Chapter 63 - Touch Down
It was early afternoon, the sky was blue and the air conditioning that wafted through the cabin of the aeroplane had hairs on end at the slight chill. It was almost time to land, almost time to touch down and begin a new life. It was always so much simpler in your head; the thing was this was going to be the hardest thing for Ivan and his 12 year old daughter Esme. This wasn’t a new start, this was walking out on everything that had any importance, and you see this was only half the family, only half the story. This was walking out of Spain your home country and attempting to fit in and get on with a new life in England, a completely foreign country, but it had to be done. It had been a difficult time for the whole family, the breakdown of any marriage is never easy especially after 11 years. It was never the most romantic marriage, in fact Ivan and Bella’s relationship was a mockery to the word marriage, there was lying and cheating and the arguing just never stopped. To be honest Ivan’s heart never truly lied with Bella, but he felt that he had to settle down start a family which he did. The birth of his first daughter Esme was a moment he would never forget, she was his little girl and that was something that would never change, he felt like her birth would bring him and Bella closer. He loved her and cared about her but he just never quite felt that feeling of true love when he was with her. Ivan tried his best to hold the pieces of his family together, he never let on to Bella how he truly felt, all that mattered to Ivan was the fact his daughter grew up with a mother and a father, two people that loved and cared for her. It was simple. However things got worse, Ivan was distant and Bella began to pick up on it, it was the little things to start with the breakdown of communication between the pair until it got more serious and reached a new level, a lack of intimacy and affection. It soon got to a point where they were sleeping in separate beds only together for one reason, a good reason though and that was for Esme. So Esme has always been the girl in the middle, the girl trapped between her parents ongoing silent feud, but silent is always the more violent, it’s what’s not said that can hurt the most. Esme grew up genuinely oblivious to it all until she reached the tender age of 10; she was a mature girl who was pretty observant. She never fully understood the route of it all, well how could she Bella didn’t even fully understand it herself let alone her 10 year old daughter. But then things started to get better, her mum and dad would hug or spend the night in together, she got to spend the night at her grandparents which she enjoyed and then she got the news. Her mum and dad were having another baby, Esme was excited about the idea, she felt so grown up and now she had someone to look out for, someone to guide. So it soon reached the day when everything reached its climax Lola was born and the whole family was once again together. But that’s as far as better got. Bella and Ivan were still slightly awkward towards each other; they cared for Lola as she grew into being the sweet little toddler she is today. But even Esme could see that something wasn’t right, she did her best to help out she could see it all breakdown around her; she did her best to be the caring big sister. She would read bedtime stories to Lola whilst her dad would work and her mum would wash up after dinner. She would tuck her in and say goodnight but then the arguing started, Esme would always be there for little Lola singing to her Spanish lullaby her grandma used to sing to her when she cried. It was a sweet song that always stuck, it seemed to soothe Lola, but soothing wasn’t solving. Esme’s tears would fall with every word, every insult that echoed through the walls, her parents voices raging with anger. No one was there to support Esme through it all, she would cradle her little sister until she fell asleep and then they would wake up and everything would be normal again as if the night before had been a nightmare. But then one morning everything changed.
Esme woke up to bags at the front door, Ivan couldn’t take hurting Bella anymore it wasn’t fair on her or the girls, but then the decision that Esme was faced with wasn’t either. Esme was told of her parents break up, it stunned her, pierced every muscle in her body, but then the words of moving to England with her dad hit her like a ton of bricks. She didn’t have any choice, she was to leave her little sister and her mum and move to England with her dad. It wasn’t a decision her mum was to keen on, in her opinion if Ivan didn’t love her that was there problem but he didn’t need to spilt the girls up, move them to opposite countries. But then it was only fair on Ivan they were still his girls, Bella and Ivan hoped that the move would do them good. But leaving Lola was never going to be easy, she was only 2 she still had so much growing up to do and Ivan was going to miss it. He would still visit but he was a plane journey away not a few minutes. It had been decided that it would be best for Esme to go with him, she would be starting secondary school and moving to a new school anyway, so what difference did it make whether it was in England or Spain. Esme spoke pretty good English having studied it at school so that wouldn’t have been a problem either. It had been a long and rough ride the past few years and Ivan had promised Esme that everything was going to get better; everything was going to be alright. A promise was a promise and he never broke promises to his girls, they meant the world and all he wanted was what was best for them. They got off the plane, Ivan held their bags over one arm and Esme’s hand in another he wanted to show his support this was a gigantic step for the pair of them and one they were going to make together. “It’s alright Es; we’re going to be fine. This is our new start” They reclaimed their luggage and grabbed a taxi. There accommodation was sorted but only just, the transaction for the house they had chosen to buy had only just gone through, which was close to Esme’s school, she was to be attending Waterloo Road Comprehensive in September. It would be her first year so she wouldn’t have to worry about fitting in too much. Ivan felt like everything was sorted, there wasn’t any need to worry though he could already see by the look in Esme’s face that she was starting to feel homesick. He reached out his hand and held on to hers, he simply looked at her with a smile, which seemed to make Esme feel that much better, reminded her that this was their new future, father and daughter united as one through the rough and the good, they hoped it would only be the good but it wasn’t like things had been easy recently, so who said they were going to get any better. The taxi pulled up outside their semi-detached house. It was beautiful, the flowers bloomed and the fresh white coat of paint really brightened up the road and the dreary weather which had now come upon them. Ivan paid the driver and rustled through his bag for their new keys as the first few specks of rain began to fall. Esme ran towards the door, beating her dad to it. Ivan took his time as he lugged their bags and suitcases towards the front door, just as it began to chuck it down, Esme couldn’t help but giggle, it was so typical for her dad to be caught out and put in difficult situations.
He finally reached the door but then it was wrestling with the wind to be able to put in the key. It finally opened, the house was lovely, it wasn’t too big or too small, it was cosy and that was just what they needed as they were bound to feel a little homesick. Esme ran upstairs after being told where her bedroom would be, it was lovely and there was even a window seat. She loved it, she really was starting to think better of the whole situation but to be honest Esme was still looking at it all has a holiday placement and not the permanent fixture that it was. Ivan began to unpack their clothes, they didn’t have much furniture some of it had been organised to arrive in time for the move but it wasn’t all here, so it was hard to properly settle in, but the one thing that was in the house was the TV, so Ivan and Esme took the time to relax and enjoy each other’s company in a new country, on their new journey. But it was cut short and they were both brought back to reality when Bella called to hear her little girl’s voice. Ivan sat on the floor in the lounge, due to the absence of the sofa and listened out to what was being said, it was horrible he could hear the tears that were streaming down her face, this was going to be even harder than any of them had planned, but he knew they would get through it all, he knew that the start of school in a few weeks would be a good thing for Esme. It would give her something else to focus on and give her the chance to make new friends and interact with some new people, it would finally give her a little sense of home, and normality anything that would make the move feel permanent. Ivan knew that whatever happened he would always be there to pick up the pieces for his girls even if they were overseas in Spain or right on his doorstep in England all Ivan knew was that this was the right decision, it wasn’t fair to break someone’s heart a feeling he knew all too well.
Esme woke up to bags at the front door, Ivan couldn’t take hurting Bella anymore it wasn’t fair on her or the girls, but then the decision that Esme was faced with wasn’t either. Esme was told of her parents break up, it stunned her, pierced every muscle in her body, but then the words of moving to England with her dad hit her like a ton of bricks. She didn’t have any choice, she was to leave her little sister and her mum and move to England with her dad. It wasn’t a decision her mum was to keen on, in her opinion if Ivan didn’t love her that was there problem but he didn’t need to spilt the girls up, move them to opposite countries. But then it was only fair on Ivan they were still his girls, Bella and Ivan hoped that the move would do them good. But leaving Lola was never going to be easy, she was only 2 she still had so much growing up to do and Ivan was going to miss it. He would still visit but he was a plane journey away not a few minutes. It had been decided that it would be best for Esme to go with him, she would be starting secondary school and moving to a new school anyway, so what difference did it make whether it was in England or Spain. Esme spoke pretty good English having studied it at school so that wouldn’t have been a problem either. It had been a long and rough ride the past few years and Ivan had promised Esme that everything was going to get better; everything was going to be alright. A promise was a promise and he never broke promises to his girls, they meant the world and all he wanted was what was best for them. They got off the plane, Ivan held their bags over one arm and Esme’s hand in another he wanted to show his support this was a gigantic step for the pair of them and one they were going to make together. “It’s alright Es; we’re going to be fine. This is our new start” They reclaimed their luggage and grabbed a taxi. There accommodation was sorted but only just, the transaction for the house they had chosen to buy had only just gone through, which was close to Esme’s school, she was to be attending Waterloo Road Comprehensive in September. It would be her first year so she wouldn’t have to worry about fitting in too much. Ivan felt like everything was sorted, there wasn’t any need to worry though he could already see by the look in Esme’s face that she was starting to feel homesick. He reached out his hand and held on to hers, he simply looked at her with a smile, which seemed to make Esme feel that much better, reminded her that this was their new future, father and daughter united as one through the rough and the good, they hoped it would only be the good but it wasn’t like things had been easy recently, so who said they were going to get any better. The taxi pulled up outside their semi-detached house. It was beautiful, the flowers bloomed and the fresh white coat of paint really brightened up the road and the dreary weather which had now come upon them. Ivan paid the driver and rustled through his bag for their new keys as the first few specks of rain began to fall. Esme ran towards the door, beating her dad to it. Ivan took his time as he lugged their bags and suitcases towards the front door, just as it began to chuck it down, Esme couldn’t help but giggle, it was so typical for her dad to be caught out and put in difficult situations.
He finally reached the door but then it was wrestling with the wind to be able to put in the key. It finally opened, the house was lovely, it wasn’t too big or too small, it was cosy and that was just what they needed as they were bound to feel a little homesick. Esme ran upstairs after being told where her bedroom would be, it was lovely and there was even a window seat. She loved it, she really was starting to think better of the whole situation but to be honest Esme was still looking at it all has a holiday placement and not the permanent fixture that it was. Ivan began to unpack their clothes, they didn’t have much furniture some of it had been organised to arrive in time for the move but it wasn’t all here, so it was hard to properly settle in, but the one thing that was in the house was the TV, so Ivan and Esme took the time to relax and enjoy each other’s company in a new country, on their new journey. But it was cut short and they were both brought back to reality when Bella called to hear her little girl’s voice. Ivan sat on the floor in the lounge, due to the absence of the sofa and listened out to what was being said, it was horrible he could hear the tears that were streaming down her face, this was going to be even harder than any of them had planned, but he knew they would get through it all, he knew that the start of school in a few weeks would be a good thing for Esme. It would give her something else to focus on and give her the chance to make new friends and interact with some new people, it would finally give her a little sense of home, and normality anything that would make the move feel permanent. Ivan knew that whatever happened he would always be there to pick up the pieces for his girls even if they were overseas in Spain or right on his doorstep in England all Ivan knew was that this was the right decision, it wasn’t fair to break someone’s heart a feeling he knew all too well.
