On Friday the 15th, Heather had packed up all of her belongings and put them in her father's car. Jamie would be coming down to Broadstairs on Saturday, to give her time to sort stuff out a bit when she got home before he joined her.
"Ready kiddo?" Mr Fawcett asked, as she looked around her flat one last time.
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm ready," she nodded eventually and followed him out.
"You'll find something new, don't worry," he said, seeing she was worrying. She gave her dad a smile as she locked the door, put the keys in an envelope and put those on the kitchen table. She wasn't worrying about that just yet, but she appreciated that he'd noticed she was worrying about something.
"Thanks dad," Heather gave him a hug.
"Come on, let's get going," he told her now and led the way into the hall and out the front door. She shut the door behind her and closed it firmly, with the auto-lock handle. "How about we get food on the way home?" Mr Fawcett asked as she got in next to him.
"Won't mum complain about us ruining our appetite?" Heather asked, seeing it was almost two o'clock. They'd be home around seven at the latest, so if they ate around three-thirty or four, they wouldn't be hungry when they got back.
"Maybe. But I'm sure she won't expect us to eat the second we walk through the door," her father said with a shrug and a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"Oh fine… you're a bad influence," she said with a chuckle, making him laugh.
"Ah you're old enough now, it's okay," he said, getting a laugh from his daughter now. "Let's just not tell mum, okay?" he added after thinking for a minute.
"Your secret's safe with me," Heather chuckled. She found it amusing her dad was still secretly scared of her mother.
"Good," Mr Fawcett nodded.
They drove in silence for a little bit listening to Planet Rock on the radio. Heather found herself humming or singing along to almost every song. Eventually her dad glanced at her.
"You know, your music taste is pretty good for someone so young," he commented, getting a surprised look back.
"Well, I grew up listening to this stuff, thanks to you," she remarked back.
"Obviously I taught you well," he chuckled, getting a laugh back.
"Way to toot your own horn dad," Heather teased, getting a satisfied look back from her father.
"Yeah well…" he said almost proudly, thinking someone had to. They listened to the radio some more for another half an hour or so. "You ready for something to eat?" Mr Fawcett asked eventually.
"Yeah sure," she nodded, not really fussed, but knew her father was.
"Great. Next services it is," he smiled; he could almost taste the KFC already.
"Where've you guys been?" Mrs Fawcett asked when her husband opened the door at 7.30.
"Can I walk in first?" he asked, giving her a teasing smile so she wouldn't think he was giving her attitude. "We got stuck in some traffic, that's all," he explained now, as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"You could've phoned," she chastised him.
"See nothing's changed," Heather said teasingly as she walked in behind him, getting a not so amused look from her mother before she got pulled in for a hug.
"And neither has your attitude," Mrs Fawcett commented, squeezing her daughter a little tighter. "It's good to have you back honey," she said as she finally let her go.
"Really?" she asked.
"How can you think otherwise?" her mother asked a little shocked. "Though I do suppose it would depend on how long you're back for," she added after a minute.
"There you go," Heather chuckled, getting a shove from her mother. "Come on dad, we should go unload the car," she said now.
"Cheeky moo," Mrs Fawcett shook her head once they were heading back towards the door. She headed back into the kitchen and now started the last part of the cooking. By the time the dinner was ready, they'd be done with unloading. She wasn't making anything special really, only fajitas, but it was Heather's favourite and easy as well as healthy.
"Hey mum, what's for dinner?" Heather called as she and her dad were carrying in her wardrobe; it smelled good.
"Fajitas, with all your favourite toppings," Mrs Fawcett answered, getting a squeal back as they made their way up the stairs. Her favourites included red and yellow peppers, cucumber, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and crème fraiche.
"Oh, we'll be fine," her husband told their daughter conspiratorially when they reached her room and set the wardrobe in the corner of the room. She chuckled.
"Got out of that one alright then, old man," Heather teased him and rushed back out of the room when he made to grab her.
"That was good, mummy," Heather said, holding back a burp as she sat back in her chair. She must have had at least four or five fajitas, yum, yum.
"I'm glad," Mrs Fawcett said with a big smile. Her daughter hadn't been home much over the past three years and now she was back, she wanted to make sure she was taken care of.
"Oh, did I tell you guys already that Jamie's coming down tomorrow for the rest of the weekend? Bianca's organised a sort of reunion at Stone Bay, so he wanted to meet my friends," she remembered, getting a curious look from both her parents.
"You didn't tell me, but that's okay. I'll make up the spare room in the morning," her mother said, getting a groan from her daughter.
"Mum, really?"
"Yes, really. I've not met this boy yet, so you'll be in separate rooms until I say so," Mrs Fawcett told her, her look telling her that the decision was final. Heather was about to appeal to her dad, but she then realised he'd been nodding along and that of course he wasn't going to let some strange boy they'd never met sleep in the same room as his daughter, even if she was 21.
"Okay," she gave in, trying hard not to sigh.
"So, what's this reunion thing?" Mr Fawcett asked.
"Well, a bunch of us are meeting up for the first time in three years," Heather said, trying to hold back a scoff; she knew that's not what he was asking.
"I know what it is, I meant who's going to be there and what will you be doing?" her father answered, as he swatted her arm, not taking kindly to her teasing. He ignored her flinch.
"I'm not sure, Bianca still hasn't said. She just told me to bring some drinks and snacks. I think it'll probably involve a bonfire," she shrugged now, rubbing her arm.
"Just don't get into trouble," her mother warned her now.
"Would I do that?" Heather asked innocently, getting two convinced nods back. "I'm insulted," she acted now, hand on chest with a look of shock. Her parents managed a chuckle.
"It's just we know what you lot used to be like," Mrs Fawcett said delicately.
"We weren't that bad… were we?" Heather tried to think back to high school and college. She remembered days on the beach, nights at the beach with alcohol and BBQs, days at the funfair or circus and long afternoons spent with Bianca and Kevin. She remembered the days they went for bike rides, or long walks from Dover to Deal or to Whitstable. She couldn't remember getting into trouble, though of course there were some late nights and alcohol-induced mischief, but nothing that had gotten too much out of hand.
"Just don't make us worry like you used to," her mother said now, almost pleading.
"Worried?" Now Heather was really confused; they'd never mentioned being worried about her activities before.
"What your mother means is, don't stay out all night or sneak out," Mr Fawcett now explained uncomfortably.
"I didn't do that often," she defended herself calmly. She knew people who were a lot more trouble than she was growing up.
"Exactly. If it was a regular thing it wouldn't be so scary, but not knowing where you were…" She looked at her parents and felt incredibly mean all of a sudden.
"Oh, I didn't realise. I'm sorry," she apologised as she reached out to take hold of both their hands. "I didn't mean to," she added; as a teenager, it had honestly never entered her mind that her parents might have been worried about her on the odd night she stayed out.
"We know, it would just be nice if you didn't do it this time round… I know you're older now," her mother hastened to add. "A text will suffice," she said, not wanting to crowd her daughter too much.
"Okay, I promise," Heather nodded, getting two grateful smiles in response.
'Exactly what is the plan tomorrow?' Heather text Bianca when she got in to bed later. Her parents' request had unsettled her slightly and she wanted to be able to assure them that her first night back out wouldn't be a late one.
'You know I can't tell you. Why?'
'I just need to know, will we be back late?'
'As late as we want. Why?'
'Oh okay, so not too bad then. Good. What do you want me and Jamie to bring again?' Heather didn't answer her friend's why.
'Booze, crisps and dips. And anything else you fancy,' she got back.
'So is it safe to guess a BBQ or at the very least a bonfire?' Heather suggested.
'Stop trying to guess. I'll see you and Jamie tomorrow, at Stone Bay, at 7.30. Night!'
Heather chuckled to herself at her friend's response and put her phone away. Whatever they'd end up doing, she'd need a good night's sleep, especially with Jamie arriving early tomorrow morning.