Chapter 11
It was now approaching Charlotte's first birthday. David was so excited and determined to make it special as he wanted to treasure every big moment in Charlotte's life.
"Hello my gorgeous girls" Said David as he came him from work
"Hello" Said Carol
"Have you had a nice day? Where are the kids?" Said David
"Sonia's at her friend's house, Billie's at Alan's and Bianca and Robbie are still out" said Carol whilst making dinner
"Where's Charlotte?" Said David
"Asleep upstairs she's been screaming all day long as she's teething. I'm exhausted" Said Carol
"Oh well then I won't wake her up and you come and sit down. I'll make the dinner" Said David sitting Carol down at the table pouring her a glass of wine.
"Thanks David. It's just been one of them days" Said Carol
"Well you just relax. Let's have a chat about Charlotte's birthday; it's Friday" Said David
"Yes David I hadn't forgotten" Said Carol
"I was thinking we could have just a little family party" Said David
"Yeah whatever" Said Carol not bothered
"You could at least show some interest Carol" Said David annoyed
"Shut up David. I'm so fed up and quite frankly the way Charlotte's been today I don't fell at all like having a party for her" Said Carol
"Don't be like that Carol" Said David
"Oh yeah well you try spending a day with her screaming in your ears" Shouted an exhausted Carol waking Charlotte
"I'll go" Said David as he went upstairs to see to Charlotte who seemed to calm down at the sight of David who brought her down to a frustrated Carol
"I forgot she was a daddy's girl. I swear she doesn't even like me much" Said Carol jealously
"Come here sweetheart. She adores you and I'm sorry" Said David signalling Carol to sit on his knee in attempt to comfort her
"I'm sorry too. I love you" Said Carol as she kissed Charlotte
"How about I take the day off tomorrow and take you out for the day; mum will look after Charlotte" Said David
"Really?" Said Carol excitedly
"Yeah, I've got to make sure I look after you. I love you" Said David
"Yes you have" Said Carol as she kissed David passionately which was disturbed by Charlotte who shouted Bianca's name as she walked through the door
"Hello darling. Where's Ricky?" Said Carol as she jumped off David's knee
"He's at Pat's having dinner as Janine was missing him. Hello Charlotte" Said Bianca as she took Charlotte form David
"Thanks darling" Said David as he kissed her head
"No worries, what are we doing for Charlotte's birthday on Friday?" Asked Bianca
"We're just going to have a little family tea" Said David
"Oh great that will be lovely, Charlotte will adore that" Said Bianca
"Bianca darling, can you and Ricky look after Billie and Sonia tomorrow evening?" Asked David
"Why?" Responded Bianca
"I'm taking your mum out for the day" Said David
"Oooooh" Said Bianca mocking their romance
"We might be back late. So you and Ricky are in charge" Said David
"What about Charlotte?" Said Bianca
"I'm going to ask mum to look after her" Said David
"Ok" Said Bianca
David, Carol and Bianca continued to chat about Charlotte's first birthday and they seemed so happy. Carol loved seeing what a great family they made and treasured seeing David be such a loving dad with their two girls. The next day David took Carol out for a romantic meal at a fancy restaurant and the two of them had such a fun time discussing their antics as teenagers which only made their relationship stronger. David booked them a room in a hotel for the afternoon to give Carol a good time away from Charlotte who was teething and therefore often interrupting them. After they had made love they just lay in each other's arms in complete disbelief of how happy they were.
"I love you Carol. Always have; always will" Said David
"I can't believe we missed out on all these years together. I should have fought for you" Said Carol
"Carol baby you did nothing wrong; it was me. I was a selfish prat and I have paid the price missing out all those years with you and Bianca. You were my whole life and I just threw you away" Said David
"It's in the past David. Let's just live in the present" Said Carol
"Yeah" Said David as he intimately kissed Carol
"Do you remember when we use to bunk off school and make out in my mum's living room" Said David nostalgically
"Yeah, we used to pretend we were watching movies" Said Carol chuckling
"Kept us away from Derek didn't it?" Said David smiling
"Yeah, he just wouldn't leave us alone. I hate him for destroying is" Said Carol
"Carol he'll never destroy us. We have something special; something that will be there forever" Said David
"But he did, didn't he?" Said Carol
"Carol that's all in the past now; we should be thinking about now" Said David
"David I can't just forget how you broke my heart and left me to raise Bianca alone" Said Carol
"You know it kills me that I missed out on all those years with you and her" Said David
"yeah, but you still left us" Said Carol
"Carol why are you doing this? I thought we were going to build a future together and get it right with Charlotte" Said David
"I know. I'm just scared of getting hurt again" Said Carol
"Carol we've been back together over a year now. We have another daughter. I'm not going to let you down this time"
"I know but I just can't help but fear that someone or something will mess us up" Said Carol
"They won't" Said as he kissed Carl and held her tightly in his arms
Carol and David ended their romantic day out by going for a stroll along the canal where they had shared so many special memories as children in love. On the face of it, it seemed wrong; two 13/14 year olds sleeping together but the power of their love for one another seemed to justify their actions back then. They arrived home to a clean and tidy house. Bianca was in the lounge with Pat who brought Charlotte round and come to help Bianca with the kids. Joe had arrived for Charlotte's first birthday which was the next day. Carol and David had a blissful evening with the kids and Pat which was in reality was what made them really happy.
The next day was Charlotte's first birthday and David was so excited as he was able to share with Charlotte. He had managed to build such a strong relationship with his kids: Bianca, Charlotte and Joe which gave him such pride and joy. David awoke to see Carol missing who had presumably gone to the bathroom to freshen up. He gazed into Charlotte's cot and saw her awake and crawling around.
"Happy birthday poppet" Said David as he picked her up and cuddled her lovingly in his arms
"I love you daddy" Said Charlotte softly as she embraced David's cuddle bringing a tear to his eye
Carol came in at that moment and sat on David's knee as they both wished their daughter a special first birthday. They were soon joined by Bianca who wanted to be the first to wish Charlotte happy birthday as they were the only two of the siblings who shared the same parents and therefore felt a stronger connection than the others. Charlotte adored Bianca and Carol and David watched on warmly knowing their two daughters would always be there for each other. A few moments later they all went downstairs and joined the others who had got up extra early and recruited Pat to help them arrange the party that they wanted for Charlotte's first birthday. They all had such a lovely family day and everyone hoped it would last forever. Charlotte was really developing a strong personality as she was getting older which made it obvious she was the daughter of David Wicks and Carol Jackson. At that moment Bianca brought out Charlottes cake which the kids had all made the day before. She blew out her candles with the help of all her siblings who had given her such a special day.
By the end of the day Charlotte was exhausted and she went straight to sleep in the evening which was a rare experience for Carol and David who had been kept awake by Charlotte's teething,
"She's such an angel" Said Carol watching on as Charlotte slept peacefully in her cot
"Yeah just like her mum" Said David as he came over and wrapped his arm around her waist whilst kissing her neck
"You must be joking. She's her father's daughter" Said Carol recognising that Charlotte was far more like David
Carol and David turned to face each other and began to kiss tenderly. David held her in his arms with all the strength he had; determined not to let the love of his life slip away from again. Although they weren't 14 anymore those feelings were still present which confused them both but they just knew when they were with each other they were at their happiest which was all they could ever ask for.
As the years went by Charlotte grew into a confident and charismatic girl which made David realise that she really needed him to be there for her as they shared so many qualities. Charlotte particularly loved spending in time with David and Pat whom she seemed to warm to the most showing that she most definitely took after them. Carol remained jealous of David's close relationship with Charlotte as she always believed she would be closer to the kids than David. David and Carol struggled to cope with sharing Charlotte and it was beginning to look like their little girl may just be the down fall of their extraordinary romance. Although David was tempted; he never strayed from Carol despite their almighty rows over their daughter and their fiery romance. Pat was so proud of what David had become and truly believed he had got things right with Carol, and the kids who depended on him. David now knew just how important Carol was to him and was determined to fight for her as she was worth it. The flame between them had never died since they first met that evening in 1976. They found it so difficult to adjust their romance to family life which they both so desperately wanted to do. Carol was beginning to show serious doubts about her relationship with David as she became fearful of her family unit being broken up by his presence. Carol relied on her kids love to see her through life and resented David's inadvertent intervention. Bianca and Charlotte were put in the middle of the parents messy but powerfuk romance and it became apparent that at some point they were going to have to choose between their mother and father which upset them as they knew it would be the end of the family the most desperately dreamed they could be. Bianca now had a son Liam who was 2 years younger than a now 4 year old Charlotte which meant Bianca was just about old enough to understand and sympathise. However Charlotte was far less able to cope with what was about to happen and would be devastated to los the family she knew and loved.