EPILOGUE – Part One

Janice sat at the coffee table surrounded by forms and brochures. She had been looking at local schools for Michael at the same time as completing job applications. She was desperate to contribute towards the household bills, especially if Michael was going to live with them. She was also quite looking forward to working in the big city and doing something interesting and different. Unfortunately she and Mick had come to a stalemate over where Michael was going to live and they'd begun custody proceedings. Communication between them had broken down quite badly and much to her great surprise Janice had already received divorce papers. She supposed Mick still had to come to terms with what had happened between them. Michael had stayed with her and Caroline for a week before he went back to school and she'd never seen he nor Caroline happier. They had a real bond and Janice could see that Caroline would have dearly liked to have had children. Mick had left her to explain the situation to Michael and the ten year old had been conflicted about how he felt. He was upset and confused over which parent he was going to have to be separated from on one hand but he loved Caroline and asked if that meant she was going to be his other Mum. He explained that a boy in his year had two mums and another younger boy had two dads. The American woman had had to stifle her sobs at the sentiment. The landline phone rang and Janice hesitated for a moment before she answered it. Although she had been living with Caroline for nearly three months she hadn't quite settled into making it her home too.

"Hello?"

"Hey Honey! Sorry for calling so late, I'm just on my way home now." Janice could hear the clicking of Caroline's heels on the pavement.

"Hard day?" Caroline sighed in acknowledgement of the ingrained weariness of her job.

"Yeah, you know how much I hate getting home late. How's the job hunting gone?"

"Alright, a couple of possibilities, but I'll let you have a look when yer get here."

"Okay, I'm just going into the tube so I'll be forty minutes or so. Love you."

"Love you too." Janice put the phone down and sat back on the sofa with a wistful smile on her face. It had been so easy to fall into a relationship with Caroline. Everything had felt so natural and they had settled into an easy routine. Janice knew that they were still in the honeymoon period and that it was a novelty being together full time, but she had a feeling it would work out. She had never felt quite like this before and Caroline certainly seemed more relaxed than when they'd only been seeing each other on a monthly basis.

As the weeks went by it gradually dawned on Janice that Mick wasn't coping well with their separation and that Michael was the only thing keeping him grounded. She eventually came to the heart-breaking decision to allow Mick to have full custody of their son on the condition that he came down to London every other weekend and during some of the school holidays. They still hadn't spoken to each other directly by this point and Janice was sorry for that. She also felt guilty that Michael had been caught in the middle and ended up relaying messages between his mum and dad. She had a feeling that the situation would last for some time. She was gutted to be without her son on a permanent basis but Caroline had been incredibly supportive and had offered to move up to Manchester to at least be close by. Janice had considered the offer seriously but only briefly. Part of the point of her being with Caroline was to explore her new found independence and she felt it was more achievable in London. The city was full of possibilities and experiences waiting to happen. Michael also loved visiting them and absorbing as much of the city life and tourist attractions that he could. Mick needed time to sort out a new routine and life for himself and Michael and it would be easier for him to do that without Janice and Caroline living round the corner from them.

Janice knew that although it wouldn't be easy adapting to life without her children around her and being away from everything she had ever known, it would be worth it in the end. She was finally on a path in life that would allow her to grow and find her true self. She snuggled up with Caroline on the settee and settled down to watch a film on a rare Friday night in. Life wasn't perfect, but it was good and she was in love. Who knew what would happen in the future?