Maid for Him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Two days later, and Tess was feeling great. She'd had no more episodes that she knew of and the day had been bright and sunny. Her only qualm was the sheer exhaustion she felt at getting up four times a night to Freddy. But Cole would be back soon so that was yet another bright spot in her day. She whistled a tune to herself as she tidied the house and smiled at Freddy who lay on a blanket, kicking his legs. He'd started to put on a little bit of weight and his face and legs were filling out. Argh... he was such a little cherub. How she got any housework done while he was around, she had no idea. She could happily sit and stare at his little face every moment of every day.

She'd spent the entire morning sprucing up the house and dressed Freddy in an adorable bunny outfit that hadn't fit him just days ago. The hood with the ears still swam on him but the rest fit perfectly. She had a relaxing shower while Freddy napped and dressed casually but with a little extra effort. After all, Cole had been gone for an entire day and she wanted to look nice for him when he returned.

The kettle whistled in the kitchen and she ran in to switch it off. She busied herself, making a mug of tea even though she wasn't thirsty. If she was honest she was purely hanging around waiting for Cole to return. He was taking longer than she'd hoped. Pouring the water into her mug she frowned slightly, straining to remember if he'd given her an actual time to expect him back. In her mind, he'd said first thing in the morning, although she couldn't quite recall the conversation so maybe he didn't. It was going on five pm now and hopes of him being back in time for dinner were fading fast. She hoped his unexpected delay didn't have anything to do with the doctor being a no show. She knew how important it was for him to get things sorted.

Finally, her phone buzzed on the bench next to her and she practically dislocated her shoulder, diving for it. Her hands shook as she slid the screen on and her voice came out in hardly a whisper. "Hello?" She cleared her throat. "Cole."

"Hey babe, look I don't think I can make it back tonight. Don't be crabby. I'll explain it all later." He said.

"Oh.... Okay." What else was she meant to say? She could hardly break down in tears because he was running late. So why did she feel like she wanted to? What good would it be to tell him how she'd been lingering around all day anticipating his return?

"Alright, talk soon." With that, the phone was hung up and a taunting beep, beep, beep echoed through the earpiece.

She slammed the phone down on the counter and glared at it accusingly. Stupid phone, stupid bearer of bad news. She took note of the time before the screen went black. Another hour and she could settle down and watch Fashion Cops on TV. Seeing GG on-screen would at least cheer her up a touch. A smile played on her lips already, just wondering what antics GG would get up to today. The show had been getting more and more outrageous lately and although she'd had a rough time, it never failed to cheer her up.

She may as well get some snacks and get set up in the sitting room now, she had nothing better to do. Rummaging through the cupboards, she found a packet of cookies. These were a great start. Tucking them under her arm, she picked up her mug of tea and made her way to the sitting room. Just as she got there, a knock came from the front door. She placed her tea on the coffee table and threw the cookies down next to it before dashing back down the hall to see who it was.

Tess undid the security chain and opened the door an inch and spied out, before squealing in joy and throwing the door all the way back until the hinges groaned in protest. "Cole." She jumped clean into his arms and he caught her and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

He spun her around before placing her feet firmly back on the ground. Taking her face in his hands so he could get a good look at her he watched as her eyes suddenly grew dark and round as coins. "I... I thought you called to say—"