Page 62 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘I can see you do,’ she grinned.
‘Daddy, can Patsy push me on the swing?’ Flo asked in a way that suggested no wasn’t an option.
‘If Patsy doesn’t mind,’ he said, raising his eyebrows and giving her a lop-sided smile.
‘Come on then,’ said Patsy.
Flo ran to the spare swing and Patsy held it as still as she could so that the little girl could clamber on.
‘Higher, higher!’ she shouted, as Patsy laughed and looked at Matt to see him laughing as well and shaking his head.
‘She’s so bossy,’ he called over. ‘Do you want to swap?’
She shook her head. ‘We’re okay.’ She watched as Matt switched from standing behind Sammy to standing in front of him, pretending that he was getting kicked every time the swing came forwards which made Sammy laugh in the exuberant way only children did.
‘Daddy!’ Flo shouted, ‘Do that to me!’ And he ran over and pretended to be kicked by her as well, making her erupt into uncontrollable giggles.
Patsy was laughing too at the sheer joy of it all. Then the next minute, they both wanted to get off the swings and headed over to play in an igloo made out of willow.
‘Do you want to sit down?’ Matt gestured to a picnic blanket that was laid out nearby where he could sit but easily keep an eye on the twins.
‘Sure.’ Patsy followed him and kicked her sandals off before she sat cross-legged on the blanket, absent-mindedly reaching over and picking a piece of grass to fiddle with.
‘How’s things with the cinema?’ he asked.
‘We’ve had a massive planning session about films. We’re going to go with your suggestion of the family film and pizza thing on a Saturday.’
‘Really?’ he said, grinning and sounding chuffed.
‘We’d probably have thought of it ourselves anyway,’ teased Patsy, ‘but you can take the credit if you need to.’
He laughed. ‘Thanks, it’s nice to feel like a valued member of the team.’
‘You are part of the team,’ she said, sincerely. ‘For all your obsession with hard hats, we couldn’t have done it without you.’
’Thanks. That means a lot.’
A silence sat between them as they watched the children skip from the igloo to play on some logs that were upended like stepping stones. Matt sat up straighter and called over, ‘Be careful, take it in turns to help each other!’
They watched as the twins did exactly that, having come to an agreement that three stepping stones was a turn.
‘Do you want to join us for a picnic tea?’ he asked. ‘We’ve got plenty.’
‘That’s a kind offer but I know it’s your only time with them this week, so I won’t stay.’ She started to put her sandals on.
Matt put a hand on hers, stopping her in her tracks. His touch was so unexpected and at the same time so welcome. ‘Really, the twins would love it if you did. They’re still going on about the bloody chairs and the Post-It notes.’
She looked at him and he pushed his sunglasses up onto his head.
‘Please,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t mean it.’
’Thanks, I’d love that.’
He started unpacking packets of all sorts of things that he’d bought from Waitrose. Mini sausages, tortilla chips and hummus, Babybels, all the things that a kiddies picnic should have. He had a big bottle of Appletizer and some plastic cups. ‘This is a huge treat,’ he said solemnly before he called the children over.
After a lovely picnic, with plenty of scattered crumbs the only evidence that there had been any food, they said goodbye and Matt and the children headed home for the evening, Patsy carried on along the path she’d started to take a couple of hours earlier and marvelled at how it was possible to find a man more attractive because of his children. He was great with them, a world away from the harried father the night of the Post-It notes. Now that he had the routine set up with his ex-wife, he was clearly devoting himself to them when they were with him and she loved that about him. It shouldn’t have been surprising because that was exactly how he approached work, and why he was so fastidious about everything. It was because he was giving his all to what was important to him, whether it be work or his children and that was something Patsy had only just begun to appreciate but something that all of a sudden, she really did appreciate very much.
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