Worth the wait

Chapter Fifty-One.

"Higher!" Rosie squealed. "Higher Ben!"

"I'll try. Hold on tight!" He laughed as he pulled the swing seat back as far as he could. "Make sure you're holding on really tight Rosebud!" He let go and watched her glide through the air.

"Woo hoo!" She laughed as she looked down to see Bonny running around chasing her shadow.

"Rosie, your lunch is ready. Come eat please." Charlotte called from the back door.

"Ok mum." She shouted back.

"Don't even think about jumping off missy! I'll slow you down first." Ben warned knowing she intended to do just that. "Keep a tight hold on the ropes." He said to her, catching a hold of the swing seat so he could slow it enough for her to get off safely. "There you go! Make sure you wash your hands! You were digging around playing with Bon!" He called out to her as she ran inside.

He walked in to the kitchen and saw Charlotte standing at the counter.

"Can you close and lock the door please." She called over her shoulder.

"Lott, he's not..."

"Please." His shoulders shagged and he let out a quiet sigh before going back to the door and locking it. "Thank you."
He walked up behind her and kissed her on the back of the head before he went to sit at the table.

"Are we taking Bonnie to the park for her walk again today?" Rosie asked as she walked back in to the kitchen and sat at the dining table.

"Not today sweetie." Charlotte told her as she walked over and placed a plate in front of her and Ben before going back to get her coffee and then joining them both at the table.

"You not eating?" His brow furrowed as he asked.

"Not hungry." She shook her head and took a sip from her cup.

"You didn't eat anything at breakfast either and you picked at dinner last night..."

"Why can't we take her to the park?" She asked.

"Because I said so." Charlotte started to rub her temples.

"Or are we going somewhere different?" Rosie asked as she took a bite from her sandwich.

"Just eat your food Rosie." Charlotte said in a raised, agitated tone.

"Lott, you have to eat something. Even if it's just some toast or whatever." Ben tried reasoning with her.

"Why aren't we taking her for her walk? Ben, she has to have her walk." The young girl whined and turned to him to agree with her.

"I said no!" Charlotte shouted."I am your mum, what I say goes! Do you understand?"

"Babe... She just..."

"Don't! I'm not hungry! We're not going anywhere! End of discussion!" She shouted and stood up from the table, taking her cup to the sink.

Ben sat wide eyed at her outburst then looked to Rosie who was sat with tears in her eyes as her bottom lip started to tremble. He lent forward to take hold of her little hand but she pulled away from him and ran out of the room and upstairs.
Standing from his seat he made his way over to the kitchen door.

"Don't you dare go and coddle her. She needs to learn no means no." Charlotte said as she looked out the window, fighting her own tears.

"I understand that Charlotte, I really do. Just like I understand that you're stressed and anxious about Jack. But babe, she's just a kid! She doesn't completely understand what the fuck is going on. Shouting at her like that, that's not you. So yeah, I'm going to go coddle her. Not because I don't agree with her needing to learn no means no but because she doesn't understand why the answer is no. If you want to have the hump with me over it, that's fine but it's not fair to take it out on her." He told her in what he hoped was a calm tone before he headed up to check on Rosie.