Pretend

by Charlene Antrobus

  “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 he 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 dark blonde hair stuck to her head. I quickly used my hand to remove them before kissing her on the forehead.

  As I stood 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, so, I’m guessing that he’s told you about the promotion then?” 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 himself 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 not?”

  “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 going 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 then 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, after 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 lives 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 years 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.

  * * *

  We had been cooking, cleaning and running around for the last two hours and I am happy to say that everything is finally done.

  “Right, I think that we are all set,” Aiden said as he stood back and scanned the living room.

  “Yeah, I think that we are. Did Kyle get the plastic cups?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve put them on the island by all of the drinks,” he said as he smiled at me.

  “Good.”

  “So, did you two manage to sort things out?” Aiden asked as he stared into my eyes.

  “Yeah, I apologised and told him that I was happy for him and would support him whatever his decision,” I said as I smiled. I had managed to speak to Kyle when he came round to pick up Tammy. We had a long talk and it ended on a positive. I didn’t want him to feel bad about trying to make a better life for him and Tammy. I just wanted him to be happy and if that meant that I had to make a few sacrifices then so be it.

  “Good, I’m proud of you. I know that it will be hard but we’ll make it work, ok?” He said as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

  “I know, I’m just going to miss them both so much,” I said as I placed my head on his chest.

  “Me too,” he said as he stroked my hair.

  “Do you thi-“

  Suddenly I was cut off by a knocking at the front door.

  “Well, it looks like the first guest has arrived. I’m just going to sort out
the last of the food, ok?” He said before heading towards the kitchen.

  “Ok,” I said as I walked towards the front door.

  “Hey,” Crystal beamed as she threw her arms around my neck and handed me a bottle of wine. I didn’t like wine and so I didn’t take much notice of what it was but I’m pretty sure that she had bought it for herself anyway.

  “Hi,” I said as I gently pulled away from her.

  “Oh gosh, am I the first one?” She said as she scrunched up her nose.

  “Yes you are but it’s not as if you haven’t been here before,” I said as I closed the door behind her.

  “Yeah but I wanted to be fashionably late,” she said with a smile on her face.

  “Leave it to Anthony,” I said as we both burst out laughing.

  “The fashionable bit, no but the late bit, definitely,” she replied as she took her jacket off.

  She was wearing a pair of tight denim jeans, a red, satin shirt and red heels. She of course had on matching jewellery to compliment the outfit.

  “So, do I need to take my shoes off, since you have fresh carpet?” She asked as she smiled at me.

  “Yes, Aiden has a thing about shoes on carpet. Just leave them there,” I said as I pointed to an empty spot next to the door.

  “Sometimes I wonder who the woman is in this relationship,” she said as we both began to laugh.

  “You are aware that I can hear you, right?” Aiden shouted from inside of the kitchen.

  “Don’t worry brother, it wasn’t a secret,” she said as we both headed towards Aiden.

  “Oh, something smells good!” She said as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

  “Of course it smells good,” he said with a smirk on his face.

  “Modesty never was your thing, was it?” I said, sarcastically.

  “Nope, I tried it once but it never really worked out,” he said as he began laughing.

  “Where are Kyle and Tammy?” She asked as she began to wash her hands in the sink before heading towards some potato chips.

  “They went home to get changed,” I said as I sat on one of the stools around the island.

  “Ok, how is Tammy?”

  “She was fine, she stayed at Janet’s today, since she was ‘sick’,” I said as I rolled my eyes.

  “Just like her aunty that kid is,” Crystal said as she grabbed another hand full of chips.

  “Wow, I can feel my ears burning,” a voice said, making us all turn around.

  “Hey Mimi,” I said as I smiled at her.

  “I’ll have you know that I was not half as bad as Tammy when I was her age,” she continued, causing us all to burst out laughing.

  “Yeah right,” Aiden said as he rolled his eyes.

  “Oh come on Aidy, cut me some slack, I was cute,” she said as a huge smirk spread across her face.

  It was so sweet that Mimi still called Aiden, Aidy, there was something really cute about it.

  “How did you get in anyway?” I asked as I raised my eyebrows at her.

  “You didn’t lock the door,” she said, simply.

  “I keep forgetting that you need a key to lock it, it’s not like the old place. It’s going to take some getting used to,” I said as I got up and headed towards the door.

  As I approached the door and heard two voices I began smiling to myself.

  “Oh come on baby, you can’t stay mad at me forever.”

  “Yes I can! One thing I asked you for, just one thing!” Jess shouted as she stormed towards the door.

  “Hey,” I said as I smiled at the two of them.

  “Hey April, do you think that you can lock him out for the night?” She asked as she scowled at Anthony.

  “Oh dear, what did you do?” I asked Anthony with a smile on my face.

  “What makes you think that it was my fault?” He said as he smiled at me.

  “Because it always is you moron!” Jess shouted as she turned to look at him.

  “It’s really not that big of a deal baby,” he moaned as he raised his eyebrow at her.

  “Yes it is because I just wanted you to remember but you couldn’t even do that,” she complained as they both walked towards the kitchen, leaving me to lock the door, with the key this time.

  “Ok guys calm down, you’re damaging my unborn God Son’s ears,” Aiden said as he smirked at the angry couple.

  “God daughter,” Jess corrected.

  “Baby, I told you that the kid is a boy,” Anthony said with a smirk on his face.

  “And I told you that it is a girl,” she moaned as she gave him a dirty look.

  “So, what’s all of the drama about?” Mimi asked as she bit into an apple and sat down on one of the stools.

  “All I did was forget to get her a bar of candy, I said that I’d go back but now she’s saying that she doesn’t want it,” Anthony said in a frustrated tone.

  “Yes because you should have remembered it in the first place! One thing I asked you to do and you can’t even manage that,” she grunted.

  “You won’t die if you don’t get a bar of candy,” he said as he leaned against the island.

  Oh dear Anthony, you just made a big mistake.

  “Do you have any idea what it is like to carry around your big headed kid all day? My feet are swollen, my back hurts, my ribs ache, not to mention that my breast now weigh a tonne and you can’t even manage to remember to get me one bar of candy!” She screamed as the whole room went silent.

  “Do you see what I have to put up with?” Anthony asked. We all remained silent of course, we were not about to disagree with hormone crazy Jess right now.

  “This is all your fault!” She shouted as Anthony stood staring at her with his eyes open wide.

  “What’s my fault?”

  “This,” she said as she pointed at her belly.

  “All I wanted was to go out, have some fun but oh no, you just had to convince me to have a quiet night in and now look what you did. You’ve disfigured my body, I’m tired all the time and constantly hungry!” She shouted with her hands on her hips.

  “Aww, baby, calm down. I love your disfigured body, come here,” he said as she tried not to smile at his comment.

  “You’re just saying that,” she muttered as he gently pulled her towards him.

  “No I’m not. I told you already, you’ll always be beautiful. I love your body, in fact you’re the hottest mom that I’ve ever seen,” he said, making her giggle.

  “Really?” She said as she looked up at him.

  “Yes, really. Now you go and chill out with the girls whilst I go and get your bar of candy, ok?”

  “You don’t have to go and get it-“

  “I want to. I’ll see you when I get back, ok?” He said before kissing her on her head and walking towards the kitchen door.

  “Thank you baby,” she said in a calm tone. Wow, those hormones really did have her up and down.

  “I still got it,” Anthony mouthed to us once he knew that Jess couldn’t see. That boy made me laugh.

  “What?” Jess asked as we all began laughing.

  “Nothing, we’re just laughing at how cute you two are,” Crystal said, quickly.

  “Can someone let me out of this prison?” Anthony shouted as we all burst out laughing again.

  “I’m on it,” Aiden said as he gently slid my keys out of my hand and went to his best friend’s rescue.

  “Right, let’s go next door so that we can decide what games to play,” I said as Crystal, Jess and Mimi followed me into the living room.

  I waited patiently as they all got comfortable in the couch. I couldn’t help but stare at Jess’ stomach, it was so cute. She was due any day now and she looked adorable. It was no lie when they say that pregnancy gives you a glow because it was working wonders for Jess. Her skin was immaculate, she hadn’t actually put on any weight other than on her stomach, and she just looked beautiful.

  “I don’t know why we are planning because once your family starts a game of cha
rades that’s it for the night,” Crystal said as we all burst out laughing.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” I replied as I smiled to myself.

  I was really looking forward to seeing everyone tonight. They had all seen mine and Aiden’s new home already but we thought that we would make everything official by inviting everyone round tonight. We had done some food and planned to play games and socialise for the evening. Really it was just an excuse to get everyone together.

  “So, how’s Tommy?” Crystal said as she smiled at Mimi.

  “Getting on my nerves,” she said as we all burst out laughing.

  “Don’t they all,” Jess said as we all nodded in agreement.

  “Is he coming tonight?” I asked as I lifted my feet into the chair and tried to get comfortable.

  “I don’t know, I haven’t asked him yet,” she said as she let out a long breath.

  “Mimi!” I said as I stared at her.

  “What? I told you he annoyed me last night, so I’m taking some time out,” she said as she giggled.

  “Good, that’ll be one less guy for me and Kyle to deal with,” Aiden said as he stepped into the room.

  “Aiden the girl is eighteen years of age and does not need you or her over protective brother ruining her love life,” Crystal said as she rolled her eyes.

  “Exactly,” Mimi agreed.

  Suddenly our attention was drawn to the knocking that was coming from the front door.

  “I’ll get it,” Aiden said as he disappeared through the door.

  “Anyway, how are you feeling Jess?” I asked as I gestured towards her stomach.

  “Fat and tired,” she said as she folded her arms across her stomach.

  “Don’t be silly, you look great,” Mimi said as she rolled her eyes at her.

  “You do actually, I hope that I look half as good as you when I’m pregnant,” Crystal said as she smiled at her.

  “When?” Mimi asked with a slight smirk on her face.

  “Yes, way in the future,” Crystal said as she made a sarcastic face at Mimi.

  “Hey ladies,” Murphy said as he walked through the living room doors and smiled at us.

  “Oh look what the cat dragged in,” Jess said as she smirked at him.

  “And by cat she means a lion because it could only be the king of the jungle that could drag that ego in,” Crystal said, sarcastically.