Lizzie paced around the living room before sitting on the sofa checking her phone and reading the message that Dylan had sent her telling her that his dad had died and closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
waking to the sound of talking, lizzie noticed that she was back in the bed room. Getting dressed quickly, she walked out and in to the lounge, lizzie saw Dylan and his mom taking to a woman and two little girls
"Morning," she said walking towards Dylan and place a kiss on his cheek. Wrapping his arm around her waist, Dylan pulled lizzie close to him and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Lizzie, meet my sister, gabby, and my nieces, Beth who is six-" he was cut off by the girl who said "I'm seven" she said
"Sorry, this is Beth who is seven and Sophia who is four. Gabby, Beth Sophia this is lizzie my fiancé" he said
Smiling politely at his sister, lizzie sat down and took the coffee that Sara had passed her and took a sip.
"Thank you," lizzie said.
The conversation turned to planning the funeral, and what would be required.
"Um do you want me to take the girls out in to town while your discuses all of this," lizzie said seeing that the two young girls were getting restless and looking board.
Looking over to his nieces, Dylan turned to his sister and said, "lizzie will take good care of them,"
looking over at the two girls who were looking very bored, Gabby nodded before turning to talk to them.
"Lizzie is going to take you out for a while mommy, uncle Dylan and nanna talk ok," she said before getting up and walking out to her car to help lizzie move the car seats for the girls in to the rental car that lizzie and Dylan had for the duration of their trip. Dylan came out to help before turning to lizzie saying "I will text you later once we have some things sorted, before placing a tender kiss on her lips. Placing her hand on his cheek, lizzie kissed him back and whispered "It will be ok,"
Lizzie pulled the car in to a free space in the carpark after driving the short distance to the shopping centre and helped the two girls out.
"Right, I need the two of you to keep hold of my hands whilst we walk around ok." lizzie said
"Okay," the two girls said in unison. Taking a hand each, they dragged lizzie towards their favourite shop.
"Can we get these please" the two girls said each bringing a shell of an animal that required stuffing.
"I'm not sure what your mother would say," lizzie said looking down at them "i will ask later, when we sit down for a drink, how about that?" lizzie added sending the girls to put the bears back.
After a few hours walking around the shops, lizzie decided it was time for a drink, so headed to the nearest coffee shop and ordered herself a cappuccino and the girls a smoothie each and a cake for all of them. Taking her phone out of her bag, lizzie sent a quick text to Dylan letting him know what was happening, and asking how everything was going. And to ask if ok to buy the girls the teddy bears, they wanted. Placing her phone on the table, lizzie took a sip of her coffee, and started to eat her cake.
Her phone buzzed to let her know that a text had been sent to her.
"Hey, everything is ok and we are nearly done, and gabs says ok to the bears. Dx"
smiling, lizzie dropped her phone back in to her bag, and looked over to the girls.
"Beth, Sophia, your mom has said yes to the bears," she said finishing the dregs of coffee in her cup. "Come on," she added sheepherding them out of the coffee shop and towards the shop that they had arrived to first.
Driving back to the house, lizzie looked in to her rear-view mirror and saw her DeFacto nieces' content and happy talking away to their new bears that they had stuffed themselves. Smiling at the innocence of children, lizzie turned in to the drive and turned off the engine, got out and opened the doors to allow the girls to jump out and run in to the house. Pulling the bags out of the boot, lizzie carried them in to the house and placed them down in the kitchen.
taking out the small number of groceries, lizzie put them away and turned to Dylan, and walked over to him. Standing on her tiptoes, lizzie placed a kiss on to his cheek before using her finger to trace his jawline, before wrapping her arms around him and holding him close to her.
"It will all be ok Dylan," she whispered as he pulled away from her, picked up the car keys and walked out of the house.
It was turned one in the morning when Dylan finally returned. Lizzie woke to hear him stumbling around and making a lot of noise. Pushing herself up in to a sitting position, lizzie turned on the lamp at her side of the bed and saw Dylan in a drunken heap at the foot of the bed. Sliding out of the bed, lizzie walked over to Dylan, and struggled to pull him to his feet.
"Dylan, you are going to have to help," she said kneeling down to his level.
he mumbled something incoherent and pushed her away, and not realising how hard he done it, lizzie fell backwards and hit her head on the edge of the dressing table stool.
"Ow," she said, tears stinging her eye, reaching her hand around to the back of her head, pulling it away, she was glad that the skin had not been broken. Deciding that more decisive action would be needed, lizzie walked to the bathroom, picked up a bucket that was behind the door and filled it a third of the way with cold water, carried it back to the room and tipped it over Dylan.
"What was that for," he spluttered pushing his wet hair away from his face as he stood up.
"You were past drunk and I could not get you up and in to bed, and you pushed me in to the stool" lizzie said with a slight angry tone in her voice.
walking over to her, Dylan tried to pull her in to a hug, but she pushed him away saying "You smell like a brewery, and I am still mad,"
Turning her back to him, she picked up her pillow and a blanket, she walked out of the room and sank on to the sofa and curled up and drifted in to a restless sleep.
The following morning lizzie woke to the sound of gabby telling the girls to be quite as Auntie lizzie was sleeping on the sofa.
"Why?" one of them said very loudly
"Because your uncle Dylan came home smelling really bad," lizzie said looking over the top of sofa. "But you may want to keep it down as he may have a bad head this morning," she added as she stood up and walked over to the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee and carried one into Dylan's room along with paracetamol. Placing the cup on the side, she walked over to the curtens and pulled them open allowing the sun to stream in through the windows.
grumbling from beneath a pillow, Dylan said "what time is it?"
"Late," lizzie said "I have no sympathy for you Dylan, how much did you drink last night," she added
"Not sure," he said "and I am sorry I hurt you," he added holding out his hand to her. walking over to him she took hold of it and he pulled her on to the bed.
"Look I know your grieving but using alcohol is not the best thing to solve it," she said placing a kiss on his cheek. "Now go and have a shave and brush your teeth, your breath stinks,"
pinning lizzie to the bed, Dylan kissed lizzie whist pushing her Pyjama top up revelling her toned abdomen and cream skin. Moving from her neck, he started to place kisses on her belly moving up towards her chest.
"Stop please Dylan, your nieces are outside," she said pushing him off her and rolling from his grasp. Getting off the bed lizzie grabbed her clothes and quickly pulled them on giving a glance of her breasts.
Walking back out in to the lounge, lizzie picked up the one bag that she did not put away the previous day and placed it on the table. Turning to gabby she said "i have an idea to help the girls process their grief. Do you mind me doing it?"
Nodding gabby said "Ok, they want to speak to him but obviously they can't,"
"that's where this comes in," lizzie said holding up a pad of lined paper, "they write him a letter with all their feelings, and then we burn It," lizzie said "the smoke will carry the message to him but we let them know that he will not be able to reply,"
lizzie explained what she said to Beth and Sofia and watched as they wrote the letters. And coloured pictures for their grandfather. gathering them up once they had finished, lizzie said "We will wait till the sun goes down so we can light the fire pit and send up your letters,"
Once the sun had gone down, Dylan went out to light the fire pit.
"It's ready," he said walking back into the house. "If you hand me the letters, I will put them on the fire," he added speaking to the girls. Handing them over to him they walked outside and stood close to their mother and away from the fire. Following them lizzie stood next to Dylan and watched as the letters caught in the flames. Grabbing his hand, she squeezed it and whispered "i need to tell you something. I'm Pregnant,"