A Storm Is Brewing

Mummy's Drunk

Leah POV

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions. Sophie's coming to terms with the fact that she was struggling helped her overcome those feelings. As the days progressed, the worries she had seemed to disappear; she slowly felt more comfortable around me; she seemed to have more energy; and she even made us redo games night.

The little bits of work she was doing from home gave her the appetite to go back full time. We knew it wouldn't be easy, especially with international camps and European football, but we felt we'd be able to manage it with the help of the people around us.

That set the stage for tonight. Paula was calling it the calm before the storm. The office staff were heading out to welcome Sophie back, even though she didn't go back until the following week. She'd been apprehensive at first, not wanting to go on a night out without me, but eventually she came around to the idea.

She had left just after five, sending her first check-in text at half past five and another at six. As the night went on, the texts became less frequent, something I was glad of as I knew it meant she was finally just enjoying her night.

We spent our night without her watching children's TV, listening as he giggled along to things he didn't even understand. It always amazed me just how much he looked like her when he laughed, even as he changed every day. His eyes sparkled just as hers did, giving me the same burst of butterflies that hearing Sophie laugh gave me.

Shortly before 10pm, my phone flashed beside me, and my heart dropped slightly as I saw Sophie was calling. I immediately wondered if something was wrong, but as I answered, I could hear her laughing in the background of the call.

"Soph?"
"Hi. Just checking in?"
"He's sleeping soundly, Soph." I said proudly.
"I knew he would be. I was checking in on you."
"Why do you need to check in on me?" I chuckled.
"Fine. I just miss you."
"You're adorable, you know that?"
"Isn't she?" Paula shouted.

It was then that I realised that Sophie hadn't made some private exit to call me. The stern-faced person that her colleagues knew hadn't felt any kind of embarrassment about calling in front of them to simply say, I miss you. Maybe that wouldn't have meant much to anyone else, but it seemed to make my heart front-flip inside my chest.

"I miss you." I exhaled.
"I'm coming home soon."
"Don't rush, Soph; enjoy yourself."
"I don't want you to be asleep when I get home."

There was a collective cheer from the people around her, every one of them assuming that they knew why she wanted me to be awake. She shushed them, laughing to herself at how it had sounded. What they didn't know was that it didn't always have to mean that; she had always said she hated not being able to say goodnight to me before we went to sleep.

"Go have fun. I'll be up when you're home, whatever time it is. I promise, okay?"
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you."

I couldn't help but smile as the phone call ended. As the years had progressed, and the moments we had to ourselves lessened, the simplest of things had become the most meaningful. A few more hours passed before I heard from her again, thankful that she hadn't left early and had instead enjoyed her night.

Sophie
Leaving in five x

Leah
No worries. See you soon, Soph x

Sophie
I'm sorry Beyoncé is here. Be home soon

Leah
No rush Soph. Have fun with Beyoncé

Soph
I wish

I knew that there was a chance she'd wake Teddy when she got home. Not knowing what level of drunk she was by now, I opted to take him up to bed before she got home. He stirred slightly as I lifted him, letting out a few little whimpers but not fully waking up.