Part Six - Some Big Changes

It had been a couple of months since Hector was born now. I had spent the money left by Geoffrey to extend my house, I now had two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living area. When I wasn’t busy with Hector I was teaching myself to be more self sufficient. When the shower broke, I fixed it myself, even though it took me 4 hours.

It was still exhausting having to raise a baby alone. I barely got any sleep and what I did get was just naps between feedings. I wasn’t getting to see my friends much as my routine was completely up the creek.

I felt more than just physically tired most days. I decided that I needed something other than Hector to focus on. I had talked to Morgana about it and she told me she had an idea. I woke to a knock on the door. When I went to answer it there was no one there. I looked round the corner and saw that someone had planted me a lovely garden of fruits and vegetables. There was a note pinned to the door:

Enjoy! Love Morgana xx

I smiled.

My new garden was fantastic. I felt so calm when I was watering and weeding and the sense of satisfaction you get when you can harvest your own food just can’t be matched.

My time just seemed to fly past and before I knew it, it was Hector’s birthday! I just couldn’t believe it, my little boy would be a toddler!

We blew out the candles on his cake. As we walked away it occurred to me that it meant I would be heading back to work tomorrow. After such a long time away the thought scared me. What if I had forgotten everything Morgana had taught me??

Hector grew up into a beautiful little boy. It shocked me how much like his father he was starting to look. Despite the apology letter Geoffrey had written me I began to wonder whether I could cope with being around someone who looked so much like him. I pushed the thought out of my head. What was I thinking? Hector is my son and looks just as much like me as he does like Geoffrey. 

I loved teaching Hector to talk. Every day when I got in I would teach him a few new words. His favourite word was Cheese. There were several days when that was the only word he would say!

I devoted every second of my free time to teaching Hector the essential skills. Every day I would run to my carpool to get home to him sooner. While I was at work he read the books I had brought and played with his peg box and xylophone.

I still kept myself in prime condition for work too. I was offered a promotion to paramedic not long after going back.

When it came to teaching him to work he was such a fast learner. It only took a couple of days for him to be able to walk all the way across the room!

I loved Hector so much, he was my world. I felt so proud of how fast he was learning and how much he enjoyed it. He encouraged me to try harder at work. I wanted to be able to give him the security and comfort that I never had.

I treated myself occasionally. After I was offered a medical internship I celebrated by going to the spa for a manicure and a massage. It had been so long since I had been a woman rather than just a mother. It made me think that maybe I needed something more in my life.

Time just seemed to pass by so quickly. Before I knew it, Hector was turning 6. I just couldn’t believe it. His birthday was on a Friday so we had the whole weekend to prepare for his first day at school.

I taught him to play chess. He was a natural! By the end of Saturday he was determined to find a chess club at school. He even beat me a couple of times.

We read books in the evenings. I Introduced him to all genres of books. He loved reading. As soon as he had finished one book he wanted to start another. I was mainly reading  recipe books and medical journals to keep up with my research. I had learnt to make four new meals! Life was going great!