Chapter 19
"Happy birthday to you," Jessica sung quietly into her sleeping daughters ear, "Happy birthday to my angel."
Charlotte groaned but with a smile, "Thank you," she mumbled, "But it's too early."
Jessica nipped her ear, "Nah ah, I let you sleep in," she murmured, "It's almost ten thirty, lazy."
"I'm allowed to be lazy, it's my birthday," Charlotte yawned.
Jessica chuckled, "Is it your birthday?"
Charlotte turned around to face her, "Yup, same day, every year!"
"I know something that might be different this year," Jessica whispered, placing a hand on Charlotte's waist, massaging it gently.
Charlotte bit back a smile, "Oh yeah?"
"Mm," Jessica traced her lips over Charlotte's neck, over her collarbone, "Are you ready for your first present?"
"Yes!" Charlotte grinned, rubbing the last of the sleep from her eyes.
Jessica laughed as she pressed her lips to Charlotte's and her hands moved under Charlotte's singlet, fingers grazing over her stomach. Charlotte hummed contentedly. Jessica's hands moved to Charlotte's boxer shorts.
"These are so, so cute," she murmured, nipping on Charlotte's shoulders.
"Aw man, again with the cute," Charlotte pouted.
"Mm," Jessica hummed, "How about…" she pushed her hand into Charlotte's underwear, "sexy?"
Charlotte took a sharp in-take of breath and rest her head on her mom's shoulder.
"I'm so proud of you," Jessica whispered, touching Charlotte gently.
Charlotte sighed contentedly, "That feels nice," she whispered.
"Nice," Jessica echoed.
"Mm, nice wake up," Charlotte murmured, closing her eyes, "Gentle is nice sometimes."
Jessica smiled, kissing the side of Charlotte's head, "It is," her fingers moved lightly in Charlotte's underwear, "Mm, you're so precious."
Charlotte kissed her mom's shoulder, pushing her hand underneath Jessica's singlet and resting it on her stomach, "I like being close to you like this," she murmured.
"Right back at you," Jessica whispered, "Is this okay or do you want me to – "
"No, this is perfect," Charlotte cut in, "Sometimes its nice just to be touched…without… you know."
"I know," Jessica chuckled as she continued moving her fingers over Charlotte's folds, "But I suppose we should get up. Get you a birthday breakfast."
Charlotte groaned and quickly flipped their positions so she hover over Jessica, "I know what I'd like for my birthday breakfast," she smirked, flicking her eyes downwards.
Jessica laughed, "Okay, okay I guess we can stay in bed a little longer."
Charlotte grinned, "It is my birthday."
"Yes, yes and birthday girls must get what they want," Jessica held a hand in her daughters' hair as she traced her lips down her mom's stomach.
"Happy birthday, sis," Alison hugged her sister.
Charlotte returned the embrace, resting her head on Alison's shoulder for a moment, "Thanks, Ali. It's really nice to finally be with you guys on my birthday. As, you know, family."
Alison smiled, "Yeah, it is," she said quietly, before picking up the gift she had on the table and handing it to her sister, "Here! For you!"
Charlotte grinned, "Ooh thank you!"
"I hope you like it," Alison said nervously.
"I will," Charlotte spoke confidently, "It's from you so I'll love it."
She unwrapped it quickly to reveal a small bottle of perfume, "Ooh," she sprayed some of it on her wrist and smelt it, "Pretty. Thanks, Ali!"
"There's more," Alison handed over another present.
"More?" Charlotte chuckled, "You're spoiling me!"
She unwrapped the present. It was a small book, entitled 'Sisters'. It was filled with photograph's of cute animals in pairs; sisters.
Charlotte squealed, "So cute! Look at the little twin piggies! Ow, she has a little bow in her hair. They're so adorable and they're…sisters."
"Like us," Alison put a hand on Charlotte's, "I don't care what genetics or whatever says. You are my sister. Always have been, always will be."
Charlotte bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears, she wrapped her arms around her little sister tightly, "Oh, Ali. I love you."
"I love you too," Alison laughed, "But I also love oxygen, you're kind of…"
Charlotte let go with a giggle, "Sorry."
Jessica bought out breakfast, "Ooh presents, what did you get?"
Charlotte beamed, showing her mom her presents, "Isn't Ali the sweetest? She's the best!"
Jessica laughed.
"Well, what did mom give you? Didn't she give you your present yet?" Alison asked.
Charlotte blushed, remembering the 'present' she had gotten from her mom early in the morning.
"She's right," Jessica said, disappearing into the kitchen for a moment and coming back with a gift bag, "Here we go."
"You hid them in the kitchen?" Charlotte laughed.
"Yes, I know you," Jessica poked her playfully, "You will have searched all over the room. I thought it was the least likely spot."
Charlotte giggled, "I knew you were too smart to hide them under the bed or in the wardrobe."
"Didn't stop you looking though, did it?" Jessica arched an eyebrow.
Charlotte shrugged, "I might have looked," she admitted.
She looked in the gift bag, pulling a new dress out, "Ooh, this looks nice! Thanks, mom."
She dug in the bag and found a jewellery box, containing a silver ring with the infinity symbol carved into the outside. On the inside of the ring was her initials plus her mom's.
Charlotte bit her quivering lip as tears once again filled her eyes and sniffed before pressing her lips to her mom's and pulling her close.
"Um, ew."
Charlotte stopped and smiled at Alison sheepishly, "Sorry, Ali."
Alison shrugged, "It's fine. I mean, I'm cool with you guys but it doesn't mean I need to see you do it on the dining table – "
"Alison!" Jessica scolded but with the hint of a smile, "We weren't…I… just…"
Charlotte burst into giggles before composing herself, "I love the ring, mommy," she whispered, "It's beautiful. I'll wear it forever."
"I love you," Jessica placed a hand on her cheek before she kissed it softly.
"I love you too," Charlotte kissed Jessica's palm.
"There's one more in there," Jessica nodded to the bag.
Charlotte looked in the bag and pulled out a brand new marble chess set and looked at it in awe, "Wow, this looks super fancy. Way better than my plastic one! I don't know if I should even play with this one! Thanks, Mom!"
Jessica laughed, "Of course you should, silly girl. Now, come on, eat up and then we can go to the shops. Get stuff in for tonight."
Charlotte gave her mom one last hug before finally sitting down in front of her breakfast.
Charlotte sucked on her straw between talking and laughing with her sister on the couch. Jessica busied herself cooking dinner in the kitchen.
"I never had a real birthday before," Charlotte said, half nervously, half excitedly.
Alison grinned at her friends' enthusiasm, "Well, I mean, we've had birthdays together…"
Charlotte squinted, "Sure… and they were fun times, Ali but this is much more… special. I have a family now."
Alison smiled, "It is special," she agreed, "I'm glad to be a part of your life, Charlie."
Charlotte beamed and perked up as the doorbell rang. She bounded over to the door and swung it open.
"Hey, Emily!" she hugged the younger woman, "Thanks for coming!"
Emily smiled, "Of course. Happy birthday!"
"Thanks a lot," Charlotte closed the door and led Emily through to the lounge.
Alison stood up and hugged her friend, saying hello.
"Oh, I got you this!" Emily handed over a small parcel, "I hope you like it!"
"I like presents!" Charlotte grinned, "Thanks, Emily," she unwrapped the present to reveal a book by her favourite author, Stephen King, "Oh, cool, thanks! I've been looking forward to getting this one!"
Emily smiled, relieved that her friend liked her gift, "Great! I always see you reading his stuff but I wasn't sure if you got this one yet, so I made sure I kept the receipt!"
"I haven't! Thanks again," Charlotte gave her another hug and then opened the book.
Alison poked her, "You're not meant to read at parties, silly."
Charlotte ducked her head sheepishly and closed the book, "Sorry! I'm just super excited to read this one. I wanna show mom!"
"Show me what?" Jessica chuckled as she came in.
Charlotte stood up and showed her the book, "It's his new one! I was talking about it the other day, remember?"
"I remember," Jessica confirmed, "Good pick," she smiled at Emily.
"Dinner smells really good, Mrs D," Emily said politely.
Jessica smiled, "I've told you a thousand times, Emily, call me Jessica," she sat down, "I'm cooking Mexican. Charlotte's favourite."
"Yummy, thanks, mom," Charlotte sat next to her mom, putting an arm around her waist and leaning into her, "You're the best."
Jessica kissed her head, "Anything for you, Charlie," she murmured.
The doorbell rang again. Charlotte stood up and went to answer the door.
"Happy birthday, darling," Mary drew her daughter into her arms, "Have you had a nice day?"
Charlotte returned the hug, "Yeah, mom took me out for a milkshake and we just hung out here but it was really nice."
"I'm glad," Mary smiled.
"Oh, come in," Charlotte stepped aside to let her in.
Mary hesitated before stepping in and following her daughter through to the lounge room.
"Oh, you haven't met Alison yet," Charlotte bit her lip, "This is my baby sister, Alison."
Mary smiled at Alison, "It's nice to meet you, Alison. I've heard a lot about you."
"You too," Alison nodded.
"And this is Ali's best friend since forever, Emily," Charlotte introduced the younger brunette.
"Nice to meet you, Emily," Mary smiled.
"Um, it's nice to meet you too," Emily spoke quietly but politely.
Jessica stood up, "It was really great of you to come," she offered a smile.
Mary nodded, "Of course. Charlotte is… very special to me," she smiled, turning to her daughter, "Now I wasn't really sure what to get you but… here you go," she handed over a small gift bag.
"Oh, thanks!" Charlotte grinned.
She sat down and looked in the bag, pulling out a card. She opened it and a voucher fell out.
"Oh, great! I can get more books!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"I just didn't know what you would already have… so I figured maybe we could take a trip to the book shop and you could pick something yourself," Mary explained.
Charlotte read the card; To My Darling Daughter, Happy Birthday. Thank you so much for letting me into your life. I love you. Unconditionally. Mary.
Charlotte bit her lip and stood up to give her mother a hug, "Thank you."
She pulled out two Gold Class movie tickets, "Ooh, fancy! That will be fun!"
"You said you like the movies," Mary smiled.
She pulled something else out of the gift bag and turned it over in her hands.
"A teddy bear!" she squeaked with excitement.
Mary smiled nervously, "I know you're all grown up, I just thought… it should be every mothers' blessing to be able to give their daughter a teddy bear."
"She's so cute," Charlotte smiled, "Thanks! I really love her," she held the teddy close.
Mary sighed with relief.
Jessica couldn't help smiling at her daughters' adorableness, "I better go check on dinner," she squeezed Charlotte's hand.
"Oh, let me help you with that," Mary offered.
Silence hung between the two for a moment.
"Sure," Jessica nodded, "It's just through here," she led her sister into the kitchen.
Charlotte watched them go, nibbling on her lip.
Alison slid over, sitting closer to her sister, "They'll be fine, Charlotte," she said quietly.
Charlotte nodded, "Sure. I guess."
"She likes Mexican…" Mary mused, "I didn't know that."
Jessica nodded, "Quesadilla's are her favourite…" she sighed, "That was really sweet…the teddy bear. She really likes her soft toys. She'll love it."
Mary smiled, "I know she mentioned a bear you got her when she was little, I just felt… I just wanted her to have something from me."
"She really enjoys spending time with you," Jessica said as she pulled some food from the oven, "She always comes back very happy."
"I love her, Jess," Mary said quietly.
Jessica looked at her evenly, "I know you do," she hesitated, "Mary I… " she chewed on her lip, "I don't want to be in some kind of lifelong feud with you. It doesn't benefit anyone, especially Charlotte. And… didn't we get along once?"
"A long time ago," Mary remembered quietly, "A very long time ago."
"But couldn't we have… something like that again?" Jessica swallowed tightly, trying not to show her vulnerability.
Mary looked at her for a long time, "I think I'd like that," she barely whispered.
Jessica offered a small smile, which her sister returned.
"Mm, thanks mom, that was delicious," Charlotte smiled, kissing her mom on the cheek, "And look we have enough for tomorrow too, yay!"
Jessica laughed, "Enough for the rest of the week. I may have gone slightly overboard."
"It was really nice, Mrs D," Emily smiled before Alison pulled her away and they headed into the kitchen, taking a few dishes with them.
Mary watched Charlotte and Jessica interact. She supposed this was something she'd have to get used to. It really did seem like they loved each other. That didn't mean it wasn't strange to watch her daughter being all touchy feely with Jessica.
"Patience, Charlie," Jessica was saying, rolling her eyes.
"Cake, cake, cake," Charlotte grinned, "What kind of cake did you get me? Tell me, pleeease."
Jessica sighed, "You are such a child sometimes."
Charlotte bit her lip, "Only sometimes," she shot back, "Other times I can be – "
"Oh, shush," Jessica hit Charlotte's knee lightly, casting a glance towards her sister nervously. Sometimes, her and Charlotte forgot other people were in the room.
Charlotte caught the glance and looked at Mary too, "Sorry," she mumbled.
Mary shrugged, "It's…fine," she managed, "Or at least it will be… after some time."
Charlotte looked at her wide eyed before her face broke into a smile, "Thanks."
Just then, Alison and Emily bought in the cake; mudcake and they all sung happy birthday.
"Are you going to blow them out or what?" Alison asked as they finished singing.
Charlotte's face was crinkled in thought, "Shush, I'm thinking," she said, "I don't know what to wish for… because I have you all here. What else do I need?"
Alison's expression softened and she took her sisters' hand across the table, "Love you, sis."
"I love you too, Ali," Charlotte smiled, "OH!" she pulled her hand away suddenly, "Okay, I know now!" she closed her eyes and blew out the candles all in one go.
Jessica placed a hand on her daughters cheek before kissing her gently, "You are so sweet," she whispered as the others spoke amongst themselves, "I love you so much, honey."
"I love you too," Charlotte whispered, playing with Jessica's fingers, she turned to the others, "This is the best birthday I've ever had!"
Charlotte placed her new teddy on the bed, beside her old teddy. She stood back and looked at them side by side and smiled.
"There, now you have a friend," she murmured.
"And I have more competition for your hugs, I suppose."
Charlotte turned around to see her mom smiling at her in the doorway.
Charlotte bit her lip, "You don't mind, do you?"
Jessica walked into the room, "No, of course not," she said quietly, touching her daughters arm, "I'm just glad you enjoyed yourself."
"I did," Charlotte smiled but then it faded as she nibbled her lip, "Mom, when you and Mary went into the kitchen… was it okay? Did you fight? You seemed okay when you came back but – "
Jessica squeezed her daughters arm, "It was fine, honey. It will take some time but I think we're at least on neutral ground now. But please, you don't worry about us, okay? It's not your responsibility."
Charlotte nodded, "I know, it's just…" she shrugged.
"What is it, Charlie?" Jessica asked, sitting down on the bed and pulling Charlotte down beside her, "You can talk to me, sweetheart."
Charlotte shifted uncomfortably, "I really like spending time with her," she mumbled.
"I know you do," Jessica spoke quietly, "And you know that's okay with me. She's your mom, it's natural for you to want to spend time with her, to bond…"
Charlotte shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. It's just… it's not like I thought it would be. You're my mom… but she's my mom too. I didn't expect to feel so much. I didn't expect her to be so nice to me. I didn't think…"
Jessica raised a hand to Charlotte's face, watching conflict flicker through her eyes, "You love her," she spoke gently.
Charlotte pulled the corner of her lip into her mouth, "I guess."
"Charlotte, it's okay," Jessica said, "I'm not mad at you for bonding with your mom – "
"But you're my mom!" Charlotte exclaimed, frowning.
Jessica smiled, "And I always will be," she promised, "But Mary is your mother too. It's only natural that you're connecting with her. It's not one or the other, Charlie. I'll always support you having a relationship with her, okay? Believe me, please. I only want what's best for you."
Charlotte looked into her mom's pleading eyes, "I love you, mama," she wrapped her hands around the back of her mom's neck and burrowed into her shoulder, "Thank you."