Amest aged up into a sweet little boy with his father's hair. I was relieved when he asked to
please please please dye it his favorite color, green, and all traces of Franco were gone from my son.
Being a single mother, without even the infrequent help of Franco or steady warmth of Phillip, proved incredibly stressful. Amest was a mature toddler who never fussed, but even so (between him and my difficult pregnancy), I was always exhausted.
Even so, I did my best to keep the recent hardships from influencing Amest's childhood. He's such a smart, grown-up little boy that I'd hate to see him be weighed down by the difficulties of everyday life.
I went into labor while feeding Amest, but rushed into the bathroom so we wouldn't be emotionally scarred by the sight of his mother giving birth to his little brother.
Leaf came into the world hearing his older brother wailing in the other room.
At least, with Leaf, I've had one worry assuaged: there is no question as to who Leaf's father is. And I didn't even have to pay for a paternity test.
As much as I enjoy having my little boys to myself, and as happy as I am being single--if a little lonely, with no adults to talk to--I called my ex-husband and invited him over. He rushed over right away, and I calmly told him how betrayed I felt by what he did, but that I felt he had a right to see his child.
Leaf began to cry, so I went into the nursery with Franco following. "Is he mine?" Franco asked timidly.
"No. His father and I broke it off a few weeks ago," I replied.
The meeting was going much better than I had expected, so when Franco asked if I would like to go out to lunch, for old time's sake, I reluctantly accepted. We talked the entire way over, and I found myself telling him all about Phillip and taking care of the children by myself.
He told me about how Amelia had broken it off with him, and about the Loveland triplets, and the Grace and Willheim twins. Foam is a teenager now, and Nymph recently won an award for citizenship at the local high school. I haven't seen either of them since Franco left.
Hearing about the kids, and talking about the last few years, really brought memories back. The happy memories, of raising our family together and being in love before everything went wrong. Before Franco betrayed me, over and over. So I thought, and I thought, and while I was thinking my body did something else.
We separated, still holding each other, and I gazed at Franco and saw the man I had loved for so many years, with whom I had given birth to Nymph, Mist, Foam, Melody, Amest . . .
"I'm not going to pretend that I didn't do something horrible," Franco began, holding my hands gently, "but I'm also not going to pretend that I want a second chance. I'll break up with Amira, and I'll do my best to be the boyfriend you deserve."
I know, it wasn't at all the smart thing to do. I felt like an idiot for taking him back, but we both knew that he would be back out the door in a second if he did anything wrong. Just like Phillip, he didn't
technically move in, but lived with me anyway. And that first night we returned home and relived our first night as newlyweds.
The weeks following were almost peaceful. If Phillip was a father to Amest, Franco saw Leaf as his own son.
As for Amest? With Phillip no longer stopping by, he adopted Franco as his one and only daddy, and spent the elder part of his toddler years reaching up for "Daddy, Daddy" to toss him in the air.
We felt like a family again, with the boys and each other in the nursery. We smiled at each other and snuck kisses over the heads of our children before returning to the walking, talking, and feeding.
At night, I knew that Franco was in my bed dreaming of me, not lending his dreams to Amira or Amelia or Anais.
I was ecstatic to discover my pregnancy. Franco was by my side, and I knew that he would be a supporting, loving father and boyfriend.
We talked about what we would name the baby, where we would send him or her to school, how we would divide time between all of the children--but mostly we just made out where the children couldn't see us.
Amest grew up into a conscientious, intellectual child who was wise beyond his years. Franco and I decided that Smugglesworth Prep School would be the perfect place for our son to receive the education he deserved.
After he and his father engaged in a rowdy pillow fight, of course!
Next, it was Leaf's turn to become a very handsome toddler. He looks exactly like Phillip to me--a fond memory of that easygoing relationship. I do miss Phillip, especially since he stopped returning my calls or even speaking with me.
The same day Amest left for prep school, Melody returned from LeFromage. My flowery, innocent little girl had turned into . . . something very different. She tells me that blue lipstick is all the rage these days, but I just don't know.
