Friday 12th May 2023
After a long week of work, school and the crèche, the Kent Family were going for a few games of bowling together at their local bowling alley and it was no surprise that all four were excited about it because each were just as competitive as each other.
"Are you sure you're not shaken up about earlier?" Tom asked his wife concernedly as mere hours ago he had watched a drunken, obese patient pin her up against the wall and then Tom had been the one to rip him off of her wife because the patient's weight had been too much for even Sam to override. Tom was driving the car and they were almost at their destination.
"Honestly, I'm fine." Sam replied. "And it's all thanks to you." She added softly as she put her hand on his thigh which caused 3 year old Ella and 7 year old Daniel to moan.
"You're disgusting." Daniel groaned as he covered his eyes.
"I touched his leg." Sam protested innocently as she saw no issue with what she had done.
"Right, who reckons we should do boys vs girls?" Tom suggested to change the subject.
"But mummy's really good." Daniel moaned.
"Yes but my amazing pro skills balance out the skills of your three year old sister so we're even." Sam stated bluntly though Ella was none the wiser to the small insult so she carried on playing with her teddy bear.
"Well what do the winners get?" Daniel asked.
"They get... To chose where we go out for dinner after this." Tom stated.
"Buffy!" Ella proclaimed.
"You mean the Indian buffet?" Sam queried as she turned around and Ella eagerly nodded. She knew that her daughter loved buffets because she got to have little bits on her plate of lots of different types of food rather than just a meat, vegetables and a side like usual and Sam hadn't been near a Chinese buffet since she'd gotten food poisoning from one when she was pregnant with Ella - it was enough to put her off for life. "Alright, if me and Ella win, we can go to the Indian buffet." Sam concluded and Ella smiled.
"And if me and daddy win, we go to Frankie and Benny's." Daniel stated.
"Deal." Sam nodded as Tom pulled up in a parking space. They went into the building and got their bowling shoes before they went over to their lane and sat down on the seats to change into their shoes.
"Do we want the bumpers up at the side?" Tom asked.
"Definitely." Sam nodded as she knew that without them, both Daniel and Ella (and most likely, Tom too) had very little chance of actually getting to the end of the lane without going into the gutter. "Let's get these on for you." Sam stated as she squatted down in front of Ella where her legs were dangling off of the seat, and she put her tiny bowling shoes on properly.
"I can't believe it." Sam muttered under her breath as she looked up at the screen where Daniel and Tom's screen was just 4 points higher than Ella's and her own points - Sam had helped Ella with every shot by carrying her ball for her and helping Ella to use the metal ramp for her to push the ball down. However, despite the loss of that game, the Kent Family had paid for two games of bowling, and Sam and Ella had won the previous one so that meant it was a draw.
"Don't feel too ashamed." Tom said smugly.
"What? By losing to a cheater?" Sam quipped.
"In what way did I cheat?" Tom protested.
"In the way that you took Daniel's last go to make sure that you knocked down at last five pins to beat me and Ella." Sam said sternly.
"Well yeah but... I only took his go, I wouldn't call that cheating." Tom shrugged. "So what do we go for dinner? Because I really can't be bothered to play another game." Tom asked.
"Um... Maybe we could compromise?" Sam suggested.
"Which means?" Tom queried.
"Well Ella only wants a Indian buffet because she likes having lots of different bits to pick at. So if we got a few dishes in Frankie and Benny's and shared them between all four of us, then she can have lots of different types of foods, and Daniel gets to eat where he wanted." Sam explained.
"Well you're gonna have to talk Ella round." Tom stated and Sam rolled her eyes before she went and knelt down in front of her daughter so that she was the same height as her.
"Right, how would you like it if we go to Franky and Bennie's, but we all share a few meals so that you can have various bits and pieces?" Sam queried.
"But I like chips." Ella said disappointedly and Sam couldn't help but smile at the fact that Ella's favourite part of a Indian meal was, in fact the chips that they had for fussy eaters!
"Well we can order some chips at Franky and Bennie's for you." Sam stated. "And, if your a good girl, I'll even let you get a pudding to have after it. So? What do you say?" Sam asked.
"Okay." Ella nodded. "Can I go for a wee please?" Ella asked innocently.
"Yeah, sure." Sam smiled as she stood up and took Ella's hand in hers. "We're just gonna go to the toilet quickly okay? Meet you by the car?" Sam said to her husband and son.
"Yeah sure." Tom nodded so Sam walked her daughter over to the toilets where they had to go in the disabled one because there was more room; Ella still only liked going in her potty and wasn't keen on 'big' toilets, but she would manage to go in them if Sam was holding her under her arms so that she felt safe that she wouldn't fall in.
"Enjoy your meal." The waiter smiled before he walked away leaving the Kent Family in a both for four with their table completely covered. There was a pint of beer for Tom, a glass of joke for Sam and two fruit shoots for their children. Along with a meat feast pizza meal, a mixed grill meal, a full rack of ribs meal, and side of macaroni cheese and a corn on the cob which Ella liked to nibble at because they decided that three adult sized meal with a few sides would be enough to suffice the needs of a family of four with a toddler and young child.
"Right, I suppose I'd better cut the rack of ribs up for you, eh?" Sam smiled at her daughter as she picked up the sharp knife and a fork that she had been given for them whilst Tom used the other sharp knife and a fork given to cut up the rump steak, bacon steak, sausage and half a roast chicken on the mixed grill plate into smaller pieces - they certainly had enough food between them. "And for the record, if we have a tie again, then next time Ella gets to chose where we eat." Sam added.
"Who said we were going bowling again?" Tom questioned.
"Well I thought we could do it more often. We hardly ever go and it's a nice night out to have dinner after."
"Yeah right. You just want more opportunities to beat me." Tom scoffed.
"I never said I didn't." Sam quipped as she placed a chip in her mouth.
Saturday 13th May 2023, 8am
The next day had turned out to be quite sunny so despite it being rather early, Ella was already out in the garden playing in her sandbox, and Daniel was kicking his football around whilst Sam and Tom sat at a table on the decking, looking at their iPad as they quietly discussed their one month disney holiday that they didn't want the kids to find out about yet because they wanted it to be a surprise.
"I think, we should do it not next summer, but the summer after so in 2025. Because then Ella will be 5, Daniel will be 9, and I reckon Ella will be old enough to enjoy everything and remember some of it when she's older." Sam stated.
"Yeah okay." Tom nodded as he sat with a notepad and pen so that they could get a rough estimate of the costs of their holiday, which wasn't an issue at all, they just wanted to know how much they would be spending. "Right, first of all, let's find out the costs of the seats." Tom stated and so Sam began to google them.
"Well Ella will need her own seat by then, so it'll be two adults and two children from any UK airport, to Orlando International Airport." Sam said as she filled out the details on a search engine for flights and then waited for the results. "You do realise that we'll be spending nearly 12 hours in the air with two kids and we're going to have to entertain them right?" Sam queried as she scrolled through the results.
"Yeah. Although we'll have to get Ella using a proper toilet by then because I don't think there'll be room in an aircraft toilet for her potty." Tom said quietly.
"She will do, she'll have to anyway because she'll have had her first year at school by the time we go." Sam stated. "Right, British Airways flights in August would cost approximately £2264." Sam stated.
"Each?!" Tom protested.
"No! For all four of us, and that's return tickets." Sam laughed.
"Oh right."
"They'll probably change by the time we can book them and we can't book now because you can only book so far ahead but it doesn't hurt to see what the price will be roughly." Sam stated. "Right, now how about we go through the Disney website to book a holiday, but we just go as far as we can without paying to see the costs?" Sam suggested.
"Yep, okay." Tom nodded. "So we'll want to see what it costs for a two week holiday excluding the fight won't we?"
"Yeah, just the accommodation, tickets for the parks and things like that." Sam stated.
After calculating the costs of what was going to be incredible one month holiday that was just over two years away, Sam and Tom relaxed in the garden whilst their children played around, when Ella suddenly ran up to Sam.
"Mummy, I need a wee." Ella announced.
"Alright, come on then." Sam smiled and she followed her daughter to the downstairs toilet - there were three pink potties in the house, all identical to each other, in Sam and Tom's ensuite, the upstairs family bathroom and the downstairs one too. Sam closed the door behind her before she gave Ella a suggestion. "Why don't you use the normal toilet?"
"Noooo!" Ella whined.
"Come on, look. I promise you won't fall in Ella. You can use the step to get up, sit on the toilet and have a wee, in exactly the same way that you would on your potty." Sam pleaded and Ella looked between the potty and the big toilet before she carefully climbed up onto the white step in front of the toilet. "Good girl." Sam smiled as she undid Ella's sparkly belt and then let her little girl pull down her trousers and underwear. "Do you want me to lift you on there?" Sam asked as she didn't want to expect too much of her daughter first time. Ella nodded so Sam lifted Ella under her arms and placed her towards the front of the toilet seat so that she could lean forward and not fall in.
"No, mummy hold me!" Ella ordered once Sam had left go and Ella held her arms out but Sam stood still and didn't approach her.
"Ella, Ella listen to me. Look, you're sitting on the toilet all by yourself." Sam smiled. "See, it's not scary is it? Look, you've seen me go to the toilet loads and I've never fallen in have I?"
"No." Ella mumbled.
"Well then, just have a wee and then you'll be all done. And you can use the toilet like a big girl." Sam praised. "Plus, I might just find you a sweet in the cupboard for being so brave." Sam added and thankfully, Ella used the toilet, wiped herself and then stood up and pulled her underwear and trousers up. "Now, you get to flush the toilet as well." Sam said encouragingly as she did up her daughter's belt and Ella turned around and pushed the handle down. "See? Now you never have to use the potty like a little child anymore, you're a big girl." Sam stated as Ella stepped down and then washed her hands in the sink.
Both of their kids were asleep and Sam and Tom had just passionately made love to each other in their bed before they slipped into the shower together to rinse off.
"I keep on thinking that I hear a knock at the door." Sam admitted.
"They're not gonna get up; their both asleep. Besides, the door is locked so they can't get in anyway." Tom replied reassuringly as he caressed his hands up and down Sam's sides when something belonging to her husband caught her eye.
"I thought you'd already calmed down." Sam teased as she pushed her flat abdomen against his.
"I had, but how am I supposed to stay relaxed, when I've got your naked body in front of me?" Tom said slowly yet sexily as he cupped his hands on her bum.
"So you're up for round two?" Sam questioned.
"Have you just finished your period or something?" Tom joked. "Because we've had sex for the last 4 day in a row and you still want more."
"Well I don't see you complaining." Sam quipped as she placed her hands on his chest. "Please? Besides, we wouldn't have to get undressed." Sam smiled.
"Well seeing as you asked so nicely." Tom grinned before he planted his lips on hers and they made love to each other again.
Tom kept his arms wrapped around his wife as they both tried to control their rapid breathing after they had both simultaneously reached a climax with their hearts pounding in their chests. But of course, because Sam had come off of the pill ages ago because she kept on forgetting to take it, Tom had had to pull out because they had both agreed that they didn't want a third child.
"I love you." Tom whispered as he kissed Sam on the top of her wet head of hair and then he rested his chin on the top of her head because they were the perfect height for each other.
"I... I love you too." Sam panted happily as she kissed his chest and then closed her eyes to conserve energy.
"Come on, let's go and get into bed." Tom said softly as his kissed her hair once more before he turned the shower off. He stepped out, dried himself with a towel and then wrapped it around his waist before he got Sam's towel and wrapped it around her as she stepped out onto the bathroom mat.
"Thanks." Sam smiled as she squeezed the excess water out of her hair into the shower basin and then followed her husband through to their bedroom. Tom just pulled on a pair of boxers and then jumped in bed, by which time Sam had brushed her hair and put on a black bra and underwear but she couldn't be bothered to put her pyjamas on so she just pulled on one of Tom's shirts. It was a red checkered one and she couldn't be bothered to button up the shirt that just about covered her bum so she pulled the material together and got into bed with her back facing Tom so that they could spoon and he could cuddle her from behind.
"I do believe that that is my shirt." Tom whispered. "Plus, you forgot to turn the light out." He added and Sam huffed in annoyance. "I'll get it." Tom stated as he reluctantly got out of bed and switched the light off before he got back into bed and entwined his bare legs with Sam's. "Night night." Tom whispered as he kissed the back of Sam's cheekbones which gave her goosebumps.
"Night." Sam smiled with her eyes closed before they both drifted off into the land of dreams...
Coming up: Tom looks after Sam when she's not feeling great, and they finally decide to book their one month Holiday to America.
Thanks for reading, please review :)