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.

Cassandra left to check on her and keep her company.

"Well, that went well!" Sienna turned to her with a frown on her face. She looked very young without the braids and the weaves she's spotted over the years. Eden liked her natural hair better; it was thick and curly and floated around her head like a soft puffy cloud.

"Not you too, Si," Eden put up her hand.

"You know she meant well. She wants you and Liam to give it a shot!"

"Give what a shot? There were no feelings between us. It was just sex, and he's married." Eden explained for the millionth time as she began to clean up their used plates and closed the box with the leftover pizza.

"What about the ring?” Sienna glared at the engagement ring on her finger. "It's been two years."

"I like it, no one asks too many questions about Aiden, they all assume I'm married, and his dad's somewhere. It saves me the trouble of answering awkward–"

Sienna's phone rang before Eden could finish justifying why she still wore Simon's ring even though her ex was now happily married to Olive and they were expecting a baby.

Eden listened to her friend's one-sided conversation, something about a celebrity cheating scandal that Sienna had to chase before the other tabloids got wind of it.

"Sorry, I have to run," Sienna announced as she dashed to the living room to grab her bag and denim jacket, pausing long enough to give a still-sleeping Aiden a kiss on the cheek before she ran off to chase her dreams.

Eden sighed wistfully as she watched her friend drive off.

They had all made progress in their careers. Lydia was now a second lead in a daytime soap no one ever watched. Sienna had an entertainment column in Scandal, the top-selling tabloid in the country and Cassandra's pastries were sold nationwide. She'd struck a deal with a few well-known bakeries, and the money was so good she'd managed to open a small cooking studio where she gave baking lessons to couples.

Everyone's lives had progressed in some way. But she was still paddling along.

She didn't regret having Aiden, but she knew falling pregnant had set her back in her career by at least five years. She'd have to work twice as hard to catch up with women her age.

Feeling sorry for herself, Eden went to her car to grab all the things they'd need overnight. More blankets, her laptop, toiletries and their nightwear.

She rolled out the thick stack of blankets on her bedroom floor, changed Aiden into his PJs and tucked him in before she went to take a shower.

The bathroom was small, and the fittings were old fashioned, but they'd have to do until she could gut it out and start over.

The new bathroom she had in her mind would have a massive clawfoot tub where she'd soak in bubbles after a long day at her very demanding but fulfilling imaginary job.

She giggled at the thought as she brushed her teeth.

She spent a long time under the shower, playing with the ring. Maybe Sienna was right, she thought, it was time to let it go. But it was her safety blanket; she felt naked without it. No one gave her judgy looks when they saw the ring. No one questioned Aiden's existence even though they'd never seen a man around them. They all assumed there was a very tragic story behind his father’s absence. They were not entirely wrong, and Eden was okay with that.

Aiden was awake when she returned to the bedroom. She nursed him, changed his diaper and tucked him in again.

He was wide awake, though, and kept himself busy with his favourite toy as he watched her with curiosity while she applied for jobs.

She sent her résumé to numerous companies, including Anderson Logistics, praying one of them will at least give her a shot.

With her three-months experience as a junior personal assistant, she wasn't holding her breath, probably the only reason she scoured the Creative Marketplace afterwards and searched through freelance job postings.

There was nothing for children's books, but she sent bids through for a comic book and a graphic novel.

Within minutes both authors asked her to send through her portfolio, and by the time she turned off the lights, she'd secured both jobs.

"We'll be happy here, Aid," she told her now sleeping son as she kissed his forehead.