She kissed her dad goodbye and drove to the school in a happy daze. She had some very good news for Billy and the boys when she got home.

Billy asked Vanessa a few times, subtly, when she’d liked to set a date for the wedding, but she always found herself saying, ‘Later, down the track.’ Somehow, two and a half years went by with Vanessa making no actual plans to tie the knot. Billy was very patient, but it was obvious he couldn’t understand why she was stalling and honestly, she didn’t have a good excuse to give him. Maybe she was making sure of her feelings, or maybe she was scared. She didn’t know herself. Billy had discussed it with Wren in the kitchen one day when they hadn’t known that Vanessa could hear them, even over Ty running around the clothesline pretending to be an airplane. He was five now and full of enthusiasm. Wren had suggested to Billy that she was scared and that he should not push her. In her experience, marriage had a way of changing people and not for the better. Wren was fifteen now, a wonderful kid, but Vanessa worried that she had put too much on his shoulders at a young age, that she relied too heavily on him. But he was her everything, her best friend, her protector, as Billy called him. Despite his chaotic early start to life, he was turning out to be a beautiful soul.

She didn’t want to lose Billy by not marrying him, but Vanessa thought she was worth waiting for. Once, she would never have thought that. Mark used to tell her that she was nothing, that no one would ever love her. And she had believed him. Until now. But she just couldn’t pin down what was holding her back.

She went round to see her dad and Maggie one morning before work. It was clear that having Maggie and Charlotte in the house was making him happy. They had been living in the house with her dad for just over two and a half years now. At first, Vanessa had been worried about the dynamics of their situation, but after so long, she could see how well it worked for all three of them. Her dad had company, Maggie had a close friend and father figure and Charlotte had a grandfather. Vanessa was happy for them all.

‘Well, maybe you are scared. You didn’t have a great experience with Mark.’ Maggie gave her a crooked smile.

‘Billy shouldn’t be pressuring you, honey,’ her dad interjected.

‘Oh no, he’s not, he just asks the question every now and then. I can’t seem to settle on a date, but I love him. It’s weird.’ Talking about it to people outside their love bubble was proving helpful. They made good points. She was hesitant about marriage.