"And promise that you will do everything that your teacher says?" Monica was crouched down to her son's level as she began to comb his bangs neatly.

Johnny squinted in the morning sunlight and nodded reluctantly.

"Good boy... and when it's time for lunch, you will eat all of your crusts from your sandwich before you open your freddo chocolate bar?" She adjusted his backpack straps before fixing the collar of his polo shirt.

"So many rules!" Freddie walked out, still in his slippers.

Monica scoffed playfully, "We want them to leave a good impression."

"Well, they better behave for the teacher because they certainly won't behave for me" he grinned and put a cigarette in between his teeth.

"Oh, you're both chilly," she noticed Roshni shivering a little, for her gingham dress under the sweatshirt with the school logo went just below the knees, and Johnny was in a pair of grey shorts as part of the uniform regulation. "I have just the thing upstairs."

"Phoebe, get the picture now, would you?" Freddie ordered as Monica slipped inside.

His assistant nodded and held Monica's Polaroid up to his face, "Alright you two, stand closer together"

"Johnny, hold your sister's hand" Freddie muttered, stepping out of frame as they shuffled closer.

"Eugh!" He wrinkled his nose.

"Johnny?" His father pressed sternly, and the boy reluctantly did so.

Phoebe chuckled, "much better. Now don't forget to smile..."

He captured the duo standing proudly hand in hand on the step of the front door, Tiffany sitting in the doorway washing her paws.

"Don't forget to take your lunch box with you at all times... and your juice is in your back pack" Phoebe kindly instructed Roshni as he handed her the metal tin, and she nodded as her fingers slowly curled around the plastic handle.

Freddie's breath hitched as he took a drag. Four years went by very quickly, and although they were only heading to the reception class (they would need it with the time out that they'd have to take throughout the year) it still pained him that his day job meant he couldn't be there when they came home with something new to tell.

He was relieved that they weren't being whisked off to boarding school like he was, and he was aware of how lucky he was to be there on the morning of their first day of school. It was such milestones that used to make him question ever becoming a father all those years ago.

"She better tell me all the details over the phone" he thought.

Monica emerged with two garments in her arms, "This used to be our Sunday overalls that belonged to your Uncle Lenny and I when we were around the same age as one another."

"Coats? Where did we get them?" Freddie lifted his head.

"It's a gift from Granny Patsy... she's very kind and thoughtful to have posted them to you both... they might be a little big yet, but I'm sure they'll keep you both warm."

"That was nice of her... even if the woman can be a bit of a witch" he remarked to himself slightly.

"What a charming little coat," Phoebe opened the pink one up for Roshni to slip her short arms into. "How old were you when you had it, Monica?"

"I was about six, so much older than they are," she buttoned Johnny up. "But my mother held onto it since then and kept them in safe storage to avoid them getting moth-eaten."

He didn't know why, but something about that pink coat his daughter was wearing reminded him of something.

"Did Kashmira have one too? ...She couldn't have... Zanzibar and India were warm, and mum didn't dress us in western clothing anyway"

"Oh, don't they look smart" Monica giggled, interrupting his nostalgia.

"It's quarter past eight now" Phoebe tapped the glass on his watch, then zipped up his coat.

Their school was within walking distance, so since there was enough time on their hands Phoebe agreed to get them there safely by foot. Monica was already nervous enough about a job interview later on in the day for a supervisor under an unspecified company (the employer wanted to meet at a cafe, so that offered her only clue) that she'd found after hours of scouting the employment columns in the local paper. She had never been in such a position before, but the position did say experience was preferable although not necessary. She didn't deserve any more emotional turmoil of watching her children take another step closer to growing up.

"Oh... Yes..." Freddie quickly extinguished his cigarette, then bent down to their level, "Now remember, don't be afraid to ask questions, do as your teacher tells you and be as naughty as you like. Just don't get caught."

"Oh Fred, you're passing on your bad habits!" Monica shook her head as he embraced his two small children.

He giggled as he kissed their cheeks, and pulled away, "Have fun, I'll see you tonight at dinner."

"Tell me about the day you had when you get home, alright?" she pulled them both into her arms.

She cherished those last few seconds before they took Phoebe's hand and walked down the path to the front gate, waving back at their parents until they disappeared and Phoebe shut the gate after him.

Now all that was left to face was her job interview.

"You alright?" His fingers ran up and down her arms.

"Yes, just nervous" she breathed.

He kissed the side of her head, "Come inside."

She nodded, and shut the door after them, "Alright, how about a pot of tea?"

"Sounds perfect" he squeezed her hand.

"I should probably finish eating my breakfast too" she drew away.

"Alright, I'll be in the drawing room" he drifted off with the intention of playing a melody or two on his piano beforehand.

She glanced sadly at their drawings and scribbles stuck to the fridge as she passed by.

"But they'll start coming home from the school day with more" she smiled to herself as she reached for the China teapot in the cabinet.

Freddie was very good at playing back a tune by ear. But instead he decided to pick music to read from, and seeing as Monica was a child of the decade of culture he thought that his Movies of the 60s songbook was a good pick.

"Sorry, Oscar," she chatted with the gold cat sitting on the sideboard, watching her set the sugar bowl onto the teatray. "They're not here to play with you today. They'll be back later but I imagine you'll be snoozing then."

Oscar lost interest and hopped off, bounding out of the kitchen to continue his search.

Suddenly, the sound of Freddie's grand piano, accompanied by his soft voice stopped her reaching for the electric kettle.

"Moon river... wider than a mile..." he sang clear and smooth as his fingers danced across the keys.

She smiled as she filled it up under the cold tap. Of course the piano could've done with another visit from the tuners but she didn't care. Even then his vocal range and number of bars he chose to play in his rendition touched her heart.

Then, two words he sang caught her out for a reason she couldn't describe, other than how true they were at that moment:

"Two drifters...off to see the world..."

Her heart felt like it was being stoned, left for dead as she listened on and, in her mind ,resurfaced images from minutes before of her two small children walking down the garden path and out the gate, heading for the unknown.

No matter what happened, she couldn't change the course of time and the way the river flowed around the bends.

It was like all those years ago back home in Belfast when she was four years old or so and her mother left her standing at the top of the classroom on her very first day of school.

That short bridge of time where she feared the unknown on a cloudy September morning, bawling her eyes out and crying out for her until her mother came back around the doorway and bent down to her to tell her it was going to be just fine before leaving her alone one last time. That short bridge of time where she didn't think it was going to be fine and all that was in her path was the unknown... but somehow, the day turned out to be fine.

"I shouldn't be the one feeling this way... and the song is not about them, Holly Golightly sung it about two lovers who don't realise that they're in love yet," Monica wiped her eyes. "It's them that should feel scared about the unknown, not me... it's only a job interview, for heaven's sake."

Somehow leaping into the unknown always brought her the best days of her life. Leaping into the unknown, such as the trip to London, brought her Freddie. Time would tell what this job interview would do.

The song came to a halt with the last ringing chord echoing from the ebony and ivory right through the house before trailing off into a daunting silence.

No squeals of laughter, no footsteps thumping on the stairwell or ceiling. Just the sound of Freddie's feet heading into the kitchen...

"Monica, actually, I think I will have my tea black this morning" she heard him murmur.

In response, she turned around, revealing red eyes.

"Monica? My god, you're in shambles!" The father of her children rushed over and opened his arms.

She sobbed violently the moment they collided, "I'm sorry, I-I just... was going to put the kettle on and then I heard you start playing"

"I got you... shush, my baby..." he whispered soothingly as he held her against his chest.

"That song... It-It has nothing to do with them and I just... I just lost it" she wiped her eyes with the ball of her hand.

"What has nothing to do with them?" He pulled away a little, catching her tears with his thumb grazing her cheek softly.

"The-The meaning" she stammered.

"Oh, sod the meaning! Music affects us in ways words can't," he then pointed to her chest where her heart was. "The way you interpret a song comes from in there. Why do you think my songs have no meaning? Why do you think I always do the melody first? Why do you think my mum picked You take my breath away as the song for their music box?"

"Because... it's up to the listener?"

He nodded intently, and she folded her hands onto her lap as he begun smoothing her short hair back from her blotchy face.

"... I really think you need a cup of tea" he finally said.

She leapt up, "Oh shit! I forgot about-"

"I've got it" he sat her back down on the leather bench and kissed her forehead.

She snivelled and watched as he got two cups out from the overhead cupboard and began with something he rarely did.

"You'll always be here, won't you?" She let out.

He stared into space momentarily as he switched the kettle on and placed the teabags in the pot before approaching her again, pulling the stool over.

"Do you think I'd leave you hurting?" He whispered,

"I-I miss them already" her voice quivered.

His lips trembled, "It pains me to say it, but I'll miss them too..."

Tears fell from his thick lashes as she pressed her forehead against his, "W-What next?"

"Darling... you've got to go in there and show them what you're made of" he whispered.

"I suppose," her eyes wrinkled shut as she tried to regulate her breathing and stop any more tears escaping. "I don't like you seeing me like this, Freddie"

"I know you don't," he rubbed circles onto her back. "But you know, I hate the idea of my loved ones suffering much more."

The switch on the hissing kettle clicked off in the background, and Monica took a deep breath as she decided to gather up all her strength, "Did you say you wanted black tea?"

He nodded, feeling her hand slip out of his, "You remembered."

"Because you three are my whole world, that's why... and you always will be" she looked over her shoulder with a smile before pouring the hot water into the pot.

He swore he saw joy twinkle back into her blue eyes that second before she turned away.