"Well he's finally gone down!" Alice whispered as she quietly shut the kitchen door, blocking off the noise to the stairs, and walked through to the living room. "How long have you two been back?"
I smiled at her. "Not long. Thanks again for looking after him tonight. It really helped that we could go out at long last. We've barely had any time for ourselves since covid forced lockdown. Having a baby at this time is tough! AT least he's a good sleeper. Should be a few hours now before he needs us again."
She smiled back, "I know you've not. Erica has been desperate to go out for a meal for ages." She grinned at her sister, sat on the sofa next to me. "Besides, it was a pleasure to look after the little man. It's been ages since I've been able to spend any time with you all. I'm glad they're allowing childcare support bubbles now!"
Erica chuckled. "Me, too. It was so good to get a proper, nice meal now the restaurants are open again."
Alice smiled and sat down on the other sofa, reaching for the glass of wine I'd poured for her. She asked Erica about the food and Erica filled her in, while I enjoyed having someone to visit for a change. Covid restrictions had meant we'd barely seen anyone for months, and with a baby to look after, time for ourselves and adult conversation had been limited. It had been nice for Erica to have chance to make herself up and dress up a little tonight, too. She's always beautiful, any time, but I knew she felt more like herself with her make-up on and wearing a nice black and white dress. She'd put her hair down, too, her strawberry locks looking elegant in waves. Alice was looking pretty, too, and she'd obviously taken the opportunity to get out of the house as an opportunity to get herself made-up a little too, although she'd worn denim shorts and a white cotton top - she was only at our house after all.
"How's things been living on your own the last few months anyway?" I asked, when the discussion about the food died down a little. "If all this had happened a few months earlier you could have come and stayed with us while all this went on, but with the guest room turned into the nursery there'd be nowhere to sleep."
"It's been fine, don't worry. Bit lonely sometimes, but I've been ok. To be honest most of the time it's been nice having my own space. It's mostly at night with that big empty bed that I get a bit fed up." She giggled as she finished her glass of wine. "Nobody to keep me warm... except the wine and my rabbit!" She laughed some more and then her face dropped and she went bright red. "My rabbit as in cuddling Louie! Not my... rabbit... Oh god." She giggled, embarrassed.
Erica and I both laughed, Erica bursting into hysterical giggles at her sister's unintentional allusion to fucking herself with a rampant rabbit, as opposed to cuddling her actual rabbit! "I'm sure both are equally enjoyable," I chuckled, running my eyes up Alice's bare legs to the high line of her denim shorts, "although I know which I'd rather see!" I knew neither sister would mind the crack. Erica had invited Alice, as well as their sister Kasey, to join us on our wedding night, and she'd also twice encouraged me to fuck her sister during her pregnancy, when she, scared of another miscarriage, had asked to forgo sex ourselves until after the baby was born.
"More wine?" I asked as both women dissolved in fits of laughter. The pair both nodded, Erica gasping for breath. Clearly the cocktails she'd had while we were out had gone to her head. They were the first she'd had in over a year, I supposed. I collected their empty glasses and finished my own, before retreating to the kitchen to refill them.
Alice thanked me, a little calmer now, when I returned, and took a long swig as I handed Erica her new drink and sat myself down. Erica and Alice talked for a little while longer, wine levels dropping steadily before Alice mentioned something about our date and Erica began to ask her about the online dating site she'd signed up for.
