Page 20 of A Different Kind Of December
I give a small smile and kiss her cheek.
“Yes, Mum, I promise to drive careful. I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she responds as I head out to my car.
I feel like my head’s about to explode.
What a morning.
First Tallulah and now Paige.
Perhaps it’s not them. Perhaps it’s me who’s the total bitch.
I call Cam.
“Kitten. You calmed the fuck down?”
I both smile and cry at the sound of his voice. Where would I be without this man and the way that he loves me?
“Barely. Did they all make it to school all right?”
“Yep, now I’m home all alone, sitting in my office answering emails.”
“I’m five minutes away, what d’ya wanna do?”
“You in every orifice.”
“I’ll allow you inside two and neither will be my bum.”
“You’re no fucking fun.”
“Take it or leave it.”
“Oh, I’ll take it one of these days. Drive careful, but get home quick. I love ya.”
“Love you, too.”
I end the call with a smile on my face. My shitty morning made better by the man who constantly rocks my world.
Cam
M
arley looks up from hisgift and directly at my wife, unshed tears shining in his eyes as he smiles.
“It’s perfect,” he says quietly.
Georgia shrugs. “I thought maybe it was time for a new one.”
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely it is.” He stares down at the black leather guitar strap she’d had made for him and runs it between his finger and thumb.
Georgia had explained to me that she used to buy both Sean and Marley a new one every year as a gift. She would use her dressmaking contacts and have them stitched with the band’s logo. Marley’s would also have the initials BBM—Big Brother Marley—stitched into it, and Sean’s would have G&S TWIMTB—Georgia And Sean. The Way It’s Meant To Be. When she lost Sean, she stopped the tradition, but this year, for some reason, has seen a massive turning point in the way she’s dealt with the loss, and she’s gifted her brother something that obviously means a lot to him.
“Ohhh, leather. You gonna tie me up or whip me with it later?” Ash leans over Marley’s shoulder and asks.
His eyes dart up, and he scans the room, making sure none of the kids or his parents have heard her remark.
“Gag you with it if you don’t shut up.”
