Always Remember

sister and wink. She rolls her eyes, and Daisy nods again.
    “ Bisc? Bisc?” she asks, looking at the kitchen.
    “You want a biscuit?” I stand, and she nods. I look at Hannah. “Can she say “yeah” yet?”
    “Nope.” She smacks her lips together. “You have to watch her nods or head shakes.”
    “Great.” I mutter. “There ’s a two foot child running around my absolutely not child proofed flat that can’t talk besides basic words.”
    “Oh, shut up.” Hannah laughs, taking Daisy’s coat off. I grab a biscuit from the cupboard and hand it to Daisy, grinning as she snatches it and bounces into my front room.
    “How was the car ride?” I flick the kettle on and hear a rattling noise as Daisy ’s bag is emptied.
    “It was hell. Babies are not made for long car journeys, and then Lloyd called me six times because he ’s misplaced his work socks, his work badge, his wallet, his keys, one of his shoes-”
    “And his phone?” I snicker.
    “How did you know?” my sister asks wryly. “I swear, he’d lose his head if it wasn’t screwed on and locked with a deadbolt.”
    “Tea?”
    “Please.”
    “Well,” I say as I drop two teabags into mugs. “I think that ’s a male thing in general.”
    “Talking of males…” Hannah trails off. I can feel her eyes hot on my back, and I know she ’s taking in the oversized male jumper I’m wearing.
    Yes, I was the one that walked away. But that doesn ’t mean it hasn’t ripped me apart. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. It doesn’t mean I don’t already miss him.
    “Do we have to?” I pass her a mug without looking at her. “How about a nice girl ’s weekend? You know, shopping, sleepover with chick flicks, junk food, and painted nails…”
    “From what I ’ve heard on the grapevine-”
    “You mean the Lexy-vine.”
    “You two are inseparable. Or, you were… So if I hadn’t already had a call from her this morning telling me what happened yesterday, I’d be surprised he’s not here and that you’re wrapped up in his jumper, holding it against you like it’ll disappear if you don’t.” She raises her perfectly arched eyebrows, settling in a chair at the table.
    I glance over at Daisy, sitting on my rug playing with her toys and spraying crumbs everywhere. “I don ’t want to talk about it. Not around Daisy. I don’t want her to see me sad.”
    “I don ’t wanna see you sad either, Jen,” Hannah says softly. “But I’m your big sister. We gotta talk about this tonight, okay?”
    “Pretty sure we never talked about anything.”
    “That’s because we were both petty teens arguing over who used the last of the hairspray.” She smirks. “We’ve grown up now. I know what it feels like to lose the person you love, for however short a time. Remember when me and Lloyd broke up three years ago? I didn’t leave my bedroom for-”
    “Six days, except to pee.” I nod. “I know. I had to bring you food and drinks while you curled up in bed, listening to sappy songs, exhausting the stock of tissues in the village.”
    She waves a hand, smiling slightly. “Exaggeration!” I raise an eyebrow, and she looks down. “Okay,” she mumbles. “Maybe only a slight exaggeration. So tonight, we’ll get Daisy bathed and in bed. Then we’ll order a takeaway, I’ll buy copious amounts of wine and junk food at Tesco, and then we’ll sit and sob. Okay?”
    My face breaks into a genuine, yet small, smile. “Okay.”

    ~

SAM

    Saturday passes in a whirling blur of nothing to me, so before I know it, I’m in Red with Mitch. Saph is milling about as she normally does, dancing, laughing, and joking with everyone she sees that she knows. Which is most people.
    “Cheer the fuck up.” Mitch elbows me.
    I lean back against the bar. “What d’ya want me to do? Put a big cheesy grin on and grab the next bird I see?”
    “That ’s what Bing would have done.”
    “I ’m not Bing. I’ve told you that.” I sip my beer. “I won’t disrespect Jen by sleeping with someone else. The way I see it, she’s still mine and I’m still hers. Even if I didn’t see that way, I still wouldn’t go and fuck some other girl. I’m not giving up on this, mate. Fuck knows I waited long enough to get it.”
    He doesn ’t say another word. What can he say to it? Really?
    Saph slips in between us, sipping her drink through a straw. I raise my eyebrows at her, and her eyes trawl across the club. Her foot taps in time with the beat, her head bobs