going to the park on Saturday and I know that Jim would love you to come with us."
"I know he would." She said to her. She looked thoughtful but nervous for a moment as she considered it. What harm could it do?
"Ok then. Ok. I'll come."
-
Judy had done the pic nic and as Sunday arrived she, her husband, kids, Jim and Katie went up to the park where Gwen met them.
The two of them had decided to keep it a secret from the others as a bit of a surprise for them and while Judy noticed Jim was thrilled to see her Katie seemed obviously not.
It wasn't that she did not like her. But it felt as if she was coming in to there family with out being asked too.
Judy noticed there was a look in her eye that told any one who saw it Katie was not pleased about her being there. But she blinked, put a smile on her face and it was gone.
"How did you now we were going to bee there?" asked Jim as he gave her a hug.
"A kittle birdy called Judy told me you were going to be here and asked me to come and join you." she smiled.
But Judy felt as if she was regretting it now. She hadn't really spoken to Katie about Gwen yet as she had been recovering. The two had not found a couple of spare minutes to be together lately.
It was not long till things were as they always were when the normal six of them were at the park together. Only this time Judy had a bit more company.
Once they had eaten Jim and Gary started to kick a ball around (being of course the biggest kids of all of them in Judy's opinion) and it was never long till Katie run over to join in the game with them.
As the two women sat on the blanket with the two babies Gwen couldn't help but feel as if she was imposing.
"The six of you are such a great little family unit. I feel rude for being here almost." she laughed.
"Not at all, I asked you to come." she said to her.
"I don't think Katie was very pleased when she saw me." she said and Judy realized she had seen it too.
"She is just protective of her dad." Judy shrugged. "It is a two way thing with them," she explained.
"I don't know maybe she is just embarrassed from when she split the drink." she suggested.
"Your probably right I think. But give the two of them time. It is going to take a bit of time for them both to accept you in to there lives fully but it is going to be a good thing for the two of them., to have a women in life again."
"But I - it is all going so quick."
"I know, but -there is no time like the present."
"Maybe your right. You have to cease the moment."
The two women turned to see the three of them kicking a ball around. Gary and Jim seemed to be gaining up on Katie and she was laughing hysterically at the two of them. They always had such great fun together.
It wasn't long till the three of them had come back over to the other two and they were all joking about together.
Jim hadn't felt so happy since he had lost Elizabeth. He was smiling again, at last.