Pretend (87 page)

             
“Yep, I’m even well enough to eat ice cream,” she said as she slipped her tiny hand into mine.

             
“Oh, I’m sure you are,” I said as I laughed at her.

             
“Come on then, say goodbye and thank you to Janet.”

             
“Thank you and bye,” she said as she gave her a toothy grin and then started to drag me towards the front door.

             
“See, you soon,” I said as I threw her a smile
.

             
“So, did you have a nice day?” I asked as we began to walk down the path.

             
“It was ok,” she said.

             
“Just ok?”
I asked.

             
“Yeah, I missed my friends,” she said as she scrunched up her nose.

             
“Well hopefully you won’t be
sick
on Monday and then you can come back to day care and see all of your friends,” I said as I slipped my phone out of my purse to check the time.

             
“Did you miss me?” She said as she looked up at me.

             
“Of course I did, it was very quiet without you around,” I said as I smiled at her.

             
“Don’t worry I’ll be back soon,” she said before letting go of my hand and running towards the silver Mercedes.

             
“Daddy!”
She screamed as she ran into Kyle’s arms to allow him to lift her into the air.

             
“Hey, princess,”
he said as he glanced my way.

             
I quickly tried to avoid looking at him and instead got inside of the car.

             
“Are we going for ice cream?” Tammy asked as he strapped her into her car seat.

             
“Not today princess.”

             
“But you said that we could go for ice cream,” she said as she folded her arms across her chest
.

             
“We can but just not today,” he said in a gentle voice.

             
“That’s not fair,” she said as she scrunched up her nose and began to sulk.

             
“Life isn’t fair,” he said as he chuckled to himself, closed her car door and then slid into the driver’s seat.

             
“I guess I’m just upsetting all of the women in my life today,” he said as he began to drive away. I ignored him of course.

             
“Tammy, were you good today?” I asked as I turned around to face her. I could feel Kyle’s eyes on me but I wasn’t ready to talk to him just yet.

             
“Yup, I did a painting
. D
o you want to see it?” She asked in an excited tone.

             
“
Yes, show it me when we ge
t in
,” I said as I smiled at her and then turned back around.

             
“Ok,” she said as she began yawning.

             
“So, are we going to talk about this?” Kyle asked after we had sat in silence for about ten minutes.

             
I glanced back at Tammy who was now fast asleep and let out a long breath.

             
“What is there to talk about? You made the decision without even thinking about me, so why bother talking about it now?” I asked in a sad voice.

             
“I’m sorry,” he whispered as I continued to stare out of the window.

             
“I didn’t even think that I would get the job to be honest, if I had then I would have told you sooner-“

             
“But you didn’t,” I said as I stepped out of the car and walked towards Tammy’s door.

             
I gently unclipped her before lifting her out of the car and into my arms.

             
“I’m just going to pick up some stuff from the store, ok?” He asked as he turned to look at me.

             
“Yeah, whatever,” I said before closing the car door and walking towards the front door.

             
As I heard the car drive away, I felt a pang of guilt come over me. I should have been happy that Kyle
got the promotion, it was what h
e had wanted for so long now but it meant that everything had to change. Maybe I was being selfish but I wasn’t ready for that.

             
I gently slipped my key into the front door, turned it and then pushed the door open. I used my foot to push the door closed since my hands were full. As I looked down at a sleeping Tammy, I smiled to myself. Even though she was only five years old
,
she reminded me so much of Mimi when she was younger, she was just as noisy too.

             
I pushed open the bedroom door, lay her down on the bed, took her jacket off and covered her up in the duvet. She looked
so
beautiful as she lay there sleeping. I smiled to myself as I watched her tiny chest lifting up and down. I watched as the tiny strands of her da
rk blonde hair stuck to her
head. I quickly used my hand to remove them before kissing her on the forehead.

             
As I s
tood there watching her sleep
, I felt a strong pair of arms snake themselves around my waist. I smiled as I felt the heat of his body next to mine.

             
“Hey beautiful,” he whispered as he buried his head in my neck.

             
“Hey, I didn’t know that you were home,” I said as I turned around to face him.

             
“I was in the back yard,” he said as he smiled down at me.

             
“Come on,” he said as he gently pulled me out of the room and slightly pulled the door in.

             
“How is she?” He asked as he gestured towards the room that Tammy was in with his head.

             
“Yeah, she was fine when I picked her up, she’s just tired,” I said as I looked down at the floor.

             
“What’s up?” Aiden asked as he gently lifted my chin with his hand.

             
“Did you speak to Kyle?” I asked as I watched the sudden change in his facial expression.

             
“Yeah
, s
o,
I’m guessing that
he’s told you about the promotion the
n?” He asked as I stared into his
eyes.

             
“You already knew?” I asked.

             
“Yeah, he told me a couple of days ago
. That’s why he finished early today, so that he could pick you up and talk to you,
”
he said in a soft tone.

             
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked in an annoyed tone.

             
“It wasn’t my
place, he wanted to tell you him
self and I felt that he should,” he said in a calm voice.

             
“I think
that
it’s ridiculous. He can’t move to London,” I said as I pulled away from Aiden and began to walk towards the kitchen.

             
“Why no
t
?”

             
“Are you seriously asking me that?” I said in an angry tone.

             
“April, he has wanted this job for so long and now he finally has it, why shouldn’t he take the opportunity?” He asked.

             
“Tammy, that’s why or did you
forget about her in all of this?
” I grunted as I looked at him in disbelief.

             
“She’s his daughter April,” he said in a gentle voice.

             
“We are the only family that she knows Aiden, they need us. What are they goi
ng to do all the way in England?
Who is going to help him with Tammy?” I asked in a sad voice.

             
“I don’t know but he will manage. If it is what he wants them he will make it work.”

             
“You don’t get it,” I said as I began to unpack the grocery bags
that were sat
on the island.

             
I love
Aiden but sometimes he just didn’t get it.
Kyle had been through so much in the last few years and to just up and leave to start again in a
foreign
country where he would know absolutely no one
just seemed crazy.
I remember how hard it had been for him to finally walk again after the accident with Jake. It took every bit
of determination that he had and t
hen he met Carrie and I thought that everything was going to be fine especially once she fell pregnant with Tammy. I know that he was young but his experiences had made him so mature and he
was more ready to be a father. Sadly, a
fter Tammy was born things
started to
change
, Carrie started to act strange and
they became distant
. It turned out that she had post natal depression and one day she just up and
left. That was five
years ago
and
we haven’t seen her since.

             
It
changed our lives so much. Kyle and Tammy spent a lot of time with us as a result of it. We would all take it in turns to do night feeds and diaper changes. Once she got older
,
Kyle wanted to get a job and so I started to take
Tammy
to the day care
centre
with me
every
day
. I would bring her home every evening until he finished work too. She had become a part of our li
ves
and it may sound selfish but I wasn’t ready to let her go.

             
“I do get it. I know how much she means to you because she means just as much to me but Kyle needs this. He’s been through so much
,
April, shouldn’t he get the chance to be happy?” he said as he looked into my eyes.

             
“Oh gosh, you’re right. I’ve been really selfish
,
haven’t I?” I said as the realisation hit me. Everyday Kyle lives life, trying to make the best of every situation and here I was getting mad at him for thinking about himself for the first time.

             
“You’re not selfish, you just care and that’s ok.”

             
“Thank you. You always make me see sense,” I said as I took a step closer to him.

             
“It’s taken you eight years to realise that?” He said as he chuckled to himself. I just rolled my eyes of course.

             
“Now, would it be too much to ask for a kiss?” He said with a smirk on his face.

             
“I think I can manage that,” I said before his lips met mine. Eight year
s later and his kisses still gave me
butterflies in my stomach.

             
“
Ewww
, that’s gross,” a tiny voice said from behind us.

             
“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” Aiden said as he picked Tammy up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

             
“I’m not tired anymore,” she said as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

             
“Well, then you can help Uncle Aiden do some food,” he said as a look of excitement filled her face.

             
“
Yayy
.
Are you coming too?” She asked as she turned to look at me.

             
“No, sweetie I’ve just got some things to sort out, I’ll help you later,” I said with a smile on my face.

             
“I guess it’s just me and you then,” Aiden said as he headed towards the kitchen.

             
I really would miss that little girl but I know that Kyle has to do what
is
right for him and after everything that he has been through, he deserves it.
I will
speak to him when he comes
back
but for now I need to make sure that everything is sorted for this house warming party.