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I feel like I should start this entry by saying that my wife, my darling, gorgeous wife, was never a heavy drinker. The years of her blindness have reduced her alcohol intake to almost zero because she relied so much on her clear mind and clear senses that she rarely had a drink at all. Since she’s regained her sight, however, she’s loved having a glass of wine (or two) but of course she once again forewent alcohol while pregnant with our darling daughter.
I should have known, however, that, now after Maddie’s birth and the official go from her gynaecologist, she’d make full use of that evening out with my little sister. But alas, my naivete got the better of me. And to be honest, I’d still hold her hair while she throws up even if I had expected this evening to unfold the way it did. But let’s start a few hours earlier, shall we?
“Okay, there’s plenty of milk in the fridge and I don’t think I’ll be long anyway. I miss you all already,” Olly mumbled as she said goodbye to her husband at the front door. A sleepy Henry was cuddled up in his Daddy’s arm while Maddie, a mere few weeks old, was peacefully sleeping in her cot already.
“We’ll be good, don’t worry. Now off you go and have fun. And call me if you want me to pick you up, okay?”
While Olly would be at Emma’s for the evening, his sister’s husband Jack would be coming over to Tom’s for a decent night of films and talks about running. He still had a few moments to tuck Henry into bed and as he did, he wondered what his wife and little sister would be up to that night. He knew they got along well and he was so very glad. Emma’s been a wonderful support for years and it was her to some extent who made him realise that he should be brave and take that one step further towards Olivia all those years ago.
***
“Ollyyyyy! Oh, let me look at you! You look gorgeous, darling. I wish I’d have looked like this right after Patrick’s birth,” Emma laughed after she’d opened the door to her sister-in-law. The two women were great friends and had planned this evening for weeks already. Blushing, Olly waved her off before greeting her with a heartfelt hug.
Leading her into the living room, Emma then went to fetch their first bottle of wine. Obviously, Olly had told her she wouldn’t drink a lot but the youngest Hiddleston child had prepared herself nonetheless.
“Cheers! To little Maddie!,” she suggested and Olly clinked glasses with her before, not long after, a quiet sigh of pleasure left her lips after she had tasted the first drop of the fruity rosé.
“Tastes good after all these months, eh?,” Emma laughed and Olly could only nod as she took a second sip straightaway.
The two women had plenty to catch up on and while they talked and laughed and remembered incidents from when they were younger, the first bottle quickly turned into a second and then half of a third. It was close to midnight when Olivia fumbled for her phone and stared at it, for a moment confused by all the lights and notifications and little symbols of the apps.
“Oh lord, is it almost midnight? I need to go home! I told Tom I wouldn’t be long,” she slurred and tried to get up before sitting back down instantly, thanks to her spinning head.
“Let me call you a cab. Or let me call Tom, so he can pick you up, maybe. Jack could stay with the children while he gets you,” Emma suggested, swaying herself as she got up to fetch her phone. They both weren’t heavy drinkers but the wine combined with stimulating conversation and probably too little food had quickly caused them both to feel the effects of the alcohol. While Emma called her brother, Olly remained on the sofa, quietly giggling to herself because she thought of something funny they had talked about earlier.
***
“Taxi for Mrs Hiddleston,” Tom grinned as he had arrived at Emma’s and the two women were greeting him at the door, cheeks flushed and eyes slightly glassy.
“That would be me, I think. Right?” Looking at Emma, Olly started laughing again as Emma grinned herself and Tom watched them both, eyebrow raised and definitely amused. He waited until they had hugged (which took a while) and promised to call each other soon (which took even longer because they repeated it all for about five times) before he lead Olly gently towards the waiting car.
Now, I wouldn’t say that she was entirely drunk and out of her mind because she wasn’t, truly. I’d just say she was…definitely tipsy, maybe even drunkish. What she definitely was, though, was up to no good.
“Did you have a nice time?,” he smiled and briefly looked at her. Her curvaceous, post-pregnancy body looked delicious in the dress she was wearing and her flushed cheeks and the silly, slightly lopsided grin on her face went one step further.
“Oh yes, I did. What about you?,” she asked, her head resting against the cold window, the grin never quite leaving her mouth. Just as he was about to reply, her hand came to rest on his thigh. He raised his eyebrow at her but she didn’t react so he answered her question instead.
“Me too, thank you.” Olivia nodded and for a while they drove in silence through the night. The pavements and roads were empty and they had almost reached their house when Olly suddenly said, “You know what’s a shame? That we can’t have sex yet. I so wish we could.” She didn’t look at him as she said it and for a moment Tom wondered whether he had misheard her but when she glanced over at him at the next red light, a mischievous grin on her lips, he knew he hadn’t.
Swallowing once as he steered the car into their street, Tom ruffled through his hair. “Well…we could indulge in a proper making out session,” he answered with a grin himself now just as Olly’s hand wandered a bit further up his thigh.
“Oh we totally could. In fact, we totally should. It’s been too long since this morning,” she giggled and as her hand kept on exploring, he was glad when they had reached their driveway at last.
“Come on, Mrs Hiddleston, let me get your sweet arse inside so I can take those clothes off of you,” he chuckled. Quickly, he dashed around the Jaguar to help her out of the car but when she missed his outstretched hand and tumbled out straight into his arms, he wasn’t sure whether she was actually still in a good state to make out. She’d probably fall asleep within the first five minutes, he feared, as she clung onto him on their way inside.
“Tom? I love you. So much. Like…all the way from here to…to your Mum’s. That’s a lot, right?” He wasn’t quite sure whether there were tears glistening in her eyes all of a sudden but when he had closed the door behind them and stepped towards her again, she fell into his arms and buried her face in the crook of his neck.
“From here to Aldeburgh, eh? Yes, that’s a lot, my darling. And I love you, too. So very much.”
I’m not sure whether it was my experience with Henry, but when I held her, I knew, within seconds, that my shirt would soon change colour if I didn’t act quickly enough. Jack had just stepped into the hallway, about to greet her, when I held up my hand and pulled Olly into our guest bathroom on the ground floor. Thank the lord for my instincts because my darling, precious wife couldn’t even wait for me to close the door behind us when she was already emptying out the contents of her stomach into our white, ceramic loo.
You know, I love her, dearly. But I had really, truly been looking forward to undressing her and not just to change her into her nightdress and tuck her into bed, mind you. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. At least my shirt and our floor remained clean after all.