by Billy Taylor
Ted and I returned to work two weeks after Zac announced her pregnancy. And because we were made head of the new flavours project, it meant we could no longer just work from our little office. It meant we had to travel backwards and forwards to America to have lots of different meetings. Ted’s dad came with us most of the time to overlook everything. But we flew to America and back at least once a month, which was kind of difficult during Zac’s pregnancy. But we made it work.
I spoke to Ted and his dad once we returned to work and told them that I had spoken to August Bishop, the actress who I’d given the tour to a few months ago. And she said she was interested in becoming an ambassador or having some other involvement with us. They thought it was a great idea so I called her and told her that the new project was under way, and that they would be released within a year. And that we wanted her on board from the start. And we wanted her to be in the television advert for them.
She agreed to do so, but only if she could have her sister in the adverts as well. And we agreed to that. So that was pretty much the first bit of business I did towards the creation of the new flavours. We’d not even tried any ice cream samples yet and we already had one of the biggest actresses in the world to be the face of them.
Testing the ice cream samples was the best part, I must admit. I ate so much ice cream during that time. But I remember the first thing Ted said to me when we walked into the office. Our office had been taken over by our replacements upon our return. But Ted’s dad had turned one of the two conference rooms into a new office for us both. They never get used anyway. But we couldn’t believe how much space we had. The first thing Ted said to me when we walked into our new office was, “We’re going to have such great paper basketball contests in here.” And then the second thing he said to me was, “So are we still moving into Ron’s house?”
And over the next nine months we secretly started setting up the house, ready for when the baby arrived. We bought nearly every baby accessory possible. Ted bought this Thomas The Tank Engine train set, and I think we played with that more than Evie did. Everybody would see us lying on the floor with Evie, playing with her and her toys, and they would say “Aw, look at them playing with her.” But really, it was Evie who was playing with us. We spent hours playing with that train set. And then when Zac picked Evie up and fed her, we would still be playing with the train set.
I still remember the day Evie was born like it was yesterday. It was a horrifying and wonderful day. I saw things that I never want to see again. It put me off having another child ever again. It was like watching a horror movie. But at the end the murderer and the victim fell in love. Evie was placed straight into my arms after she was born. Her precious little life trusted to be given to me first. And I looked down at this beautiful tiny crying baby, and I knew two things at that moment. The first was that I was going to do everything I could to make my precious daughter feel as happy and loved for as long as I lived. And the second was that I was never going to have a healthy bank account ever again.
When we left the hospital for the first time with Evie, Ted and I decided to go straight to Ron’s house. Zac wasn’t paying much attention because she was too busy watching over Evie, making sure she was ok. I don’t think Zac even let herself blink, she became so instantly protective. We kept telling her that there had been an accident so we had to take a huge detour. And then when we drove into the countryside she became very suspicious. She didn’t believe the detour anymore. And then we pulled into the drive of Ron’s big stone house. Ted opened the gate and then we parked inside the courtyard. Natalie was already leant against her car when we parked and got out of the car because Ted had invited her to live with us in the small middle stone house. Mum had visited a lot over the past few months as well to maintain the garden. She was the only one besides Ted, Natalie, and I who knew about our moving in.
Zac didn’t believe us when we told her this was where we would be living from now on. She kept telling us to take her back to the apartment so she could sit down with Evie. We walked through Natalie’s part of the house first, and then we wandered into Zac and my part of the house. It was only when we walked out of our bedroom and into Evie’s room that Zac finally started to believe us. The room was filled with toys and swings and play mats and stuff. And obviously a nice crib for Evie to sleep in. She looked so happy, and that was the look I wanted to keep on her face for the rest of her life.
When we went into Ted’s part of the house to complete the tour, there was a dog in the living room. Well, a very small Labrador puppy. And that was when Ted revealed a surprise of his own. He had bought himself a dog, and he had called it Sofa Cushion Lightning Bolt. A very sensible name for a dog. We all refused to call her by that name, so we called her Sofia instead. Since it is sofa with an I in it. We moved into the beautiful stone house that day. We returned to our apartment and packed all of the things we hadn’t already taken over discreetly. If Zac asked where something went, we either told her that it broke or we got rid of it. But she didn’t notice too much.
Once we moved in, a couple of months after that Captain Panda’s Paradise and Dinosaur Disaster were released. We had one launch party at each factory. The first was in America, and the next one was in China, and then the final one we had back home in our factory. I wanted Zac to come with us because without her Captain Panda’s Paradise, which turned out to be a record-breaking selling ice cream, would not have been possible. But she refused to leave Evie’s side. We talked about bringing Evie to America and China with us. But we decided that it was too soon to take her on a plane, and the flights were too long as well. Zac and Evie came to our factory’s launch party, though. August was in the country as well so she came along with her fiancée, Ethan. We asked her to come along to one, and she said she would be in England for the premiere of her next film, so she would be in the country for a couple of weeks. We’d already filmed a couple of adverts with her and her sister. We were supposed to go and overlook the filming, but we couldn’t because Zac was about to give birth. But Madeline, August’s little sister, got her wish and starred in the ice cream commercial with her older sister. The advert came out really well actually.
The whole project went well surprisingly. I was expecting something to go wrong throughout the entire thing. I didn’t tell Zac that August would be attending, and she was so star-struck when she saw August. I was holding Evie at the time so Zac just gave her a big old hug. There is a photo in our bedroom of August holding Evie with Zac. August and Evie got along very well. Ethan and I were having a chat while the three of them were socialising. He was telling me about this new film August had a role in. I definitely remember him saying there was tap dancing in the film, but I can’t remember if he said she was a tap dancer or not. But he said she had a small role in it, and it was going to be a huge film so Zac and I had to see it. Some teenager who was seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen wrote the story. That’s why everyone is talking about it, because he’s the “next big thing.” Oliver Green or Pink or was it blue, I know his surname was definitely a colour. And then he told me about this astronaut film August was the lead role in was coming out in the coming months, too. I couldn’t really absorb what he was saying because I was too busy watching Zac, August, and Evie.
And then August started to turn to Ethan. And Ethan and I both knew what she was going to say next. Those famous words.
“I want one,” she said. I think it frightened Ethan a little. And then he held Evie and it didn’t seem so frightening then.
Zac and I had to leave early to put Evie to bed so we did the announcement and popped some champagne and had a photo and then returned home.
So, yeah, you’re all caught up. My beautiful daughter has just taken her first two steps. I still can’t change her diapers, though. I’ll do anything Zac asks towards our daughter, but even when I’ve stuck wet wipes up my nose and put on gloves, I still nearly throw up. So Zac is the diaper changer. But the past nine months have been the best of my li
fe. My family is perfect. And I have a great job to support my family. The new flavours are selling really well. I get commission from both ice creams, and I was given an upfront bonus as well, which nearly caused me to pass out. The commission alone could mean I could quit myself and live off it. But instead of working five days a week now I only work two or three. Which is great because now I get to spend more time with Zac and Evie.
Zac receives commission from Captain’s Panda’s Paradise, too. The commission is split between us. It’s her idea really. I just put it into action.
Ted still visits Autumn once a week on a Sunday. We took Evie to see her a couple of weeks after she was born. I’m sure Autumn is really proud of us all. I wish she was here to see how grown up we’re all being. We all miss her so much.
Ted hasn’t dated anybody since. Although Zac and I suspect that there might be something developing between him and Natalie, but we’re not sure yet. We’re keeping an eye on them. I just want Ted to be happy. He deserves to be happy. And I think Evie has really helped bring a small amount into his life. They always put a smile on each other’s faces.
I’m sure you’re wondering if I popped the question and asked Zac to marry me, and the answer is no. And there is a very good reason behind that, I promise. I want to wait until Evie is old enough. I’m not sure how old yet. But I had a nice idea of how I would like to propose. It’s not glamorous as most would like. But it would be meaningful for Zac and me. I was thinking we could take Evie to the cinema where we first met. And I was thinking that Evie could help me propose. I could pretend to tie my shoelaces and then she would walk around and pass me the ring afterwards. It was just an idea. But I would definitely like to wait until Evie is old enough. She will remember her mummy and daddy getting married. It would mean a lot to me for her to see it. It would set an example of what my daughter should expect a gentleman to love her like. But she will have to wait until I am no longer living to have a boyfriend. As long as I am alive I will guard my daughter with a shotgun.
But, in all seriousness, I want her to see how much her parents love one another. To see how much I love her beautiful mother…the girl from the cinema who I fell in love with at first sight.