Page 106 of Any Kind of Life

“From three onwards. Hannah and Caz said they’d be a little later because Edie has plans until three-thirty, but they’re staying over anyway so I don’t suppose it really matters.”

“Is Edie bringing a couple of friends? I told her to…”

Juliet believed so, but Edie likely wouldn’t. She rarely brought her friends into the group. “Maybe, I don’t know.”

“She should. She’ll only be bored listening to us lot talk amongst ourselves.”

Juliet lifted a shoulder. “Oh, I don’t know. Edie prefers to be with us than her friends at times. She’s far more mature for her age than most sixteen-year-olds.”

That was strange when Juliet thought back on the early days of knowing Hannah. Edie had been a true teenager around the age of fourteen. She didn’t wear makeup like most did, she didn’t hang out with friends in local parks, and she certainly didn’t bring trouble to Hannah and Caz’s door. But since she’d turned sixteen, Edie had really matured. She cared about what was going on in the local news, she took an interest in politics and environmental issues. She was just an entirely different person.

“I don’t know if it’s just in my head, but have you noticed how friendly she is with Beth?”

Juliet smirked. She hadn’t wanted to be the one who brought it up, it wasn’t their business, but yes…Edie and Beth were very close. “I have noticed it.”

“What do you think?” Paige narrowed her eyes at Juliet, likely thinking the very same thing as Juliet was. “Something going on?”

“I think that when Edie is ready to tell us more, she will. I also think that maybe it’s nothing out of the ordinary and she’s just finally found herself a really good friend.”

Juliet and Paige were aware of the issues Edie had once faced in high school. Juliet could not abide a bully, and Paige had discussed those types of people with Edie at length. After all, Paige knew all about bullying in the form of James.

“I think it’s definitely more than just really good friends, but whatever. So long as she’s happy and she knows she has all of us, then good for her.”

Juliet smiled back at Paige, adoring just how much she looked out for Edie. But it was in Paige’s nature to come across that way and Juliet knew that she would make a great parent. They both would. “What did you think about the results we got this morning?”

Paige sat quietly for a moment, seemingly finding the right words. But really, it couldn’t have been better news. “Honestly, I expected them to tell me that having kids was going to be difficult. You hear it so often that it was naturally what I went to with my line of thinking.”

“Really?” Juliet was surprised by that. Paige had been the picture of calm lately. “You never told me you felt that way.”

Paige slid her hand across the two-seater rattan couch and turned to Juliet. “I didn’t want us to worry. I’m good at worrying in my own head, but I didn’t want to say it out loud and jinx it. I also didn’t want to let you down, you know?”

“Baby, whatever those results…it wouldn’t have mattered to me. There’s always another way.”

“I know that. I just didn’t want them to come back with difficult news. For once, I wanted something to go right for us.”

Juliet leant in and kissed Paige. “And it has. It’s gone perfectly right for us this time.”

“Hard to believe that we have nothing to contend with these days. Other than late deliveries at the bar on occasion, life is a bit ideal, isn’t it?”

Juliet relaxed as she held onto Paige’s hand. Earlier this year she had to consider if she would even see this day. So many things could have gone wrong when it came to Cara and Juliet’s recovery, but she’d fought. For herself. For the love she knew was waiting for her at home. For this. A life with the very woman who had shown her what it meant to be loved unconditionally.

She inconspicuously wiped a stray tear from her cheek and looked out at the vast garden. “It really is.”

“And I love these moments with you. Sitting out here, listening to the birds, giving myself a moment to calm down and realise everything doesn’t have to be done at once.”

Juliet turned to Paige and laughed. “You’re joking, right? You’ve spent the last two hours running around like a headless chicken!”

“Oh, hush.” Paige shook her head and smirked. “I was just making sure!”

“Mmhmm.”

“But seriously.” Paige held Juliet’s hand tighter. “No matter what the future holds, we’ll always have each other, won’t we? Those moments when life feels a little tougher than usual.”

Juliet shifted closer to Paige and brought their hands into her lap. Neither of them knew what was coming—it wasn’t possible unless they had a crystal ball—but Juliet could say without hesitation that they would always have one another, no matter what. “These moments are what I live for, Paige.”

“Me too, babe.” Paige lifted Juliet’s hand and kissed her knuckles.

The gentle breeze, the silence, the love…

Juliet blinked away a tear, sighing contentedly. “I think it’s time to enjoy a cocktail before we really start making new memories.”

Paige grinned as she eyed Juliet from behind her sunglasses. “I think that you, Mrs Saunders, have the best ideas.”

---