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Craig shakes his head and turns to his daughter. “Okay, say goodbye to Mummy.”
I bend down and Ella wraps her arms around my neck, kissing my cheek. “Bye, bye, Mummy.”
“Enjoy the beach,” I say and pull my fingers through her ponytail as she walks away.
Craig leads Ella down the path and fastens her into his red Ford sedan. He opens the driver door, and then pauses. “You do know I’m better for Ella than he is, right?”
“You’re her dad.” I reply and he can take that however he likes. “Keep her safe.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll look after her.” He pauses and taps the car window as if he has something else to say.
The guy I fell in love with years ago looks back at me. I will always be reminded of him when I look at Ella as they share the thick-lashed brown eyes that captivate you. She’s a beautiful little girl and he is partly why. Craig struggled with parenthood more than me as he refused to grow up, but we made the decision to raise Ella together when I fell pregnant. He deserves to spend time with his daughter, but Craig needs to bring logic into the situation and demonstrate to me he’s committed to her. Even though his actions at Christmas were to punish me, he kicked her out, too.
Has our split and Liam’s arrival in our life made him realise how special Ella is to him? Is this the wake-up call he needed? There’s room for all four of us if he drops the hostility, and I’ll do what’s best for Ella even if I have to give more of her than I’d like to Craig. But if he fights ugly, as he is now, so will I. Christmas still haunts me, and Liam suggests I use that against him if we go to court.
“See you later, Cerys,” he says eventually and climbs into the driver’s seat.
I watch the car disappear down the road, half-relieved Ella is away today so I can have a day to myself.
* * *
I spenda self-indulgent afternoon lying in the sun reading on my Kindle. This isn’t quite the same as lounging by Liam’s pool in LA, but better than running around the house after a five year old. Ella has demanded more of my time recently, boredom from school holidays aggravating her naughtier behaviour. For the first time ever, I’m relieved Craig has taken her for a few hours. If only Liam were here and not in London recording again.
Losing track of time in the long summer days, I’m surprised to see the time. 7 p.m. Will Ella need anything to eat when she gets back? Probably not, she’ll be full of junk food. I wander into the house and pick up my phone to call Craig.
“Craig, what time will you be back with Ella?” I ask.
“Not sure. I’m driving now.” He’s on speaker and Ella calls ‘hello’ in the background.
“An hour? Two hours? It’s getting late.”
“School holidays; late bedtimes don’t matter!”
Yeah, you don’t have the moody child tomorrow.“Are you on your way?”
“Yes. We might stop off to eat. How about we’ll be back by nine?”
I clench my teeth, but what can I do? “Fine.” Ella calls something from the back but it’s hard to hear what she’s saying. “See you soon, Ella. Be a good girl for Daddy!”
Looks like my peaceful day became longer than I expected. I curl up on the sofa with a plate of lasagne balanced on my knee as I text Liam.
There’s a pause in texts for a minute.
