Feels Like Family by Jo Cox

Author:Jo Cox [Cox, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-17T23:00:00+00:00

18

“Fish and chips!” Grace yelled, her feet slapping against the floor as she jumped up and down.

She snatched for the sweaty vinegar-soaked bag before V had even crossed the threshold and ran into the kitchen with it. Jess and Melissa were already at the table, each holding a baby and looking like they might nod off. It had been a long first week back for everyone except Grace, who thrived on the routine. Not to mention the attention from her classmates.

How V would love to share her enthusiasm. It was dark, cold, and miserable as she arrived and left the school premises, and there was still another week to go before she could see Sofia properly again. They’d caught up on her trip briefly but that was the limit. Besides a few snatched moments, it’d been a case of trying to get back into the right headspace for work while simultaneously panicking that there were only a few weeks to go before the move. It’d seemed a long way off when they’d made the agreement in October, but now Christmas was out of the way it was suddenly looming.

She sidled up to Grace, kissing the side of her head as she started ripping into the paper, and tried to get the food onto plates. Their chips would end up spilled across the kitchen floor being hoovered up by a greedy spaniel otherwise. “I thought after this we could look through your old toys to see which you want to give to Izzy and Ruby.” They needed to pack and framing the clear out as a gift was probably a good shout. “What do you think?”

“No thank you.”

She was a clever kid, and V nodded with appreciation. Being polite was not getting her out of this, though. “Let’s pack up some of my clothes, then. We’re moving soon and we don’t want to leave it all to the last minute.”

“Okay. You do that while I read a book.”

This was not going to plan at all. Thankfully, Jess joined in, offering some support. “Come on, Monster. I’ll help go through those toys. I also got some paint samples at lunchtime so we can pick out a colour for your new room. What do you reckon?”

It seemed to have piqued Grace’s interest, and she showed the first sign of a smile before quickly quashing it. “Could I do it… pink?”

“Funny…” Jess twisted to pull a card from her back pocket. It was a set of swatches for pink paint, and Grace’s eyes lit up fully this time. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. So, what do you reckon?”

There was a tense few moments as V looked from Jess to Grace and back again, praying this was the start of her coming around to the idea. They’d had another conversation about it over the Christmas break and she’d still not fully understood why it was necessary. Just as she was about to deliver her verdict, a loud knock on the door startled them all.

“I’ll get it.

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