The twins had wriggled down from their dad’s arms and were edging closer to me. The pair of them had been pretty quiet around me so far, so I hoped bribing them with dolls and Disney dress-up clothes would win me a cuddle.
I had very little experience around kids but the girls were so adorable, I’d been desperate for them to warm up to me.
“You want this one?” I asked Eden. She nodded her head till I worried it was actually gonna come loose from her neck. I quickly passed her the Snow White dress before pulling out a Princess Aurora dress and offering it to Everly. They both also got a tiara and a pair of fairy wings.
“Thank you,” they chimed in unison without any prompting from the adults surrounding them. Eden then launched herself at me and almost knocked me on my arse as she wrapped her chubby little arms around my neck. Everly soon joined her, and I ended up flat on my backside in the middle of my kitchen with two little girls wrapped around me.
It actually felt good. I looked up to see Liam’s mum and sisters all smiling down at me.
With the girls now happy, I looked up to meet the glare of a pissed off looking Jarrah, who was leaning back against my kitchen cupboards with his arms folded across his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles.
“Let’s see what’s in this other bag shall we?” I said aloud to no one in particular.
“If it’s a dress up outfit, I swear I’m going back to Australia,” Jarrah declared.
His nan and both parents told him off for being rude. Maggie laughed while I fought not to.
I pulled out the Manchester United football kit we’d bought for him. His mouth dropped open, but he didn’t move.
“Well, there’s this, which is kind of a dress-up outfit.” I shrugged my shoulders. “You need me to drop you at the airport?”
“Oh, hang on, it even comes with a pair of boots.” I pulled out the Nike football boots we’d searched all over for, and he stepped closer, eyes fixed on the pile of goodies that were gathering on the floor next to me.
“It’s a shame, coz they all look about your size. The shirt even has your name on it.”
I held up the shirt that we’d had especially printed with Walker—his surname—and the number seven on the back and showed it to him.
“Is that…” He reached out, touched the red shirt, and then looked around it. His wide eyed gaze met mine. I felt a pang of sadness hit me square in the chest that Liam wasn’t here to witness this.
“Are those for me?” he asked.
“They are, mate. They’re presents from me and Liam to thank you for being our ring bearer and to welcome you to England.”
I finally decided to put him out of his misery and pulled out not only a football but also rugby and an Aussie rules balls, too.
“Got these too, if you’d like them.”
“Shit yeah.”
I was once again knocked on my arse to shouts of, “Jarrah, what have I told you about that word.”
“Language, bud, we don’t say that word.”
“Language, Jarrah.”
“Sorry,” he called out while his arms were still wrapped around me.
“Thanks, Sarah. I knew you were just kidding.”
“Shit yeah,” Everly shouted.
“Shit yeah. Shit yeah,” Eden joined her.
***
I was just walking back to my car at Heathrow airport after kissing and cuddling Liam’s family goodbye when I felt my phone vibrate in the back pocket of my jeans. My heart dropped to my belly and then from my belly to my toes when I saw Liam’s name on the screen.
He had been gone for eleven whole days, and although I had spoken to him every day, he hadn’t really had a lot to say.
“Yo,” I answered with my usual greeting, purely because I knew it made him smile. He had told me once I was too much of a white girl to use such a term. I flipped him my middle finger and now used it to answer every one of his calls.
“Yo, pretty girl. How you doing?”
I had to stop walking and breathe in deeply through my nose. The pain of missing him was visceral and caused an ache in my chest and my head to swim at the sound of his voice.
“Bad. Shitty in fact. I’ve just kissed your family goodbye and now I’m heading home to an empty house and that big ol’ empty bed of ours.”
“Sarah . . .” He sounded almost as if he were in pain as he whispered my name.
Loneliness hit me like a punch to the gut, and I once again started walking back towards my car. I was crying and just wanted to climb inside its confines and shut out the rest of the world. I kept my head down and moved as quickly as I could through my tears.
“We have to attend a meeting tomorrow with our lawyers, the helicopter company, and our insurers. The insurance companies representing the families of our staff will also be there.” He paused for a long moment, giving me just enough time to sit myself behind the wheel of my Peugeot, close the door, and wait for the “but” that I knew was coming.
“This whole thing could go on for days, weeks even.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, stifling my sobs and remained silent. Even if I could talk, I didn’t really know what to say.
“You still there, bub?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
My voice sounded thick, betraying my attempt to hide the fact that I was crying.