Ａｌｍｏｓｔ Ｙｏｕ

chapter twenty one : take it all back

"Momma, it's a big big watch!" Rosie said, peeking up at me from her stroller. Gemma and Anne had thought of everything to make me comfortable on this trip. The stroller was big enough to carry all our things, and sturdy enough for me to place most of my weight on it as we walked.

"I know baby, it's called a clock tower, but they call it Big Ben." I explained and she looked over at it.

"I like it!" She clapped and peeked up at Harry who was next to me.

"I do too bug, and when we get there, you'll hear it sing it's song." He smiled at her.

"It's sings?!" She said with wide eyes, and my mom on the other side of me laughed.

"You'll hear it right now baby." She said, and Rosie nodded.

We kept walking until we reached a giant open area for us to sit at. Big Ben was perfectly across from us in the distance. Anne and Gemma would be meeting us shortly so we could all go grab food. I peeked down at my watch, and there was a minute before the next hour, meaning Big Ben would be chiming soon.

I leaned down to Rosie, poking her nose gently, "You ready?"

"It sing?" She smiled looking over it and right on que, it began chiming the hour. Her eyes grew wide as she looked over at it, just staring. I smiled big, watching her in her amazement. I sat back, leaning into Harry, who wrapped his arms around me.

"She's precious," he said softly, kissing my cheek.

"I know. My baby. She's getting so big." I said softly, taking a deep breath, because I wasn't going to cry. Not today.

Harry squeezed me tighter like he knew, and changed the conversation quickly, "So you excited for brunch? I'm happy I managed the reservations."

"I am, a good latte, avo toast, maybe some eggs." I smiled up at him. He kissed my forehead and nodded.

"Sounds perfect, alright, let me get some pictures." He said standing up and pulling out his phone and the film camera we had bought. He snapped pictures of me, Rosie and Big Ben. He snapped cute photos of my mom and all of us together.

"Hey what about me? I like photos!" We heard a voice call out and saw Gemma and Anne walking towards us. Harry laughed and faced the camera towards them, snapping some photos of them as well.

We all greeted each other, Anne hugging me tight and holding on for a bit.

"Mads you picked the most touristy cafe to eat at, I love it." Gemma teased and I chuckled shrugging.

"Listen, I'm living out my tourist dreams. And tomorrow is my mom's choice. So I had to take advantage." I giggled, Anne letting go of me, and I turned to her, kissing her cheek softly.

"Well shall we get going then, reservations are in 30, and we gotta catch the underground," Harry said. We nodded and began walking again.

—

We sat around the table, coffees in front of us, our food ordered, "So, what's on the plan for tomorrow?" Anne asked, sipping her latte.

"Well, I had my own bit of a surprise for, Maddy," my mom said, and I peeked over at her.

"What? Mom, no, it's supposed to be your day." I said, and she shrugged.

"Trust me, this is as much for me as it is for you. Here." She said, sliding her phone over to me. I glanced down, and I saw tickets for train rides to Paris.

"Mom...really?" I said, my eyes already filling with tears.

"We are here. I figured, why not, only three hours or so away by train. We still have time here in London when we get back. We will stay there for the night and come back the next day in the afternoon. But one condition is applied."