Chapter 16 - Make up your mind
Cesca and Jonah had, had a month of it just being there family again, it had been lovely but it had also been a long and apprehensive wait for Jonah who had been anxiously worrying about his A level results, he was spending the time he was meant to be sleeping going over and over his answers in his head, making sure they were right. He was so nervous his whole life had depended on this exam however that wasn’t the only reason he was nervous. He knew that if he had done well enough he would be offered a place at Oxford University, however Jonah’s life prospects had changed dramatically since originally thinking about the idea of going there, and he now had a wife and daughter, his family. He was never going to leave them even if this happened to be a once in a lifetime opportunity, his one chance at attending one of the most renowned university’s in the whole country. He didn’t let Cesca on to his thoughts, he kept her sweet and tried not to let her think about his A levels, she was happy as long as he was doing what he wanted. She felt it was really important for Jonah to be able to lead the life he was meant to, she already felt like she had already mucked up some of the most important years of his life, she wasn’t going to affect the ones to come in the future.
That morning Jonah was up considerably early, he was nervous about his results, after all this was the most important ticket into the world he would ever get, plus it was his last visit to waterloo road as a student, he knew he would be back here at some point after all his wife was a teacher here. This day was the final day of the awkwardness, people could finally look at them as just a couple, they would no longer class as teacher and pupil, they were simply Jonah and Cesca, and Cesca was a teacher and Jonah was her husband, what could be simpler than that. Jonah was beginning to relax a little, he was washed and dressed by seven o’clock so went to check on Mia who was contently sitting in her crib, playing with Flopsy, she was now ten months old, she was becoming so grown up, her features were now fully developed though still slightly changing by day, her eyes were a spitting image of Cescas and her smile and ears a complete replica of Jonah. He loved how something so small, yet so precious could share the DNA and genetics of two human beings in love. He picked up Mia whose smile grew across her face as she saw her daddy enter the room, “morning Mia”, he said, she let out a cough before snuggling into Jonahs arms. He carried her downstairs placing her in the highchair that was sat in the corner of the room near the dining room table, she was beginning to get quite an appetite in the morning so Jonah went and prepared her breakfast which consisted of bananas, strawberries and yoghurt mashed together, it never looked very appealing but Mia seemed to love it. She wolfed it down; she was a very good girl these days when it came to eating, though staying on one place wasn’t her fortay. Jonah wiped her face with a flannel before placing her down on the floor resting her on this bright pink cushion they had bought her, it was supposed to encourage her to sit, which it had, but now Mia was much more interested in crawling around, not ideal for busy parents like Jonah and Cesca. Jonah quickly left the room to grab his bag which was in the hall and returned to a cheeky Mia who was lying on her back, by the TV, pulling out the piles of DVD’s that were stacked up on the shelves of the TV, “No Mia”, Jonah ran over to Mia just as she finally pulled the one out that she had been fiddling with, it smacked the corner of her head and led Mia into a state of screaming, Jonah lifted her up trying to rock her and rub her head, he felt his heart sink seeing his little girl in pain, it was her first accident and it sure wasn’t to be her last. “aw Mia”, he whispered as she continued to sob, Cesca had suddenly appeared in the door way, she had obviously heard the racket, “what’s up with the personal alarm clock”, she said, she often tried to lighten the mood when Mia cried, “She pulled one of the DVD’s out and it fell on her”, “Oh Mia, you silly Billy”, Cesca came over, looking over Jonah’s shoulder as she kissed her little girl on the head and used her hand to scroll over her face, trying to get a better look at the bruise that was now developing just above Mia’s eye. Jonah continued to rock Mia until she slowly calmed down, “I think it was the shock more than anything”, Jonah said just as Cesca left the room to finish doing her makeup “Yeah, I think so, but just keep an eye on her”, Jonah decided it was probably best that he stayed with her after Mia proving that she could be a spider across the floor, he began to play with Mia and Flopsy, they seemed to be having a lot of fun, well Flopsy certainly was as he was thrown across the room and in the air. “I think Flopsy’s feeling a bit sick now Mia”, Mia giggled it was as if she knew what Jonah was saying to her, which she couldn’t possibly have done. “Right, I’m all sorted shall we get going”, Cesca said as she popped through to see how the pair of them were doing. “Yeah, I’m ready, think Flopsy will be grateful from the break of being thrown about for at least a few minutes”, Cesca giggled as Mia beamed that cheeky little grin that reminded Cesca of every ounce of Jonah.
They got in the car, Jonah gave Mia Flopsy very apprehensively before getting in the car himself, he was right to be apprehensive, Mia kept dropping Flopsy on the floor to start with Jonah was finding it a bit of harmless fun, until it began to get annoying and just plain dangerous, “No Mia”, Cesca and Jonah both simultaneously spoke, words that Mia had heard twice within an hour. But she was beginning to learn what was wrong and right so this was healthy. She began to cry, which then just made Jonah and Cesca roll their eyes almost laughing to themselves, “She definitely doesn’t like the word no, that’s twice she has cried after hearing it”, Jonah said, they reached the school, parking in Cescas usual place. They got out the car, Mia was still screaming so Cesca got her out “alright Mia, think that’s enough”, she began to calm down, again as if she understood what was being said to her, Cesca picked her up out of the car with her bag, she wasn’t teaching today, it was the start of the summer holidays but she was here to support Jonah and so was Mia despite her bottom lip that looked as if she would rather be anywhere but here. She was in a sulky mood till Cesca reached in her bag and got Flopsy out again, “only if you don’t drop him”, hoping that Mia might get the message, which she seemed to have down. Jonah walked round the car his arm around Cesca, “Here’s to today”, she said, she had all her fingers and toes crossed for Jonah, he deserved the best marks he could get, he worked so hard and did his best, which was an amazing job, to support Cesca and Mia. They walked up the steps together “Morning, Jonah, Cesca and hello Mia” She put on this patronising voice once she got to Mia’s name, Mia simply screwed up her face, “Mia”, Cesca said, “sorry Karen she is in a really foul mood this morning”, “aw we all have those mornings”, “Not sure we all drop DVD cases on our heads though” Jonah added, “Yep not sure we do, guessing she is crawling around now?”, “yep and the bruise is a result of that”, “aw, she’ll be fine anyway I don’t want to keep you any longer from finding out your results”, Jonah led the way, followed by Cesca and Mia, who was completely occupied by Flopsy thank god, this was a really important moment for Jonah and Cesca really hoped that Mia wouldn’t mess it up.
Jonah reached the school foyer and was given an envelope with his name on it, Cesca bounced Mia on her hip whilst beaming at Jonah, she was just as excited as he was, after all she had taught him Spanish, but that wasn’t the only reason she was excited, she wanted Jonah to do well, she had so much faith in him. “Ces, I’m scared”, he said laughing, “I’m sure they’ll be great marks”, she let out a smile which seemed to encourage him to begin to unfold the large brown envelope. His hands were shaking, she tried to calm him with a hug, it seemed to work as he took a deep breath in and opened it, pulling out the most important piece of paper he had ever pulled out in his life, he braced himself before handing the envelope to Cesca and turning over the piece of paper containing his results. Still shaking he began to read what he had got. It simply read; A Maths, A*Spanish, A Chemistry, A English. Jonah couldn’t believe it in fact he couldn’t read it to Cesca so he simply handed her the piece of paper to read for herself he watched as her eyes flowed across the page so elegantly, before saying “Jonah, that’s amazing. A’s all round and an A*”, “In Spanish, may I add”, Cesca smiled, she was so happy for Jonah, “Well you always were my favourite teacher”, they both laughed before Jonah gave her a passionate kiss. “This means you can go to oxford, do what you wanted to do, Jonah you have your whole like ahead of you”, “Did I hear the words oxford being mentioned”, Marcus, who was always to meet them at the school and Karen both simultaneously asked Jonah. “Yes, A’s all round and an A* in Spanish”, Jonah could hardly speak so allowed Cesca to read it out to his dad and Karen. They were both so shocked, they knew Jonah was special but never actually thought that he would manage to go to Oxford. Cesca was over the moon as was Karen, Marcus and Chris who had now joined in the congratulations. However the original happiness that Jonah had felt was slowly disappearing. He felt this sudden ache in his heart and the feeling of being caged in, he needed to get out of there, so he began to run, Cesca was the only one that spotted him at first as he began to leg it out of the school “Jonah” , She shouted, what was the matter, she couldn’t understand. He had just got the best results in Waterloo road history, why was he so sad about it. She handed Mia over to Marcus, Mia was happy to be passed to her Granddad and Marcus was pleased to hold his granddaughter “Thanks Marcus”, she headed out the door running in her heels, which wasn’t easy, until she found Jonah around the side of the school. “Jonah”, He looked up, he wasn’t himself, this was meant to be a happy day and it was slowly turning into a sad one. She went over and leant against the same stretch of wall as she began to find out what was wrong. “Jonah, what’s the matter, your results were outstanding”, she said with a smile but equally with great confusion, “I know Ces and I can hardly believe it, but that’s not that part that haunts me”, “then what is?”, Cesca began to shrivel up in side she didn’t know what to expect. “Ces, I’m not going to go to Oxford”, “But Jonah”, Jonah didn’t give her a chance to speak before speaking again “Ces, my life has changed and so have my prospects, I have a family now. I’m not going thousands of miles away from you and Mia just to study, I love you Ces and I’m not going anywhere”, Cesca became saddened by Jonah’s words she felt so guilty “Jonah, I don’t want to be the reason you reject the best thing that ever happened to you”, “Ces, you and Mia are the best things that ever happened to me”, “that may be, but I’m not going to let you throw away your entire future, do you really want to be stacking shelves for the rest of your life?”, “if that’s what it takes to make ends meet, then that’s what I’ll do”, Marcus appeared out of nowhere with Mia, he had clearly heard every word of their conversation. “Jonah, you’re not going to go to Oxford?”, “No dad, I have a family and I don’t want to be thousands of miles away from them just to study”, “Jonah your about to make the biggest mistake of your life”, Marcus was in shock, his son, who had always been talked about as being one of the smartest boys waterloo road had ever seen. “Jonah, please don’t make the biggest mistake of your life because of me and Mia, we could cope, we would find a way to cope”, Cesca and Marcus looked at each other they were for once on the same side. “I’m 18 years old, I’m old enough to make my own decisions”, “Jonah were simply trying to guide you down the best possible route, this is your future, how do you think you’re going to provide for your family by working in a supermarket, you have brains, why waste them”, Marcus handed Mia back over to Cesca who was beginning to get grizzly again, just as Cesca had an idea that might make Jonah and his dad happy and the idea didn’t contain the words Oxford. “If you’re not going to Oxford Jonah, your still going to University, you’re not ruining your future” , “Jonah I agree with Cesca, I know this is what you want and this way you get the best of both worlds, your family and an education”, Jonah was happy to accept this, “I want to study and achieve and be what I want to be, but I could never be away from Ces or Mia”, “So it’s settled your to apply for a local or close university and study Spanish, Chemistry and physical education there”, Marcus clarified so that they all knew they were in the same boat. “Yes, that’s what I am going to do”, “Son, I love you. You deserve to be happy, you have a family and I understand that comes first, always! But sometimes in situations like this, you have to take a step back and think about you”, Cesca agreed “Your too stubborn sometimes Jonah”, He leant over and gave her a kiss followed by a hug for Mia, Cescas arms were beginning to ache after holding Mia for so long. They began to walk back towards the school. However they were greeted by Karen who spoke the words, “the reporters are here to speak to are budding star”, The Kirby’s all looked at each other, they didn’t know what to do, and Jonah wasn’t going to Oxford. Marcus felt it be right for him to tell Karen “Karen, Jonah has made the decision, which I happen to feel is the right one for him, he isn’t going to be attending Oxford”, Karen was shocked, she quickly headed back to Chris who was also in a bit of a panic as they all began to get rid of the reporters, the Kirby’s laughed. They were all happy, they had everything they wanted, “How’s about we all go and grab some lunch”, they all followed Marcus back to their cars, liking the sound of some food to celebrate Jonah’s success, they couldn’t help but watch the drama unfold in front of their eyes as yet again Waterloo road was experiencing bad press. Jonah and Cesca got into the car, both laughing to themselves, “I am so glad that I am out of there”, Cesca laughed, “you are remembering that’s the place that got you that A*”, “No, that was you, Mrs Kirby”, they both shared very flirtatious Kiss, before Cesca started the car and followed Marcus and Ruth as they made their way to what was to be a very enjoyable lunch for a very worthy cause.
That morning Jonah was up considerably early, he was nervous about his results, after all this was the most important ticket into the world he would ever get, plus it was his last visit to waterloo road as a student, he knew he would be back here at some point after all his wife was a teacher here. This day was the final day of the awkwardness, people could finally look at them as just a couple, they would no longer class as teacher and pupil, they were simply Jonah and Cesca, and Cesca was a teacher and Jonah was her husband, what could be simpler than that. Jonah was beginning to relax a little, he was washed and dressed by seven o’clock so went to check on Mia who was contently sitting in her crib, playing with Flopsy, she was now ten months old, she was becoming so grown up, her features were now fully developed though still slightly changing by day, her eyes were a spitting image of Cescas and her smile and ears a complete replica of Jonah. He loved how something so small, yet so precious could share the DNA and genetics of two human beings in love. He picked up Mia whose smile grew across her face as she saw her daddy enter the room, “morning Mia”, he said, she let out a cough before snuggling into Jonahs arms. He carried her downstairs placing her in the highchair that was sat in the corner of the room near the dining room table, she was beginning to get quite an appetite in the morning so Jonah went and prepared her breakfast which consisted of bananas, strawberries and yoghurt mashed together, it never looked very appealing but Mia seemed to love it. She wolfed it down; she was a very good girl these days when it came to eating, though staying on one place wasn’t her fortay. Jonah wiped her face with a flannel before placing her down on the floor resting her on this bright pink cushion they had bought her, it was supposed to encourage her to sit, which it had, but now Mia was much more interested in crawling around, not ideal for busy parents like Jonah and Cesca. Jonah quickly left the room to grab his bag which was in the hall and returned to a cheeky Mia who was lying on her back, by the TV, pulling out the piles of DVD’s that were stacked up on the shelves of the TV, “No Mia”, Jonah ran over to Mia just as she finally pulled the one out that she had been fiddling with, it smacked the corner of her head and led Mia into a state of screaming, Jonah lifted her up trying to rock her and rub her head, he felt his heart sink seeing his little girl in pain, it was her first accident and it sure wasn’t to be her last. “aw Mia”, he whispered as she continued to sob, Cesca had suddenly appeared in the door way, she had obviously heard the racket, “what’s up with the personal alarm clock”, she said, she often tried to lighten the mood when Mia cried, “She pulled one of the DVD’s out and it fell on her”, “Oh Mia, you silly Billy”, Cesca came over, looking over Jonah’s shoulder as she kissed her little girl on the head and used her hand to scroll over her face, trying to get a better look at the bruise that was now developing just above Mia’s eye. Jonah continued to rock Mia until she slowly calmed down, “I think it was the shock more than anything”, Jonah said just as Cesca left the room to finish doing her makeup “Yeah, I think so, but just keep an eye on her”, Jonah decided it was probably best that he stayed with her after Mia proving that she could be a spider across the floor, he began to play with Mia and Flopsy, they seemed to be having a lot of fun, well Flopsy certainly was as he was thrown across the room and in the air. “I think Flopsy’s feeling a bit sick now Mia”, Mia giggled it was as if she knew what Jonah was saying to her, which she couldn’t possibly have done. “Right, I’m all sorted shall we get going”, Cesca said as she popped through to see how the pair of them were doing. “Yeah, I’m ready, think Flopsy will be grateful from the break of being thrown about for at least a few minutes”, Cesca giggled as Mia beamed that cheeky little grin that reminded Cesca of every ounce of Jonah.
They got in the car, Jonah gave Mia Flopsy very apprehensively before getting in the car himself, he was right to be apprehensive, Mia kept dropping Flopsy on the floor to start with Jonah was finding it a bit of harmless fun, until it began to get annoying and just plain dangerous, “No Mia”, Cesca and Jonah both simultaneously spoke, words that Mia had heard twice within an hour. But she was beginning to learn what was wrong and right so this was healthy. She began to cry, which then just made Jonah and Cesca roll their eyes almost laughing to themselves, “She definitely doesn’t like the word no, that’s twice she has cried after hearing it”, Jonah said, they reached the school, parking in Cescas usual place. They got out the car, Mia was still screaming so Cesca got her out “alright Mia, think that’s enough”, she began to calm down, again as if she understood what was being said to her, Cesca picked her up out of the car with her bag, she wasn’t teaching today, it was the start of the summer holidays but she was here to support Jonah and so was Mia despite her bottom lip that looked as if she would rather be anywhere but here. She was in a sulky mood till Cesca reached in her bag and got Flopsy out again, “only if you don’t drop him”, hoping that Mia might get the message, which she seemed to have down. Jonah walked round the car his arm around Cesca, “Here’s to today”, she said, she had all her fingers and toes crossed for Jonah, he deserved the best marks he could get, he worked so hard and did his best, which was an amazing job, to support Cesca and Mia. They walked up the steps together “Morning, Jonah, Cesca and hello Mia” She put on this patronising voice once she got to Mia’s name, Mia simply screwed up her face, “Mia”, Cesca said, “sorry Karen she is in a really foul mood this morning”, “aw we all have those mornings”, “Not sure we all drop DVD cases on our heads though” Jonah added, “Yep not sure we do, guessing she is crawling around now?”, “yep and the bruise is a result of that”, “aw, she’ll be fine anyway I don’t want to keep you any longer from finding out your results”, Jonah led the way, followed by Cesca and Mia, who was completely occupied by Flopsy thank god, this was a really important moment for Jonah and Cesca really hoped that Mia wouldn’t mess it up.
Jonah reached the school foyer and was given an envelope with his name on it, Cesca bounced Mia on her hip whilst beaming at Jonah, she was just as excited as he was, after all she had taught him Spanish, but that wasn’t the only reason she was excited, she wanted Jonah to do well, she had so much faith in him. “Ces, I’m scared”, he said laughing, “I’m sure they’ll be great marks”, she let out a smile which seemed to encourage him to begin to unfold the large brown envelope. His hands were shaking, she tried to calm him with a hug, it seemed to work as he took a deep breath in and opened it, pulling out the most important piece of paper he had ever pulled out in his life, he braced himself before handing the envelope to Cesca and turning over the piece of paper containing his results. Still shaking he began to read what he had got. It simply read; A Maths, A*Spanish, A Chemistry, A English. Jonah couldn’t believe it in fact he couldn’t read it to Cesca so he simply handed her the piece of paper to read for herself he watched as her eyes flowed across the page so elegantly, before saying “Jonah, that’s amazing. A’s all round and an A*”, “In Spanish, may I add”, Cesca smiled, she was so happy for Jonah, “Well you always were my favourite teacher”, they both laughed before Jonah gave her a passionate kiss. “This means you can go to oxford, do what you wanted to do, Jonah you have your whole like ahead of you”, “Did I hear the words oxford being mentioned”, Marcus, who was always to meet them at the school and Karen both simultaneously asked Jonah. “Yes, A’s all round and an A* in Spanish”, Jonah could hardly speak so allowed Cesca to read it out to his dad and Karen. They were both so shocked, they knew Jonah was special but never actually thought that he would manage to go to Oxford. Cesca was over the moon as was Karen, Marcus and Chris who had now joined in the congratulations. However the original happiness that Jonah had felt was slowly disappearing. He felt this sudden ache in his heart and the feeling of being caged in, he needed to get out of there, so he began to run, Cesca was the only one that spotted him at first as he began to leg it out of the school “Jonah” , She shouted, what was the matter, she couldn’t understand. He had just got the best results in Waterloo road history, why was he so sad about it. She handed Mia over to Marcus, Mia was happy to be passed to her Granddad and Marcus was pleased to hold his granddaughter “Thanks Marcus”, she headed out the door running in her heels, which wasn’t easy, until she found Jonah around the side of the school. “Jonah”, He looked up, he wasn’t himself, this was meant to be a happy day and it was slowly turning into a sad one. She went over and leant against the same stretch of wall as she began to find out what was wrong. “Jonah, what’s the matter, your results were outstanding”, she said with a smile but equally with great confusion, “I know Ces and I can hardly believe it, but that’s not that part that haunts me”, “then what is?”, Cesca began to shrivel up in side she didn’t know what to expect. “Ces, I’m not going to go to Oxford”, “But Jonah”, Jonah didn’t give her a chance to speak before speaking again “Ces, my life has changed and so have my prospects, I have a family now. I’m not going thousands of miles away from you and Mia just to study, I love you Ces and I’m not going anywhere”, Cesca became saddened by Jonah’s words she felt so guilty “Jonah, I don’t want to be the reason you reject the best thing that ever happened to you”, “Ces, you and Mia are the best things that ever happened to me”, “that may be, but I’m not going to let you throw away your entire future, do you really want to be stacking shelves for the rest of your life?”, “if that’s what it takes to make ends meet, then that’s what I’ll do”, Marcus appeared out of nowhere with Mia, he had clearly heard every word of their conversation. “Jonah, you’re not going to go to Oxford?”, “No dad, I have a family and I don’t want to be thousands of miles away from them just to study”, “Jonah your about to make the biggest mistake of your life”, Marcus was in shock, his son, who had always been talked about as being one of the smartest boys waterloo road had ever seen. “Jonah, please don’t make the biggest mistake of your life because of me and Mia, we could cope, we would find a way to cope”, Cesca and Marcus looked at each other they were for once on the same side. “I’m 18 years old, I’m old enough to make my own decisions”, “Jonah were simply trying to guide you down the best possible route, this is your future, how do you think you’re going to provide for your family by working in a supermarket, you have brains, why waste them”, Marcus handed Mia back over to Cesca who was beginning to get grizzly again, just as Cesca had an idea that might make Jonah and his dad happy and the idea didn’t contain the words Oxford. “If you’re not going to Oxford Jonah, your still going to University, you’re not ruining your future” , “Jonah I agree with Cesca, I know this is what you want and this way you get the best of both worlds, your family and an education”, Jonah was happy to accept this, “I want to study and achieve and be what I want to be, but I could never be away from Ces or Mia”, “So it’s settled your to apply for a local or close university and study Spanish, Chemistry and physical education there”, Marcus clarified so that they all knew they were in the same boat. “Yes, that’s what I am going to do”, “Son, I love you. You deserve to be happy, you have a family and I understand that comes first, always! But sometimes in situations like this, you have to take a step back and think about you”, Cesca agreed “Your too stubborn sometimes Jonah”, He leant over and gave her a kiss followed by a hug for Mia, Cescas arms were beginning to ache after holding Mia for so long. They began to walk back towards the school. However they were greeted by Karen who spoke the words, “the reporters are here to speak to are budding star”, The Kirby’s all looked at each other, they didn’t know what to do, and Jonah wasn’t going to Oxford. Marcus felt it be right for him to tell Karen “Karen, Jonah has made the decision, which I happen to feel is the right one for him, he isn’t going to be attending Oxford”, Karen was shocked, she quickly headed back to Chris who was also in a bit of a panic as they all began to get rid of the reporters, the Kirby’s laughed. They were all happy, they had everything they wanted, “How’s about we all go and grab some lunch”, they all followed Marcus back to their cars, liking the sound of some food to celebrate Jonah’s success, they couldn’t help but watch the drama unfold in front of their eyes as yet again Waterloo road was experiencing bad press. Jonah and Cesca got into the car, both laughing to themselves, “I am so glad that I am out of there”, Cesca laughed, “you are remembering that’s the place that got you that A*”, “No, that was you, Mrs Kirby”, they both shared very flirtatious Kiss, before Cesca started the car and followed Marcus and Ruth as they made their way to what was to be a very enjoyable lunch for a very worthy cause.
