I take out the last lot of cookies from the oven and place them onto the cooling rack. The vegetables have been prepared, and the treats have been made. That means everything is done. There is nothing else to do until later. I walk into the front room to find both Jenny and Kate curled up together on the sofa, asleep. Jenny’s arm is wrapped around Kate. I grab my phone and take a picture before covering them with the pink blanket from the back of the sofa. I don’t want them to get cold.

I sit on the floor next to Lucy in her baby bouncer. She loves it and will cry the house down if you don’t let her sit in it. I bought different attachments to go on it, so she has things to play with as she loves to be around her toys. With her jumping up and down in it, she’s strengthening her legs. She has made an attempt to crawl, but she didn’t take off. I hope she will soon, because she is nearly nine months old. I look at the clock. The fellas have been gone over two hours, and I don’t understand what could be taking them so long.

Before texting Mark, I forward Connor the picture of Kate and Jenny asleep.

What is taking you so long, Mark? X

Sorry, we got sidetracked. X

Doing what? X

A Christmas surprise. X

Tell me. X

No, baby girl, you will find out soon enough. X

That’s not fair. Did you get the grave sorted? X

Yes, we did. X

Thank you. X

Be home in 5. X                                          

I turn on the television and scroll through the Christmas movies, deciding on a famous one to watch. I sit there calm and relaxed in my own world. I glance over to the tree and smile at the box that is full of all the little decorations Kate and I have made over the past few days. We are going to place them today.

As I hear the front door open, a gust of cold air hits me. I wrap my arms around myself and hope the door closes soon. Warren pops his head around the corner before slowly creeping into the room.

“What are you up to?” I ask.

“Nothing. Do you have anything that will cover this?” he asks, turning his head and showing me a large cut on his face.

“What the hell did you do?” I ask.

“Got into a fight. Come on. Do you have something?”

“Yes, I do,” I say as I get up from the floor. “Who was the fight with?”

“Come here and we will fill you in. I don’t want Jenny to know.”

“Jenny to know what?” Jenny enquires as she looks up at him.

“Nothing,” Warren says, moving quickly out of the room.

Connor walks into the lounge, and I head upstairs and find Warren standing behind the little wall.

“She needs to know,” I say as I point him into my room. I could have easily fixed him downstairs, but I need to know what happened and I don’t want to alarm Kate.

I reach for my handbag, pulling out a little first aid kit. It’s a must-have for scraped knees and cut fingers when you have children around, as you never know when you will need it. Luckily, I haven’t used it with Lucy, but with Kate around, I placed it inside my bag for emergencies. Yes, I’m an organised freak sometimes, and even though she isn’t my child, I need to make sure she is safe while in my care. It took Mark a lot to get her here for the holidays. She doesn’t go back until the beginning of next year.

Sitting on my bed, I open the kit and then pat the bed, indicating for Warren to sit. He complies.

"Right, sit still. This is going to sting," I state as I pull out an antiseptic wipe. “

“Ouch, that stings."

"Well, if you were not such an idiot for getting into a fight, you wouldn’t be having this done."

"Yes, I know."

"Well, are you going to tell me what happened?"

"No," Warren says, pulling a mad face.

"You need a couple of stitches."

"No, I’ll be fine. A plaster or make up will do."

"What’s the point in hiding it, Warren? Jenny knows."

I see Jenny standing in the doorway, listening to our conversation. She does not say anything. She knows that I can get information out of people when needed.

“Cream and a plaster. Make up will make it worse," I state.

I rub on the cream and Warren jumps high. I shake my head. What a wimp.

"Pink plaster?" I question.

"I don’t think so. I’m a man."

"Blue?" I ask, giggling.

"You’re such a funny lady. Brown, please."

I place on the plaster. "Right, now tell me."

"No, I don’t want to."

"Warren, tell me. I need to protect Jenny, like you do."

"You aren’t going to drop it. Are you?" he asks, looking down at the floor.

"I need to know," I say as I put my hand on his knee.

Warren sighs before looking up at me, "This is going to hurt Jenny." He pauses.

"When we got to the grave, a man was there. We stood back and watched him, thinking he was paying his respects. It wasn’t until about five minutes later that I noticed he had spray cans and other stuff. I told the lads, and we went over."

"And..." I say, waiting for him to continue.

"Well, his name is Joshua. He is the one that caused the wreck that killed Kate’s mum. His wife is sleeping with Jenny's dad."

"WHAT?" Jenny screams from the door.

Warren suddenly turns around, facing Jenny. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough. Now, tell me,” she says as she walks towards the other side of the bed and sits on it.

“His wife, Sonja, is sleeping with your dad.”

“Oh no, I need to ring Mum,” she says.

Jenny runs out of the room with Warren not far behind. I sit there, shell-shocked. Why would Jenny’s dad do this? Why would anyone defy someone’s grave?  How the hell did Joshua know about it? I have so many unanswered questions. I wish I could talk to both of them. Well, maybe I shouldn’t talk to Jenny’s dad because I would want to hurt him. I can’t believe he has done this to his family. I understand a little why Warren would want to protect Jenny and not tell her, but she needed to know.  That’s the reason why I had him tell me everything while she was listening.

I hear a tap on the door as Mark walks in and sits on the bed beside me. He pulls me close, draping his arms around me and giving me a little kiss on the head.

“Will you tell me everything that happened, Mark?” I ask.

“I will never keep anything from you,” he says before taking a deep breath and explaining everything.

Joshua had written on Martin’s grave to get back at Jenny’s dad. He hadn’t just been sleeping with Joshua’s wife; he got her pregnant. She is four months along and has not slept with Joshua in over six months, so he knows Jenny’s dad is the father. Once Joshua had finished telling them everything, he said that he needed to destroy something that belonged to Jenny’s dad so he would hurt, too. That is when the fight started. They all have cuts and bruises. Joshua threw the first punch, so I can relax a little bit, knowing there shouldn’t be any repercussions.