"Did you have a good time Grace?" Juliet asked as she walked in to see her daughter enveloping Brinley into her arms.
Placing a kiss to Brinley's head, being met with her beautiful smile in return, Grace then turned around to face her mum.
"Yeah, it was amazing. I had fun."
"That was sweet of Harvey to invite you to that. That's a pretty big deal." Juliet said, clearly implying something here and trying to get Grace to open up.
She knew that they wouldn't just invite anyone to those BBQ's. It had taken James a while to get one when him and Ellie had first started dating. Therefore, Juliet was already assuming things that her daughter had not said out loud yet.
"It was..." Grace trailed off with a smile on her face, unsure if to just give in and say out loud what her mum was waiting for. She wanted to tell her because she was still beaming about it however, at the same time, her mind was now filled with the announcement Harvey had made to her, which naturally put a slight downer on things.
"Does this mean...?" Juliet began before pausing as though she wanted Grace to finish it for her.
"He asked me to be his girlfriend, so yeah, it's official."
As Grace spoke those words, there were so many things that rushed across Juliet's face. You could see the happiness, the excitement, the adoration, but you could also see the slight worry there too. Nevertheless, Juliet managed to contain them all for a moment as she just focused on the happiness and reached out to urge her daughter into a hug.
"Wow, Grace, I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you, mum." Grace chuckled, while attempting to hug her back while still holding Brinley. "But you don't have to make a big deal out of it."
"I know, I know, I won't." Juliet agreed, yet that wasn't so easy to do. There were so many questions she wanted to ask and so many things she wanted to say too, yet she also didn't want to come across as too much. "Have you spoken about everything then?"
"Spoken about what?"
Grace was now watching her mum with a frown on her face considering she wasn't quite sure what she was implying here. However, she was guessing this was what the worry aspect on her face had been all about.
"About Brinley and your life. I'm over the moon for you Grace but you need to make sure you have that conversations. It's a big deal starting a relationship anyway but even bigger when there is a baby involved."
"Mum..." Grace sighed, not wanting to go down the road she knew would follow. "It's Harvey. He's surrounded by kids. He's fine."
"I know he is and that's great but it's not the same. Being surrounded by kids that are not your own, is different from getting into a relationship with someone who has a baby. He will become a father figure for Brin and you need to make sure he's prepared for that."
Even though Juliet was doing her best to just prepare Grace and make sure she went into this with full control, Grace wasn't so keen on having this conversation. She couldn't think of anything worse than saying to Harvey that he had to accept to be a father figure to Brinley if they wanted this to work. It was a lot to take in when he'd only just asked her to be his girlfriend.
"He loves Brinley and knows that she comes along with being with me. That's all that needs to be said at the moment, mum. I don't wanna put pressure on him."
Juliet was about to say something to argue that point but decided to bite her tongue. She knew that this was Grace's life and she had to be the one who made the decisions. Juliet could only be there to offer the advice and if her daughter chose not to take it then she had to accept that.
Juliet had learned from growing up herself that the more her mum tried to push things onto her, the more it caused resentment. She didn't want that kind of relationship with Grace therefore, she had to know when to back off.
"Okay then sweetheart." Juliet began with a soft voice. "I'm very happy for you. This is amazing."
"Yeah, it is..." Grace nodded her head but that tone of voice said the complete opposite.
Juliet was dying to question it, dying to jump in and try to save whatever battling thoughts Grace had going through her head right now, but she didn't want to assume. Therefore, she just stood back and watched for a moment as Grace laid Brinley back down in her cot and began running her hand gently over her soft skin, as she slowly fell to sleep. It wasn't until Brinley had fully shut her eyes that Grace turned back around again and Juliet just hovered there feeling slightly apprehensive.
"Are you okay?" She finally came right out and asked that question, causing an amused smile to form across Grace's face.
"How can you tell that I'm not? I'm usually quite good at hiding my feelings."
"I'm your mum, I can tell a lot."
Letting out a long sigh, Grace took a seat on the sofa that was positioned to the right of Brinley's cot. Looking over at her mum, she picked up on her concerned eyes and felt slightly reassured in telling her mum.
Grace could have had this conversation with her friends but she knew she would get completely different opinions. Her mum had a whole lot more life experience too which made her a bit of a pro when it came to advice.
"Harvey told me this morning that he's going to Cambridge for the next two months to run the garage there." Grace began and watched as her mum's lips parted slightly in surprise. "...and I'm so happy for him, of course, but I'm also kind of sad and I don't know if that's fair."
Composing herself once again, Juliet made her way over to the sofa where Grace was sat and took the spot beside her.
"Why don't you think it's fair to feel sad?"
"Because it's an amazing opportunity for him."
"and why do you feel sad?" Juliet asked and her voice was so calm, settling the crazy emotions that had previously been running through Grace.
"I guess..." Grace shrugged her shoulders. "...I guess I'm going to miss him. It sounds pathetic but I'm just used to him being here and now I'm going to have to wait. I can't just go over and see him, I have to call and that's not the same."
Juliet got it. She understood exactly how Grace would be feeling right now. Being distanced from someone you cared so much about wasn't easy. However, it was also difficult for Grace because Harvey was the first and only person she had fully allowed in.
This girl had grown up being very independent, to the point where she would keep everything to herself and handle all of her own difficulties. She didn't let anyone else soothe her when she was feeling down. She refused a hug to make her feel better when she was crying and instead, would hide away in her room. But that had all changed now and Harvey was finally that person she would let in to do it.
With him gone, that changed things and she'd be back to square one. However, this time, she had experienced the amazing feeling of having someone there to comfort you and this time, she would be missing it intensely.
"I understand that sweetie, it's going to be difficult as two months is a very long time. But, he'll visit and you can visit him. I'll help with Brinley whenever you need it." Juliet began, trying to offer anything that provided her daughter with some kind of reassurance.
"I know but visiting him will be pointless as he'll be busy. I'll be stuck in an apartment in a city that I don't even know. He said he'd come back weekends, so I know that's good but..."
"...but you're still worried." Juliet finished that sentence for Grace, already knowing what was coming.
She had been in similar situations with Matt before and nothing could calm you of those concerns. When Matt had gone to Vegas in the past, she had always worried that he would prefer the life out there and forget what he had here.
"I'm just scared that things will be better there for him. I know we're in a relationship now but it's new, so he could be swayed."
Reaching out to take her daughter's hands, Juliet then gave them a tight squeeze. She wished she could take the worry away and replace it with some security that everything would be okay but that wasn't possible.
Harvey being away would be a great learning opportunity for the both of them. It could confirm their feelings for one another and make them realise what they had. They always said that distance made the heart grow fonder, so Juliet had all faith that this could be the perfect opportunity for that.
"It will be difficult, of course it will. But, don't be afraid to let him know how you feel. Call him lots if you miss him and make the most of the time you get when he does visit. There's not point in trying to act all tough, like I know you will, because then he won't know how you're feeling. He'll just think that you're okay."
Grace knew that her mum was right. She was so good at just shutting things out and acting like she was totally fine. She hated sharing her feelings with anyone, but this situation meant she'd have to do a whole lot more of that.
She was happy for Harvey and wanted him to enjoy himself but she also wanted him to know that she would miss him. She wanted him to know that she was serious about this, about them, and that being without him there for 2 months was going to be incredibly difficult for her.
...
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