Page 15 of Johny
“I am,” I agree.
“And she’s one of the Crow women?”
“She is,” again I agree.
He rolls his eyes at me, “Well, are you going to tell me about her?”
I grin at him, “I might.”
He growls at me, and I laugh. It’s always good fun to rile the old man up a little.
“She’s the one I’ve been waiting for.”
His eyes soften as they study me. “Tell me abouther,” he invites. So, I do. For the next hour I fill my Da in on all things Maya, I tell him about how we met, and he just about falls off his chair laughing when I tell him about the slap and how Maya offered to go and explain to the woman that she’d been messing around and how I’d stopped her.
Sharing what little I knew of Emy and Jackson and the feeling I had that things hadn’t always been good in their home. Going on to tell him about our evening and how much I’d enjoyed her company and that I’d arranged to take her and the children out tomorrow for a picnic at the beach and maybe spend some time at the arcade.
When I was done, and we were swimming with tea, he patted my hand before pushing his chair back and getting up from the table. “I’m glad you found her, John. Maybe one of your brothers will be next. It would be nice to have a few grandchildren before I leave this earth. The house has been too quiet for too long. Enjoy your day tomorrow. Make sure you bring them around soon.”
“I will, Da,” I promised, standing up and picking up our mugs to put them in the dishwasher. Rinsing out the teapot, I placed it on the drainer,ready for the morning. Yawning so loud my jaw clicked, and I looked at the clock on the wall. Two in the morning, I groaned, knowing that I’d only get about four hours of sleep before I needed to be up again.
Of all the nights my old man decided he wanted to chat, it had to be tonight. Setting my alarm, I strip, fall into bed, and I’m asleep before I know it.
CHAPTER 7
MAYA
I’d slept surprisingly well, considering how off kilter I’d been when Johnny kissed me goodnight. I’d expected to be up all night worrying about today, but instead I’d gone to sleep with a smile on my face.
Stretching, I looked at my bedside clock. Seeing that it had just gone six, I got up and went through my usual morning routine. Once I’d had my coffee, instead of rushing off to pick up Jackson and Emy like I usually would, I made use of the time packing a bag for the beach and getting a cooler filled with juice boxes and ice packs as I wasn’t sure that Johnny would think of packing such things.
Once I’d done all that, I checked the time again, and seeing it was just after seven, I rushed through a shower. Getting dressed for the day, I put on a navy blue one-piece swimmingcostume that had a cute red trim around the sweetheart neckline cut around the top. It was very retro nineteen fifties, and I loved it. Pulling on a pair of mid-thigh shorts in khaki and a bright red flowing top with my sandals, I felt ready for the day. Picking up my brush, I pulled it through my hair and put it up in a high pony. Spraying sunscreen on, I called it a day.
Picking up the cooler and bag from the kitchen, I took them with me to the main house and left them in the garage in a corner out of the way, knowing that Johnny would have to park there, and it would be easy to load them up before we left.
Pushing open the kitchen door, I’m met with the familiar mayhem in the kitchen of getting everyone fed at the same time. I wasn’t sure how Maggie did it without getting flustered.
Waving at everyone, I say morning to any adults and teenagers that are in the kitchen before making myself known to my children. Sometimes it’s nice to watch them interact with others without them being aware Mummy is around. Emy is the first to see me and her ear-splitting squeal probably just about deafens poor Ben, who’s sitting next to her. Rushing in, I scooped up my baby, pressing kisses all over herface, making her giggle and laugh. Putting her back in the highchair, I walked around to my boy and gave him a far more sedate hug and kiss, although he did let me hug him for longer than I usually did.
“Hi, baby,” I said, running my fingers through his hair. “Did you have a good time last night?”
“Yeah,” he replied with a nod.
“Good,” I reply. “Are you all done?”
When he nods again, I pick up his plate as well as any others that are empty and take them to the dishwasher and start filling it up.
“Thanks for feeding them, Maggie,” I say as I close the dishwasher door.
“It’s not a problem, love. Did you have a good time last night?”
There was no way I could have stopped the smile that broke out on my face even if I’d wanted to.
“I did.”
Maggie smiled broadly at my words, “I’m glad. Johnny’s a good lad.”
There was just something calming about Maggie, and I couldn’t resist telling her. Leaning in, I whisper, “He’s picking us all up at eight this morning.”