“She’s lovely,” Julia murmured to her as she bent down beside the girl and heard Douglas join them. “We’re going to get you upstairs to bed.”
“I am lucky,” Ronnie stated while Douglas silently put one shoulder under Ronnie’s armpit while his other hand grabbed her wrist and pulled it around his neck, lifting her up to her feet. Through his actions, Ronnie spoke. “To have you,” she motioned to Julia with her head, an action that threw her off balance and made her stumble, forcing Douglas to right her, “as friend.” She went on. “And you,” she turned to Douglas as he started walking her towards the stairs, “are hero!” she finished triumphantly.
Julia had no idea what Ronnie was talking about but she had no time to consider it as Ronnie made an unmistakably unpleasant noise.
“Quick, upstairs to the bathroom,” she told Douglas urgently.
Douglas didn’t hesitate. He reached down and slid an arm around the backs of Ronnie’s knees, hefted her up and swiftly moved up the stairs. By the time Julia made it to the door of the bathroom, Veronika was on her knees getting sick in the toilet.
Julia rushed forward passed Douglas to pull the girl’s dark hair out of her face and kneeled down to soothe her by stroking her back and murmuring to her. All the while, she did her best not to get sick herself at the sight, the sound and the awful smell.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Douglas said from the doorway, feeling his part in this current drama was done.
Julia just nodded, thinking, saved by the drunk Russian girl.
* * * * *
Days later they were back home at Sommersgate and Julia was coming in from running errands, entering by the kitchen door.
“Hey Mrs. K,” she greeted the older lady, “I could do with a cuppa. You need a break?”
Mrs. K turned peculiarly sparkling eyes to Julia and opened her mouth to answer when Ruby rushed into the room followed by Lizzie. They were both panting at their mad dash and they, too, had sparkling eyes.
“Auntie Jewel!” Lizzie puffed.
The children had survived the Christmas Night Meltdown valiantly. For several days they were quiet and introspective and Ruby had stopped shouting altogether (and Julia found, knowing the reason behind it, she now missed it). But they were beginning to pull out of it having had a great time with Sam’s family. Indeed, Julia had a queer sense that Ruby’s breakdown had allowed them all to settle more thoroughly into their new lives and begin to truly come to terms with their loss and start healing.
Right then, they seemed to be lit up with happiness and expectation.
“What’s up?” Julia asked, unable to stop a grin from spreading across her face at their jubilation. Ruby scrambled forward and grabbed Julia’s hand, giving it a hearty tug. Their excitement was catching and she let out a little laugh. “What’s happening?” she inquired again.
“Just come with us,” Lizzie ordered bossily, grabbing Julia’s other hand and pulling more strongly.
They led Julia to the leather couches of the entryway where Douglas and Willie were standing around the furniture. A fire blazed in the grate and Willie was looking down at something on the floor while Douglas watched Julia approach, his eyes roaming over her appreciatively (as he seemed inclined to do more often than not).
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Julia blurted, deciding it best to ignore Douglas. If she didn’t, she knew her palms would sweat or her knees would buckle or her stomach would do somersaults or, in her weakest moments, all three.
“Look!” Ruby pointed at a strange, plastic box with a handle on top and lots of holes all around.
The kind of box in which you carried a small animal.
Looking at the box, Julia felt her palms start to sweat, her knees begin to get weak and her stomach prepared to do somersaults.
“Look, look, look!” Ruby cried, no longer able to contain herself.
She sprinted forward then dropped to her knees and she fidgeted with the box but Julia already knew.
She knew.
She remembered, somewhat hazily, but she remembered muttering to Douglas the morning after their first night together.
Therefore, she knew.
Then Ruby had her prize and turned around, cuddling a fluffy, perfectly white, beautiful, squash-nosed, incredibly adorable Persian kitty in her arms.
“Unka Douglas bought them for you!” Ruby squealed.
Julia’s eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t help herself; she couldn’t have controlled her reaction if she was SuperGirl. She missed her own cat and had never been without an animal for this long in her life. It was better than an emerald (which was pretty fantastic), it was better than a diamond watch (which was absolutely tremendous), it was the best present she’d ever received.
With one quick step forward, she reached out her hands and Ruby easily gave up the kitten to Julia who practically snatched it out of her niece’s arms.
She didn’t notice Ruby whirl back around as she pulled the kitten up to her face and rubbed it against her cheek.
She turned glistening eyes to Douglas.
She didn’t know what to say.
More kittens were produced, two more to be exact.
“Uncle Douglas got one for each of us girls,” Lizzie declared cheerfully but Julia only had eyes for Douglas who, for his part, was watching her back with a look of tenderness (albeit a somewhat smug tenderness).
“I’m getting a dog,” Willie declared at this point.
Julia opened her mouth and then closed it. She opened it again and then, again, closed it. She brought the kitten down to snuggle him on her chest and shook her head as if to clear it.
“Aren’t you going to say something?” Lizzie demanded, eyeing Julia incredulously.
Julia was speechless.
“Sometimes,” Willie put in, his words and tone far more mature than they should have been, “there’s nothing to say.”
* * * * *
The kittens caused havoc in the household, nearly making Ronnie fall down the stairs and giving Mrs. K fits as they scratched at every available surface (including undoubtedly priceless silk rugs). The children ran around playing with them and chasing them, which caused the once silent-as-a-tomb Sommersgate House to ring with happy noise.
That weekend, Julia decided to take a walk to clear her head. She put on her mucky cowboy boots, a pair of jeans, a dusky pink fleece and wrapped a long, pink and lavender-striped scarf around her neck. The day was bright, sunny and bitter cold.
The children had gone to the stables with Douglas to ride. Douglas was spending an extraordinary (for him) amount of time at home and had made a habit of being home on the weekends.