28. Amie
twenty-eight
Amie
Amie
Hey @ROO can you have Maisy for me tomorrow night? They stiffed me on the last day of my reserve and K is still in Eastbourne and Lo has her date
Mum can have her for the second night but she’s working tomorrow and can’t swap
ROO
I can but not until late. Finally going to the hospital to see Jay.
Amie
ffs okay let me think
Katy
I can come home early
Amie
@Katy no
you will not
Lolo
ill cancel my date
Amie
@Lolo the fuck you will.
@ROO dw I’ll figure something out
Lolo
Amie stop
ill push my date back.
I’ll have Maisy until Roo is free and then im gonna go get some luvvvvv
Katy
@Lolo tell us more about the date sis, is she cute?
Lolo
HE is very cute.
ROO
Yas gurl
Lolo
time to get dicked
Amie
fuck my life
Katy
@ROO how is your brother doing anyway? Any more news on coming home yet?
ROO
idk I haven’t been able to see him yet. Idk if that’s his choice or the docs. I’m only getting one word answers to my texts too… sooo… he’s prob not good
Moody prick
Katy
well shit.
Amie
send him our love though yeah?
ROO
yeah will do.
Just fucking sucks he finally came home but now he’s stuck in a hospital. Like he hasn’t had enough shit dealt.
I just miss my big brother
don’t mind me I’m hormonal
Katy
Bevans are strong af Roo, he’ll get through it. Especially with you on his side.
Lolo
yeah katys right roo
he’ll bounce back im sure
I love my job, I love my job. I repeat it to myself like a mantra as I put my phone down and return to packing. Maisy is lying on her belly in the middle of my bed, head at the foot end and her feet kicking in the air as she watches a pair of animated dinosaurs undertake a boating adventure on her tablet. Underwear. Pyjamas. Clothes. Shoes. I run through my mental packing checklist as I gather items from cupboards and drawers. I need to replace the brush head on my travel toothbrush, and refill the curl cream in my toiletry bag. I need to charge my work phone, and remember to pack the charger this time, too. I really need to buy a replacement after leaving one in a hotel room a few months ago. I like to have one to keep at home and one to leave in my bag—that way, I don’t have to remember to pack it every time.
I’m folding a sports bra and my favourite running leggings together when Maisy’s voice cuts into my consciousness.
“Mama?”
“Yes, angel girl?”
“Can we go for a boat?”
“You want to go on a boat? I’m sure we can work something out one day.”
“I go on a boat like Dylan and Dandy!”
“Are Dylan and Dandy on a boat?” I crane my neck from my seated position on the bedroom floor, trying to catch sight of the familiar green and yellow dinosaur twins. Sure enough, they’re in a small wooden boat with a skull and crossbones flag raised. Naturally, it’s a dinosaur-shaped skull.
“They on a boat to find treasure! I find treasure, Mama?”
My heart could burst. Maisy’s tiny chin rests in her hands as she splits her gaze between me and the tablet screen, looking at me with an expression of awestruck wonder. Like I have the answers to all of the world’s troubles. If only I did, sweet girl .
“I bet you could find some treasure, Miss Mouse. In fact… I bet Aunty Lo knows the best place for a treasure hunt.” I scrunch my nose as I grin at her, grabbing my phone from beneath my open suitcase. I text with one hand and arrange my case with the other, using my chin to hold a packing cube still as I zip it closed.
Amie
@Lolo sorry babe Maisy wants to go on a treasure hunt…
Lolo
lol
fml
what kind of treasure is appropriate for a 3 year old
Katy
the last treasure hunt I did ended with me sucking dick on his kitchen table
the dick was the treasure
Amie
fuck my life
you are NOT taking my kid on that kind of treasure hunt
you know what, forget the treasure hunt
Lolo
ill figure something out
ROO
@Katy was it precious treasure?
Katy
@ROO nah he didn’t last long and he had no idea how to use his tongue
ROO
@Katy bummer
Katy
@ROO he didn’t wanna do that either
Amie
I’m turning my phone off now
Katy
love u boo xo
Ten minutes later, Dylan and Dandy have secured their treasure, flown a rocket to the moon, and built a sandcastle—yet more things Maisy has added to her to-do list—and my suitcase and cabin bag are both packed. My weather app says it should be dry and cool, but not cold. Perfect weather for a run when I land. I throw my favourite running trainers in before zipping my case closed and stacking my luggage by the door.
“Hey, Maisy Mouse?”
My little girl’s face grins up at me as I sit beside her on the edge of my bed. I run a hand over her soft curls. They’re growing longer, just as she’s growing older. And as she’s growing older, she looks more and more like her daddy, with those wise green eyes and the untameable curl that falls in her face. I brush it back with a gentle hand and press a kiss to her head.
“How do you feel about making special pizza?”
Maisy leaps to her feet, bouncing on my mattress and cheering. I laugh along with her.
“Come on, Mouse. Let’s wash our hands and hit the kitchen.”
With clean hands and a freshly wiped-down kitchen counter, Maisy stands in her kitchen tower—a stool with rails around the top step to allow her to safely stand at the counter without risk of falling. I’ve put her in charge of peeling pepperoni slices from the packaging and laying them out on a plate while I dig pizza bases and sauce from the cupboards.
“What are you going to put on your pizza, Mouse?”
“I gonna put cheese! And—um—pepp-oni!”
“Cheese and pepperoni? That sounds delicious!”
“Yeah! ‘Licious!”
I hand her a spoon to smear sauce over her small pizza base, and within minutes, there’s tomato sauce down her dress and in her hair. I smile, shaking my head to myself as I sprinkle handfuls of cheese over my own pizza base.
“Time for cheese rain, Maisy!”
She grabs two tiny fistfuls of grated cheese, holds her hands in the air above the counter and releases the shreds, letting them fall onto her plate. More cheese lands on the floor than on her pizza, and as she turns to grin at me, I clear up a little cheese from the countertop and add some more to her pizza base.
“I gonna do a face, Mama,” she declares, twisting to reach for the pepperoni slices. “I gonna do Daddy’s face!”
“Daddy’s face, huh? You’re gonna eat Daddy’s face on your pizza?”
“Yeah! You send Daddy a picture?”
“Of course, honey. Let’s make his eyes.”
I cut two tiny circles of green bell pepper for Maisy’s pizza, knowing full well that she’ll eat around them. We create a nose out of a slice of mushroom—which she’ll also refuse to eat—and a big smile with pepperoni slices cut in half.
“Is Daddy! Look, Mama!” I grab my phone and step back, letting Maisy grin at the camera next to her pizza creation.
“Okay, little lady. Let’s get these in the oven, and get you cleaned up. You’re a mucky pup.”
“I a DINOSAUR!” Maisy shrieks with laughter, wriggling and hopping impatiently from foot to foot as I carefully wipe sauce from her dress and face with a damp towel. I unlock the barrier to her kitchen tower and she jumps off the bottom step, snatching Roger from a kitchen chair and racing into the living room with him. I leave her to play while I clean the pizza mess. By the time I’m done, there are only a few more minutes on the oven timer, and three messages on my phone waiting for me.
Cam
I love that kid.
I make a pretty handsome pizza, don’t you think?
Give her a kiss for me. Call u soon for bedtime.