I stare at him. “Okay,” I say slowly. “Do I have a choice?”
“Absolutely not.” He spins me around, giving me an encouraging pat on the butt. “Off you go.”
Bemused, I follow orders, obediently carrying the mugs into the living room.
Cy is sitting in his favourite armchair with Cami on his lap, brushing out her hair and chattering to her in a mixture of English and Bengali. “You want one or two pigtails?” He asks, bunching up her hair in a pineapple on top of her head, then repeating the question in Bengali.
She considers, then bounces in his arms, babbling. I’ve picked up enough of the language to know she’s saidtwo.He quickly ties up her hair in bunches, fastening them with her favourite rainbow glitter scrunchies, then presses a kiss to her head.
“You look stunning,” he tells her seriously. “Very sparkly.” He glances up as I step closer. “Hey, baby.” I pass him the coffee, and he tips his lips up to kiss me. “You look hot.”
I snort. He says that to me every morning, whether I’m in lingerie, or hungover in old, stained pajamas. “So do you, Romeo.”
He pulls a face. “Will you ever let that go?”
“I’m carving it into your gravestone, gorgeous.” I perch on the chair’s arm and take a deep swig from my mug.
Tragically, Randy Romeo has finally been retired. After doing the show for so many years, Cyrus eventually got bored of it. He now works as a dance instructor at the local gym, and also gets paid a pretty hefty salary as the official spokesperson for Trinity Games.
That’s not to say he’s stoppedstripping, mind. I get a front-row seat to a private show whenever I like. Which is usually at least once a week.
Cami tugs on my dressing gown. I smile down at her. “Good morning, baby.”
“Herro mummy,” she says, beaming up at me. I tickle her neck, hiding the sudden pang that hits my stomach. Cami’s just turned two, and her speech is coming along great. Unfortunately, she insists on calling memummy.I don’t know where she’s getting it from. I’ve never called myselfmummyin front of her. I guess she must have picked it up from TV or a picture book.
It hurts. I actually applied to adopt her a few months ago, but nothing came of it. I can’t say that I’m surprised, considering our unconventional living situation, but it still felt like a kick in the guts.
I run my fingers through Cy’s hair. “Do you know what Seb and Jack are up to? I’m banned from the kitchen.”
Cy nods. “They have a surprise for you. They’re just setting it up.”
“A surprise? What for?”
He smiles, his eyes secretive. “Can’t say, sugar. But you’ll find out soon enough.” He grabs me by the hips and pulls me onto his lap, making me squeak as I lose my balance.
“Cy!”
“What? You know I love chucking girls around.” Cami crawls up onto my lap, so Cyrus is squished under both of us. He sighs happily, patting around the sofa for his phone. “We’ve got an hour to kill. Cartoon time?” He brings up YouTube.
“Arfur!” Cami demands, dropping her sippy cup of juice.
“We can doArthur,” I agree, picking it up again.
“Anything butCaillou,” Cyrus mutters, zapping the telly. We curl up together as the show starts. I sip my coffee, Cami chugs happily at her juice, and Cyrus strokes his big hand up and down my arm, occasionally pressing a kiss to both of our cheeks. I can’t help but smile to myself. I love these easy, mundane moments. We’re just watching cartoons on a Sunday morning, but I couldn’t be happier.
As the episode finishes, a YouTube ad starts to play. One that I’m very familiar with.
“Oh, look!” Cy says loudly, turning up the volume. “It’s the most stunning video game character ever created!”
I groan. I swear to God, this advert is haunting me. It’s for Jack’s latest game,Spear.Trinity Games has been going from strength to strength. Jack and Seb now have a crew of twenty full-time employees, and for their latest game, they got a contract with a major advertising company. Now the commercial is everywhere on the internet. The game is awesome: a cross between Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider. The only problem is—
Cami examines the screen. “Is mummy.”
They based the artwork for the main female character on me. I thought it was cute at the time; but now my digitalised face is splashed on YouTube ads and posters and game sites. I even have people recognising me in the street, which the boys find hilarious.
“Yep.” Cyrus looks at me slyly. “Isn’t mummy pretty?”
“Yes!”Cami giggles, like it’s a stupid question.