Finally it got to the point where Carrie could legitimately make the claim that Poppy should be in bed. She was so sad that she hadn’t been able to control what she’d said and that the evening had been spoiled. An evening that her mum and aunt had put a lot of effort into.
“We’ve got a long drive tomorrow and we need to get going early, so Poppy and I should be getting back to the shop,” she said.
“No worries,” said Michael, immediately. “We can leave now, right, Layla?”
“Yep,” replied Layla.
The playing cards were put away and goodbyes said. Carrie did her best to make them as brief as possible. She didn’t want Poppy, or herself for that matter, getting upset.
Michael drove back to his house with he and Carrie communicating solely through the children. Carrie hated arguing with him, but why did everyone seem to think they knew best when it came to how she should deal with Tony? Michael had never even met the man, and Carrie really didn’t think she’d spoken about Tony or his relationship with Poppy much.
Carrie thanked Michael when he parked up behind his house and had the excuse of a sleepy Poppy which meant she could leave quickly.
Carrie and Poppy walked through the bookshop and up the stairs to the flat. Carrie unlocked the door to the flat and as soon as she stepped inside, she knew what she needed to do. She’d made the painful decision to leave and she had to do it now. There was no point waiting until the morning when the traffic would just be worse. There was no chance she’d get a decent sleep tonight anyway and she’d only had one glass of prosecco hours ago.
“How do you fancy a night-time adventure, Pumpkin?” she asked in the most cheerful voice she could muster.
* * *
Carrie quickly finished packing up their last few things while Poppy showered and got into her pyjamas.
Poppy didn’t seem as pleased as Carrie had thought she would be to be driving to London when she should be in bed.
“You’ll fall asleep in the back of the car and when you wake up, we’ll be back home in London,” Carrie said cheerfully as she triple-checked Poppy’s room for anything she hadn’t packed.
“When will we be coming back here?” Poppy asked.
“I don’t know exactly. Don’t forget, you’re going to be pretty busy with school starting up again,” Carrie said.
“But we’re coming back soon, aren’t we? Because the kittens will miss me.”
“They’ll have Michael and Layla and Auntie Mary to look after them,” reassured Carrie.
“Yes, but I think they like me best, especially Katniss.”
“I think you’re right. And you’ll get to see them again as soon as we can manage a visit, but first you get to have adventures with Daddy.”
Poppy looked a little unsure. “What are we going to be doing?”
“I don’t know but he’ll think of something really fun.” Carrie was beginning to find the conversation somewhat exhausting. She was confused enough herself, especially after her argument with Michael, which had felt horrible, and was once again debating why she was doing this. For Poppy, she told herself firmly. Tony was asking to see Poppy. He hadn’t abandoned her like Carrie’s own father had, and Poppy deserved the opportunity to have a proper relationship with her dad. “And you’ll be coming with us, won’t you, Mummy?” asked Poppy anxiously.
“Actually, I thought it would be nice for you and Daddy to do something just the two of you. You don’t often have a chance to do that, do you?”
The scepticism on her daughter’s face made Carrie swiftly change tack. “We’ll have a great time being back in London,” she said, putting her hand on top of her daughter’s. “You’ll get to sleep in your own bed.”
“I like my bed here. It’s got lots of pillows,” said Poppy.
“We can find some extra pillows for your bed at home,” Carrie offered. “And you’ll be able to play with all your toys and see Sophie. We’ll get the car packed and I bet you’re asleep in no time. And you can choose the first audiobook.”
Poppy seemed to brighten up at this and let her mum brush her hair quickly before they loaded up the car.
Carrie looked up at the back of what had been her home for the summer and her gaze wandered to Michael’s house next door. She wondered what he was doing. Was he thinking about her? She quickly messaged him.Let’s please not fight.
She received a message back almost immediately.Agreed. I’m sorry for upsetting you.Her heart felt heavy as she put her phone in her pocket and got in the car.
Chapter 23
Carrie waited until half past two the following afternoon before calling Tony to find out where he was and why he hadn’t picked up his daughter. Thankfully she’d had the foresight not to tell Poppy what time she’d be seeing her father. She supposed she’d learned something from all her years dealing with Tony.
