Begin Again novel Chapter 22

The call came when Eden least expected it, just as she was about to settle down for an afternoon nap with Aiden. He wasn't a fussy baby, but he preferred routine over surprises, and any slight delay in his schedule made him cranky.

"Hang tight my angel, Mommy has to take this call," she kissed his hair and gave him his favourite sensory toy to distract him while they ran to the kitchen to grab her phone on the counter.

She was hoping it's the call she's been waiting for for over a week now, the one call that will change her life and take her from unemployed to potentially employed overnight.

"Hello," she cried breathlessly just as it stopped ringing. Aiden tried to snatch it from her, but she bit his tiny hand playfully. He giggled and screeched happily.

Eden stared at the screen, willing her phone to go off again, but after fifteen minutes or so and still nothing, she returned to her bedroom and laid down on the bed with Aiden resting on her chest.

She held him close and breathed in his baby scent; it was high up there on her list of favourite smells in the world. Within minutes he was snoring peacefully, and she placed him tummy down on the bed.

For a little while, she watched him sleep as she gently played with his thick hair, her heart threatening to explode from the sheer joy and peace she felt just looking at him.

She was dozing off when her phone rang again. She grabbed it and ran to the living room.

It was her mom this time. Definitely not the call she was hoping for.

They hadn't talked in months, and she hadn't seen her parents since she moved back almost two weeks ago.

"How is everything?" Erica asked on her end.

Eden assured her everything was perfectly okay. She was doing great, adjusting well to life in the big city again.

"Your father wants to see you. Can you come home for dinner?"

Eden paused and thought about the invitation. There was a lot of anger between them, a lot of resentments on both sides. Dinner wouldn't fix any of it. Chances were, shit would start flying as soon as they saw each other.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said at last.

The last two years, raising Aiden on her own had forced her to grow up, and there were things she just wasn't willing to deal with any more. Like her parents' passive-aggressive behaviour and their constant attempts to make her feel like a failure. She didn't need all that negative energy in her life.

"He regrets it. We both do," Erica tried to weasel her way back into her life, but Eden's hurt still burned hot.

Sure she'd messed up by hooking up with Liam. But she was twenty-four then, old enough to make her own decisions, no matter how stupid. She'd expected a little bit of pushback from them, and a lot of disappointment. Just not the hostility they showed her.

"Darling, are you there?" Erica cried on the other side of the line, and Eden forced herself to return her attention to the call. No use getting lost in the past. Nothing good would ever come from it.

"Will you at least think about it?" Erica persisted, but Eden refused to be pushed into anything. If she ever saw her parents again, it would be on her terms.

"I'm not ready to see you both," Eden said firmly.

"You are not fair to us," Erica sniffled, and it began, the guilt-tripping. "What else were we supposed to do?"

"I don't know? How about not cast me aside? How about not judge me and make me feel like the worst daughter in the world?"

"Simon ended the engagement, and you fell pregnant with a baby that wasn't his, and you still won't tell us who the father is!"

Eden closed her eyes and stifled a scream, silently wondering why everyone felt so entitled when it comes to Aiden's father.

"Mom, I can't talk about that. I told you then, and I'm telling you now, I will not talk about that!"

"And you still don't think you are wrong?" Erica accused. "This is your fault as much as it is ours!"

Eden nodded sadly. She was well aware of that. Her silence and her refusal to reveal Liam's identity forced her to move to the Blue Mountains with Grammy.

"I have to go," Eden said softly. Speaking to Erica always left her emotionally drained.

"We saw the latest photos of Aiden on your page," Erica said, refusing to give up. "He's beautiful and has grown so much since Grammy's funeral."

Eden waited, silently wondering where she's going with this.

"Please bring him home, even if it's only for a few hours," Erica carried on pitifully, and Eden wanted to scream.

"Bye, Mom, I'll call you sometime," she said again and cut the call.

She'd barely had time to process their chat when her phone chimed in her hand. She read the email, her face splitting into a huge smile. After eight rejections, the ninth time was the charm. A Mrs Yvonne Gibson had tried to call her earlier to arrange an interview with her at Anderson Logistics at lunchtime tomorrow.

Bursting with hope, Eden immediately called Sienna and asked her to come over after work to help her prep for the interview.

Her best friend arrived just after 6:00 PM and helped her with Aiden's nightly routine of feeding and bathing him. He played with his toys on the living room floor while Sienna took her through possible interview questions.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Sienna asked, much later after they'd gone through all the questions, as she sipped wine and chewed on her carrot sticks. She was on yet another diet.

Eden stole a stick from her plate and held it between her teeth while she thought. Of course, she didn't know what she was doing, but she needed a job.

"I know I don't have much experience, but how hard can it be?" She shrugged as she crunched the carrot in her mouth. "I'm hoping it's a junior assistant role. If it is, then I'm pretty sure it's mostly setting up meetings and running errands, right? I did that at Van Holt Industries."

With a lot of supervision, she added to herself.

"You know that's not what I mean," Sienna raised a freshly tweezed eyebrow. "Anderson Logistics. Liam Anderson. Aiden's father."

Eden stared at her blankly.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is a disaster waiting to happen?" Her friend sighed as she scooped Aiden up and threw him in the air.

"More!" He chuckled and screamed and clapped his hands.

Eden laughed, shaking her head at the two of them. 'More', was now his favourite word, recently learned from one of the kiddy programs on TV he loved so much. Anything Aiden wanted, began with 'more'; more food, more play, more toys.

She was happy Aiden was now comfortable around her friends. He seemed to prefer Sienna over the other two, though. Not surprising since her best friend was practically at their place every day.

"He's the CEO," Sienna stated the obvious as she placed Aiden on the couch.

He crawled over to Eden, and she sat him on her lap and blew air bubbles on his cheeks and neck.

"It's been two years. I was one of the many random women he slept with that year, so why would he remember me?" Eden pointed out. She thought Sienna was panicking for no reason. "Besides, there are at least a thousand people in that building, what are the chances I'll run into him?"

"You are applying for an assistant's job; you'll be sitting in meetings Liam will likely be in as well."

"Honestly I think you're overthinking this. It's a junior position, Liam is the big boss. He's very high up on the food chain. I don't see how our paths can ever cross." Eden carried on, though she was hoping they would and maybe then she'll pluck up the courage to tell him about Aiden. Something she should have done two years ago. Something she would have done if she hadn't seen him with that dark-haired woman.

"The benefits are good," she carried on, trying to justify why she was trying to get a job at Anderson Logistics when common sense says she shouldn't. "There's a daycare in the building; I won't ever have to worry about childcare."

"You are not seriously thinking of taking Aiden to work with you!" Sienna flew into full panic mode, and Eden wished she hadn't told her about her 'not so well thought out' plan.

"Look at him, look at that hair and those eyes, anyone will take one look at him and know he's Liam's son!"

"Not unless they know I slept with him," Eden pointed out. "Only Liam would figure it out, and honestly, I doubt that he'll remember me if I were to bump into him."

Sienna tried again to change her mind. "This is a mess, abort mission now!"

Still baffled at how she was even shortlisted, considering her lack of experience, Eden ignored her words of caution, choosing instead to focus on the reality of her situation. "Let's not panic just yet; it's just an interview. I don't think I'll get in."

"I just think you're asking for trouble here," Sienna murmured as she grabbed her stuff. It was late; she had a hot scoop to follow up on very early in the morning.

Eden walked her out, Aiden waddling behind them. She had to be careful now whenever she opened the door since he ran everywhere.

Sienna hugged her tight and kissed Aiden before she headed out.

"Bye-bye!" Aiden called after her as they watched her drive off.

"Bye-bye!" He said again as Eden picked him up and carried him to their room. He touched and kissed her face. She held him tight, convinced she would never love anyone as much as she loved him. He was her light, her joy, her everything, a perfect result of a terrible mistake, and her only reason for even daring to step into his father's company and perhaps open the lines of communication with Liam.