Grace leaned back comfortably in her chair as she watched her girls try and eat their spring rolls with chopsticks.

They failed miserably each and every time, collapsing into giggles when they dropped one on the plate.

She was quite content with the warmth and surrounding chatter of the restaurant, hating the more formal, upscale places she was forced to attend with her other members of her family.

James wiped his mouth with his napkin before taking a sip of his wine.

"So, when does this British lad fly in?" he asked, "what's his name again?"

"It's Harry," Grace replied, "and within two weeks if all goes well."

"Splendid," James agreed, "having him around will definitely free you up more."

Grace put down her glass of water onto the table.

"Free me up for what?" she asked, a frown appeared on her face.

"Well...for more philanthropic work," he explained, as if it should have been already clear, "it wouldn't hurt you to look at becoming a patron of a few more charities..." he trailed off.

"Are you serious?" Grace asked, "that would have me out of the house constantly, ass-kissing people which you know I despise."

"Grace!" James whispered, "language, please!"

Grace folded her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrow at James.

"Ass," she repeated, "ass, ass, ass, ass, ass!" and rolled her eyes, earning a glare from him.

"Don't be so immature," James scoffed.

"And don't be so demanding," Grace replied, "Christ James, can't we just have a pleasant evening together for once without bringing your family into it?"

"Fine," he sighed, "I just don't see the issue with working a little more."

"I see two issues," Grace replied, a firmness in her tone, "and they're sitting right here."

"Grace..." James began.

"No, you listen to me," Grace leaned forward, "I did not have these girls only to have everyone else around me bring them up while I'm out ass-kissing people to bring in money and investors for your family. I chose to have them; therefore, I also chose to be here and raise them. If a woman chooses to work, fine. If she chooses to want to stay at home and raise them, then that's her choice too. And that is my choice. I do enough for this family as it is," she snapped.

They eyed each other across the table, neither one wanted to be the first to back down.

"Mama?" Dottie's voice however forced Grace to be the one to break first.

"Yes, my love?" Grace turned and smiled at her daughter, "did you finish your rolls yet or did you need to use a fork?"

"Oh! I...um..." she looked from Grace and over to James and back again to Grace.

"Because you know we can't open our fortune cookies until you're all done!" Graced smiled warmly at her, even though she was feeling quite the opposite on the inside.

"Ooh!" both the girls responded with excitement, quickly ditching their chopsticks in favour of forks.

Grace turned her attention back to James only to see him reading a message on his phone, smiling to himself before he looked up to see Grace, regarding him with an indifferent expression on her face.

"I need to get going," he said, "so if we can hurry..."

"You will stay until our daughters have finished their family dinner with us before you disappear for the night," Grace finished for him, "am I clear?"

James had the decency to look guilty as he knew he had no leg to stand on and didn't even bother trying to change Grace's mind, so he sat and waited in silence for his daughters to finish.

But not before Grace watched him tap out a message on his phone before putting it back into his pocket.

The girls eagerly cracked open their cookies, not really interested in what possible fortunes awaited them, they just wanted the cookies.

Once they'd finished stuffing their faces with the cookies, Grace encouraged them to wipe their faces and hands as James signalled for the bill.

Grace then helped the girls out of their chairs and put their coats on as the waiter returned with James' credit card.

They started to leave when Dottie stopped and reached out towards the table, seeing a stray cookie they'd forgotten to open.

She grabbed it and put it in Grace's coat pocket.

"You can eat yours later mama," she said.

"Thank you my love, I will," she replied, touched by her daughters sweet and simple gesture.

Grace and James walked their daughters out of the restaurant and down a few parking spots to James' car.

"Here," James handed his keys to Grace, "take my car home, I've called a taxi."

Grace reached out and slowly took the keys from him, shaking her head as she unlocked the door and ushered the girls inside, before turning to James.

She walked up to him and plastered a smile on her face as she gripped his arms in what would appear to be an endearing gesture to anyone else observing them, but Grace was doing it to hide her husband's stupidity.

"Really James," she whispered, "you should have just come home first and then gone...what if somebody notices that we've left separately?" she questioned before standing on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek, "what if your mother found out?" she said into his ear before releasing him and stepping back.

James' eyes widened as he looked around him but by the time he'd looked back at Grace, she had already stepped out onto the road and around to the driver's side of the car, opening the door.

She made sure the girls were buckled in before putting her own seatbelt on.

"Wave goodbye to daddy," she told the girls, and the three of them waved to James as Grace drove off, leaving James on the footpath.

He watched as Grace drove away, until the sound of a taxi beeping its horn snapped him to attention.

Glancing around again, he hopped in and gave the driver the address before he sat back and ran his hands over his face, sighing heavily.

He wished things were different.

He wished they could be how they used to be.

He knew this wasn't fair to Grace, but the alternative...

Either way, he knew he was forced to live a lie no matter what he did.

James wanted to make everything right for everyone involved, make everything fair.

He silently cursed his own stupidity and foolishness at his actions and yet Grace still protected him, and his family.

His god-awful, fucked up family.

He let out another sigh.

He just couldn't see a way to do it.

Grace had tucked the girls into bed and was now readying herself for bed.

Already stripped of her clothing, she threw everything into the clothes hamper before slipping into a nightie. Her coat was the last thing she hung up in her wardrobe, smoothing it out when she felt a hard lump within it, realising the fortune cookie that Dottie had given her was still in the pocket.

Grace smiled to herself and took it out as she headed over to her bed, sitting down on it as she carefully broke the cookie open.

She put it into her mouth and opened up the fortune.

'If you want the rainbow, you have to tolerate the rain'

Rain? Grace thought.

She was in the middle of a flood.

And, at times, she was doing her best just to keep her head above the water.

~~~~~~

Harry virtually skipped into his room, clutching a small padded parcel in one hand and compacted moving boxes under his other arm.

He dropped the boxes onto the floor and threw his coat onto his bed before he tore open the wrapping on the parcel and grinned even more as he held the brand-new passport and visas in his hands.

It was now starting to feel real to him.

Like, really real.

And he was beyond excited.

Harry went over to his desk and powered up his laptop before grabbing a bottle of water out of his fridge and sat down at his desk.

He brought up a travel website and searched up flights to Melbourne and found he could travel as early as Sunday, the day after his farewell party his mum wanted to have.

Did he want to fly out with a potential hangover?

Probably not.

Before he could change his mind, he booked a flight for Monday instead.

Done.

He sat back and let out a breath.

He was really doing this.

He then remembered that Grace wanted to know when he was booked to travel so he sent her a quick email to confirm his flight details.

Hi Grace,

Just wanted to let you know I have my passport and visas ready and have booked a flight for this Sunday, here are the details.

BA11 Leaving 7:05pm Monday 28 Nov arriving 6:15am Melbourne Airport (Terminal 2) Wednesday 30 Nov.

Is there anything else you need to know? How will I get from the airport to your house?

Thanks,

Harry

To his surprise, he received a response almost immediately.

Hello Harry,

I will have our driver Mac collect you by private vehicle to transport you out to our property. He will be at the arrivals area waiting for you with your name on a card to identify himself. If you haven't already, be sure to set your mobile to receive international calls so you can call me if you need to when you arrive. There will be money in your pay to help you to assist you with this rather than buying you a complete new phone when you're here, unless you'd like one, we can certainly arrange that.

Kindest regards,

Grace

He smiled at her response, wanting to reply but knowing he didn't really have anything much else to ask.

Ah!

Anything specific to bring?

Hi Grace,

Is there anything else specific that I need to bring?

Thanks,

Harry

He sat and waited for her to reply.

Hello Harry,

Just bring anything that's special to you that you would like to have whilst you're here with us, along with your essentials, however you'll be able to by pretty much what you need when you arrive here.

But most importantly, your sense of humour! (You may need it with these two!)

Kind regards,

Grace

Well he could certainly bring that, he wasn't fazed by much if he was honest.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully, what else could he ask her?

Hi Grace,

Hope I'm not interrupting, is there anything special I should know about the girls?

Thanks,

Harry

He took a sip of his water and waited for a notification.

Hello Harry,

No, you're not interrupting and please don't ever think you are.

Do you like tea?

Kind regards,

Grace

Harry thought for a moment. Was she just assuming he liked tea because he was British?

Hi Grace,

Yes I do like tea, very much so...

Thanks,

Harry.

Well that just sounded odd really, he thought.

Hello Harry,

Then you'll be fine, hope you enjoy tea parties...

Kind regards,

Grace

Harry chuckled to himself now that he finally understood her question.

Hi Grace,

Is dressing up required for such tea parties?

Thanks,

Harry

Tea parties he could definitely handle.

Hello Harry,

Virtually mandatory from what I've seen!

It's getting late here Harry, I'm heading to bed. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any more questions.

Take care,

Grace

He felt a surge of excitement, he couldn't wait to get there now and start.

But first things first, he thought.

He needed to pack up all his stuff so he could take it home to his mums on Saturday.

Harry decided he needed some music to motivate him in his packing job so he sat his phone in the docking station and hit shuffle on The Rolling Stones.

Sympathy for the Devil, filled the room as he got to work, setting up the boxes and filling them before they were taped up and labelled.

By the time Harry had finished, he only had his essentials left that would come with him to Australia and everything else would be taken home with him on Saturday.

He then organised for his remaining large furniture to be shipped to his mum's as well.

Even though it was chilly outside, Harry was now hot and sweaty from boxing everything up and moving things around so he peeled off his shirt off and this time, grabbed an icy cold beer out of the fridge and sat on the edge of his bed, taking a long swig from the bottle and relishing the crispness of the liquid as it went down his throat.

He ran the bottle over his forehead to cool himself down before running it over his bare chest.

Now all he had to do was count down the days until it was time to leave.

~~~~~~

Grace had spent the last few days preparing for Harry's arrival the following week.

He had confirmed his flight so Grace knew she had to get things moving.

His room needed restyling as he Grace didn't think cotton candy pink would suit his tastes.

Neither was she when she thought about it.

In the end, she had his room painted a blue-grey colour and decorated with dark, timber furniture and accents.

Grace hoped he would like it.

She had just finished adding the bedding and throw rug onto the bed when James came in.

"You've gone to a lot of trouble here," he noted, "I hope he appreciates it."

Grace had barely spoken to James since the evening of their dinner at the restaurant, not bothering to seek him out and had only spoken to him when it had been necessary.

"He's excited to be coming here James," she replied without looking at him, "so I'm going to assume he will."

"Of course, Grace," James agreed, "you're right, I'm sure this young fellow will."

He watched as Grace continued to set out small decorative items around the room and he had to admit she'd done a lovely job of it.

He opened his mouth and closed it, trying to find the words he wanted to say instead of bumbling over a stupid conversation regarding the room décor.

"Grace," he paused, "I just want to say that I really am sorry about the other night. It was inexcusable on my part..."

"Damn right it was," Grace snapped at him as she turned and glared, "I don't care what you think of me but them," she pointed towards the door, "those girls are your daughters and they should be your priority."

"They are," he replied, "of course they are."

"Well you have a funny way of showing it," Grace retorted, "and leaving me to lie to them about why you weren't coming home with us? That's unfair of you to ask me to do so."

"I know, I know," he sighed, knowing she was absolutely right.

"Do you?" Grace asked, "or are you just not thinking with your dick right now?"

"I'm trying to apologise here Grace," James warned, "don't push me."

Grace let out a surprised laugh.

"Really?" she smirked, as she walked over to him and put her finger to his chest, poking him with it, "if we both pushed each other, who do you think would win James?" she challenged him.

Neither of them, he thought, neither of them.

James reached up and took Grace's hand from his chest and held it within both his hands.

"I don't think either of us would, "he said quietly, wishing it was all so different, "you know, I've always said..."
"And I've always said no..." Grace cut him off, shaking her head slowly, "I just don't think I could...another man..."

James ran his hands up and down Grace's arms in an attempt to comfort her.

"I just...just want things to be good for you, for us," he said.

"I know James," she agreed, "one day, when the girls..."

"Are older," he finished for her, "I know, that's what you always tell me."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Well hopefully this new fellow might brighten things up around here a bit perhaps?" James said, "a bit of company then?"

"Possibly," Grace said, knowing Harry was simply here to do a job, "but he's here for the girls and if he makes them happy, then I'm happy."

James nodded in agreement.

"I'll um...let you get back to it," he said, a small smile on his face, "you've really done a marvellous job here," he gestured around the room.

Grace only nodded and watched him walk out before she returned her attention to the room.

Satisfied that everything was in place, she walked towards the door before she spotted the power point in the wall near the doorframe.

Grace stared at it momentarily, the room starting to feel small around her.

Her stomach started to churn and she suddenly felt sick, she needed air.

Breathing deeply, she decided she would leave it for now and could always fix it later if she needed to.

She walked out, closing the door behind her.

~~~~~~

"Harry!" Anne called out enthusiastically as she walked down her front steps and over to greet her son.

"Hey mum!" Harry returned her hug with just as much vigour.

"How are you doing love? Everything ready to go?" she asked, wanting to hear all about his impending trip.

"Yeah, I'm all set," he said, "I bought home all my stuff I'm not going to need to take, hope that's okay?" he flashed his mum a cheeky grin.

"Of course, Harry," she said, "I'll get Robin to give you a hand to bring it all in," she said and went back inside to grab him.

The three of them brought all of Harry's things in before settling down inside for a cup of tea.

As Harry sat, he looked around, he noticed all the food and drinks Anne and Robin had put together for his party, as well as the decorations both inside their open kitchen and out in their entertaining area.

"You've really gone all out," he marvelled, "you didn't have to do this you know."

"Course we did Harry," Robin patted him on the back, "not every day one of the kids goes overseas...this calls for a celebration!"

"Any excuse to open a bottle of wine," Anne laughed.

"This is true," Robin agreed.

Harry continued to fill them in on everything he knew so far, right down to the tea parties he was looking forward to having.

"Well the guests won't be here for at least a couple of hours if you wanted to have a quick nap," Anne suggested to Harry, "you must have been up at the crack of dawn to get here so early."

"I was actually," Harry said, "and that does sound like a good idea mum," he said and walked over to the sink and placed his empty mug into it before giving Anne a kiss on the cheek and heading up to his room.

He let himself in and laid himself out on his bed, falling asleep almost immediately.