This week has tested me—Tilly has been fiery since coming back from her trip with her dad. I felt the tug-of-war of her moods and my patience, but by the weekend things softened.
Saturday morning, just her and me, we wandered into town and met up with the Raults. A bit of shopping, laughter shared, and lunch at The Chop House—it felt good to just be together in the ordinary. Joel was working overtime, but I knew we’d have our time soon. That afternoon, I dropped Tilly at her friend’s for a sleepover, and suddenly the house shifted from chaos to calm. Joel and I slipped into the sea for a swim, salt washing away the week’s edges. By evening we were home, side by side, letting ourselves breathe and unwind.
Sunday rolled in gently with a lie-in. We picked Tilly up and dropped her to her dad’s for his birthday, then carried on with our own errands—donation bags to the clothing bank, a small victory against the clutter and chaos that still lingers at home. We mooched around Le Friquet, stopped to see my mum and Joel’s parents, and later had a glorious swim at the bathing pools before picking Tilly up again. We ended the day with a Chinese takeaway and another quiet evening, the three of us tucked into the simple comfort of food and calm.
Monday morning was another slow, easy start. We dropped Tilly back to her dad’s and lingered for a while. I thought it might feel strange seeing Joel and Dave chatting so easily, almost like old friends—but instead, it filled me with gratitude. It reminded me all over again that Joel is the right person for me. There’s no awkwardness, no pretence—just the quiet strength of someone who simply fits in my world.
After, Joel and I swam again, grabbed breakfast, and then finally got to work building Luca’s cupboard unit. We laughed our way through it, complete with a trip to B&Q for hammers and an impromptu ice cream stop, before getting it into place in his room. By the evening we were back at mine, content and tired in the best kind of way.
Joel has been with me nearly all week, and I’ve loved every moment of it—the small domestic tasks, the swims, the errands, the easy silences. It feels like it’s always been us, like we’ve always shared this life. And I hope with everything in me that it always will be.