Chapter 33
We leave the churchyard nearly two hours later, and all the children have baskets filled with Easter Eggs. Gordon gave us a treat bag for River. Inside was a black and white baby book, and another little bunny.
We walk back in a big family group. Jodie is carrying River, who has fallen back to sleep, and John is carrying a happy Lyric. I’m carrying his very full basket. Enoch, Xander and Nora are happily showing John and Jodie all their treats.
“I can’t believe all the children have full baskets,” Cassie comments from beside me.
“We didn’t want anyone to feel left out,” Cam tells us, “so we made sure we had more than enough to go around. We have some more that we didn’t put out. Adhan and I can drop them around at some of the other families that couldn’t make it today.”
“That’s really nice,” Nix says, taking Cam’s hand.
Cam shrugs a shoulder. “It’s just Cadenbury.”
It’s a happy group that sits down for lunch. Emily has gone all out; there is roasted lamb and pork, homemade stuffing and Yorkshire puddings, plus all the normal vegetables and jugs of gravy.
Along with Jodie and John, Sly, Ebby, the boys, Molly, Clarence, and Callum have joined us.
Both Connie and Lyric are sitting in their highchairs, and River is asleep in his day crib.
We’ve decided to eat first and then hand out eggs.
Dishes are passed around, and Kean and I put food on Lyric’s plate, cutting it up for him. I pour a little gravy on the side of his plate and put it in front of him. I wonder what the chances are that he won’t get messy.
Chat around the table is fun, most of the conversation is about the egg hunt, before it turns to wedding talk. Apart from the date, neither Kean nor I know any other details. No one would tell us. Not that I mind, I know that it’s all been designed with love.
“Can you at least tell us what time the wedding is?” Kean asks, feeding Lyric some stuffing.
“Eleven. We wanted to give you time to look after your boys and have breakfast,” Ernest tells us. “But we can easily move the time a bit later if you’re running late.”
“Eleven will be fine,” I assure him, eating some broccoli.
“Tree,” Lyric says, holding up a piece of broccoli.
“Broccoli,” I tell him. Not sure he’s had it before. “Just try it, little man.”
Lyric looks undecided.
I eat another bit. “See, yummy.”
Lyric still looks unconvinced, but puts it in his mouth and promptly pulls it out. “No tree.” He starts to pick the rest off his plate and hand them to me. “No trees.”
I take them and put them on the side of my plate. “Okay, no trees, but make sure you eat your other vegetables.”
Lyric nods and eats some potatoes.
Once dinner is finished and the table cleared, Jodie brings over the desserts she made and dropped off before the egg hunt.
These desserts are massive.
“Mint choc chip cheesecake, strawberry pavlova and mixed fruit crumble, with cream or custard,” Jodie tells us.
“Ma, these look amazing,” Ernest says to her.
“Thank you, darling,” she replies happily, before dishing everything out. The desserts are so big, there is enough for us to have some of everything.
Kean puts a little of the crumble and custard in Lyric’s bowl and hands him a spoon. “Blow on it as it might still be hot.”
Sal does the same for Connie, but he feeds her.
Ebby looks at Enoch and grins. “Want me to feed you?”
“Only if you want me to hide the coffee,” he shoots back, grinning.
Ebby shakes his head. “That’s not even funny.”
“Yeah, it is,” Xander says, smiling and licking his spoon.
We all laugh at that, but to be honest, I wouldn’t find that funny either.
Once the desserts are eaten, literally, there wasn’t even a crumb left, to Jodie’s delight, we clear the table and grab the bags we brought for everyone.
It was decided via group chat that, as there were so many of us, each couple would get an egg to share. We’d all end up with a lot, but still.
Emily starts and hands all hers out. She hands us an alcoholic one. We both laugh at that, just what we need. Lyric got another chocolate button one, and River got a sleep sack.
“Thanks, Mum, these are all perfect,” Kean says.
“They really are,” I add, looking at the sleep sack and showing Kean.
I hear River start to cry and stand up. “I’ll get him.”
I walk into the children’s playroom and unswaddle him.
“Hey, Baba. Did you have good dreams? Let’s clean you up and join the rest of the family, hey?
” As soon as I pick him up, he stops crying.
He starts again when I put him on the changing table.
I quickly clean him up, change his nappy and redress him.
I tidy everything up and pick him up, and he stops crying.
“I see, you just want to be held now, don’t you? ”
He snuggles into my chest and sighs as I walk back into the kitchen.
While I’ve been with River, more eggs have been handed out. Looking around the table, all the children have lots, and River has a pile of presents.
“Thank you, everyone,” I say, as I sit down.
Ebby picks up a bag and starts handing eggs around. I look at the one he’s given us. It’s a three-quarter egg, with chocolate sweets inside. It looks amazing.
“Ebby, this is fantastic, thank you,” Kean says, smiling at him. “I wish I had room to try it now.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by all of us. We’ve had Ebby’s before, and they really are a delight for the taste buds.
Looking around the table, all of us are going to be overindulging in chocolate for months to come.
“My turn,” Molly says, cackling out a laugh, and opening her bag, pulls out large-sized boxes. She hands them around and pulls out six medium-sized boxes and hands them to Nora, Xander and Enoch and little ones for Connie, Lyric and River. She then hands chocolates to the non-witches.
I open my box and it’s a box of delights. Sage sticks, crystals, incense, blessing stones, herbs and a mini cauldron.
“This is perfect, Molly, thank you,” Sion tells her before I can.
“It really is, Molly, thanks,” I add, as the others offer their thanks.
Kean opens the box for Lyric; his box is the same, but I notice everything in there is for protection, as is River’s.
We all stand up and hug, and thank each other. Lyric wanted in on the hugs, so Kean takes him out of his high chair, and he happily goes to everyone for hugs.
“If you need any more bags to carry your goodies home, let me know,” Emily says.
I’m stunned by how generous everyone has been. I think this is the first time I’ve ever had an Easter Egg, and now I have so many. I look at Cassie and Temp, and they look just as stunned. Mind you, apart from the Stones, Turnballs and Molly, we all looked stunned.
Best Easter ever.