Sugar Lust

Chapter Nine

It was therapeutic, quietly unpacking her clothes and putting them in the miniature closet in the bunk car of the train. Admittedly, it would probably only fit about four of her shirts, and Nicholas would have to find somewhere else to put his clothes. Space was at a premium.

It was odd thinking that her first home would be on a train. It wasn't what she had imagined, but it was theirs. She loved it. A place where she could finally breathe and be herself away from the chaos their decision to move in together had caused. She knew this wouldn't be their forever home, just a place to live for eight short months. She pushed away the anxiety caused by their uncertain future and sighed. Right now, things were good, really good. They were starting their lives as she had imagined for the past several months as she felt her belly grow.

"Hey, Babe," said Nicholas, wrapping his arms around her waist and snuggling his lips in close to her neck. "Are you finished?"

"Almost." She pulled out the last of her shirts and pushed the rest of the clothes in the closet as far over as she could to try and make room for just one more. They hadn't officially unpacked the night they moved in, or even the day after that, both still traumatized by their parent's reactions to moving. Emmeline was a little worried that Nicholas regretted his decision to bring all of them here; he had hardly spoken that first day. It stung, but every time she started to think about it, Millie needed her attention. Somehow that was a blessing.

Today when Nicholas woke up, the spark had returned to his eyes, and he had made her much-needed coffee and had given it to her in bed. They were happy.

Telling their parents they were moving went as expected. Her mom cried. She'd never seen her mom cry before. She couldn't change her decision, though. Millie needed a strong mom, who had a hold on the situation, not some pathetic screw-up whose well-meaning parents questioned her every move and undermined her authority. Emmeline quickly packed her and Millie's things and returned to the train where Nicholas and Millie were waiting. She hadn't brought Millie with her, sure it would have made the whole thing harder. Unfortunately, Amy took it as a slight, accusing Emmeline of keeping Millie away from her like she had done with Dorothy. Her mom was a pain in the butt, but she didn't hate her.

Nicholas's story wasn't as successful. His mother went hysterical, throwing things at him, calling him a disgraceful ingrate. His father finally had to interfere, handing Dorothy two Xanax and a glass of water. It seemed to be one of his regular roles these days. Nicholas looked at his dad for sympathy, but he didn't offer any, seemingly lost, not knowing what to do. Finally, Nicholas promised that he would stay and snuck out later that night.

Three months later, they still hadn't talked to him. Not even to tell him they had paid for him to return to private school. A letter came to confirm his admittance for that year. He called home to say thank you, but no one answered or returned his calls. It broke his heart. Emmeline knew it. It broke her heart. He was working so hard; he did everything for them.

Emmeline's parents offered to pay for her to return to school at Clifton, but she instead decided to finish her high school diploma by correspondence. She didn't want to be away from Millie, especially since she was still nursing her. Homeschooling was her best option, and she could tailor it to Millie's feeding schedule. She didn't resent Nicholas going back to school as normal. It just was how it was, and it would be better for all of them for Nicholas to graduate as he had planned.

Emmeline started her coursework to finish her last year of high school in early August. They didn't have a TV, and Nicholas was working as much as he could before the summer ended, so she began to plow through her courses faster than she had imagined possible. By mid-September, it became a race for Emmeline to see how fast she could finish, and she teased Nicholas that she'd be done with high school long before he would.

On October first, Millie surprised Emmeline by rolling over for the first time. It happened in the morning, and by the afternoon, Millie became so proud of her accomplishment that every time Emmeline put her down on her stomach, she rolled onto her back. Emmeline called Nicholas on his cell phone and left a message for him to meet them at the beach when he was done with school for the day. She had a big surprise.

Emmeline spread a blanket out on the sand, taking advantage of probably the last warm day before things began to cool down for winter in Canada. The sun was strong, and she dressed in jeans and an oversized light pink sweater, throwing her long hair up in an elastic, thinking how long it had been since she had last had it cut and styled. But enjoying these last warm days was a must, especially when you could celebrate a baby milestone at the same time.

A warm breeze blew off the lake, and Emmeline laid out the dinner she had spent most of the afternoon making, then nursed Millie peacefully to the sound of the waves gently rolling up the sand. Nicholas joined them a little while later. Emmeline's heart fluttered as she saw him get out of the car and walk toward them. He was so good-looking, despite the circles that were settling under his eyes these days. Emmeline still caught herself looking at him thinking how lucky she was, and at time, she still couldn't believe he loved her.

"Hey, my beautiful girls," he called out as he got closer. Emmeline put Millie on the blanket and got up to kiss him hello. "What's the surprise?"

Emmeline smiled playfully. "Just wait. You'll see."

"What? Aren't you going to tell me? I thought that was the point of coming here."

His arms wrapped warmly around her as she pressed her body toward his. He squeezed her bum, keeping half an eye on his daughter. Just then, Millie let out a loud cry.

"What? What is she doing?" he asked, pulling away slightly. His eyes bulged out of his head as he watched his daughter flip over, landing on her back. "No, she can't do that! She's too little!"

"Surprise!" Emmeline couldn't help but beam. She sat on the blanket next to Millie and turned her back over while Nicholas joined them.

"Are you sure we should be letting her do this?" he asked, unsure if he should be proud papa or ground Millie on the spot.

"Yes, she's fine. Besides, I don't think there's any way to stop her. Once she started this morning, she kept on going. Millie seems to have a mind of her own."

"That's unfortunate," he answered dryly.

"I think she just might take after her parents." A little sheepish, Emmeline rolled her eyes upward.

"Shall we lock her in her room now, or do we wait until she's a year or two older? I don't like this mind of her own thing."

They pushed the food out of the way to give Millie more room to roll and then waited patiently for it to happen again. Of course, because they were watching, Millie promptly stopped. Eventually, they dove hungrily into the food.

"You know, this is pretty good," Nicholas said. "I had no idea you could cook when we moved in together."

"Neither did I. I never tried before."

He took another bite just as Millie rolled, this time from her back to her front. "You know we're never going to keep her in one place now."

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about it."

"I can't believe they're missing out on this." He gazed at the water with a faraway look in his eye. He didn't have to say who; she knew he meant his family.

She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her.

If only there was a way she could fix it.