1.11 Life As I Knew It

Credit: The pose in this chapter is the We Heart It posepack by Skylar.

Yay, another update! First off, I’d like to dedicate this chapter to a very good friend of mine, PuddlyPudd who encouraged me (more like forced me…lol) to get this chapter out when I was having a major writer’s block. Thanks Lisa, you’re the best! 🙂

Okay, just to explain this chapter a bit…I jumped the storyline a little bit again because Brook left before I knew it for boarding school AND because Aubrey grew into a teen when I wasn’t looking. It’s a little shorter than the previous chapter. Your likes and comments are very much appreciated, thank you and enjoy!

---

One Year Later…

The sun brightly shone as its natural sunlight danced across the apple trees in the backyard. Spring was here again and it was time to harvest the apples. I reminded myself to water them before I took the last bite of my veggie omelet. As I arose from the dining table, I could hear the faint sounds of Max and Aubrey having a conversation upstairs, and soon after, the muffled sounds of them laughing. The sound of Max’s laughter made me smile as I rinsed off my plate and placed it inside the sink. It was rewarding to know how close him and Aubrey had become within this past year. Now that Aubrey was older, their constant sibling bickering directly turned into hidden whispers and silent glances.

The house was a little bit quieter since Brook left for the Bridgeport Music & Art Academy. Sometimes I could still hear the rhythmic pitter-patter sounds of her feet coming from upstairs as she would practice religiously in her bedroom. Despite how Declan felt, I still believed she would be all right by herself. “Be careful out there!” I would warn her every time she phoned home. Hearing her sigh on the other end of the line in slight annoyance, she’d agree and would promise to call tomorrow. This had became our daily routine. Every morning I’d wake up, rummage through the fridge to find something to eat, make some coffee, and then the phone would ring. Even though she wasn’t my biological child, I still look at her as being one of my own.

My life, as I knew it, was beginning to slow down and pretty soon, I knew I would become an empty-nester. It wouldn’t be long before Max would be heading off somewhere starting a life of his own. Unlike Brook, the thought of Max being on his own scared the daylight out of me. Ever since he found out about Blair, things have not been the same with him. His distance towards me was tearing me apart and somehow I felt deep in my heart that he secretly blamed me for what Blair did. The thing is I don’t blame him for feeling that way. If I never went to that lounge bar with him that night, this never would’ve happened. However, Max would’ve never been born. So how am I suppose to feel? How is any of us suppose to feel?

The soft sounds of feet shuffling quickly ascended from my bedroom and into the kitchen. There lagging in his gait was a drowsy Declan, emerging from our bedroom with tussled hair. “Good morning, babe,” he said through a yawn and a stretch as his arms spread out into the air.

“Good morning. I’ve made everyone breakfast.” I happily handed him a plate of omelets as he brushed past me, mimicking an air kiss in my general direction before making himself a cup of coffee. “Kids, breakfast!” I called to upstairs.

I prepared two more plates and sat them down on the counter. “Thanks, Mom,” said Aubrey immediately upon entering the kitchen. She smiled merrily as she bid us good morning and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. Her hair was neatly combed straight down her back while she was still dressed in her pajamas. Even in pajamas, she’s still neat in her appearance. Where does she get that from? She walked over to Declan and gave him a hug before they sat down to eat at the breakfast bar.

“You’re looking lovely as ever,” said Declan. Aubrey smiled coyly at her father and took a bite of her food. Her father was the only person in the world who could make her blush.

“Where’s your brother?” I asked curiously once I realized he didn’t make it downstairs with his sister.

“He’s coming,” she simply replied, focusing in on her plate of food. I looked over at Declan, who at this point gave me a reassuring expression. There were so many times when I just wanted to grab my son by his shoulders and shake the depression out of him; though I knew in time, he would come back around. I sighed in defeat and went into the bedroom to prepare for a shower.

“Hey, there he is!” chimed Declan when he saw a stone-faced Max coming down the stairs. “Good morning, son!”

“Hey,” said Max, unenthusiastically just as he opened the refrigerator door. He reached inside to pull out a bottle of orange juice.

“Mom made breakfast. Your plate’s on the counter,” said Aubrey through mouthfuls of eggs.

“I’m not hungry,” he replied in the same manner, pouring himself a cup.

Declan got up from his bar stool with his plate in hand and walked over to Max who at this point had already guzzled the entire glass of orange juice. Declan stood before his son and looked him straight in the eyes. A stern expression appearing across his face as Max took a small step back in uneasiness. “Your mom woke up early and made it especially for you both. The least you could do is thank her by eating it.” Max could clearly see he was annoyed by his attitude. Max nodded compliantly and looked down at the espresso-colored wooden flooring beneath him. “Listen, I know you’re going through something right now–and we all understand; we really do–but your attitude and disrespect is starting to take its toll on your mother and frankly it’s starting to annoy me as well.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” he said softly, barely above a whisper. His eyes narrowing back down to the floor. Declan placed a hand on the side of Max’s head and smiled. Max quickly glanced back up at him and gave him a slight smirk before walking away to gather his plate and fork and sitting down at the dining table.

I sat on my bed and wondered where I went wrong with Max. It was all I could think about lately and I was beginning to feel as if I would never be able to climb over this immense  roadblock that swiftly aberrated our lives away from what it once was. I always thought about what I would say or how I would deal with it once the day would come.

What was I suppose to say and do? I told him the truth and now the kid hates me. No he doesn’t hate you. He’s just upset and confused. I fought back and forth with my heavy thoughts until Declan appeared in the doorway. He smiled and leaned against the door frame. “You okay?” he asked. His eyes squinting at me with desire.

I smiled at him and nodded reassuringly. “Just thinking,” I said.

Declan walked over to the bed and held out his hand to me. He pulled me up from the bed when I gently took his hand and embraced me with a sensual kiss. His arms wrapped around me sent a warm feeling inside myself and my body relaxed in his arms. “He’s going to be okay, you know. You worry about him too much.”

“I know,” I said, releasing myself away from his hug but not his grasp. “But I can’t help it. It breaks my heart knowing that he’s hurting like that.” Declan placed his hands onto my hips and pulled me back in, our foreheads touching.

“I know,” he said. “But he’s strong like his mother. He’ll bounce back.” I looked in Declan’s eyes in search for his certainty. He smiled once again and lowered his lips onto mine. “So when do you want to tell them the good news?” he asked softly as his eyes gleamed with joy.

We walked out of the bedroom to find Max doing his homework at the dining table and  Aubrey in the living room engrossed in one of her books. One of the many things I was proud of was the fact that Max has always been very successful in his academics and Aubrey was a complete bookworm. As a child, Aubrey would sit in her bedroom and read for hours while Max would take weekend classes at the library to learn new things. They were both indeed very bright children and had all of the qualities I wish I had as a child.

“Max, Aubrey…We need to have a little chat.” Declan and I sat on one of the living room couches. Aubrey and Max went over to the adjacent couch and sat down, awaiting anxiously for whatever we had to say.

“Look, if this is about the frog incident at the school, I wasn’t there so I didn’t see anything,” said Max defensively.

“What are you talking about, Max? What frog incident? Your father and I just need to tell you both something, that’s all.”

“Oh. N-nevermind.” Max grinned nervously and sat back onto the couch.

“Well kids…Your father and I…are having another baby!” I exclaimed happily. Declan and I smiled as we waited for their reactions. Max and Aubrey sat quietly and looked at each other. Their faces were expressionless and it was hard to tell what they were thinking or feeling. “Well? Aren’t you guys excited?”

Max looked down amusingly at the floor. “Wait,” began Aubrey with a confused yet troubled look upon her face. “You guys still do it at your age?! That’s so disgusting! Don’t you use protection? I mean like Mom, you’re like…forty. Aren’t you too old to have a baby?”

Declan looked at me and smirked. “Hey, I resent that!” I exclaimed. “Besides, you’re never too old to woohoo!” I gave them a wink and smiled in hilarity. Max and Aubrey looked at each other again and shuttered in disgust.

The kids weren’t exactly thrilled at the fact that we were expecting another child this late in life, but they were supportive of our decision nevertheless. After we sat and discussed the rules and the expectations Declan and I have of them when the baby arrives, I decided to pull Max to the side and talk with him about what he was feeling.

“I’m fine, Mom. Really,” he said assertively.

“I just want to make sure because we haven’t really sat down and talked about it since you first asked me about him,” I said, concerned.

“Don’t worry about it; it’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine,” he retorted.

“So you don’t have anymore questions about him or anything pertaining to what happened?”

“Mom! Just leave me alone about it! I said I’m fine! I don’t want to talk about it anymore!” Max cried, furrowing his brows in frustration. I nodded in silence, leaving him to dismiss himself as he walked past the kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom. The house went  silent after I heard Max’s door close in a half slam. Declan had taken Aubrey to the bookstore, causing the rest of the house to become empty. I had became accustomed to the everyday noises since having children to the point where silence now bothered me, so the thought of having another child on the way delighted me.

I walked over to the glass patio doors that led to the backyard and admired the beautiful scenery of the mountains that surrounded us. I finally felt at home here in Cape Garner and I couldn’t imagine myself living anywhere else. I opened the screen door and stepped out into the cool breeze. The trees swayed gently with the wind while the apples swung back and forth with it. I grabbed the wooden crate I used to gather the apples from the patio deck and made my way to the trees. Since it was harvesting time, the apples were beginning to fall to the ground. There were at least three crates full of apples to pick, so I made a mental note to finish before nightfall.