Chapter 3

Third Installment

   Emma and Jade were stood in the living room, Emma held a plate of buscuits while Jade held a pot of tea. Andy was stood on the opposite side of the room holding a plate full of cakes. The guests had all taken a seat and were chattering away about gossip of the week.

   "Emma! Pay attention girl!" Angela shouted at Emma as three buscuits slid off the plate. Emma blushed and picked them up, she walked into the kitchen and placed them back on the plate, she didn't care what Angela's guests thaught of her or her sister. The other two children walked in. andy smiled trying to get her to cheer up. "That was your fault." she poked Andy in the ribs "You could have told me." Andy looked shocked. "Thats unfair! How was I meant to see that they were going to fall off YOUR plate?" Emma gave him evils. "I know you were looking at me, I saw you." Andy blushed. "Yeah, well, you were looking at me." Jade made a puking noise and stuck her two fingers into her mouth. "Jesus! You two need to get out more! Look Andy, Emma fancies you, Emma, Andy fancies you." They both blushed more "Will you stop messing about and just someone ask the other out? Please!"

   The morning tea had lasted a few hours and now the guests were leaving. It had been a long few hours but at the same time a very uncomfortable experience for Andy and Emma, they both knew they fancied each other but they didn't have the courage to ask each other out. Jade was in the kitchen washing the cake plates and the lipstick stained cups while Andy and Emma had been left alone in the livingroom to tidy up.

   "So, about what your sister said. Is it true?" Andy had his hand down the side of the sofa looking for any spilt cash. "Well, I suppose so yeah. Same to you." Andy tryed to look busy but it wasn't working Emma was waiting for an answer. "Yeah it is, sorry." he gave a nervous laugh and took his hand from the side of the sofa. "Sorry? Why should you be sorry? It's good that you fancy me." she smiled and got off her knees and dusted her dress off.

   Emma walked towards Andy and held his hands, she looked deep into his eyes and he looked deep into hers, Andy moved in for a kiss and Emma coppied him. As they kissed Emma felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, Andy felt the happiest he'd ever been, and they both felt silly for hiding how they felt about one another. As they parted they smiled at each other, Emma noticed some lipstick on Andys bottom lip and wiped it off with a cloth.

   "So, does this mean?" Andy let Emma guess what he was asking and she nodded in response "Awesome, hey thanks for kissing me I'd never of had the courage to just kiss you like that." Emma smiled. She knew Jade had been leaving them alone so they could kiss but now she wanted her to know they were going out. "Right Emma, get your sister, it's time you went." Emma kept hold of Andy's hand while she called her sister. "Right babe, see you soon." she kissed his cheek in full view of her sister and Angela who, to Emma and Andy's surprise, was not fussed in the slightest.

   Back at home Emma and Jade slumped on the sofa, their mother had another cigarette hanging from her mouth and a lighter in the other. She sat opposite her daughters and smiled, she wanted to know everything about what had happened.

   "Well, firstly Emma dropped a few buscuits on the floor because she was staring at Andy. And then at the end when we were tidying up I heard them talking and then it went quiet so I looked out and they were kissing!" Emma blushed but didn't give her sister evils she knew her mum would have found out at some point. "Awww thats sweet I wondered how long it would be, so tell us Emma is he a good kisser?" Emma was taking her socks off. "These shoes rub my feet I'm not wearing them again!" she began massarging her foot. "Emma, is Andy a good kisser? Yes or no?" Jade asked again as if becoming impatient. Emma kept looking at her foot "Yeah pretty good, it wasn't a like proper like frenchy but he's good." Emma changed foot and looked at her mum, she saw a new look, a fresh look.

   Emma had gotten the 'My babies are growing up' look out of her mother, it was the first time because nither she or her sister had had a boyfriend before. Mrs Slade felt sad, her children had grown up so fast yet Mr Slade had been away on silly buisness trips most of their life and had missed it, he wouldn't know of Emma's first boyfriend for atleast another week. Emma and Jade sometimes spoke about Mr Slade, they both fantisised about him being a spy, and having to stay away because of secret missions, they both knew in reality he worked for the phone company Orange and was the over seas development manager. They did miss him, every time they saw him he'd gotten older, less hair, grey hairs, a wrinkle here and there. He did miss them, every time he saw them he felt like he didn't know them, there figure had changed, dress style, hair style, everything had changed, he really wanted to get rid of his job and work from home but he couldn't do that for at least another year.

   "So when do we see dad again? We've not heard from him in ages." Emma put her foot on the floor and looked serious. "Well, if all goes well it should be in 3 weeks, if not then 8 weeks." Emma looked set to cry and Jade didn't look pleased "I'm sorry girls, but it must be like this for the time being, the money he earns pays for this house and all the stuff we have. I know it's hard sometimes but we have to pull together and work through it." Emma began to cry her dad had missed her 15th birthday, Christmas, Easter, and fathers day, each time he had promised to be there but hadn't because of some meeting in a foreign country, all she wanted was to have one full year with her dad not going on silly buisness trips or flying off to go on a buisness party to Spain.

   Emma got up, slightly embarased that she was crying and ran up the stairs to her room, she lay with her face burried into her pillow while she sobbed. She heard the door open slowly and her mother footsteps come towards her bed. Mrs Slade perched on the edge of the bed and rubbed her daughters back.

   "I'm sorry Emma, but I promise this is only for another year then he's all ours. I know he missed your birthday and other stuff and I know that'll be hard fo you darling but he does love you, everytime he calls he asks about you prsonally and next time he does I bet he'll be really pleased to hear you have a boyfriend." she stroked Emma's long blonde hair while Emma sobbed "I miss him too, I've told him that we all miss him loads and that you do especially miss him. And he does promise to getout of the job as soon as possiable." she patted Emma on the back, she knew that her husband would probably be away for another eight months but she didn't want Emma crying more, she sighed and left Emma alone. "That man needs a new job, I can't have his job hurting my babies like this anymore."