Fulfillment(74)

He smiled back at me. “Of course I do, Hunny.”

I stood myself up on one leg, arranging the crutches into position. Bryce went to the door and opened it, letting Rick and the kids in. I hobbled over to where the kids were standing and both of them went pale.

“Mum, what happened? How did you break your foot?” Nate looked like he wanted to hug me but was not sure how to go about it without hurting my injured leg.

“I fell down the stairs, little man.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, clearly worried.

“I wasn’t okay at first, but I am now.”

Nate stepped forward and gently squeezed my waist then let go and stood back, still looking overly concerned.

“Mum, did it hurt?” asked Charlie curiously, while staring at my cast.

“Yes, Sweetheart, it hurt like hell.”

“How did you fall, Mum? Were you running? You shouldn’t have been running. You keep telling us not to run, and now look what’s happened.” She placed her hands on her hips, with an expression basically branding me a hypocrite.

“No,” I laughed at her. “I was not running. I just kind of lost my balance when I was coming down the stairs. It was an accident, Charli-Bear. A horrible, horrible accident.”

“Did you hurt the baby when you fell? I bet she didn’t like being all bumped around in your belly.” Charli looked at my tummy.” Oh, God. This is going to be harder than I thought.

I compelled the tears to remain at bay and forced a fake smile. “No, she didn’t like being bumped around, but I’ll tell you about that later. Right now I need to sit down; these crutches are hurting Mummy’s arms.” I quickly turned my back to them, giving myself a second for composure.

“Can I have a turn of your crutches, Mum?” Nate asked with raised eyebrows.

I grinned. “Yeah, when I’m not using them though. Come on.”

As the kids and I headed for the kitchen, Bryce pulled Rick aside to apologise for hitting him a week earlier. I stopped at the doorway and noticed Rick make amends for something also—I couldn’t quite hear what. Both of them ended their discussion with an unemotional handshake and a light pat on the back. It was a step in a direction that led to God knows where—I just hoped that wherever it led, it was a good place.

We sat down, and Bryce ordered sandwiches from the hotel’s kitchen. It was strange sitting around the dining table with my estranged husband and my new partner, but the atmosphere was no longer hostile or territorial. It was a strange type of calm.

“Charli, are you going to tell your mum what we did during the week?” Rick suggested with a nod.

“Oh, yeah, Dad took us to see the Crusty Demons. I want to be a Crusty Demon. They go upside down and everything. They even let go of their bikes in the air and they jump over fire and do flips. It was soooo cool!” she babbled at a rapid speed.

My eyes widened as I stared at her obsessively crazed face then I turned to Nate with a questioning look.

“Yeah, it was awesome, Mum, but Charli REALLY enjoyed it. She screamed and clapped every time they jumped.”

“Don’t they jump...a lot?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Rick said quickly. “They do.”

Oh, God, Charli-Bear a Crusty Demon, shit! I think I may need to take her to Disney on Ice or something.

“So, Nate, you wanna tell Mum and Bryce who you met yesterday.”

Nate shrugged his shoulders. Charli went to open her mouth to spill the beans, when Rick put his finger to his lips to silence her.

“Go on, Nate, tell them.”

“I met RJ, I went to his soccer game,” Nate said quietly.

“And?” I asked, a smile creeping across my face.

“He’s kind of funny.”

Rick started laughing and scruffed Nate’s hair. “What about when he kicked that goal?”

Nate giggled. “Yeah, he did a front flip and a cartwheel, Mum. It was hilarious.”

“I liked it when he pulled his t-shirt over his head and bumped into one of the other boys because he couldn’t see where was going,” Charli added.

***

Rick left after lunch and I thanked him for keeping the kids busy, happy and completely oblivious to the events that had transpired in their absence. I also explained that I was going to tell them about the miscarriage tomorrow morning, because I just wanted a happy evening with them, one without heartbreak and a lesson of life’s sometimes cruel events. He also apologised to me for barging in to the apartment the week before and being inconsiderate and insensitive. He also told me to call him if I felt he could help with the kids and their reaction to the news I would soon give them. I thanked him again and said that I would if I needed to. It was such a nice reprieve to not have to worry about my on and off again issues with Rick. Hopefully from now on we could all move forward in a civil and friendly manner.