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xv.a journey through Italy
Seven days passed. Seven days where the summer air grew warmer with each passing day. Where the sun would push further into the evening, shielding the moon from taking its place in the night sky.
The week Matilda and Harper would spend with their dad was over. They had seven days with him until their vacation with their mum was over. Then, Zara would bring her daughters back, with only a few days to spare before school would again start.
They switched off like this every summer since they'd divorced. Each parent would take turns spending the summer with the girls. Since they'd spent the majority of the summer with their dad last year, this summer belonged to their mum. Their parents never did fight about the arrangement. Never argued or made snarky comments about the other. They split their time fairly, even if it made it more of a hassle for both, Harper and Matilda.
Rueban had dropped them off at their mum's place in the London countryside, their summer home, away from the busy townhouse beside a bustling street. He didn't stay long. He never did. Only long enough to have a conversation with Zara and greet Daniel and Finn. Though Finn wasn't old enough to properly greet someone, he was still growing his molars.
Finn had been the unexpected surprise after the divorce. Matilda was eight and Harper ten, and Zara and Daniel had set them down, smiles stretching across their faces, and told them that they were adding to the family. Their mum was pregnant. The bliss that hung over Zara and Daniel didn't seem to rub off on Harper and Matilda. Neither of them smiled, in fact, they both were confused. Her mum and dad had only been divorced for a little more than a year at that point and Daniel hadn't even proposed to Zara by then. It did seem though that the pregnancy was enough of a push to speed that process up. They'd been married the very next year.
"I hate planes," grumbled Matilda, her arms folded defensively across her chest as she walked with the line through the tight rows of the airplane. "They're too crowded. Would be easier if we apparated."
Matilda already knew that her mum was rolling her eyes behind her, "We are not going to apparate with your two-year-old brother."
