When We Were

Gently tugging the material of Lionel’s t-shirt down her thighs, Emilia stopped in the doorway which led out onto the deck, her eyes quickly spotting Lionel who was perched on the side of the pool, a towel hung around his shoulders as he grinned down at the phone in his hand. They hadn’t been away for long, after the wedding, only a couple of days had passed, but already their honeymoon had fallen into a little routine. Emilia was set on making the most of the quiet, with the children having stayed behind, she had a week of lay-ins and laziness planned, and Lionel had set about making it happen, even if he was a little less content to do nothing. He had developed a habit of slipping out whilst she was still sleeping, not wanting to disturb her before she was ready to be disturbed.

Resting her head against the door frame, she felt her lips curve into a gentle smile, watching as he spoke to the phone. It was clearly Maisie on the screen, the gentle tone of his voice twinned with a familiar goofy smile were all the hints that Emilia needed to know that it was their little girl that he was talking to, but no matter how many times she had seen it, she still never tired of seeing how smitten he was with their baby.

“Your mama’s here”

Emilia blinked her eyes back into focus, noticing that Lionel was now smiling up at her. “Huh?” she spluttered.

Lionel nodded to the spot next to him. “I’ve got Maisie” he noted “And I am sure that she would appreciate seeing her mama. Come and say hello?” he asked.

Emilia glanced down at herself, momentarily feeling a little self-conscious, before she shuffled towards him, carefully sitting down. Moving in close to his side, she glanced down at the phone, her face splitting into a wide smile as she caught sight of Maisie who was perched on her father’s lap. “Hey, baby” she cooed.

Maisie’s face lit up. “Mama!” she cooed.

Lionel’s arm settled around Emilia’s waist, pulling her in even closer. “Are you being good for your nana and grandpa?” Emilia prodded.

Maisie just beamed at the camera, allowing David to lean around her slightly. “She’s been a little…hard to settle” he said gently “As good as me and your madre are, Emilia, we’re not quite you and Lionel and she knows that, but we’re slowly and surely getting there. She’s a little handful now that she’s so sure on her feet” he cooed proudly.

Emilia nodded her head, quirking a soft smile when Lionel mumbled a playful comment about Maisie being just like him in her ear. “She’s not too much for you and mama?” she asked, sighing happily when Lionel touched a kiss to her shoulder.

David shook his head, grinning playfully. “You and your brother were far worse” he quipped.

Emilia rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, papa” she mused “If you and mama need a break, you can call Leo’s parents” she added.

“They’d be more than happy to help out” Lionel contributed, picking his head up from where he had been lightly dusting kisses over the side of Emilia’s neck.

“We’re fine” David replied “Honestly. We don’t get to see this one, or her brother, nearly enough, so we’re happy to make the most of it when we can. Don’t spend the next few days worrying about us” he added.

Emilia nibbled on her lip, briefly contemplating pushing the issue, before she nodded her head. “OK, papa” she mused.

“I’ll leave you two to it” David mused “Say bye-bye to mama and papa, Maisie” he cooed.

Maisie waved her little hand. “Bye-bye” she said.

Lionel smiled against Emilia’s shoulder, waving back at the camera as Emilia blew it a kiss. “We love you, baby” she mused.

David said a quick goodbye before he ended the call, allowing Lionel to deposit his phone onto the deck before he resettled his arms around Emilia, holding her close for a few moments before either one of them decided to speak. “I can’t believe our little baby’s almost two” Emilia whispered.

Lionel, who had moved to kiss the crown of her head, smiled against her hair. “It does kind of feel fast, doesn’t it?” he mused.

“Too fast” Emilia replied, watching the soft ripples of the pool water “She’s going to be two, Luca’s going to be ten” she added, stressing the ‘ten’.

Lionel briefly thought about making a playful comment about her feeling a little old, but opted against it. He wasn’t quite sure that Emilia would find it as funny as he did. “Does Luca want more of a party this year?” he asked “I mean, he couldn’t have one a couple of years ago because we were waiting for Maisie to come, and he didn’t have one last year. Have you got any hints whether he wants one or not?” he added.

Emilia shrugged. “I think he’d like one” she mused “But I also don’t think he’d mind if he didn’t have one. He just likes being made a fuss of and he will be, either way” she added.

Lionel nodded. “We’ll figure something out for him” he noted.

Emilia craned her head to look at him over her shoulder, a soft smile on her face. “I want another one” she said gently.

Lionel breathed out a light laugh, the tops of his cheeks flushing a faint shade of pink. “We’ve been working on it, Em” he replied “There’s not much else I can do than what I’ve already been doing” he added.

“I know” Emilia replied “I just…I just wanted to say it out loud” she added.

Lionel’s hand drifted towards her stomach, his thumb brushing over it softly as he pressed a kiss against her shoulder. “I want another one, too” he mumbled.

“A little boy with your brown eyes” Emilia cooed with a goofy smile.

Lionel smiled. “I don’t think we get to choose that” he teased.

Emilia lightly jabbed his ribs with the point of her elbow. “He’d be adorable” she said.

“Any child of ours would be” Lionel replied.

Emilia laughed, tipping her head forwards as he cheeks flooded with pink. “You’re so cheesy at times” she quipped “I love that” she added.

“And I love you” Lionel chirped impishly.

Emilia shook her head as she unfolded herself from his embrace, shuffling back up to her feet. Stretching slightly, she allowed the material of the t-shirt she wore to ride up on her thigh slightly, something Lionel watched keenly before she held her hand out towards him. Lionel didn’t hesitate to place his into it, allowing her to guide him back through the door and into the bedroom.