Eight Years Later (2018)

The pool was almost full to the brim with frivolous teenagers, splashing around and mucking about. A small amount of alcohol from the Solana's all-inclusive bar probably had something to do with it, but that was beside the point. Michael Garvey had turned eighteen a couple of months ago and this holiday with his mates was his birthday present from his parents. He had even been allowed to bring his girlfriend, although she was in a room with three other girls. But the best thing of all was that he had all of his family around him for the first time in years. He was being watched over by Madge who, despite her advancing years, was still causing havoc and being a bad influence. Michael didn't know who was worse, his mate Jon for starting the shot drinking contest or his Nana for not stopping when it had been polite for a lady to do so. Jon was busy throwing up in the gents whilst Madge sat slumped on her scooter with a look of triumph on her face.

Coolio was happily dive-bombing into the warm pool and trying to keep up with the older boys. He was getting quite tall and was just as skinny as his uncle. Although, Michael had filled out a bit recently, having made use of the local gym and his student discount. Coolio had tried to sneak a drink of some lager, but Telle and Geoff had been on the ball with that one. Michael had tried something similar at his age and suffered many a pre-legal hangover. Although they couldn't blame Michael entirely, it was a product of being brought up by his dad and spending Sunday dinners at the local pub. Geoff and Telle's daughter Olivia sat with her Nans and happily played with her dolls as Caroline braided her hair into different styles. The six year old was adorably chubby, blonde-haired and as bright as a button. She adored her Nans and was very proud and vocal if anyone should ever stare at them strangely. Coolio had been more for Mick as he had grown up and he had a great respect for his uncle Michael. He didn't find school very easy and Telle had suspected that would only get harder now that he was about to start senior school. But Mick had spent painstaking hours trying to help him with his homework and Geoff had been the best adoptive father the boy could have had. Geoff and Telle were surprisingly still loved up and had really settled into parenthood. Neither of them were particularly interested in getting married and neither Mick nor Janice could really blame them considering how that had worked out for them.

Janice lay on her sun bed soaking up the rays and reading her book, but she frequently looked up to exchange a glance or a smile with Caroline. Olivia was besotted with Caroline, even more so than Michael had been, so Janice tended to leave them to their quality time. Mick was enjoying the sunshine only a few sun beds along from them with his girlfriend Steff. Things had changed from those early days of arguments and months of not talking to each other. Michael had been stuck between the two of them and Janice was sorry that things had become that bad. Mick had been deeply hurt, heartbroken and more than a little of the issue had been his own stubborn pride. Whilst Janice hadn't agreed with his behaviour, she had understood where he was coming from. She was lucky to have found someone she wanted to be with, Mick had to start all over again and it hadn't been his choice. Things had become much easier once Steff had come into his life and a tentative friendship had begun to reform. Things weren't perfect, but at least they had called a truce good enough to spend a week together for Michael's sake. And it was lovely to have the whole family, plus additions, all together again.

Michael stepped out of the pool soaking wet and dripped his way over to his Mums. Caroline looked up and squinted at him as the afternoon sun shone over his head and in her eyes. She put a hand up to shield her vision.

"Are you enjoying yourself Michael?" The newly minted adult plonked himself at the end of Caroline's sunbed and shook his wet hair all over his niece. The youngster squealed in delight.

"Uncle Michael!" she chastised him playfully.

"Sorry Liv." She giggled and held out a doll to him but he declined the offer and went back to Caroline's question.

"Yeah, it's been brilliant so far! Although it looks like me Nana thinks it's 'er eighteenth!" Janice chuckled and looked up at son. She felt a twinge of sadness as it was clear he was all grown up and no longer her little boy. She and Caroline had talked about fostering over the years, but the time never really seemed right. She thought that perhaps it was something they should consider again once this holiday was over.

"'undred and eighteenth more like!" Janice loved her mother dearly, but was the first to take the piss at any opportunity she got. Although woe betide anyone else who deigned do the same, particularly Mick. "Glad yer 'aving a good time love." Michael ruffled Olivia's hair and then stood up.

"I'm going over to Dad fer a bit. See yer later." Caroline looked at Janice carefully as she watched her son walk off. She leaned over the sun beds and gave her a sound kiss.

"What were that for?"

"I saw the way you looked at him and I know you've been feeling a bit…redundant now that he's got a life of his own." Janice smiled at her girlfriend sadly.

"I were born to be a mum, it's the only thing I know how ter do." Caroline got off her sun bed and crouched down beside Janice's. Olivia didn't want to be left out of whatever was going on between her nans so followed suit and wedged herself between them. She looked at them as though she understood exactly what they were talking about and nodded in all the right places.

"And you've been a great mum but you're also a wonderful grandmother and you've become a fantastic teaching assistant. Children will always be in your life, even if they're not your own and that's better in my book." Janice gave her lover a watery smile in return for all the praise she'd just heaped on her.

"You always seem to know exactly what to say, whatever would I do without you?" Janice punctuated her thanks with a firm kiss.

"I'm sure you'd survive, but it's nice to hear anyway." Olivia grinned at her nans and wrapped her chubby little arms around both their necks and squished them all together in a big three-way hug.

That evening the whole clan including Michael's friends gathered around the poolside for a barbeque. Everyone was chatting amiably amongst themselves as some queued for burgers and hot dogs and others sat eating their dinner. Janice had got caught up in a conversation with Telle and Geoff and Caroline observed the throng as she waited for her girlfriend to get back to her with their drinks. It was a strange hotchpotch of family, some by extension, and friends but it seemed to work and everyone was having a good time. She spotted Mick on his way over to her side of the pool and made up her mind about something. She stood up from her table and met him halfway.

"Mick, can I have a word?" Caroline indicated that she wanted a chat in private and they stepped to one side, out of earshot of anyone else.

"Is everything alright?" He asked the American, genuinely concerned. They hadn't spoken much since they had arrived a couple of days ago but he thought that everything had been going rather well recently.

"Everything's fine, I just wanted to ask you something." The nerves kicked in and Caroline suddenly wondered if she was doing the right thing.

"Of course, ask away." Mick sounded fairly relaxed and happy, Caroline thought, so perhaps now was the right time to bring it up.

"I know it hasn't been easy for you these last few years and I really appreciate every effort you've made to try and be friends recently. I think that we have something that really works, for all of us, now. So I wanted to make sure, in the spirit of friendship and respect, that you'd be okay with it." Caroline stopped as though she were expecting Mick to answer her.

"Okay with what?" Caroline had been so nervous that she'd forgotten to ask Mick the actual question.

"I want to ask Janice to marry me." Mick's eyebrows briefly rose in surprise before he nodded to himself and appeared to think for a moment.

"I'm surprised you haven't brought the subject up long before now. You've been together what, eight years?" He was genuinely curious about how long it had taken either of them to mention marriage. Of course he knew that when they had first started seeing each other they would only have been able to have a Civil Partnership but everyone had known it was more or less the same thing as marriage anyway. Then three years ago it was upgraded to real marriage, equal to what he and Janice had previously shared, and Mick had thought that the subject would have definitely have come up then.

"Nine, if you include that first year before…well you know. We've talked about it, plenty of times, but Janice wanted to make sure you were happy and settled before we really considered it. Neither of us has mentioned it for ages." Caroline had tried subtly to bring it up on numerous occasions but she always felt that Janice was holding back. Of course she knew that it mostly had to do with her guilt over Mick but she had sometimes wondered if Janice wasn't quite ready for it, or if she even really wanted it.

"Why now?" Caroline had been asking herself that very same question for the past few weeks. Ever since Michael's eighteenth birthday had become a prominent talking point, from the actual day to the holiday and all the planning in between, they had had been discussing it on an almost weekly basis since Christmas. It had made Caroline think about the future more deeply, especially since it was clear Janice was struggling to cope with her youngest child becoming an adult.

"I just feel that the time is right. I really want to make things official and now that we've managed a civilised week together as a whole family I was hoping that we not only would have your blessing but you would take an active role, as a friend." Caroline meant it sincerely and realised that they actually owed a lot to Mick for bringing them together in the first place. If he hadn't encouraged Janice to follow her feelings and allowed her to do so without guilt then they wouldn't be standing here, nine years later, discussing this at all.

"That's a big ask you know." Caroline looked suitably chastised before she saw that Mick was smiling broadly.

"Of course you both have my blessing and my friendship." Caroline was so pleased that she could almost cry, goodness knows what she'd be like when she actually proposed!

"Really?"

"Yes, there's a lot of water under the bridge now and I can see that yer both sickeningly 'appy. I never meant you any ill will you know, I just found my whole life falling apart around me and there was nothing I could do to put it back together again. But life 'as moved on and I'm happy with Steff and with my very extended family." Caroline glanced behind him and saw that Janice was on her way back.

"Thank you Mick, it means so much to me, to us." Caroline went to shake his hand but Mick pulled her in for a hug instead. Janice put hers and Caroline's drinks on their table and glanced up to see her ex-husband embracing her girlfriend. They headed back towards her and the rest of the party laughing quite amiably with each other. Janice was confused but quite pleased they were getting along. Mick nodded and smiled at Janice as he passed by and left Caroline to it.

"What were that all about?"

"Nothing sweetheart, I'll tell you later." Janice put it to the back of her mind for the time being and wasn't particularly worried about it. If there had been a problem she knew that Caroline would talk to her about it when she was ready to.

"And the next person to come up and sing for us is an old friend of Neptune's, Janice Garvey." Janey announced to the holidaymakers packed tightly into the nightclub. Caroline didn't know Janice had put her name down to sing and beamed in delight that she was going to. Janice had been a bit of a dark horse in their early days together and hadn't disclosed that she had an excellent singing voice. Caroline had felt mildly embarrassed that she'd been praised so highly for her talents while her girlfriend had kept quiet about her own. The room went silent and the first few chords of Florence and the Machine's 'Spectrum' played through the sound system. Janice's warm, rich voice echoed Florence Welch's and as she began to sing she managed to do the song justice and give it some heartfelt meaning. The sentiment went straight through to Caroline's heart and suddenly she knew that this was the perfect moment. She waited for the pause in words and rhythm where she knew that she would just about have enough time. Caroline had been so awestruck watching Janice that suddenly it was time to move and she was out of her chair and kneeling on stage in front of the Mancunian without realising it. She held out the box that contained the diamond engagement ring to her lover and the entire room fell deadly silent. Janey took the cue and turned the music down low to give the women on stage a few moments. Janice was more than a little shocked and the surprise was evident on her face. Caroline gathered up all the courage she could to enable her to say the words she had wanted to for so long.

"Janice, will you marry me?" Janice beamed at her lover but her eyes glanced sideways to her family waiting with baited breath in the audience. She sought out Mick and she was relieved to see that he had the dopiest grin plastered on his face as he held two thumbs up in support. She looked again at Caroline who nodded gently in acknowledgement of the fact that she had ensured Mick was going to be alright with it and it began to dawn on Janice that this was what their exchange had been about earlier. The emotion of the surprise and absurdity of being proposed to on stage in a nightclub in Benidorm caused Janice to involuntarily giggle as she confirmed her acceptance. Caroline gently placed the ring on Janice's finger and they cemented their engagement with a passionate kiss. Neptune's erupted into cheers, applause and hoots and Janey turned the volume up full blast on the karaoke system. Florence Welch's unmistakeable voice came through and the last chorus was left in her capable hands as Janice was far too occupied to finish her turn at the microphone. Her whole family, including Mick and Steff, were hugging each other and crying and laughing with happiness. Even Madge had a smile on her face and made a point of shaking Caroline's hand, effectively burying the hatchet and welcoming her to the family.

Life still had many ups and downs in store for the extended Garvey clan and the future would bring more than one wedding, several more babies and a funeral or two. But they would get through the hard times and enjoy the good times, together, because that is what families do no matter how their component parts are made up.