I woke the next morning to sunshine pouring in through the window in my bedroom.
And I was alone. Peter was up. With the kids I hoped.
I actually felt good for the first time in a week. The worst week of my life. I did not know what the future was going to bring yet, but this morning I felt good and it was so great to have that feeling, I did not want any planning or theories or ideas to interrupt it.
I heard the children in the kitchen, with Peter making them food and hushing them to keep quiet for fear of waking Mummy. They were whispering so loud that I could hear them better than if they'd used their normal voices.
The bed was warm and I felt relaxed. So I faked still being asleep for a little tiny while longer, savoring the moment of being nestled and being loved by Peter. Then I heard the espresso coffee machine going, and I knew that Peter and the children were making me breakfast in bed.
Thomas whispered louder than he could yell that he was going to check if I were awake yet. I thought I had better let them know that I was up, so I bunched my pillows up behind me and sat upright just in time for little chubby fingers to curl around the door and his face to follow. It lit up to see that I was awake and sitting up in bed.
"Mummy, mummy, you are awake! Daddy has made you breakfast in bed," suddenly his face fell, "but don't tell daddy that I told you because it is a surprise."
He ran out of the room as soon as he had come in, dying to be the first to announce that I was awake.
Soon Jane holding a mug of hot coffee as if it were a cup of liquid gold came through the door, closely followed by Thomas who had a plate with two pieces of Vegemite toast on it. Peter followed up behind, smiling at me and keeping a close eye on the children. Jane rested my coffee on the bedside table, and Thomas complained that now there was no room for his toast. Jane jumped on to the bed, in one leap. Thomas, wanting to be a part of that fun, carefully put the toast down on the floor next to the bed, and then jumped up as well.
"Mummy, we made you breakfast that you can eat in bed and it is not your birthday or Mother's day. It is just for loving." Jane was keen to explain.
I hugged my kids and looked up at Peter, who smiled at me and said, "Yes, just for loving."
But, I wanted to know what was up for this Sunday as a little family. "What are we going to do today?"
"Grandma!" Shouted the two children together.
I shot Peter a questioning glance.
"Mum is in town. She called an hour ago." He explained. "She wants to take the kids for the day, and the come here for dinner to see all of us tonight. Is all that okay with you?"
"Fine! I don't know about you kids though. Are you going to have a good time with grandma all day?"
"Yay". they said together again. They started to jump harder on the bed.
"Okay you two, that's enough. I guess if grandma is coming you had better think about getting dressed so that you are ready for her."
The two of them leapt off the bed and ran out of the room in the direction of their bedrooms. Peter picked the plate of toast off the floor and came to the edge of the bed, and sat next to me.
"Well lovely lady. That means it is just you and me for the day." He grinned that grin that I love so much. "Any suggestions of what WE might get up to today?"
"What about a picnic? Something romantic. We could head down to the marina again and then go out to the little island in the bay. Neither of us has been before, and it is such a great day. We can be lazy and read books and lay about on each other. Maybe even find a little spot for some slap and tickle. What do you think?"
"Perfect perfect perfect.! The only problem with that plan is that we have to get going. I think the ferry leaves hourly from the marina and it is ten now. You had a nice big sleep in. Mum will be here in thirty minutes. Why don't I see that the kids are ready, while you have your coffee and toast, then we can get ready and be down there by eleven. What do you say? Can we pack a picnic basket that fast?"
"We have leftovers from yesterday. We have to come back by about four to get that huge fish cooked for dinner tonight. Is your Dad here too?"
"Yes. He's speaking at a convention. It was a last minute thing, he is replacing someone who was sick. Mum isn't going, so she wants the kids for the day. But they both want to come here for tea."
"Then fish it will be. Done on the barbie!"
Peter smiled at me again, warming my heart to its very core, then left the room. I grabbed a magazine by my bed and flicked through fashion as I nibbled on my very cold toast and drank my, still warm and just the way I like it, coffee. I could not relax for long however. Once we had established an agenda for the day, I wanted to get into it with my family.
It was not till I was in the shower that I thought again of the situation that had been plaguing me for the last seven days. The thing that I was waiting for now was to speak to Peter about what I knew, or to wait for him to speak to me. I also wanted evidence that he wasn't going out the following Friday.
So much had changed between Peter and I over the last twenty-four hours, I felt sure that It would make a difference to his situation, but I had to remind myself that officially I knew nothing about that and that everything depended on how Peter was going to act. I could imagine what he was going to do and I could wonder about it, but in the end, I had to wait and see.
I didn't spend long in the shower, because of the big day that we had planned. I was out and getting dressed when Peter popped his head around the door and told me that his Mother had left with the kids already.
"We're alone." He smiled.
"Well mister, you'll have to wait for any fun from me if we are going to catch the ferry. Have your shower and I'll start work on the picnic basket."
I packed in a hurry while Peter was in the shower. I glanced over at his phone while I was packing and noticed that it was turned off. At first I smiled a sly little half smile. "If she thought she'd get in touch with him today, she'll be surprised." I thought.
Then my heart started to race. Unless it was just to keep me from his phone. No. There was no way. Not after what was going on between us. I had to banish these thoughts from my mind. Peter was not going to cheat on me, not next Friday or any other day. I am not sure where his head had been in the past few weeks, but one thing is for sure, I knew where it is now.
I knew then that we would have to discuss this in some way and try to get past it. I was still really hurt. As soon as anything reminded me of what was going on behind my back made me feel so sick, and it was a taint on our relationship. It was better that I knew he was not unfaithful to me, but I still hated the thought of that shared intimacy with the other woman that I had seen that day.
And I needed to revert just a little to my plan again. I did not want Peter to suffer, but I did want him to have the experience of fear that losing me would inflict. I wanted him to know how bad it felt, so that there was no chance of it ever happening again in any way. And an essential part of this plan was to unleash my darker side.
I glanced down quickly at the sweet little shirt and shorts that I had on, and decided that I needed to change. I ran to the bedroom as I heard the shower turn off. We would have to leave very soon.
I took the clothes that I was wearing off, and wrapped a sarong over the top of my skimpy bikini. It was an entire matching set, and even though I would have preferred the 'baby sags" to have not been there and my breasts proving that gravity is our master, I still looked really good in it. Peter loved this outfit. That was what was important. I would just have to be brave. I put on some very nice sandals in the same color and put my hair high up in a ponytail.