Together Or Apart

38. You're Still The One

London stares at her own reflection in the mirror as she is seated on top of the bathroom vanity. She slowly leans in and puckers her red lips that she applied herself. I stepped out of the bathroom for one moment to put on my dress and in the meantime, she had taken my red lipstick. 

"Did I do good Mummy?" 

I cup her face with my hand and gently move her face so that I can get a better look. "You did a pretty great job actually. Let me just fix the smudge over here." I grab a a-tip and dab it into my micellar water bottle before swiping the cotton across the skin beneath her lower lip. "There we go."

"Can I do yours?" She asks me as I place the q-tip in the bin and pick up my mascara. 

I unwind the wand from the small bottle and coat my top lashes. "What colour? Red?" I used to love a red lip but it is high maintenance. Given the fact that we are going to dinner, there really is no point as I plan on eating pasta. 

"Yes so we can be matching."

"I was thinking of a nude lip tonight."

"Go red Mum. Come on, be fun."

I raise my eyebrows at her and place my hand on my hip. "Excuse me, I am fun."

London waves the red Chanel lipstick in front of me. "Then wear some red."

I let out an exaggerated sigh. "Ugh, fine. Go ahead." I say, knowing that I am probably going to regret this decision of letting a 5 year old do my lipstick. My red lipstick. 

"When you sing on stage next time Mum, you should let me be your makeup artist. I only charge $5.00."

I laugh at London. "Wow, you're pretty cheap. Much cheaper than the makeup artists I've worked with over the years. I might take you up on that offer. Do you think Mum should go on tour again one day?"

She nods her head rapidly. "Of course!" London exclaims. "I forget the last time you were singing on a stage Mum. Why does Dad always do his shows but you don't?"

I finish doing my mascara and place it back inside my makeup bag. I place my hands on London's knees and bend down so that I am on her level. "You see baby, when Mummy found out she was pregnant, she decided that she wanted to give her baby her full attention. Being on tour is stressful on your body and your mind. I just wanted to enjoy being a Mum. And I made the right choice because when my beautiful little girl came into the world, there is nowhere I wanted to be than with her." I pinch her cheek. "I planned on only taking a little break, then go back on tour again, but then I was enjoying life too much being one happy family with you and your Dad. Then we decided to have another baby and being with you and Syd is what makes me happy right now. When you girls grow up, I would love to go on stage again and travel around the world. But not right now."

"Why can't you sing songs still but? Dad does."

She's right. 

"I don't know. I think I got a bit scared. You know that I am still writing songs and we sing all the time."

"That's just in the car or in the kitchen. You sing so good Mummy, you should sing to more people and not just Syd and I." She pulls my hair over my shoulders and plays with my curls. 

"I love you so much." I lean in and kiss her cheek. I try to kiss her again but she giggles and moves her face away. "I need one more kiss. Please, because I can't kiss you when I have my red lipstick on."

London grabs my face and pulls it down so that she can kiss me. 

"Now I have your red lipstick on me!"

This only makes her laugh even more. She tries to kiss me again but I pull my face away. 

"What's going on in here?" Harry asks as he walks into the bathroom with Sydney on his hip. He is dressed in beige coloured trousers with a black long-sleeve button-up. He chose Sydney's outfit and she is wearing a brown skirt and a black long-sleeve knit to match her Dad.