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Chapter Fifty-Four
Another Visit
Ethel ran to the door as fast as she could with Prue in her arms and opened it before smiling at the person on the other side.
"GRAN" Ethel shouted as she wrapped her free arm around her and hugged. The woman gratefully hugged her back. Unlike her parents she had never neglected Ethel and they had a good relationship.
Josephine had been worried she was on the brink of death in all honestly but she was grateful to discover her illness would be ongoing but not life threatening. She was so grateful for that because then she got to meet her great granddaughter. That is why she was visiting today.
"Ethel, how are you love?" Josephine asked her before pulling away and looking at the baby. She had finally felt well enough to meet her.
"Oh she is gorgeous Ethel, she looks just like you" Josephine told her as she stepped into the flat and was nearly thrown backwards by Sybil hugging her so tightly.
"Sybie be careful" Esmie scolded as she went to hug the woman too. After everyone had greeted her Ethel led her to the sofa and handed her Prue who looked at the stranger curiously.
"Oh she is perfect" Josephine told the girls with a smile as she rocked her baby great granddaughter as Mildred appeared.
"Good morning, I am Mildred, the girls foster….well I guess you would say adopted sister now" Mildred said with a smile as she looked at the woman cuddling the baby. Josephine nodded kindly to the girl and Mildred recognised her from the mists of time as she still looked so much like Ethel.
"Hello Mildred, I have a vague memory of meeting you before" the blonde woman said looking confused as she looked at Mildred.
"Well you did...when Ethel and I were first years, the mists of time came to Cackles, Ethel's cat, Nightstar, was stuck in them so we went to rescue her and ended up going back in time to when you were at school, I found you with Nightstar and asked if I could take her back to Ethel" Mildred explained, glad the woman had remembered as that would be an awkward memory to have if she didn't.
"Oh yes now I remember" Josephine said as she racked her brain for the distant memory from her childhood.
"Really?" Mildred asked with a smile.
"Yes, I thought you were weird" Josephine said casually causing Ethel to laugh, glad someone else agreed with her. Josephine saw the look on Mildred's face before she kept talking.
"Well if you were in school and some girl claiming to be from the future told you she knew your granddaughter when you didn't even have a child of your own yet would you not see them as weird?" Josephine asked Mildred and Mildred knew if that happened to her she would think the person talking to her was crazy as well.
"Yes, good point" Mildred replied feeling happier as Julie stepped in the room with refreshments.
"How lovely it is to see you again" she told Josephine with a smile as she put a tray on the coffee table with drinks and biscuits on it.
"It is lovely to be back here, I was just meeting your Mildred here, I am glad to see everyone seems to get on so well" Josephine said before looking at Prue. The baby had realised the attention had left her and was scowling.
"You are your mummy's twin already" Josephine said kissing her head and chuckling.
"She has Hallow blood, she has to master the glare straight away" Esmerelda replied as she smiled, knowing all Hallow's had a glare they reserved when they felt it was needed. Even her glare was deadly. Her glare could even control Ethel which was saying something.
"True, don't steal the last chocolate or one of these three will glare at you with their Hallow glare, it still scares me" Mildred said wishing they would not do that. It was such a deadly look. Mildred had tried to copy and do a glare as well but hers never came out the same. She always just looked like she was squinting.
Josephine chuckled again and shook her head as she rocked the baby "Sorry our family is famous for it" Josphine said before she thought of something she had been meaning to ask.
"Speaking of which, what is going to happen at the adoption? Are you going to change your name?" the woman asked not seeming angry though. The blonde sisters looked at each other before Sybil spoke.
"Oh I don't know, we haven't discussed that yet" Sybil said started to panic like she normally did.
"You three will have to decide, you can keep your last name if you wish" Julie told them not wanting them to think she was forcing them to change their last name to Hubble.
"Well which name does Prue have?" Josephine asked wondering what they had given the child.
"Hallow right now, we didn't know we were going to be adopted at the time, if we have to change hers it won't matter much as she won't remember" Ethel said biting her lip as she didn't know what she wanted.
"You don't have to change it you know, you can always add on Hubble so you have both" Josephine told them knowing even though their family name had hurt them in the past their Hallow name was still apart of them. They were the Hallow sisters, they had Hallow traits and Hallow blood, they had ties to the name as people knew them because of it.
"So Hallow-Hubble, or Hubble-Hallow?" Esmerelda asked not speaking to anyone in particular as she was lost in concentration as she thought what will be best.
"It doesn't really matter, or you don't have to add Hubble on and can just keep Hallow if you wish" Julie told the girls knowing it was something they had to think about. All three girls looked confused and didn't know what to do.
"Don't force yourselves to think to much into it now, it is going to be a while until the adoption goes to court" Julie told them not wanting them panicking thinking they had to decide there and then.
"Julie is right, don't work yourselves up now" Josephine told them as she kissed baby Prue who decided she liked her and snuggled into her.
"Aww Prudie you cutie" Sybil said as she smiled at the baby who had her eyes closed looking relaxed.
"It is around the time we normally feed her, do you want to do it Gran?" Ethel asked and the woman nodded with a smile, wanting to help look after the cutie.
"Of course" she told Ethel who went to the kitchen to get her food. Now that Prue was a few months old she was having baby food as well as a bottle. Esmerelda unfolded her high chair and put the blonde baby in who kicked her legs happily as she had come to realise the high chair meant she got food. Ethel handed Josephine the jar of baby food and a spoon as she put a bib on Prue.
"Are you going to be a good girl and eat her food?" Josephine said as she put the spoon close to Prue's mouth and the little baby opened her mouth happy to accept.
The baby chewed happily, half the food spilling down her face in the process. Josephine used the spoon to move it back in her mouth before she fed her some more.
"Huh, where did you get your appetite misses" Josephine commented as the Hallow family were just not big eaters, they ate smaller amounts than most people did, they ate enough mind you just not as much as most people did.
"I don't know, she has always being like that, she didn't get it from me" Ethel said as she never ate as much as Prue did.
"She probably got it of Mildred, Mildred never stops eating" Sybil replied causing the brunette to glare, though it was not scarier like the Hallow's was.
"HEY!" Mildred said insulted as she looked at Sybil.
"It is true!" Esmerelda said as Mildred always seemed to eat, unless she was at school and she avoided it like the plague.
Prue giggled and looked at Mildred causing half the food in her mouth to come out. By the end of her dinner she had more food on her face and hands than anywhere else.
"How are you so messy?" Ethel asked as she tickled her under the chin and her daughter giggled.
Josephine stayed for hours more, talking to everyone and helping with Prue. It was late by the time she set off after she had put Prue to bed.
"Thank you all of you for this lovely day, I might have some good news coming your way" she told them as she finished saying her goodbyes.
"What news?" Sybil asked curiously.
"You will know soon enough" Josephine said before she waved and transferred before anyone else could ask anything.
"What do you reckon the news is?" Esmie asked everyone who shrugged having not got a clue.
No-one knew what the news was so tried to forget about it and instead think of the amazing day they had just had.