RSGNM Chapter 12.9
It's amazing how happily busy life gets when you've got everything you ever wanted. It was not lost on me how lucky Emma and I were to have overcome the odds against us.
We got married in front of the theater where we had conceived our daughter so long ago. We both thought it was the most fitting location for our union.
Anya, being such a practical soul, took the news of her mother's return exceptionally well. I sat her down on the sofa and explained the situation to her before I asked Emma to come in.
Instead of being fearful, Anya accepted her mother's unusual form and immediately hugged her tightly. She may not have remembered much about Emma, but she was grateful for the chance to get to know her.
Emma and I discussed having another child, but both of us were unsure if she could even bear children. I asked my mom, who was an obstetrician, and even she wasn't sure. To our great joy, however, it wasn't long before we discovered it was indeed possible.
Both my moms were ecstatic when our son, Oz, was born. It had been over a decade since they'd had a newborn to cuddle, and Oz, consequently, was hardly ever put down. Emma worried he'd be spoiled, but luckily he just wasn't a fussy baby. He was sleeping through the night by 3 months, in his crib in the nursery.
Besides being wonderful grandmothers, they both still worked, and Mom Mia often still practiced sculpting in her spare time. She even had me pose for a sculpture, which I found a little awkward. I mean, a life-size version of me as an icicle? But, it made her happy, so I didn't complain.
Before I knew it, my beautiful first-born was going to high school. She had always taken care of me, and now she extended that care to her mother and younger brother, as well.
She still made sure everyone had a hot, home-cooked meal for breakfast and dinner, and even lunch on weekends. She was quickly recognized as an honor roll student, and she had expressed an interest in attending a culinary university after she graduated from high school. Oz adored her, and she always took time out of her day to read him a story. She even gave him her old toy robot I had made her when she was a toddler.
Anya's childhood best friend, Jeffery, became more to her as she aged. Emma and my moms thought they were adorable together, and I was happy she was happy, but it was hard for me to see my little girl kissing her boyfriend.
Especially since they didn't seem to notice or care when I was around. I would frequently come home from work to find them making out in the foyer. I'd avert my eyes, blushing, and usually go complain to Emma. She'd "comfort" me by pointing out the fact that she'd rather they be out where she can see them than in private, where she couldn't see what they were doing. That thought drained the blood from my face, and made me not want to let my daughter out of my sight.
So, I shut my mouth and put up with my daughter's PDA, hoping that what they did out in the open was all they were doing. Soon enough, though, I had even more to distract me. Emma was pregnant again!
Little Tara was born 2 years after Oz, and was a ball of mischievous joy. It seemed she was always getting into things. Often, on weekends, she left a path of plugged toilets and trails of mess in her wake.
Soon enough, Oz had started school, and was turning into a fine young gentleman. Both he and Tara greatly resembled their mother, while Anya displayed more of my features. Despite how busy the house was, I started noticing changes in Anya that made me uneasy. She had let her hair down from its braids and even dyed it with dark highlights. Her makeup seemed heavier, and her clothing skimpier.
It was the day I noticed she had pierced her belly button (!!!) that I caught up with her in the foyer and asked her what was going on.
"Anya, you don't seem yourself, lately. Is everything okay?" It took all I had not to yell at her for the belly ring, but I figured I had a small chance my teenager would talk to me, and even less of a chance if I started out by yelling at her.
"Sure, Dad. I'm fine," was all she said, though, no matter how often I asked her in the next few weeks. Emma and I were unconvinced that Anya was fine, however. She talked less than usual, and had even started eating leftovers sometimes, which was something she had always despised.
That's when Emma and I decided it would be best for Anya to spend some time away from her usual environment. When we told her we were sending her to culinary school in France, her face lit up and, for a moment, she was the happy girl she had always been. I thought she would never stop hugging us. I just hope it allows her the space to get her head back on straight, and to get some distance from whatever's been bothering her.