Page 30

Jack

I pushed the button on the hot chocolate velvetiser.

Willow and I had taken the dogs for a walk around the rainy streets of Jesmond.

I was thankful I’d remotely switched the heating on, on the way back.

Despite the waterproofs with hoods and wellies, both of us were soaked through, the February chill making sure to keep us as cold as possible, for as long as possible.

Willow shot upstairs the second we got back, while I took the initiative, poking and prodding the fire in the living room, the dogs finding the perfect spots in front to warm their paws.

My attention was pulled from the machine by Willow entering the kitchen with a genuine smile. It was worthy of a mention, because Willow smiles were rare to come by.

She stopped next to me, watching the velvetiser, as I watched her. She looked lighter, glowier even and I was intrigued. She hadn’t changed out of her damp hoodie, leggings, and thick walking socks.

“You going to pour that hot chocolate or just stare at it?”

She glanced up at me with a smirk and I returned to the machine, which had stopped.

I plucked two mugs out of the cupboard in front of me, and began to pour, highly aware of Willow’s proximity to me. She bounced on her feet excitedly. I smiled watching her.

“What’s up?”

I was sure I caught her blushing before hiding her face behind her damp, wavy hair as she looked down.

I added squirty cream and mini marshmallows to the top, before sliding one mug to her and holding mine, revelling in the heat spreading across my palms. I pushed my legs out in front of me, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“You look like you’re going to burst.”

Brushing her hair behind her ears, she placed her sleeve-covered hands around the mug.

“I guess I am. I did a thing.” Her shining doe eyes bounced to mine.

“Oh?”

“Mhm.”

She nodded through a sip of hot chocolate, her tongue automatically darting out to lick the cream from her top lip.

My eyes followed the movement. I promise it was accidental, but I found myself finding everything Willow did positively bewitching.

I cleared my throat and took a sip of my own, the heat in my mouth recalling the blood that was trying to travel elsewhere.

“I… signed up for self-defence classes. Over at Shield Gym. I have a taster session on Friday.” She fiddled with the hoodie sleeves over her hands nervously, while I stared in awe at her.

“Willow, that’s amazing.” Red and pinks bloomed over her skin as she blushed at my words, avoiding my eye contact. “Hey,” I added a palm to her chin, pushing it up. “This is an amazing step, sweetheart. You’re stronger than you think. I’m so proud of you.”

My voice was gravelly with pride, her eyes glassy.

She blinked, and a fat tear slipped down her olive-skinned cheek, leaving a damp trail behind its path.

There was something about Willow’s tears, they brought out a primal need to soothe her.

Placing my mug on the counter, I pulled her into my arms, her arms snaked around my waist.

“Let them go, sweetheart,” I uttered just as another fell over the bruising of her other eye. “Crying doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re still alive.” She eyed me curiously through wet lashes, and I smiled. “I can’t take any credit, that was all Charlotte Bronte.” She sniffed out a laugh

We stood there for an undetermined amount of time. Her face in my chest and my chin resting against her forehead.

“Sorry, I think I wet your shirt with my eyes.”

I smiled and pulled back enough to glance down at her, her cheeks and nose still slightly pink and damp from tears. Gently, I raised a hand to her face, then paused, cautious to press on swelling.

“Can I— ”

“Yes,” she interrupted, whispering.

Our eyes locked to the other’s as I brushed the damp tracks from under her eyes, from her cheeks.

The world stopped turning, time stood still as I was sucked into her dark orbs, searching where the chocolate and chestnuts blended with the blacks and flecks of amber in her iris.

Willow sucked a breath between her teeth as I continued to brush her cheek with the pad of my thumb, the dampness long gone.

“Wil—”

Suddenly, a commotion broke through our conflicting bubble of peace and tension, dogs barking, banging and crashing, then the odd “Fuck” .

Frozen in place, Willow turned at the shoulders, eyeing the door curiously, while I frowned.

I really needed to buy a camera doorbell.

Maybe dot some cameras throughout the house and back garden – not just for Willow’s peace of mind, but my own too.

The kitchen door sprung open and Frannie strolled through, both dogs bouncing at her heels, much to her frustration since she was only five foot two. At their full bounce-height, the dogs could easily reach her shoulders. Her disgruntled expression quickly morphed into joy, then curiosity.

The unexpected visitor brought an instant shift. Willow shot from my grasp, collected her cooled hot chocolate and rushed to the microwave.

Two things occurred to me.

One, Willow and Frannie had never met, so I imagined the intrusion wouldn’t offer much reassurance to someone who was anxious already.

Two, Willow shooting out of our mutual embrace was sure to elicit some questions from Frannie, the thought alone made me raise my eyes to the ceiling and sigh before welcoming my daughter home.

“I wasn’t expecting you.”

I pulled my daughter into a hug, and I was sure I heard her say, “I could see that” but chose to ignore my smart mouthed child. I sniffed her signature Frannie smell through her hair, kissed her forehead and pulled back to look at her, as if I’d forgotten what she looked like.

“What brings you back?”

“I have an interview for post-grad job tomorrow, I managed to get out of my classes to do it in person.” I glanced behind her to find her oversized portfolio case by her pink suitcase. “My train is booked for Friday, can I stay until then?”

“Of course, you don’t need to ask.”

The microwave beeped behind me. I turned at my waist, one arm still slung across Frannie’s shoulder to find Willow giving the microwave all her attention.

“Willow,” her head turned in surprise, as if she had forgotten we were there, “I think it’s time you met my daughter. Willow, Frannie. Frannie, Willow,” I introduced them proudly. After all, they were the two most important women in my life, a fact that I was getting pretty shit at hiding.

Frannie pushed past me towards Willow, and I was suddenly nervous, willing for this to go smoothly.

Though I had no reason to question it, Willow’s life was overwhelming at the moment, and I couldn’t quite tell if new people would help or hinder her.

That being said, if anyone was going to make her soul feel a little lighter, it was my Frannie.

I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I was also keen for Frannie’s approval of Willow, even if it did mean that approval was only beneficial in my wildest dreams .

“Hey Willow, it’s so great to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.

I’m a hugger, can I— ?” Frannie’s voice was small but confident as she spoke, her arms stretched out.

In a second, Willow’s face softened, and she embraced the hug, and I deflated with a relieved breath.

“Please call me Fran, Dad still thinks of me as his seven-year-old baby, so I’ll let him off.

” Frannie spoke loudly enough for me to overhear.

“You are my seven-year-old baby, and I won’t hear otherwise.”

They pulled apart, and by Willow’s stifled laugh, Frannie had rolled her eyes before she turned to me with a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at my daughter, and she stuck her tongue out at me. Willow laughed, eyes ping-ponging between us.

“I’m going to have a shower and get ready to see Elle. You two catch up.”

She smiled as she moved past us and an idea sparked in my brain.

Frannie was struggling to befriend at university, and she’d always been low on the friend front as she grew up, insisting she only needed her family.

But now there was Willow, and she had Elle and Silas.

Based on the interactions I’d had so far, they’d pull even the most hidden flower out of the darkest cave and into the light.

“Willow. Is Elle coming over?” She stopped at the door, a sudden look of insecurity shrouded her features.

“Yeah. We could go somewhere else?”

“No, no, I don’t mean that. I’ll go over to Mike’s. Allow you to have some girl time. Are you happy for Frannie to hang with you too?”

Her mouth split into a huge grin, the biggest I’d seen in weeks, and I was thrilled to find she could smile that wide again.

“Of course, we’re ordering pizza, and having a movie night if that’s okay with you?” Frannie nodded by me, and Willow left.

As soon as the door shut, Frannie smacked my stomach with the back of her hand.

“ Dad! What the fuck was that?! I don’t need you to set me up on friend-dates ,” she seethed, keeping her voice low, and eyes narrowed. I smirked, rubbing where she’d hit me.

“I hardly set you up. But you haven’t met Elle, I have. Elle could make friends with a tree. I think they’d be good for you. See how it goes.”

I reached around her for my mug of now-cold hot chocolate, ignoring her rage.

“Fine. I’ll spend time with them. But not because you set me up.”

I smirked, knowing she was too polite to turn them down now.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice how cosy you two were when I walked in,” she mocked, pulling a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water. “Having a woman around suits you.” She smirked into the glass.

And I agreed with her.