31 Days of Summer (31 Days #2) (40 page)

‘I won’t be getting engaged Brooke, unless you’ve
forgotten he’s already married. I know deep down he feels likes he’s committing
a sin by living with me and having a child as it is. Engagement is never going
to be on the cards while she’s alive, well artificially alive.’

‘I wish he’d just switch off that damn machine
already,’ she grizzled.

‘I know everyone thinks it’s for the best, but honestly
he needs to come to that realisation himself. He’s starting to let go, I mean
he only goes twice a week now instead of six days a week, that’s progress,
right?’

‘It’s just not right me getting married before
you. I mean I never even wanted to and you were all about marriage and family
and it looks like I’ll be walking down the aisle first.’

‘It’s not a race with a prize at the end, Brooke.
Would I rather be married? Sure, but I live with the most amazing man in the
world, I have a beautiful son with him, so I’m happy. Getting married would
just be the icing on a very delicious cake that I’m already eating.’

‘Or icing on the cream filled Dan donut,’ she
volunteered with a shrug.

‘Will you give over with that? I haven’t been able
to face a cream or custard filled one since you first brought it up,’ I
grimaced. ‘I’m amazed you haven’t started on the snowballs.’

‘It’s a bit early for that, they only hit the
shops at Christmas time.’

‘Not the Snowball drinks, the sexual snowballs.’

‘Sexual snowballs? Wouldn’t you get vagina burn
from shoving a load of snow up there?’

‘O my God, when did I become the sexually aware
one of the two of us? Snowballs, when instead of swallowing after a blow job,
you exchange the contents of your mouth with your partner, back and forth.’

‘
You
do that?’ she gasped, her green eyes
bright with horror.

‘No,’ I laughed. ‘Dan doesn’t like waste, it’s
either in me, swallowed or he likes to go down on me after he’s filled me.’

‘Dirty dog,’ she chuckled.

‘Sexy dirty dog,’ I laughed.

‘Who’s a sexy dirty dog?’ came a voice behind me
and I screamed and dropped my iPad, which made Brooke scream, then Oliver squeal
as I looked around to see Dan’s standing holding him.

‘Shit, you just gave me an early coronary,’ I
gasped, as I put my hand to my throat.

‘Me too,’ came Brooke’s voice. ‘Stand me up again,
all I can see is the ceiling,’ she moaned.

‘What’s wrong? Why are you home so early?’ I asked
him, as I picked Brooke up.

‘I’m not feeling great. I’ve been sick,’ he
sighed.

‘No,’ I uttered and plonked the iPad on the coffee
table and headed over to him and touched his forehead. He was burning hot and
clammy. ‘Right, we need to get you hydrated and to bed.’

‘I was planning on taking you to bed for a whole
night of debauchery, not for you to play nursemaid.’

‘Still here,’ yelled Brooke and I ran back over to
her.

‘Brooke I’m so sorry but I need to get Dan to bed
and to check Oliver’s not got a temperature too. Can I call you tomorrow?’

‘Working, babe,’ she sighed.

‘Arsehole bleach?’ I asked trying to keep a
straight face.

‘No,’ she chuckled. ‘Thank God. A day of
massages.’

‘Sunday then?’ I asked as I heard Dan moan. I
looked around and he’d sat Oliver on the floor and was running to the utility
room. ‘Shit, I have to go, it looks like Dan’s throwing up and if I don’t
physically restrain Oliver before he finds his feet I’ll never catch him, he’s
like
The Flash.
’

‘Go babe, I’ll email you my shifts, but don’t you
dare let me down next Friday.’

‘Never. Love you, bye,’ I replied as I blew her a
kiss and quickly switched off. ‘Damn it,’ I uttered, Oliver was already on his
feet.

‘Dada,’ he giggled, as he started making his way
to the utility door.

‘Great, a night away from me and you still want
him,’ I objected, as I ran after him and scooped him up as he giggled his head
off. ‘It’s past your bedtime, but mummy needs to check on daddy so you, my boy,
are going to have a late night while you play in your pen for a while,’ I
announced, as I carried him through to the playroom and sat him down in the
wooden enclosure. He pulled a face and hauled himself up and pouted, as he
looked at me through the bars. ‘You really are going to get the girls flocking
with that look,’ I advised, as I felt his forehead, then grabbed a thermometer
from his bedroom and checked his temperature. I let out a sigh of relief, he
was fine. I handed him his favourite toy of the moment, a plastic container
with cut out shapes that he could shove blocks through and he quickly sat down
with a face of concentration to try and stick the square in the round hole,
making me laugh. I found Dan sitting at the kitchen island draining a glass of
water and checked his temperature as well.

‘I’m fine,’ he sighed.

‘No you’re not, your temperature’s up, you’re clammy
and I’m pretty sure I heard you throwing up.

‘I can’t be sick, I’m never sick,’ he objected.

‘Well you are. So get that sexy backside into bed.
I’ll get a bowl and towel and a jug of iced water for you, then come down and
try and put Oliver to bed, before I come back to check on you.’

‘What about sex?’

‘Sex?! Forget it. One decent thrust and you’ll be
spewing on me or having a serious follow through situation. Thanks but no
thanks. Bed, now,’ I ordered as I pointed my finger.

‘So hot when you’re bossy,’ he grinned.

‘So hot when you’re sick. Burning up hot, not sexy
hot. Shift that backside, now, and no kissing or touching Oliver until that
temperature comes down.’

‘This day just gets better and better,’ he
muttered as he headed off.

Tuesday 28
^th
June ~ Year Three

Ellie

‘You’re too weak to do a
long drive,’ I sighed as I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my fingers
through his hair. ‘You heard the doctor yesterday, you’ve had a nasty bout of
gastroenteritis and need to rest and drink these electrolyte sachets. If you
feel up to it later I’ll liquidise some chicken soup for you, ok?’

‘I’d kill for a steak, something solid,’ he winked,
with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

‘You and me both,’ I sighed with a half-smile at
the thought of his solid cock. It was the longest we’d been without sex since
we’d reunited. ‘Maybe when you’re feeling a little bit better I’ll let you have
both,’ I replied and kissed his forehead.

‘I’m feeling a lot better,’ he replied, as he
slowly trailed his fingers up my bare thigh. I laughed and slapped them away.

‘No lies, I heard you being sick earlier.’

‘I heard you too, I can’t believe you’ve avoided
it for so long and now you’ve got it as well.’

‘I’m fine, I don’t have a temperature, I’m not
clammy and someone has to go and do the food shopping and visit Theo, Florie
and Moira. It’s been a while since I went, so I’ll take Oliver out with me for
a visit, while you take it easy. I’m up to date with work and if the office or
a client rings they can leave a message.’

‘I’ve been taking it easy for three bloody days.
My legs are going to atrophy,’ he grumbled as his forehead creased.

‘Highly doubtful,’ I replied, wondering why he
couldn’t apply the same logic to Moira lying there years later. ‘I downloaded
the latest episodes of
Arrow
and
The Flash
onto your iPad so you
can watch them in bed to take your mind off things.’

‘They’re not shows for kids,’ he objected as I
smirked. I teased him that he didn’t watch anything but comic recreations. ‘They
have serious adult stuff going on, violence and gore.’

‘And sexy girls. I’ve seen your eyes light up when
Felicity Smoake’s on screen.’

‘I have my own smokin’ babe here, one I’m going to
fuck into next century when I can sit up without barfing.’

‘And they say romance is dying,’ I laughed. ‘Right
drink one of those sachets every hour while we’re out, ok?’

‘I don’t like the idea of you driving down the
hill,’ he frowned.

‘I think you’ll find it’s a mountain, and not a
hill that an English man went up and stuck a load of rocks on top of to give it
the extra inches, so he could come down and call it a mountain. I’m not overly
keen either, but it’s dry and sunny and the more I do it, the more at ease I’ll
feel.’

‘Ring me when you get there so that I know you’re
ok?’ he asked as his fingers tangled around mine, concern etched on his pale,
yet still handsome face.

‘I promise. I’d better go, Mr. McAdams will be
waiting for us.’ I stood up and wiped my hands clean on a disinfecting hand
wipe, we were getting through them like water, but so far Oliver had escaped
the bug.

‘Ok big boy, out you get,’ I coaxed, as I held my
arms out to pull Oliver out of his car seat after letting Dan know we’d made it
in one piece. Driving the Range Rover was a weird experience after my low
Mazda. I could see over all the hedges and it felt like I was driving a tank.
Worse was that I hadn’t driven in forever. If we did go out Dan always drove,
being the controlling alpha male he was.

‘Mama,’ Oliver yawned.

‘I know, I’m sorry, you love your naps in the car,
but it’s time to be sociable, ok?’ I grabbed my baby bag from the foot well and
locked up and knocked on the white front door.

‘Ellie, how lovely to see you,’ beamed Florie as
she opened the door. ‘And you’ve brought Oliver too. Hello sweetheart,’ she
cooed and he smiled and tried to grab her hair.

‘Sorry, he has a thing about hair at the moment,’
I advised as I kissed her cheek. ‘I try and keep mine in a ponytail now.’

‘That’s ok, he’s learning, the world’s all
exciting to him. Come on, I’ll put the kettle on and we can catch up.’

‘Is Theo ok?’ I asked as I stepped in and she
closed the door behind me. He was very chivalrous and it was always him that
answered the door.

‘He’s fine, he had a last minute offer for a game
of golf, so I told him to go when I realised it was just going to be you, I
thought we’d spare him the girls talk. How’s Dan?’

‘He doesn’t like being ill that’s for sure,’ I
laughed. ‘He improved a little last night, but he’s still being sick. I really
hope we don’t pass it onto you, I’ve been disinfecting my hands like crazy and
Oliver’s been getting a bit upset that he can hear Dan and can’t see him. I
think he’s missing him.’

‘Of course he is, all children miss their parents
when they’re not around. Black coffee?’

‘Please,’ I nodded and set Oliver down on the
floor, but he immediately got up and went exploring. ‘I really hope you don’t
have anything valuable at ground level.’

‘We’re not ones for nick knacks,’ she called. I
stood at the kitchen door so I could talk to her, while keeping an eye on
Oliver as he plonked himself on the floor in front of their electric flame
effect fire. I wondered why people didn’t just have log burners or a living
flame fire. Their house felt empty and bare, the only picture was Moira on the
mantelpiece. It felt like a show home that they were in the middle of moving
into, or moving out of. I wondered if it was because they saw the house as a
stop gap, a means to an end, somewhere for their daughter to be looked after
until Dan finally agreed to let her go? Their lives were on hold, waiting until
they could move on and make a new life for themselves, without the reminder of
that room next door and all those machines forcing air into her lungs and food
into her stomach. ‘Here you are,’ she smiled as she handed me a mug of steaming
coffee.

‘Thank you.’ I turned around to look at Oliver and
gasped. In under twenty seconds he’d unleashed utter chaos. His hands, face, t-shirt
and jeans were covered in black. Even worse, so was Florie’s pristine cream
carpet where he was sitting. He giggled at the look on my face and opened his
hand to show me a black lump. Florie surprised me by bursting out laughing as I
put my coffee down and ran to take it off him, only to get black all over my
hands too.

‘What is this? Where did you get it?’ I asked, as
he looked up at me wide eyed as I crouched in front of him. I’d always thought
how stupid people were talking to babies or pets like they could reply, and
here I was doing it.

‘I always thought those real coals in the fake
fire grate were a stupid idea,’ Florie chuckled.

‘Coal? No, that’s never going to come out of your
carpet,’ I groaned.

‘Don’t worry about the carpet,’ she smiled as she
grabbed the baby wipes from the top of my bag. ‘I think we might need to give
him a bath though.’

‘God, I feel just awful,’ I exclaimed, as I
wrapped the chunk of coal in a wipe and set it on the granite hearth and tried
to wipe as much as I could off him.

‘I haven’t laughed properly in ages. Besides,
we’ve had no mortgage since Dan got the house for us, we can afford a new
carpet. I’ve always found it a bit bland in here, magnolia walls, cream carpet,
I may go for some colour.’

‘Why haven’t you before?’ I asked, as I stopped
Oliver from reaching into the fire grate for more, which he pulled an adorable
sulky pout over.

‘Never thought we’d be here this long. I hoped
with you and Oliver moving in he’d see sense.’

‘He’s slowly letting go I think, but I just don’t
know what will make him take that final step. He was all for coming today, even
with being ill. I’m so sorry I can’t be more of a help.’ I gave her a
sympathetic smile.

‘It’s you I feel sorry for. While he’s still
married he can’t make an honest woman out of you and it can’t be easy for you
to have to lose him a few times a week while he comes here.’

‘That’s the trouble, I don’t think it’s easy on
any of us,’ I sighed as I picked Oliver up and held him at arm’s length.
Luckily I’d only got the black powder all over my hands and arms, not my
clothes, unlike him. Thank God I always carried a spare set for him with me. I
grimaced as I looked down at the marked carpet.

‘Honestly don’t worry. Let’s go take him upstairs
for a bath.’

‘That would be great thanks, would you mind
bringing the bag with you? When we’re done I’ll go and say hello, I promised
Dan I’d sit with her for a while.’

‘Well why don’t I clean him up while you do that,
you shouldn’t have to spend any more time with her than is necessary. It’s
hardly a fun afternoon out and you look pale and tired.’

‘I’m fine, honestly. It’s just been a tough few
days trying to watch over Dan and Oliver at the same time and not letting them
mix. I’ll soon catch up on some sleep when he’s back on his feet.’

‘Make sure you do. Right hand him over and I’ll
call for you when we come back down. You don’t have to go in there you know.’

‘I know, but I promised.’

‘Well Ruth’s on today, I’m sure she’ll be glad of
some conversation.’

I knocked on the door and went in and felt my
stomach knot as I saw her lying there, it didn’t get any easier each time I saw
her, I wondered if it did for Dan.

‘Ellie, how are you?’ Ruth asked as she came in
from her room.

‘Good thank you, you?’

‘Great,’ she nodded.

‘Any change?’ I asked.

‘No,’ she scoffed. ‘If there was I’d eat my shoes.
How’s little Oliver?’

‘Causing chaos. He thinks he’s Picasso and just
painted the cream carpet with a black lump of coal from the fire, Florie’s
taken him up for a bath to try and get it all off him. It’s not funny,’ I
objected as she started laughing.

‘It’s the most excitement this house has seen
since I started working here,’ she advised. ‘No Dan today? Not like him.’

‘Gastroenteritis and confined to the bedroom.’

‘Lots of hydration,’ she advised and I nodded.
‘I’ll leave you alone for a while. Call me when you’re done.’

I sighed as I looked down at Moira in the bed,
praying she really was brain dead, as hearing all these conversations and being
trapped in a voiceless immobile shell would be hell. I picked up the pump
dispenser hand cream and loaded my palms and sat on the edge of the bed and
picked up her right hand and massaged it in. Her skin was really dry. When I
picked up her left hand I realised she still had her wedding ring on, but no
engagement ring. I decided there and then that if there was a form I could sign
to say I didn’t want to be kept “alive” by machines after a certain amount of
time, I was signing it. No way did I want Dan, or Oliver, visiting me every day
for the rest of their lives. I talked her through Dan’s software success,
figuring if she could hear anything she wouldn’t want to hear about my happy life
with her husband. Maybe hearing how much extra money he’d earned in the years that
she’d been gone would be enough to wake her up, after all she’d be entitled to
half of it. If that wouldn’t wake her, then I doubted anything would.

‘You’re very good, I doubt many new partners would
come and do this,’ came Ruth’s voice. I looked up to see her nursing a hot
drink as she stood in the doorway connecting her suite to Moira’s room.

‘It’s important to Dan, so it’s important to me,’
I shrugged.

‘He’s a good man,’ she nodded.

‘He really is, I just wish I knew how to help him
deal with this once and for all. Oliver’s growing up so fast, I’d hate for him
to miss some of those firsts because he’s living with one foot in the past.’

‘Guilt’s a hard thing to shake, but I’d say he’s
been more than fair paying for this house, all the specialists and equipment.
His daily visits were a terrible burden, you could see it all over his face. He
wanted to be anywhere but here. He’s different since he met you, happier and
more relaxed.’

‘I hope so, he’s had his fair share of emotional
trauma and I just want him to be happy.’

‘Well you’re doing something right and I think
this little tyke has something to do with it,’ she smiled as the door behind us
opened. I turned to see Oliver all rosy cheeked and fresh in his clean jeans
and t-shirt. He burst into a smile and held his arms out for me to take him.

‘All the coal’s off his skin and out of his hair
now and I’ve put his dirty clothes in a plastic bag so they don’t soil the rest
of your things,’ Florie smiled.

‘Thank you, send me the bill for the carpet and
I’ll take care of it, no arguments please,’ I warned when she went to object.
‘We’d better make a move, we have to stock up on food and supplies for me to
make another batch of chicken soup.’

‘Send him our best will you and don’t come again
this week if he’s not better, you both need a rest, you look tired too.’

‘I told her the same,’ nodded Ruth.