31 Days of Autumn

by Fallowfield, C. J.

  ‘He needs to learn that you have to look smart when you go to work,’ he nodded.

  ‘He’s not even four, he has plenty of time to learn those kinds of lessons.’

  ‘You’re never too young to start learning. If he can master an iPad, he can dress smartly for work. Besides, it’s the first time most of my employees will meet him. He needs to make an impression.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sure he’ll make one without any assistance,’ I laughed. ‘I hope you got Stuart to issue an urgent memo for all ladies wearing skirts to be sure to have underwear on.’

  ‘I’ve no idea where he got that habit from,’ Dan chuckled, pausing to blow a raspberry on Eva’s bare tummy. ‘I didn’t teach him to look up skirts and I know even Lucas wouldn’t, Oliver came up with that all on his own. You know what I love about having a daughter?’

  ‘Knowing she’s not likely to follow in yours or Lucas’s dodgy sexual footsteps?’ I teased.

  ‘She’s never having sex if I have anything to do with it,’ he scoffed as he expertly fitted her nappy. ‘I love that I don’t get a face full of pee when I change her.’

  ‘That was so funny, though not as funny as you treading in Oliver’s shitty nappy.’ Dan shot me a look and rolled his eyes, making me giggle, which set Oliver off, in turn making Dan laugh as he did up Eva’s sleep suit. He carried her over to me, letting me give her a kiss, before he did the same and carefully placed her in her bed, right next to me.

  ‘There, I’ll let Magda know that we’re off and she can have the baby monitor in case Eva needs you. Can I get you anything else before we go?’

  ‘No thanks, I think I’ll have a sleep while she does. I’m still feeling pretty wiped out. Don’t overexcite Oliver, he might need a sleep if you plan on being there all day.’

  ‘I’ll be back around lunchtime. No doing anything you shouldn’t,’ he warned, bending over with his knuckles on the mattress as he gave me a long and drawn-out kiss. We broke apart when we heard Oliver giggling again. ‘Come on, son. Let’s leave your mum in peace.’

  ‘Be a good boy for Daddy,’ I warned, giving him a one-armed squeeze and planting a kiss on top of his head. He nodded and lifted his arms up for Dan to pick him up. I caught my breath as I watched my two gorgeous men head for the door, and blew a kiss as Oliver waved goodbye over his dad’s shoulder. ‘Poor Daddy,’ I whispered to Eva, who was already fast asleep. ‘He has no idea what he’s let himself in for.’

  I’d had a good hour's nap when I heard a squeal and footsteps approaching. I opened my eyes and saw Magda poke her head around the open door.

  ‘It’s ok, I’m awake,’ I smiled. ‘Morning.’

  ‘Morning. Jonas wants to see his mummy.’

  ‘Bring him in,’ I nodded, shuffling back up the bed and adjusting the pillows behind me to sit up. I grinned as he stomped in, holding onto Magda’s outstretched hands with a smile all over his face.

  ‘Mama,’ he called.

  ‘Morning, Jonas, are you coming for a cuddle, gorgeous?’ I replied. He nodded his head and Magda lifted him up and put him on the end of the bed. He crawled up and scooched under my arm, offering me his lips for a kiss. I felt tears well in my eyes as I looked down at him, then at Eva fast asleep in the bassinet next to the bed. I really had the most gorgeous and loving family. I was so happy to know that I could spend as much time as I wanted with them all now that I was out of the hospital, with no visiting time restrictions.

  ‘I’ll sit in the corner and read so I’m close if you need me. Pretend I’m not here.’

  ‘Magda, I don’t want to pretend you’re not here,’ I laughed. ‘I love having you here.’

  ‘Magda love being here. They are very good boys. They missed you so much.’

  ‘Not as much as I missed them. Thank you for looking after them for me.’

  ‘Miss Jenny did most of the work, I only looked after them at night so she could rest. How are you feeling?’

  ‘A little sore, but all things considered, very lucky and grateful to be here. A bit of pain is nothing, not now that I’m home with my boys, well one of them at least.’

  ‘My Ollie didn’t want to leave you to go to work this morning. He looks like he needs another holiday.’

  ‘He does, doesn’t he,’ I sighed. ‘I don’t know what I can do to make this up to him.’

  ‘You have given him a little girl. I know he loves the boys, but I see the way his face lights up when he looks at his daughter. He is besotted with her, as he is with you.’

  ‘I’ve seen it, too,’ I nodded, smiling to see Jonas falling asleep against me. ‘I don’t think he expected to love her as much, he was always adamant he only wanted two boys, but who could fail to love her? She’s perfection.’

  ‘She is,’ agreed Magda. ‘Even Mr. Davenport Senior thinks so. No steam trains in her room.’

  ‘No,’ I laughed. ‘I think she’ll be able to get away with a pink princess theme for sure.’

  ‘So, what do we have planned for today?’ Magda asked.

  ‘Absolutely nothing, a nice quiet day. We have everyone around for an early dinner tomorrow night, before we head back to Scotland Sunday morning.’

  ‘And I'll do all the cooking for dinner. You'll do nothing,’ she warned with a pointed finger.

  ‘Magda, it will be an awful lot of work, I need to help,’ I objected. I’d invited over Luiza and Daniel, Brooke and Molly, John and Edward, as well as Jenny, even though she officially had the weekends off. James and Andy were also going to join us. I wanted to thank them all for their support while I’d been in the hospital.

  ‘No help. You rest. Ollie will scold me if you lift one finger.’

  ‘Honestly,’ I tutted.

  I’d snuck into my office while Magda was playing with Jonas, to polish off the manuscript I’d been working on before Dan had forced me to give up working on it a month ago. I was over deadline as it was and whilst I was sure my agent would be understanding, I didn’t want to push it.

  ‘What the hell are you doing in here?’ Dan’s voice snapped. My fingers stopped moving on the keyboard as I cringed. He was back sooner than I’d expected and sounded mightily pissed off.

  ‘Sitting down, taking things very, very easy,’ I replied, steeling myself for a verbal punishment as I turned around in my swivel chair. My face fell as I took one look at Oliver, who was standing next to his dad, clutching his favourite teddy bear to his chest. He had tear tracks all down his cheeks. ‘Baby, what happened?’ I gasped, holding out my arms. He dropped his teddy and ran to me, burying his face in my lap as he started to sob. I stroked his back and looked up at Dan for answers.

  ‘Back to bed, or at least to the sofa, Ellie. I mean it,’ he warned, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets.

  ‘Don’t even think about lecturing me, Oliver Daniel Davenport. Not until you tell me why you’ve brought our son home in tears.’

  ‘I hurt, Mummy,’ Oliver sniffed as he lifted his head to look at me, his green eyes full of tears.

  ‘Where, darling? Show Mummy where you hurt,’ I coaxed. He turned around and rubbed his neck. I pulled down his shirt collar and frowned. He had a slight lump, which was bright red, and I could see where he’d been scratching it. ‘O, baby, that looks so sore. What happened?’ I asked, looking up at Dan again and he shrugged.

  ‘Looks like a wasp sting, doesn’t it?’ he suggested. ‘I didn’t know what to do so I just left it. He hasn’t stopped bloody crying since though.’

  ‘Well I’m not surprised, they can be really painful, and you could show a bit of sympathy for a start,’ I uttered, kissing Oliver’s head and rubbing his arms.

  ‘He’ll be fine. He’s a big boy, he can handle it, no point mollycoddling him.’

  ‘He may look big, by virtue of having your tall genes, but he’s still a baby, Dan. He’s my baby,’ I scowled, wondering what had him acting so uncharacteristically detached.

  ‘He’ll never grow up if you keep treating him like one, Ellie.’

&n
bsp; ‘What’s got into you today?’ I gasped. ‘You’re lucky I’m not one-hundred percent and my boy needs me right now, or I’d be hauling you over the coals for your attitude. All he needed was a bit of love and reassurance. Go and fetch me some ice, it will cool the puncture wound down.’ I gave him my best glare as Oliver took another wobbly-lipped gasp and rubbed his eyes. Dan quickly spun on his heels and disappeared. ‘O, darling, it’s ok. I’ll make it better, I promise,’ I soothed, continuing to rub my hands up and down his arms.

  ‘Hurts,’ he moaned.

  ‘I know, I bet it does. You’re such a brave boy. Let’s get your neck sorted, then we can go and have some lunch. How about I do you a nice cheese and ham toasted sandwich and as a treat, you can have some ice cream for pudding.’

  ‘Ok,’ he nodded, still not sounding his usual self. I got him to tip his head forward and checked his neck again. I couldn’t see any sting left in, but there was an obvious puncture wound and the skin around it was very hot.

  ‘Come on, let’s go to the kitchen. We’ll clean that up with some antiseptic cream and then put some ice on it, which will stop it hurting.’ I got up carefully and offered him my hand, which he took immediately. He scooped up his teddy before we wandered through to the kitchen, where Dan was filling a bowl with some ice from the machine in the fridge. He gave me a guilty look as he pushed the bowl across the island towards me. ‘Can you put Oliver up on the bar stool,’ I ordered, not bothering with any niceties. I was so cross with him. He did as he was told while I rummaged for the first aid kit. I ignored Dan as I cleaned up Oliver’s neck with an antiseptic wipe, then applied some cream and put a plaster over the top. ‘I need a small freezer bag for the ice.’

  ‘I just dispensed it, you don’t want it now?’ Dan frowned.

  ‘Of course I still want it, but unless you want him to get frost burn on his neck as well, I need a bag to put it in. Honestly, what’s wrong with you?’

  ‘It’s been a tough day,’ he replied, heading off to grab me a bag.

  ‘Half a day,’ I reminded him. ‘And you shouldn’t have taken Oliver with you if you were that busy. What were you thinking and how could you be so callous earlier? If being away from work and this project has you this stressed that you take it out on me and your son, then I’d rather go back to Scotland without you. You can stay here in London and get on with it on your own.’

  ‘Ellie,’ he sighed, ‘don’t make this into something.’

  ‘You made this into something, Dan. Don’t you ever show a lack of sympathy to any of our children when they’re upset again, or I will make this into something so big you’ll wish you’d never met me.’ I snatched the bag out of his hand and quickly tipped some ice into it, tied it, then held it over the plaster on Oliver’s neck. ‘There you go, Oliver, another minute and it should help, ok?’ I softened my tone. I didn’t want him to see his parents arguing. He nodded and I bent down and kissed the back of his head. When I looked back up, Dan was leaning against the range, one hand over his mouth as he watched us. He’d been fine this morning, but a whole other man had returned, one I didn’t like. It was like I was looking at Stan all over again when he’d stood in the study doorway. Right now, though, it was Dan, and he had anguish written all over his face. He was upset. I took a calming breath before I spoke. ‘You’re under pressure, I get it, but take that out on me, not on our children. Talk to me, don’t bottle it all up.’

  ‘I can’t, it’s classified,’ he sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Ellie. I just … I’m sorry,’ he repeated sincerely, holding my gaze. I nodded my acceptance, I could see it in his eyes that he was sincere now. ‘Will he be ok?’

  ‘He’ll be fine. Right now I’m more worried about you. You know I hate being apart from you, but I want to go home, to get the boys back into their routine. If you need to stay and work, I’ll understand.’

  ‘No,’ he responded, quick as a shot. ‘I’m not being separated from you. I did what I needed to do here this morning. I can work from home from now on. The critical stage of this project is over, it’s just a case of monitoring it now.’

  ‘Then go and pour yourself a drink, you look like you need it. I’ll do the boys’ lunch. Magda’s made a lasagne for dinner, I’ll plate you up a large portion now and we can have something light to eat later and have an early night, ok?’

  ‘Ok,’ he nodded, stepping towards me and sweeping my fringe back as he kissed my forehead scar. ‘I love you, Ellie. I’d never let anything happen to you, or my family, tell me you know that.’

  ‘Of course I do. What’s going on, Dan?’

  ‘Nothing. I’ll sort the lasagne while you do the boys’ lunch, ok?’ He kissed my forehead again, then ruffled Oliver’s hair. ‘Feeling better, son?’

  ‘Yes,’ Oliver sniffled.

  ‘There’s my brave boy. Daddy’s very proud of you.’ He headed off to the fridge as I frowned after him. Whatever project he was working on had better be of global importance, as I didn’t like the effect it was having on him. Being exhausted was bad enough, but I’d never seen him irritable with the children and I never wanted to again.

  Day Ten

  Saturday 19th October

  Ellie

  ‘Luiza, you look amazing,’ I exclaimed as she headed into the lounge. She was wearing a pair of slightly-cropped, flared black trousers, with a pair of elegant red heels, a black silk blouse, a thin red belt, and a gorgeous long set of red Murano glass beads. She’d tucked her long hair up into a loose chignon and had accessorised with a patent red and black leather clutch.

  ‘Thank you,’ she beamed, giving me two sets of kisses on each cheek. ‘It’s nice that someone appreciates the effort I go to,’ she added, tossing the remark over her shoulder to her husband as he strode in.

  ‘I always tell you that you look nice, darling,’ he frowned, raising his eyebrows with a mild shake of his head at me when she looked away.

  ‘Nice,’ she huffed. ‘You say I look nice in my gym clothes. Nice doesn’t cut the ketchup for a tailored outfit or cocktail dress.’

  ‘Cut the mustard,’ he retorted. ‘Hello, Ellie, good to see you back on your feet. How are you feeling?’

  ‘Much better, thank you,’ I nodded, giving him a peck on the cheek.

  ‘Excellent, now where are my grandchildren? I’ve been looking forward to seeing them all morning.’

  ‘Eva’s having a nap and the boys are playing in Oliver’s room. I can either call them down, or you’re welcome to go up to see them, they’ll be so excited to know that you’re here. Can I get you a drink first?’

  ‘I’m good at the moment, thank you, Ellie. I’ll go up, anything for a bit of peace and quiet.’

  ‘You won’t get that from the two of them,’ I laughed.

  ‘Anything’s better than another Portuguese ranting session,’ he replied, casting an unimpressed look at his wife. She rolled her eyes before shooing him up to the top floor, then turned to look at me and shook her head.

  ‘Is everything ok?’ I asked, feeling more than a little concerned.

  ‘He is driving me around the loop lately,’ she replied, throwing her hands in the air dramatically. ‘He is stubborn and opinionated, and he always has to win every argument and pick faults. I am at the end of my rope with him.’

  ‘But isn’t he always like that?’ I asked, linking arms with her and guiding her over to the kitchen. Now wasn’t the time to point out that it was “at the end of my tether,” rather than “rope.” She needed a drink to try and calm herself down.

  ‘Yes, but lately it is getting on my nerves,’ she sighed. I pulled out one of the leather barstools for her to perch on and went to get the bottle of champagne out of the fridge.

  ‘Then what’s changed?’

  ‘I don’t think he finds me attractive anymore.’

  ‘You can’t be serious?’ I gasped, tossing her an incredulous look over my shoulder. ‘Luiza, you’re stunning.’

  ‘I’m old. I have wrinkles. Everywhere,’ she moaned. �
�He gets better looking with age and I do not. I think he is seeing someone else.’

  ‘I don’t believe that for a moment,’ I replied, shutting the fridge door and grabbing the ice bucket to fill. ‘With the exception of your little spat that’s put you both in a mood today, I see the way he looks at you. He adores you and I’ve never seen a woman as attractive for her age as you are. You look years younger and you’d easily have twenty year olds lining up to be with you. What makes you think he’s seeing someone else?’

  ‘We haven’t had sex all week.’ Her shoulders slumped as she sighed.

  ‘And?’ I prompted. She looked up at me, aghast.

  ‘That’s not enough?’

  ‘No,’ I laughed, popping the bottle in the ice bucket and reaching for the flutes. ‘I would imagine most couples would be over the moon to have sex once a week, not lamenting the fact. Has he been staying out late? Making excuses? Making more of an effort with his appearance?’

  ‘No,’ she replied. I smiled over her shoulder as Dan came out of our study. ‘But this lack of sex is very unusual. We have always been extremely passionate, sex every day or two, he has a very large appetite for me and goes like a … steam locomotive when he is aroused.’

  ‘Mother!’ Dan groaned as he walked up behind her. ‘I really didn’t need to hear that.’

  ‘You father is having an affair, he no longer wants me,’ she muttered, not at all embarrassed.

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Dan replied, bending to kiss her temple. ‘He adores you. What are you basing this on, without any more of the disturbing sex talk please. I need bleach to erase that from my memory.’

  ‘Trust me, when a man’s sexual appetite fails, all is not well,’ Luiza stated firmly, shaking her head. ‘And he’s been spending more time in his study.’

  ‘Maybe he’s busy with work?’ I suggested, picking up the champagne bottle.

  ‘Allow me, baby,’ Dan smiled, taking it off me and popping the cork.

  ‘No. I rang his assistant Hilda and asked her, she said he was slowing down, trying to prepare himself for retirement. Maybe he is watching pornography secretly. He is, how do you say, jerking off?’ she asked, doing the hand motion, making me explode with laughter and clutch my tender stomach, and Dan drop, then quickly catch, the bottle of champagne before it hit the granite worktop. ‘Yes, he is jerking and this is why he no longer wants me.’