Adelaide

...While Princess Peach kept her eyes open for me.

Chapter 1: Mr. Mole

I walked out towards the man dressed all in black and shook his hand with Princess Peach standing guard by my side.

Chapter 2: Open for Business

I was almost lost when I heard him whisper-"...you feel so good Jennifer..."

Repulsed by what he'd just whispered, my eyes snapped open and I shoved him away yelling "what?!"

Chapter 3: Shock

It was the first night since I was living with her that I cried myself to sleep.

Chapter 4: The Unexpected

I opened it and read:

A.

I miss you.

Love,
E.

I laughed, "Im impressed, usually you get lost when left to your own devices." I teased him.

Chapter 5: Dream Date

With a raised eyebrow I followed him and found a flight of stairs in front of me. We walked up together until we reached the top floor.

Chapter 6: Changes

A month later:

After the rainy season passed, in came the chill of winter. I still hadn’t shared the news of my pregnancy with Eric even though a whole month had passed. I was going to…eventually, I figured. It didn’t feel like the right time to tell him yet though. Especially since he had gotten much more busier at the new restaurant with its opening success and only visited me once or twice a week now. I didn’t mind though, I was proud of him for being a chef in one of the most exclusive clubs of the downtown area. My business had been going great as well – that is, until the snow started following.



One particular morning, after looking outside at the beautiful white blanket left by the snow, I was restocking my store shelves, when a woman walked in. She was bundled up in her winter clothes, which didn’t hide her beautiful thin figure at all. I was instantly jealous. She was a beautiful thing. Raven colored hair, dark blue eyes, with a face to die for.




She saw me standing there and came over. I was about to say that I was closed for the evening, when she gave a laugh and said, “Im sorry, I saw the sign that you were closed, but I just had to come in here. It looked so adorable from outside. I’m Lexi,” she smiled.



I asked her if she was new in town since I never saw her around the area before. She told me that she moved into the area about a month ago with her husband and kid.



“I’m currently expecting another,” she patted her non-existent stomach and grinned proudly. “My other, Adele, is now a whole two years old. I figured instead of handing down her crib to the new baby, I should be getting ready to buy a new one and that’s when I saw your adorable shop.” She exclaimed with a giggle.



I nodded while listening to her chatter away about being a mom again, thinking about being one myself in a few months. She told me about the trials and tribulations she went through with her first child, telling me how hard it had been to give up her modeling job in the city to take care of the baby. I was amazed at how caring she seemed as a mother, back in the city, the few models that I had met had been quite shallow. All of them, it seemed, had practically vowed never to lose their figure to childbirth.




She chatted away some more and when it came time to leave, she insisted that I go over to her house for coffee tomorrow. Taking nothing but “yes” for an answer, she gave me a warm hug and left. While watching her leave, I had to smile. It seemed like I finally had a real friend in this town.

~

The next morning, after feeding Princess Peach, I went over to Lexi’s house. It wasn’t hard to find since I knew my way around town pretty well now. She came outside and hugged me, welcoming me into her house.



Taking me straight to the kitchen, she made me coffee and we both sat at her kitchen table and talked. When I asked her from which city she had moved from, to come here, she surprised me.

“I used to live in Sim City,” she nodded. “This place however, seems like a good choice made by husband. I mean, I feel safe raising Adele here.”



I nodded silently in agreement and finished my coffee. Looking around while she told me more about the house, I realized her kitchen was very beautiful. In fact, her whole house was amazing. I thought about my own small cramped place above the shop and winced at the thought of having to raise a new baby there. Lexi startled me out of thought when she took my coffee cup out of my hand and said we should move into the living room, since it was a cozier place for talking.



While on the couch, I turned to her and asked what she did for a living. Lexi just beamed me a smile and said, “I am officially for now, a full time mommy. I figured it would be better for me to focus on Adele while my husband was away at work.”

I nodded with an “oh” and asked curiously, “What does he do?”

“He actually came here to be a chef at a restaurant downtown. A friend of his had opened it up and offered him the delightful position as head chef. When he told me about it, I figured we should all just move here. He wasn’t so keen on that idea though,” she said chuckling. “He thought I wouldn’t like it in such a small town.”

My heart stopped while I tried to ask without stammering, “He’s a chef?”



“Yes,” she nodded and motioned her hand to the table beside me holding a picture frame. “That’s him and Adele the first day we moved in here.” I whipped my head around saw the picture frame. I got up and stood in front of it in shock, trying to make sure what I was seeing was in fact real. There in the frame was a photograph of Eric holding a little baby girl who I assumed was Adele, since she looked so much like him.



Lexi got up from the couch and stood behind me asking me if I was alright. I crossed my arms while looking at the photo blindly and asked her if I could see her daughter, Adele.

“Sure,” she agreed and led me to little Adele’s nursery. Looking down at the child laying asleep in the crib, I crossed my arms around my chest protectively and asked Lexi when she and her husband had met.



“That my friend is a long story,” she said with a sigh.

“It was about three years ago, when I stumbled into his restaurant back in the city. We hit it off from the start, but it was a flimsy relationship. We only hung out when the other one wanted to have a “good time”. Him and I were both seeing someone else on the side, so it was a relationship without expectations. Then my boyfriend, finding out I was pregnant, left. I told Eric, that’s my husband’s name by the way, that I was pregnant with his child, but he told me that he couldn’t be with me because he was in love with someone else. And so I raised Adele by myself for the first two years, when low and behold, Eric came back to me one magical day and told me he wanted to be there for his child. I guess his girl had left him.” She shook her head and leaned over Adele’s crib and brushed a few loose strands of hair from Adele's forehead.



“It was strange though, he never ever revealed her name to me.” She said in a distant voice while deep in thought as she stared down at Adele. “Not once…” her voice trailed off.

I could feel everything building up inside of me. All the rage, hurt, all the disgust. When it felt like I couldn’t hold it in anymore, when I couldn’t pretend I was okay, I ran.



As I burst out her front door, I felt my lungs burn with the urge to scream. I heard the concern in her voice as she called out to me, but even that didn’t stop me. The one person I thought I could trust betrayed me and was the worst feeling in the world. Why Lexi, I thought, why did it have to be with someone who was so damn beautiful and everything I was not?

Chapter 7: Revelations

For days, I cried. It seemed like I couldn’t do anything else other than cry. The phone rang almost every day for hours on end, but I never picked up. I knew it was Eric. I knew he was probably calling to explain his end of the situation. I didn’t care though. I had become numb during the past days while a child in my belly grew.




One cold afternoon, while moping around in bed, I heard Princess Peach whining. She used to love the snow and I guess had seen the thick white blanket of the stuff on our front lawn. I gave a long sigh and looked down at her. It was almost as if she were pleading me with her eyes to take her out so she could play. I had spent a week indoors crying, she didn’t deserve to be punished I thought while grabbing my coat and taking her out. Just as I had walked a few feet out into the snow, Eric appeared with a grim look on his face.



I put my hands up and warded him off with an angry look. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say. I didn’t care at this point.



“Addy….” His voice trailed off as he saw the anger on my face.
“Save it,” I spat. “I want you to leave. Now!”
“Please, Addy, give me a chance to explain,” he said quietly in desperation.
“What can you possibly say, Eric? What words can make this situation better, please tell me.” I stared at him with empty eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re over.”



I heard the coldness in my voice and tried not flinch from it as his face crumbled.

“Addy, I cant lose you… I can explain about Lexi….”



“You know what, Eric? Go ahead, please explain how while we were together back in the city, you were screwing her for “pleasure”. Please explain to me how you had the nerve to get her pregnant, only to turn her down when she told you about the baby she was having, YOUR baby – only to then come home and propose marriage to me.” I started crying. “How could you, Eric?”



He came over to me and put his arms around me in comfort.



“Please don’t cry, Addy, please let me explain. I wasn’t ready for a serious relationship with you when I met Lexi. We had our casual fling and I thought nothing of it until she told me she was pregnant…It was then when I realized that I didn’t want her to be the mother of my children, it was you I wanted, Addy. I told her I’d help her with the child but that I couldn’t be there for her because I was in love with someone else…Addy, I gave her and our child up for you. And you left! You left me, right after I proposed to you! When I couldn’t find you for weeks, I went back to Lexi, to visit Adele. I thought you weren’t coming back so I told Lexi I’d take care of her and our child. So I married her. It was a shotgun wedding and it was only so I could take care of Adele. But it was only because I hadnt heard from you….Addy, you just disappeared.”



I sobbed as he continued, “I know what I did wasn’t right, but it happened, Addy, I mad a mistake. Please forgive me for my past. We can still make this work. We can!” His voice sounded so desperate.




“How can we?” I whispered. “Lexi’s pregnant again with your second child…” It was on the tip of my tongue to yell at him that I was pregnant too, but I refrained.

He looked at me shocked for a second before quickly recovering.

“I will find a way,” he quickly assured me. “Just don’t say its over, Adelaide. I need you. I will tell Lexi that the marriage cant work anymore, I’ll tell her that I can still take care of Adele’s needs though and when the new baby comes, I can send her money and visit my children every weekend. But I don’t want to be with her,” he shook his head. “I want to be with you, Addy. Cant you see that?” he whispered sadly.



He pulled me into a hug and made me promise that I wouldn’t do anything until we talked more about it. I nodded and returned the hug without saying a word. We both pulled apart and just stood there for a few minutes.



I told him he should go home to Lexi, but not tell her anything yet. I told him I needed time to think and would call him in a few days. He nodded and left without a word.




As I watched him leave, I realized with a sinking feeling what I needed to do. I went back inside my house and dialed the number to Dean, my mother’s lawyer.

A few weeks later….



“Thanks so much for helping me find this place, Dean, and for taking care of the paper work for the other place.” I smiled at him. “Also, thanks again for not mentioning my move to anyone in town. I just want to take it easy for the next few months, you know?” I laughed while patting my stomach.

“Its not a problem, Adelaide. Mr. George will show you your new apartment, I hope you like it here, its one of the best deals I could find in Sim City for you and the baby” he said nodding towards my stomach. “Take care of yourself now and call me if you need anything,” he said smiling as he walked away.




Mr. George was playing with Princess Peach while I stood outside the new building my apartment was in. When I told him I was ready to see my place, he took me around the side of the building and up the stairs. The front door opened up straight into the kitchen and I found myself staring at my new place.



“I like Mr. George,” I said with a smile. “Thank you for giving me a discount on the place,” I hugged him.

“Oh no problem dear, just make sure that you take care of that bundle of joy coming your way,” he winked at me and left.



I walked over to the huge window in the living room section of my apartment and stared at the window as I thought of the child growing inside of me.

“Its just going to be you, me and Princess Peach now, baby” I said to myself as I looked outside while patting the slight bulge in my stomach. “I’m going to take care of us all by myself.”