Chapter 21: Breaking the News
Caroline stood patiently outside her mother's flat, waiting for her to answer. She straightened her hair and wiped the last of the happy tears from her face, just as Celia opened the door.
"Hi mum, I was just coming to get Flora," she greets Celia, who has a worried look on her face as she can tell Caroline has been crying. Caroline sees her worry and smiles reassuringly.
"Everything is fine mum, we're fine. In fact…" she raises her hand to show Celia the ring, a shy smile crossing her lips. Celia squeals her approval and grabs Caroline into a warm hug. Flora comes running from the couch, tugging at Caroline's skirt.
"Mummy, mummy! Can I see Fiona, is she here?" she tugs excitedly at Caroline's skirt, until Caroline and Celia release their hug and Caroline stoops down to greet her.
"Yes sweetheart, she is and I was just coming to get you. Tell gran goodnight now and thank you for the biscuits." Flora hugs Celia's legs and thanks her then jumps up and down sweetly demanding her mother pick her up. Caroline bends down and scoops her up into a shower of kisses as Celia looks on with a smile.
"Thanks mum, I love you." She hugs Celia one last time, Flora kissing Celia's cheek as they hug.
"I love you too, Caroline and I'm so happy for you," Celia pulls away with a smile as Caroline turns to head back to the house. She stops midway and turns back to Celia.
"Oh mum, I'd like to have you and Alan over for supper tomorrow. I think I'm going to stay home and spend the day with Fiona and the girls, but I'd like for all of us to have supper together if you can."
"We'd be delighted. See you tomorrow love, and congratulations." She smiles again and waves before closing the door.
Caroline steps into the kitchen and puts Flora down as they walk in. The bubbly girl immediately sets off calling for Fiona and Caroline follows after her, a permanent smile stuck on her face.
"Fi, Fi!" Flora calls as she runs into the den. Fiona sees her come into the room and squats down; arms open to catch her as she approaches.
"Fi, I missed you! You were gone too long!" Flora squeals as she barrels into Fiona's arms, knocking her off balance, both of them tumbling to the floor. They both fall into a fit of giggles and Fiona sits up, holding Flora and kissing her cheeks.
"Oh, I missed you too sweetheart," Fiona coos between kisses. The exchange between them stirs Caroline's heart and she stands watching with a huge smile, and tears rolling down her cheeks. Fiona too starts crying, unable to hide her joy.
"Fi, why you crying? Don't be sad. I love you Fi," Flora hugs Fiona and looks straight into her eyes, then kisses her on the mouth. Fiona laughs and smiles, reaching up to wipe her face.
"Oh Flora, I'm not sad. I'm happy, very happy, and I love you too." She takes Flora's face into her hands and places a soft kiss on her forehead before giving her another loving squeeze. She gets up from the floor and crosses to Caroline, taking her into a tender embrace. She releases Caroline and looks into her eyes, expressing her gratitude and love in her gaze.
"Alright, now I've got my two favorite girls, what should we do this evening?" She says as she turns to Flora and picks her up.
"Mummy, can we watch Frozen and eat ice cream?" she looks at Caroline with puppy dog eyes and Caroline smiles with a laugh.
"That sounds like a perfect idea my darling." She leans in and kisses Flora, then wraps her arms around her and Fiona, pulling them all into a hug.
Flora giggles with delight and the two women join in, their perfect happiness filling the room.
oOo
Caroline wakes to find the movie is still playing and the fire is still on a low burn in the fire place. She rises up from Fiona's shoulder and looks down at her and Flora to find they have also fallen asleep. Flora is still holding her empty bowl, so Caroline reaches across and slips it gently from her hands, placing it on the side table. The little girl is snuggled under Fiona's arm and they are all tucked warmly into a blanket. Caroline reaches for the remote and turns off the television before settling back into Fiona's arm. She drapes her arm softly across Flora's body, placing her hand in Fiona's lap. Her eyes again grow heavy and she's soon fast asleep next to them. The trio sleeps comfortably snuggled together, their own little happy family.
oOo
Fiona and Caroline wake to the sound of a knock at the front door. They both take a few moments to fully wake up and realize where the noise is coming from. Fiona sits up, and throws back the blanket, rubbing her eyes.
"Oh shit, that'll be Clare and Emma. I forgot to call her last night." She stretches her legs and looks over to Caroline, smiling at the waking beauty before her. Caroline yawns and smiles back, then looks down to see Flora is still sleeping.
"You get the door and I'll just put Flora to bed, let her sleep a little longer, then I can make us breakfast. Oh, and ask Clare to stay for supper tonight." She slips an arm under Flora and scoops her into her chest, before getting up and heading stands and smoothes out her clothes, then heads to the door. She opens it with a smile, greeting Clare and Emma has they come in.
"Hi love, hi sweetheart. I'm sorry I forgot to call you last night, to say I was staying." She casts an apologetic glance to Clare as she ushers them both into the house, taking Emma's coat off as she does.
"It's alright mum, I didn't want to bother you, I just hoped it was good news. I assume I was right?" She looks questioningly to Fiona, who smiles and nods in return.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you mum," she hugs her tightly and kisses her cheek as she pulls away.
"I hate to be in a rush, but I'm running late. Can we talk more later? I'd love to see Caroline too." She bends down to hug Emma and prepares to exit.
"Actually, Caroline wants you all to stay for supper tonight, would you be free?"
"Yea, we are. Ian is in office today and so am I. I think we could probably do 6:30. Will that work?"
"Sounds perfect, see you this evening love." The women embrace and exchange a kiss on the cheek before Clare heads out the door, congratulating Fiona once more over her shoulder.
"Granny! Can we have pancakes for breakfast, where's Flora?" Emma chirps as she skips down the hall toward the kitchen.
"Pancakes, eh? Alright. Flora's still sleeping, but Caroline is here today, she's going to stay with us." She calls to Emma as she follows her down the hall. Emma turns around and stops, doing a funny wiggle in the hall.
"Yay! Caroline is staying the whole day with us?" she asks, barely able to contain her excitement.
"That's right, and she said she'd make us breakfast, so you have to give her a big hug when she comes down." Emma squeals with glee and skips on into the kitchen.
oOo
Caroline and Fiona stand in the kitchen, finishing the dishes after breakfast while Emma and Flora play in the den. Caroline dips the last plate into the sink, scrubbing the syrup from the edges. Fiona dries the plate in her hand and puts it away. She crosses behind Caroline and slips her arms around her waist, pulling her body into the contours of Caroline's and kissing the back of her neck. Caroline shivers with delight and turns herself around in Fiona's arms, putting her arms around Fiona's neck when she turns to face her. They stand there kissing, lost in each other's touch until they are interrupted by Emma.
"Hey, you two kiss all the time! More than Shrek and Fiona," Emma says laughing, hands on her hips. The two women look over at her and smile shyly as they pull apart.
"You should just get married, since you like to kiss so much." The women share a glance and Fiona walks over to Emma, bending down in front of her.
"Well love, we are going to get married. What do you think about that?" She says as she takes Emma's hands. Emma stands for a moment, looking at Fiona, then looks up to Caroline, a big grin spreading across her face.
"So, does that mean Caroline will be my new granny, for real?" she asks, her eyes lighting up and doubling in size. Fiona laughs and looks over her shoulder to Caroline, who has a dumb struck look on her face. Her laughter grows as she sees the realization sink in for Caroline.
"Well, yes, I guess it does sweetheart," Caroline finally says, an amused smile on her face. Emma runs off into the den, yelling her excitement the whole way. Fiona stands and turns to Caroline, a cheeky grin on her face.
"Good lord, I never expected to be a granny at 51. I have a 4 year old daughter, for Pete's sake." The look of bemused shock on her face makes Fiona laugh and pull her in for a kiss.
"You are adorable, you know that," she muses as she looks lovingly into Caroline's blue eyes. They two women stand gazing at each other, eventually falling into a fit of laughter.