She text him to ask for a change in their now usual plan. It was the holiday so their schedule fell away and she was busy. So he turned up on a Wednesday at eleven am instead.
"Morning" she opened the door and a sudden smile appeared on her face at the view. Eddie had Michael in his arms.
"Morning" he smiled, pleased with himself. Her head tilted knowingly.
"Good morning Michael" she smiled at the boy who looked back at her in blank fascination.
"Tea?" She offered. "And I definitely have an ice lolly in the freezer" she whispered in Michael's direction, who burrowed his head into his father's jacket. "Come on" she said. Eddie followed with an amused smile. She switched on the kettle and headed to the freezer, squatting by the bottom drawer for a moment.
"Why do you keep ice lollies?" He smirked, finding the small revelation surprising and strangely humanising.
"Strawberry?" She held it up, ignoring the question. Michael stared then held out a hand. "Knew it. I'm just the same. I'll eat anything that tastes like strawberries" she removed the wrapper and handed it to him. Eddie stored the information away for future use. Michael squealed with excitement and wriggled to be put down. "Don't eat it too fast" she said sweetly. He shouldn't have been surprised by this maternal side to her, yet somehow he was.
"Good holiday?" Eddie asked.
"Not as good as yours I think" she said, heading back to the freezer.
"Yeah alright" his eyes rolled but he couldn't help his smile. She handed a yellow lolly to him. "Sure, why not" he laughed as he took the packet from her, enjoying the mischief in her eyes.