Forty-One
Three Years Later
Poppy frowned at the Zoopla listing that Norah was showing her on the couch. ‘That’s too much.’
Norah took the iPad back with a sigh. ‘But it’s so nice.’
‘It’s pokey,’ Poppy pointed out.
‘It’s high spec,’ Norah declared passionately.
‘Great. The kids can sleep in the two lovely storage boxes, and we can climb into bed in a simply gorgeous airing cupboard,’ Poppy said.
‘Which would you rather, a tiny, nice house or a large grotty house?’ Norah asked.
‘I don’t see why it has to be either,’ Poppy said.
Norah gave her a look.
‘Fine, I guess it’s the small nice one,’ Poppy admitted.
‘I knew it. I knew one day we’d agree on something,’ Norah said.
‘I agree in general, but that place is still ridiculous for the price,’ Poppy smiled at her beautiful wife. They’d been married six months, living together with the kids for a year. Luna’s bedroom currently had a dividing wall built into it, so the now eight-year-olds could have their own rooms, but it wasn’t a long-term solution. The new family had outgrown Poppy’s mother’s house, and it was on the market.
‘Are you sure you want to leave this place?’ Norah asked. ‘I know it’s going to be hard to let go of it. Lots of memories.’
Poppy’s smile faded, but only a little. ‘I think my mum would like to know the house was here when I needed it. But she’d understand that we have to move on.’
‘From what I remember of your mum, that sounds about right,’ Norah agreed.
Poppy sighed. ‘Speaking of mums...’
‘No,’ Norah said automatically. ‘We’re not talking about her. I’m in a good mood. Let’s not spoil it.’
‘She called me today,’ Poppy told her. She was waiting for the right moment to bring it up, but with two kids, two jobs (Norah now had a part-time admin job in the school office), Norah’s art degree, and Poppy’s work on a handful of new solo tracks, there was never a great time. The only time to talk was always right now. And sooner was better for difficult conversations, anyway. Poppy had learned that the hard way.
‘She what?!’ Norah asked, agog.
‘Yep. She wants to sort it out,’ Poppy explained neutrally.
‘And she called you?’ Norah asked.
‘I think she knew that was the only way this was going to work. She says she accepts the situation. And she wants to see her grandson again.’
‘I hope you reminded her she’s got two grandchildren now,’ Norah said.
Poppy smiled. ‘I wouldn’t hold your breath on that.’
‘Luna is my daughter now, and Freddie is your son,’ Norah said. ‘If she’s talking about acceptance, that’s gonna have to go in that bloody head of hers.’
‘But I don’t have a spouse. And Max is still around. So my role is probably a bit confusing to her,’ Poppy mused.
‘Yeah, Max is doing better,’ Norah acquiesced. ‘And he is and always will be Freddie’s dad. But this is my family. We’re a package deal. I’m not letting her get away with pushing her will on me anymore.’
‘I’m pretty sick of that too, believe me,’ Poppy assured her. ‘But she sounded bloody miserable. I felt sorry for her. I’m not saying you have to, though.’
‘Poppy, I know that if this was your mum, it would be different. But she’s... Well, you know what she is.’
‘Well, I think change may be happening,’ Poppy said philosophically. ‘Very, very slowly, of course. But she said she was sorry she missed our wedding.’
Norah was further amazed. ‘She didn’t.’
‘She did,’ Poppy said. ‘I actually think she meant it.’
Norah shook her head. ‘Great. I just got used to her being a stubborn old bigot, and she’s gone and turned it around. Just perfect.’
Suddenly, they heard Luna and Freddie thundering down the stairs, their small eight-year-old bodies somehow managing to imply that a pack of hippos was in the house. They exploded into the living room.
‘Is it tea yet?’ they both questioned.
‘We’re getting pizza delivered because we’re both knackered,’ Poppy told the kids.
They turned and high-fived each other. Well, they attempted it. But Luna accidentally missed and slapped Freddie in the face. ‘Sorry, Freds,’ she said with a sly grin.
‘Luna!’ Poppy said sternly.
But Freddie wasn’t waiting for his sister to get a mere telling off. He gave her a shove, and she fell over, surprised. But she recovered quickly, grabbing him by the ankle and pulling him down to the floor. Before the parents knew what was what, the kids were in full wrestling mode.
‘Jesus!’ Norah yelled. ‘Stop it!’
But Poppy was thinking this was oddly good for both of them. Luna was learning that when she acted like an arse, there would be pushback, and Freddie was learning to stick up for himself when he needed to. A little resistance might not be the worst thing for either of them.
But after a few seconds, it didn’t end. They were slapping and shoving each other all over the living room. It was time to weigh in before the furniture was broken. Both parents jumped up and grabbed one kid apiece.
‘She started it,’ Freddie said, held back by Poppy.
‘And I’ll finish it, too,’ Luna warned him, trying to struggle out of Norah’s grip.
‘Do you think we can’t cancel a pizza order?’ Poppy said to both of them.
‘SORRY!’ Luna yelled instantly. ‘OK? Don’t cancel the pizza!’
‘I’m sorry, too,’ Freddie added. ‘But she did start it!’
‘She did, and she’s gonna lose her iPad for a week for it,’ Poppy told him with a look at Luna. She fully expected a fresh row.
But Luna’s rebellion only went so far as a big tut. ‘Fine,’ she said.
The doorbell went. ‘Pizza,’ the kids yelled in unison.
Poppy and Norah released them, and Norah went to the door to get the food. Poppy went to fetch the plates.
The family gathered around the table, and the argument was forgotten. Poppy was glad it had ended so easily. This blended family thing could be tricky at times. But she and Norah wanted it to work, and she knew in her heart that the kids did, too, the little terrors. They were very much brother and sister now, and most of the time, they liked it.
After dinner, Luna and Freddie started whispering to each other in the kitchen, and then they came in.
Freddie cleared his throat. ‘If we promise not to fight, and we do all the cleaning up from dinner, can we stay up later with you guys to watch TV?’
Poppy and Norah swapped a quick look. Norah looked amenable, and so was Poppy. ‘Yeah, sure,’ Poppy said.
They high-fived again. This time, no one missed.
While they clattered about in the kitchen, Poppy and Norah settled on the sofa, their fingers intertwined. ‘You’ve got a gig tomorrow night, haven’t you?’ Norah checked.
‘I’m not sure I’d call it that,’ Poppy said. ‘It’s just a pub with an open mic night.’
‘I can’t wait,’ Norah said with a delicious grin. She added more quietly. ‘I hate to be such a star-fucker, but it turns me on so much to watch you perform.’
Poppy knew right then that when the gig was over, she was gonna make a hell of a lot of love to her wife. But then a realisation blew a cold wind on her plans. ‘Who’s gonna look after the kids?’
‘I’ll call Jane,’ Norah said easily.
‘It’s term time. She’s gone back to Manchester,’ Poppy pointed out.
‘Cherry?’ Norah suggested.
‘She’s visiting her mum to watch her run that 5K for cancer,’ Poppy reminded her.
‘Then I guess I’ll just bring them to your gig,’ Norah shrugged.
‘It’s a pub!’ Poppy said.
‘I’m not gonna buy them shots,’ Norah said wryly. ‘We’ll just stand at the back.’
‘I don’t know...’ Poppy said.
‘They keep asking to watch you perform,’ Norah added. ‘Especially Freddie. He said he wants a guitar for Christmas, actually.’
That gave Poppy serious pause. It was nice that they wanted to watch her trying to start up again and even more lovely that Freddie wanted to follow in her footsteps. Poppy knew she had a long journey ahead of her and might never get back to any kind of career in the industry. But as long as she still breathed, she had to go back to the music. Life wasn’t quite whole without it.
And she had so much now that it made her greedy for more happiness. She wanted everything: to love her wife and kids, to watch her family flourish, to watch her wife go back to school and restart her career as a graphic artist, to keep making music. It was all in front of her.
Still, she was a bit nervous to be watched by the only people living whose opinions mattered to her. ‘That’s so much pressure, though. You all watching? I’ll forget the notes.’
‘You could play ABBA covers, and they’d still think you were the coolest mum of all time,’ Norah told her plainly.
‘Second coolest,’ Poppy said with a cheesy wink.
But Norah wasn’t to be diverted. ‘That’s cute, but you’re not getting out of it. We’re all coming.’
‘Fine,’ Poppy gave in. ‘But if I fuck it up...’
‘If you fuck up, you just start again,’ Norah told her.
Poppy grabbed her wife and pulled her close. ‘I guess I can’t do anything else,’ she said and called the kids to bring in some popcorn.
She immediately began googling the worst kids’ movies she could find. Freddie and Luna’s education began tonight. They needed to learn to dig out the best from the worst. Poppy felt surer than ever that it was a crucial life skill. Because she’d come crawling home a few years ago, broke, lonely, feeling like a failure. And she’d found love and passion right here, as well as a second chance.
It went to show that you never could know where the good life might be hiding. Sometimes, it was exactly where you started.
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