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Chapter 23 (Part 2)
Back to: Chapter 23 (Part 1): Two Birthdays and a Revelation

Alexandria was not happy. Mummy Allegra was doing her best, but right now she didn’t want to learn to talk.
“Can you say ‘bottle’ darling?”
“Bah-bah!”
Allegra sighed. She’d been trying this since Alex had woken up from her nap, but they weren’t getting anywhere. Glancing at the clock, she scooped up her daughter.
“Time for din-dins…” Noticing the sour smell, she added, “Once we’ve changed that nappy…”

Alexandria still wasn’t taking it passively. Now wearing her pyjamas and clipped securely into her high chair, she threw the mother of all tantrums, which resulted in her dish going flying onto the tiled floor of the kitchen.
“Alexandria Gorey, you stop that now!” Allegra was not pleased. Jasper was over two hours overdue, she’d had to deal with a whiny one-year-old all afternoon and now she was on her knees scooping toddler dessert out of the narrow cracks.
“No!”
Just then the door burst open.
“Honey, I’m ho-ooome!”
“About time! Where the hell have you been?”
“Sorry, I was asked to work late – we’ve got a big project planned and…”
“Spare me the details, I’m not interested.”
“Whatever.. where’s me tea then?”
“I’ve not started yet, this one…” indicating the still-grizzling child, “…chucked hers on the floor so I’ve had to clean up.”
“Why’d you do that then, huh? Was my little Alex being a monkey?” Jasper was all sweetness and light with Alexandria, and she responded with a massive grin. Allegra rolled her eyes. It was apparent that her daughter was a daddy’s girl. “Just do something quick tonight Alley, I’ll keep Alex amused.”
Macaroni cheese it was, and now Alexandria had calmed down she accepted her dish without complaint, stuffing the pasta into her mouth with gusto.


* * *
Eight months later…

Jane closed the car door and stood breathing in the fresh air, ignoring for the moment both the ache in her legs and the lone wolf pawing through the rubbish strewn over the kerbstones. She’d found holding down her pitifully low-paid job while being this heavily pregnant a real struggle, and was in some ways glad that her maternity leave had now commenced. It wasn’t going to be easy as a single mother, but as Jasper was refusing to leave Allegra she didn’t have much option.
Still, she had a month left before the baby was due, right?

Wrong. Her son came into the world three weeks early, but her midwife assured Jane that he was perfectly healthy. Even if he DID look a little strange in the skin colour department…

* * *

By this time Alexandria was coming on apace. She was fully potty-trained by now, and had even learnt how to escape from her crib.


Jasper had been busy with Allegra too – she was expecting again, although she was only 5 months down the line. Alexandria would turn 2 before the new arrival, and Allegra felt that getting her daughter to full walking was a necessity now.

“Up you come, now one step, then another… that’s it, can you walk to Mummy now darling?”

Alexandria could, but that didn’t mean she was going to. On this particular occasion she simply dropped into crawling position and headed off towards her toys. Playing the xylophone was far more exciting than walking, not to mention improving her hand-eye coordination!

Allegra gave up for the time being. The incessant banging and jarring notes made her head ache, and she was longing for a hot bath. Although she preferred to keep her child in sight, as long as the noise continued she knew Alexandria was safe.
Back to: Chapter 23 (Part 1): Two Birthdays and a Revelation
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