The imaginary friend- Chapter 11

giantbear (74)in #fiction • 8 years ago (edited)

Claudia woke up early when the boys came into her room. They jumped on the bed and told her that they were hungry. She grabbed her slippers and directed them to the kitchen. They sat at the kitchen table anxiously waiting for their food while Claudia scrambled eggs and made toast. She poured them each a glass of milk and they just started eating when Sandy emerged in the doorway.

"Oh my....I had way too much wine last night. I must've overslept."

"It's Saturday, the boys are fine. You should go back to bed."

"Thanks Claudia....this is starting to look like a perfect arrangement to me....I haven't slept in, in ages."

Sandy turned around and went back to bed.

"So what do you two little men want to do today?" Claudia asked and smiled.

"Can we have a picnic in the park?" they asked nearly simultaneously.

Claudia nodded.

"Hmmm that sounds like a brilliant idea. Do you want cupcakes?"

They both nodded.

"Okay, you two get dressed, and then you can go to the store with me to get what we need."

Claudia quickly made a list of everything they will need to prepare for the picnic. She went to get dressed and checked on Sandy that was still fast asleep. She wrote a note and left it on the fridge for Sandy and then called the boys so that they could leave.

She loaded the two boys into the shopping trolley to keep an eye on them, and quickly went through the shelves. She got everything they needed and was just about to go through the pay point when her phone rang.

"Morning Claudia how are you on this wonderful Saturday morning?" It was Derek and he sounded awfully cheerful.

"Hi Derek, I'm good thanks. Sounds like you and Sandy had a great evening last night."

"Oh, we had way too much wine last night, but that's not what I'm calling about. I hope you're sitting down."

She held on to the trolley. "What is it? Did you find something?"

"I found Emily."

"You're joking! How and where?"

"Well I told you I had a friend at social services, and he helped me. I'm going to set up a meeting with her later today. Do you want to come with me?"

"I would love to, but I promised the boys that we could go to the park for a picnic, but perhaps Sandy can take them. Let me just get back to the apartment and then I'll let you know."

Claudia felt anxious and relieved at the same time. She took a deep breath and then quickly paid for the goods. She handed the lightest bags to the boys to carry, and they took a brisk walk home.

She was out of breath when they got to the apartment.

Sandy was sitting at the table in the kitchen drinking coffee.

"Wow, did you buy the whole store?"

"I promised them that we could go and have a picnic in the park."

"That sounds lovely. Perhaps we can invite Derek to come along?"

Claudia smiled.

"You two both sound a little excited this morning. Did anything happen last night?"

Sandy smiled. "We'll just have to see where it goes. We decided that we're going to take it one day at a time."

The boys went to Billy's room and Claudia poured herself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table.

"I just spoke to Derek. He had some great news! He found Emily."

"You're joking!" Sandy said, sounding astonished.

"He wants me to go with him to meet her today. Would you be able to take the boys to the park and then we can come later?"

"Of course. Picnic is a great idea. What can I do to help?"

Claudia asked her Sandy to prepare the sandwiches, while she quickly baked the cupcakes. Within an hour, everything was baked, packed and ready to go in the basket.

Sandy phoned Derek and told him about their plans. He said that he would pick up Claudia within the next hour. He had already spoken to Emily and even though she was reluctant at first, he was able to arrange a meeting with her. He promised that they would meet them in the park later.

Claudia quickly went to take a shower and dressed herself properly. She went to the store in an old tracksuit, but she wanted to look more respectable when she met Emily. She had just finished her make-up and hair when the doorbell rang.

Sandy invited Derek in, and he brought some toys for the boys. They were all excited and jumped around like hooligans. Derek carried the picnic basket and loaded everything in his car. Claudia sat in the back with the two boys after putting on their seat-belts, and Sandy sat in the passenger seat.

He dropped them off at the park, and Claudia climbed in to the front. Derek set his GPS coordinates to the address that he received from Emily herself.

They drove in silence. Claudia was totally anxious and Derek switched on the radio to play some calming music. They drove to the outskirts of the city into a small neighborhood. He stopped in front of a small cottage that was neatly painted and there were plenty of flowers in the garden. It looked quite respectable and Claudia took a deep breath when standing in front of the little white picket fence. She had no idea what to even say to Emily but she sure as hell, hoped that Emily would be able to help them.

- To be continued -