When You Close Your Eyes

Resting back against the kitchen counter, Isabelle squeezed her eyes shut for a couple of seconds, a soft sigh falling out of her mouth. it had been a long day between saying goodbye to Lionel and collecting her mother from the airport, she’d barely had a second to relax, and she was grateful for a couple of seconds of quiet, even if she knew it was only a matter of time before her mother or Grace came to collect her, she was happy to have a brief period of time to herself.

Tilting her head back, she let out another soft sigh, before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her, causing her to startle a little before she lifted her head, her blue eyes settling on Grace who stood in the doorway, an amused grin on her face. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, Belle” she quipped “But I thought I would come and check on you. You came through to make us some tea about 10 minutes ago. Are you OK?” she added gently.

Isabelle offered her a small look before she nodded her head. “I’m fine” she mused softly “It’s just been a long day and with bump, I’m feeling a little tired” she added before she moved to collect the tray of tea.

Grace offered her a slightly dubious look, briefly contemplating pushing her, before she shook her head, moving to collect the tray from her hands. “You should come back through” she noted softly “Madre’s found a couple of your photo albums and she insisting that we look through them” she added before she moved to head back towards the living room.

Isabelle watched her for a couple of seconds before she moved to follow after her, quietly padding into the room before she took her seat on the couch, her blue eyes peeking towards her mother who sat opposite her, flicking through a photo album. “Which one is that?” she posed softly.

Francesca, who’d been quietly flicking through the book, startled a little at the sound of Isabelle’s voice before she lifted her head, offering her a small smile. “It’s a recent one” she noted “It’s got a lot of pictures from Grace’s wedding and of you and Lionel” she added softly.

Isabelle offered her a small look before she leant forwards, gently moving to slip the book out of her hand before she flicked through a couple of pages, settling on a specific picture. “This is one of my favourites” she quipped, gently offering the book back towards her mother.

Francesca tilted her head a little before she peeked down at the picture, a small smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. It was a cute picture, Lionel had his arms wrapped around Isabelle, and Isabelle had her head resting against his shoulder as they danced, and Francesca couldn’t help but smile at it, even if she did still had her doubts about the argentine, there was no doubting that, for a while, he had been particularly good at her making her daughter happy. “It’s a good one” she mused softly.

“It is” Isabelle mused softly “Mama…”

“I didn’t mean to upset him, Belle” Francesca interrupted, knowing what was coming “When I spoke to him at that dinner for your birthday, the last thing I wanted to do was upset him, but you have to understand that me and your papa, we’re just trying to look out for you. The last thing we want is for you, or for bump, to get hurt” she added, her blue eyes peeking towards Isabelle.

Isabelle, who’d been pulling shyly at a loose thread on her sweater, mulled her words over for a couple of seconds before she shook her head. “I know that you’re just looking out for me” she mused softly “And I appreciate it, mama, but I think we both know that if one of us messes this up, it’s more likely to be me than Leo. He had one moment, mama, when I told him about the pregnancy, it knocked him for six, but we figured it out and you need to know that” she added, her teeth gently gnawing on her lower lip.

She didn’t want to cause a problem, for as long as she could remember, both her mother and father had been particularly protective of her and her sister, and whilst she appreciated it, she wanted her mother to know that she knew what she was doing, even if she did worry a little, she knew that she and Lionel had a good thing between them.

Francesca offered her a soft look before she nodded. “I know that, Belle” she mused softly “And I love that the two of you seem to be doing a lot better, but a baby is a huge thing, sweetheart, and things will change when they come along” she added, her eyes peeking down towards Isabelle’s bump.

Isabelle followed the line of her stare before she nodded her head softly, her fingers gently brushing over her stomach slightly. “I know that, mama” she mused softly “But I think between me and Leo, we’ll figure it out. I know it’s going to change, with a baby around, it has to, but Leo and I, we’ve made this work for four years and I think we can keep it going. I love him, mama” she added, her blue eyes peeking towards her mother gently.

Francesca admired the soft look on her face for a couple of seconds before she shook her head, a soft smile on her lips. “I hope that you figure it out too, Belle” she mused, her tone soft and warm “I mean, I know we weren’t particularly keen on him when you two started to date, but he makes you happy and that’s all me and your papa want, even if we do go slightly overboard. All we want is for you to be happy” she enthused softly, her hand gently moving to take a hold of Isabelle’s.

Isabelle peeked down at her hand for a moment before she quirked a small smile. “I am happy, mama” she mused softly.

Francesca nodded her head. “I’m glad that you are” she mused softly “And I will talk to your padre and we will both work on being more supportive of both you, and Lionel too” she added warmly.

Isabelle quirked a small smile at her words before she squeezed her gently. She knew that they would worry, for as long as she could remember, both her mother and her father had been worriers, but she was glad that her mother had agreed to work on being more supportive towards both her and Lionel. The last thing she wanted was to fight with her parents in the build up to the arrival of their first grandchild.