Marc was smiling softly at her reaction to it all
“You like?” he had asked as Kelly nodded still speechless
“I like” she had finally replied and looking into his face they had shared a smile.
“Come on” he said hoisting Max back up into his arms, as the small boy had tried to squirm away.
“Let’s go check out the bedrooms”
And with that they had once again returned to the hall and made their way up the magnificent stair case. All the bedrooms like the rooms downstairs came off the central stairwell, with every room accessible from the upper hall. He had moved to the first corner and entered the room allowing Kelly to pass through.
“This is your room” he said adding “I hope its OK”
Kelly was busy looking around herself totally awestruck. It was large, bright and airy occupying a corner position of the building. Two French windows, each on either side of the room allowed the sunlight to stream in while also enabling the breeze to rush through, making it cool and comfortable. She could have put her whole flat into this area she thought, again understanding how he could look down on her home. On one end of the room a door led to what turned out to be a large en-suite bathroom, luxurious in every detail, Kelly gasping in wonder. With a grin Marc had led her to another door which on opening Kelly found to be Max’s room.
“I thought that it would be easier if you had easy access to each other” he had grinned, as she had gasped in delight.
“Marc, I don’t know what to say” she managed “It’s perfect”
“Good, I had to get this door put in specially”
Looking around his room, Kelly could see that no expense had been spared from the furniture, which was themed as a racecar to the décor which was designed to be every young child’s dream. She was glad to see that the pictures on the walls mirrored many she had painted on his wall at her flat, remembering how he had used his mobile phone to take pictures when he had visited, this small consideration making her feel so strange inside.
“Well…” he asked “what do you think”
“It’s beautiful” she replied with wonder in her voice
Marc had put Max down so that he could crawl over to examine the toys which littered the room and they had both watched, laughing as he moved around the room grabbing things to stick in his mouth. Kelly noticed that the whole room was completely child friendly from the railings which while the French windows could be opened to let in air, ensured that he couldn’t accidentally fall through those doors, to the protective sockets in the walls. He or no doubt some highly paid designer, had obviously spent a great deal of time preparing for their arrival.
Kelly had stifled a sudden yawn, tired from her early morning and travelling, which Marc had seen, smiling at her sympathetically. Unlike his young son who was racing excitedly around the room, she had not spent nearly 3 hours sleeping on a plane.
“Why don’t you go grab a shower and maybe lie down for a while” he had offered seeing as she had looked back at him her face hesitant
“If I don’t let Beth get a real hold of Max soon my life will be hell”
He had chuckled, as she had started to argue with him that it was not necessary
“It won’t be pretty Kelly, the woman is a Rottweiler”
Kelly had laughed in submission, suddenly feeling so exhausted and grubby from the travel and the heat. The idea of a nice luke warm shower seeming very appealing, as sensing her hesitation Marc had continued
“Look, dinner is at 7 and someone will wake you up 15 minutes before, I’ll look after Max”
With a nod of her head, Marc had scooped up the young boy much to his delight and disappeared, as Kelly had moved back into her room, casually wondering which of the many doors on the landing was his.
The shower had been all she expected it to be and had made her feel clean again as she had pulled on one of the thick fluffy white bath robes which hung behind her door and securing it around herself. She would lie down on the soft bed for just one second she had told herself, her wet combed hair fanned around her, as she had allowed her eyes to close, breathing in the sounds and smells of this exciting new country. That was the last thing she had remembered as sleep had invaded her body.
After hearing no answer to his knock, Marc had gently opened the door. The sun was already starting to fall, leaving the room in a misty half light. Looking over he had seen Kelly lying on the bed, one arm resting on her stomach the other palm side up thrown level with her head. She looked incredibly peaceful the only movement being the rise and fall of her chest as she softly breathed. He had moved in closer to squat beside her and to lean in whispering her name, while thinking how lovely she looked.