Page 92 of Any Kind of Life

Paige turned and smiled. “When do I ever not make enough, babe?”

“True. You always look after me and my coffee needs.” Juliet crossed the space between the bedroom and the kitchen and helped herself to a cup. As she moved towards Paige, stopping beside her, she sighed. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Great, why?”

“We didn’t speak much once we got home last night. At least, not about what we’d discussed over dinner.”

“I’m just going with it. We have a lot on right now, so we can focus on that until we have time to set aside everything else and talk more.” Paige turned to Juliet, studying that beautiful face. “We don’t have to rush anything.”

“I know.” Juliet sipped her coffee, staring back at Paige over the rim of her cup. “I can’t believe you even said what you did last night. Part of me is waiting for you to tell me it was a joke.”

“A joke…about having kids?” Who in their right mind would ever do that to another person? “No, babe. Never. I meant what I said to you.”

“I just…we’ve never once discussed having kids. I was thrown completely.”

Paige understood that. But after everything that had happened recently, it was time to speak out about what they wanted. Tomorrow was never promised. “I think I threw myself, too. But I still meant it.”

Juliet lowered her cup to a side table and then took Paige’s from her. Once she had set that down, she held Paige in her arms. “You have no idea how incredibly lucky I feel to have met you, Paige.”

Just two years ago, Paige was living with an abusive husband, wondering if she would survive to see her future. There had been moments when she wondered if she deserved what James did to her whenever the mood struck him. There had been times she had wanted to run and never look back, only to feel weak whenever those thoughts came to mind. But getting on that train to Liverpool was the best decision she had ever made. Nothing in life would trump that. “You saved me. You offered me a life I’d always wanted but never thought I deserved. You are my luck, Juliet.”

“The thought of never meeting you physically hurts. If the events leading up to you being here had never happened, we wouldn’t be standing together right now. I hate everything you went through; it hurts my heart to remember that day I found you at the hotel…but there will never be a day when I don’t save you if that’s what you need from me.” Juliet looked out at the river, sighing as she closed her eyes. “My mum would have loved you.”

Paige lifted a brow. “You think?”

“Oh, I know so.” Juliet lifted her coffee again and sipped. “She was forever asking me when I was going to find myself a ‘good woman’ I could settle down with. She had desperately wanted grandchildren. I only wish I could have met you before she died.”

“I know you would have told me by now, but…you don’t have any siblings?”

“Not living, no.” Juliet gazed out of the window, silence settling between them. Paige didn’t want to push, but she would always want to know every little detail about Juliet’s life. “I’m a twin. Was a twin.”

“O-oh.” Paige hadn’t expected that, nor did she anticipate the sadness in Juliet’s eyes as she glanced in her direction briefly.

“Scarlett only lived for a few hours. She was quite poorly when she was born.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, babe.” Paige placed a hand on the small of Juliet’s back.

“I don’t think my parents wanted any more children after that. Mum went through a lot of trauma giving birth. Maybe that’s why I was given everything I could ever need. You know, making up for it, kind of thing?”

Paige nodded slowly.

“I can’t complain. They loved me so much.” Juliet guided Paige towards the couch, sighing when they settled down with one another. “I never wanted for anything. They were proud of everything I did. Then, when it was just Mum, I tried to be the best daughter I could be. I know I had to work a lot, but she understood that.”

“Your dad?”

“Dad died when he was in his forties. Accident at work. I was six months into my law degree when I got the call.”

Paige couldn’t believe she was only just learning about these things. But she was a firm believer in people speaking what they wanted to say. Anything else was their private business. “That had to be tough for you.”

“It was. Incredibly tough. But I dealt with it by making sure my mum was okay. She was in a terrible state about it all, and I didn’t want her to think she was alone.” Juliet scoffed. “But then, by working so much, as she had expected of me, she ended up dying alone.”

“Babe, she passed away in her sleep. Nobody could have known that would happen, and I’d hope you wouldn’t blame yourself for not being there.”

“She just deserved more, you know?”

Paige squeezed Juliet’s knee. “I know.”

“Then there was me. I’d always wanted the kind of life I’d had with my parents. Someone who looks at you as though you’re the entire world in their eyes. Children to dote on. A beautiful family home. Those early Christmas mornings.” Juliet’s eyes shone with so much love that Paige almost had to catch her breath. “The months passed, then the years, and then I realised it just wasn’t meant to be for me. I couldn’t even find a woman who was interested in me, let alone imagine children.”

---