Falling into a Second Chance by Alie Garnett

Chapter Twenty-One

Friday morning started earlierthan Agatha wanted it to. Just after 3 a.m., her day started with a phone call. Sera was in labor, and the girls were coming over to Agatha’s. Leaving Chris sleeping, she climbed out of his warm arms and went to let the still-sleeping Emma and Violet into the house.

Since her sleep had been disturbed, she decided to draw instead of trying to sleep again. Over the last two weeks, she hadn’t drawn as much as she usually did. Chris was usually there until late morning and back just after Violet left for the day. Her best time for work wasn’t during the day, but her nights were now filled with Chris.

By 6 a.m., she got the call she had been waiting for, though she wouldn’t admit it. Over the months, she hadn’t let herself get too excited over Sera’s new baby; she knew this birth wouldn’t be like the other two. This baby wasn’t going to be a large part of her life. Sera had Harrison, and that had changed everything. He would be there for the baby, not Agatha.

Baby boy Dean had arrived and was ready to see his sisters. Sera had wanted the girls to be a part of their new brother’s life, and that including being present for the birth, but Harrison had said no. He had missed his daughter’s births and was not going to share his son with anyone—even his kids, which Emma was very thankful for. Violet had been disappointed, so the baby being born as she slept was a good thing.

Agatha returned to her room to change into clothes for the day. Chris was still sleeping. He was gorgeous even in sleep. After putting on jeans and her “Pin” T-shirt, she sat down on the bed and ran her fingers through his curly hair, the strands reminded her of the eight-year-old she fell in love with.

Chris opened his eyes and squinted at her. “Morning.”

“Morning. I have to get the kids ready and take them to see the new baby this morning. Sleep as long as you want.” She ran her fingers through the curls one more time.

“What? Baby?” he asked in confusion.

“Harrison dropped the girls off around three. It’s six now. Just sleep.” Getting up, she kissed his forehead and left him to sleep the rest of the morning.

She had managed to put both girls to sleep in the same bedroom the night before—usually, Emma was against that. Being in the same room made it easier for her to wake them both with the news of their brother. Both showed more excitement than they had previously let on.

Once the kids were dressed and clean, she stopped at a fast food restaurant to get them breakfast on the way to the hospital. Once there, the little girls ran to their mom, hugged her, and took turns holding their brother. As Sera pointed out the similarities and differences the black-haired baby had with his sisters, Agatha congratulated Harrison on the boy.

“I am more excited to see the baby than anyone. All of you got to see the girls arrive. This one is my first. Thanks for being there for Sera when Violet was born. She told me you were her rock during that time.” Harrison gave her a side hug.

Looking at the man, she wondered how much Sera had told him. Had she told him what happened that morning? Or just about how she took to the baby? “I didn’t do anything.”

“Do you want to hold the baby, Agatha?” Sera asked, looking at her closely, too closely. She was looking for weakness, something Agatha wasn’t going to show.

“Not today. Later.” She looked at the baby in Sera’s arms, so much like Violet. The image brought that day back into sharp focus. Harrison hugged her again as if sensing her emotions, and she realized that he must know.

“Okay, we named him,” Sera said, sniffing back a tear.

“Harry?” Agatha nudged Harrison away, whose arm was still around her.

“No, silly. Benjamin Lovely Dean.”

“Harrison, did you let her name your kid after her ex? Didn’t you just spend months changing the girls’ names to Dean?” Agatha turned to the proud father, who was grinning.

Violet and Emma still maintained the Lovely last name as a second middle name. It was something that Sera had insisted, that her kids would always be Lovelys. They were a family.

“She named him after his sisters, not the ex.” Harrison pointed out, refusing to let Agatha get him riled up.

“She shouldn’t. Most of us aren’t even Lovelys anymore.”

Sera’s eyes were shining with tears. “You five will always be Lovelys, even when you get married.”

“You’re weird.” Agatha laughed at her and wiped her own tear away, but she stepped over to Sera and hugged her. Her new baby looked just like another carbon copy of his sisters.

“I’ll take the girls to school since I assume more Lovelys will be here soon. You can go back home, Agatha. I hear you might have someone waiting,” Harrison said not so subtly.

“Nice, Harrison. He’s still sleeping.”

“So not missing you?”

“Who wouldn’t miss me, Harrison?” Agatha joked, not wanting to say too much, not with Sera listening and disapproving.

Without waiting for an answer, she headed out, leaving the family behind. They needed time to bond with the new arrival, and Agatha was sure Harrison wasn’t in a hurry to take the girls to school.

Back at her house, she found Chris already gone from her bed. He had made it so that she didn’t have to, even putting every extra pillow back on like she liked. All she wanted to do was crawl in and sleep the day away, but she decided to do something else instead.

Up in her studio, Agatha picked up the wooden box that was stored on the shelf where she kept her books. Opening the cedar box, she inhaled deeply and took out the envelope on top. The box contained at least six others, each as precious to her as the last.

Agatha pulled out the picture from the envelope of a baby in a highchair. Her entire face, hands, and bare chest were covered in long noodles and red spaghetti sauce. The baby was grinning and had dark black curls and brown eyes. And Chris’s crooked smile.

Running her hand over the picture, she was filled with sadness to have missed the moment it captured, just like every moment in her life she would miss. Her baby was nine months old, and Agatha had spent less than an hour with her. She had given her up to parents that would love and care for her like Agatha couldn’t at the time. The baby’s new parents sent her letter after letter, letting her know how the baby was doing.

A month later, she had sold her books, but she hadn’t known that would happen the morning Poppy had been born. That morning she had been at the lowest point in her life and had nothing to give a baby. Less than nothing. Her only job had been given to her by her sisters, and she wasn’t even any good at it. Her dream of publishing a book was so far off she had stopped believing it would even happen. She had gotten pregnant by a man who didn’t remember her eighteen months later.

Calling Chris about the baby had led her to his agent. The man had coldly told her Chris wasn’t interested in her alleged baby and that if she was serious, she would demand a paternity test. Then they would discuss how much money she wanted. Hanging up, she knew she had tried to tell him, and it was now her decision, which she had already made. She couldn’t keep the baby.

If Sera had been there, she would have forced Agatha to take the baby home, but Sera had just married Harrison days before and was on a honeymoon/family vacation with the two youngest girls. For months her head had been elsewhere and not focused on Agatha, who had turned more into her art as she ignored her body.

Lucy and Buzz at that point were the only ones at home, but they had not thought anything was wrong with their little sister. The others had been focused on settling into their married lives. It had been the right decision; she would not regret it now that her life was in order. The baby was with her loving parents, who wanted nothing more than to raise her as their own. They didn’t care what kind of a mess Agatha was; they loved Poppy anyway.

For their part, they didn’t know anything about Agatha, or they would never have named her baby Poppy, such an uplifting, fun name. Poppy would have the personality of Sera with a name like that. Nothing like Agatha.

Nine months before, she had only looked at the baby she and Chris had created. Now she was a wiggly bundle of dark hair and already had dark eyes, nothing like what she had always imagined of Jet since she had lost him. She always pictured him blond like his father. Lightly she touched the baby’s cheek in the picture and knew she was better off without Agatha. Others could give her everything she deserved in life. Agatha couldn’t give her anything but love, but love didn’t buy diapers and clothes.

Now she could buy her everything, but she was gone. Forever just a picture of a baby who was growing up somewhere in the city, completely lost to her. Her only chance to see her was a phone number, a number she had never called.

Today she needed to make sure that her baby was where she needed to be, loved like she deserved to be loved. Pulling out her phone, she called the number for a family who never wanted to hear from her.

After the call, she tucked the picture back in the envelope and put the box back where it lived, in plain sight but hidden. She headed out of the house before she lost the nerve that seeing Benjamin had caused. She needed to see her Poppy.