Begin Again novel Chapter 19

Tired of entertaining himself, her son ran up to her, and Eden spent a few minutes throwing him up in the air and making aeroplane sounds as they zoomed around the room. By the time she set him down, she was out of breath and a little tired.

She looked through the bag for his toys, but Aiden picked a book instead. Sienna and Lydia read it to him while she and Cassandra went through the house, checking what needs to be done.

The kitchen was their first stop. The cabinets were old, but Cassandra thought they could do them up by repainting them. They'd leave the top ones white and paint the bottoms powder blue to go with the fitted gas cooktop. Grammy’s vintage fridge would fit in nicely too to complete the farmhouse look.

Eden wasn't too concerned about the open plan living room. Her new three-seater would arrive in a few days. She'd hit the rooftop flea market at the weekend for a coffee table and a couple of armchairs, she could always refurbish them the way she wanted. She just wasn't sure about Grammy’s upright piano; it wouldn't go with the coastal farmhouse vibes she was trying to go for.

"This is huge," Cassandra murmured as they paused in the master bedroom. Eden knew she wasn't talking about the room. She was referring to her decision to buy a house.

It was a huge responsibility, one that would drain her already depleted finances. She poured all her inheritance from Grammy into buying this place. Other than her measly savings from her freelance work, she had nothing. She had to get a job soon. Something more permanent. She doubted Van Holt Industries would take her back as an assistant. Not after the way she vanished.

"So what's the plan?" Her friend asked as they both sat on the window sill of the huge bay window overlooking the garden, well if you could call an overgrown lawn overridden with weeds that.

"Get a job. Find a daycare for Aiden. And figure out the rest as I go," Eden replied. She hated not having a plan. But her decision to come back was a spur of the moment thing.

She was happy in the Blue Mountains, and she would have likely put up permanent roots if Grammy hadn't died. But as much as she loved the sleepy town with its laid-back pace and gorgeous mountainous landscape, her grandmother's cabin wasn't the same without her. Being self-isolated when you're on your own is okay, not so much when you have an eighteen-month old baby.

Cassandra stood and stretched her lithe frame before she looked through the built-in cupboards, oohing at the amount of space Eden had.

"I think you'll be happy here," she said as she turned the light on and off, making sure it works.

That's the plan, Eden thought, for her and Aiden to be happy. There was so much she wanted to show him around the neighbourhood, and she couldn't wait to take him to the park and meet other kids and Moms, and maybe arrange playdates.

Yes, they were going to be so happy here.

The doorbell rang, and Cassandra clapped her hands excitedly. "Pizza's here!"

They returned to the living room in time to find Lydia and Sienna breaking out the paper plates and serviettes, Aiden napped peacefully on a thick stack of blankets her friends had brought in from the car.

Sienna poured wine for herself and the other two ladies, Eden settled on sparkling water. She hadn't touched alcohol since her hookup with Liam. It's not that she quit it or anything dramatic like that; she just didn't crave it.

"So what's the plan tonight?" Lydia asked, making a point of looking around the empty place. "Where will you sleep?"

"We'll slum it for one night. The moving van will deliver Grammy's furniture tomorrow," Eden replied.

"You can't possibly sleep on the floor, not with Aiden," Sienna was horrified by the idea.

"It's only one night, and I brought enough blankets. He won't die," Eden insisted.

"His father would die if he knew," Lydia shuddered visibly.

"Now why would you bring him up again?" Eden asked crossly as she pushed her plate away. She'd lost her appetite.

"I'm just saying; you don't need to live like this, not when Aiden's father–"

"I will not ask Liam for anything," Eden cut her off. "We did just fine without him for two years."

"What about your parents?" Sienna asked.

"Guys, can we all please stop worrying about my finances?” Eden ran a harried hand through her hair as she blew out a frustrated breath. All this worrying from everyone was giving her major anxiety.

Lydia suddenly remembered she had something to do and excused herself. But Eden knew she was pissed at her because she didn't want to take her well-meaning advice about crawling back to Liam and begging him for money.