Generations: The Long Game

Sister, Sister

Reece and Marjorie

In the weeks following Emery's birth they were settling into a new routine. No more sleepy mornings spent in bed, but somehow, they both loved this so much more. When Emery cried in the night, Reece got up and changed his nappy before delivering him to Marjorie for his feed. Marjorie would feed him and put him back to bed. Their teamwork was seamless and often unspoken.

With Reece returning to work soon, Marjorie was feeling a little concerned about having to manage on her own. With Roger out of the picture Reece's hours were considerably longer than they were before. He often had to work on the weekends as well to keep up with some of the other businesses. For the next few months Autumn and Mia were going to be picking up some of the slack, but one their own babies were born Reece would likely have to run much of it all on his own.

Reece hated the idea of going back to work. Marjorie and Emery were his home now. Truthfully, the only home he had ever really had. In the months leading up to his birth, Reece worried about his ability to parent. He had always been good with the children at the nursery, but those were other people's children, and they went home at the end of the day. He worried about turning into Roger. He had fought it his whole life, but this was the first time he would be a father himself. He had not had a good role-model. He knew now that was never a possibility. The moment they place his son in his arms he knew he could never do anything to hurt him, and he would kill anyone who tried.

He had been wrapped around the finger of several women in his life. Autumn since the day she was born, Mia for many years, and of course Carly. Marjorie without question, but she was equally wrapped around his. None of that compared to how he felt for his son. He loved him so much he ached inside. He knew everything he did, everything he was or had ever been was for his little man.

That morning, Marjorie laid in bed with a broad smile across her face as she watched them together. The love they shared had created this perfect little being. She had not thought she could love Reece more until she saw him love Emery. In her eyes this was the most attractive he had ever been.

"What are you smiling about," he interrupted.

"You with him. I don't know." She blushed and looked away. He knew what she was feeling. When he saw Marjorie with Emery he could not look away and at the same time he felt like his heart would surely burst from his chest. The love was palpable.

Mia and Autumn

Since Emery's birth Autumn and Mia had been forced to put their feelings aside to run all the businesses and the nurseries. They had been some tumultuous weeks. They ended the contract with the management group and had been trying to make themselves acquainted with businesses they knew nothing about. The business side was easy for Autumn, but neither of them had the people skills to deal with the staff. At one point Char had come along for a meeting to bridge the gap, but she was running the sister nursery in Reece's absence and could not be there all the time. There were also the people who were interested in buying the businesses. People who had worked in them for many years, but with the death of Max and Lilly there was no owner to speak to.

Mia and Autumn fought about this nearly daily. Business savvy Autumn thought many of the offers were substantial enough to consider while Mia was driven by emotions and wanted to hold onto Max and Lily's legacy. They were at an impasse and neither wanted to disturb Reece, so they just muddled through. The nurseries were important to all of them and were not considered in the arguments until Mia brought up that they were Roger's legacy. Autumn could not argue that point and was deflated by the realization that they may never agree, but it did not stop her from trying to produce a solution to their ever-growing problem. After their babies came, Reece would have to do on his own what they were barely managing with the support of Winter, Char and Sorscha. Two of which would not be at his disposal during that time.

Mia and Autumn agreed on only one thing. They needed to lighten the load before Reece was on his own. They agreed on a relaxed meeting at Char and Mia's country home. Reece and Marjorie agreed to attend, and Reece even said he would cook which sweetened the deal for all of them. As they all sat around the bar in the kitchen watching Reece in his natural habitat, Autumn bit back her dread and started.

"Okay, I have devised a plan that is frankly financially sound and addresses some of Mia's concerns. Many of you may not know this, but when Siobhan came to work for the nursery she had to go back to school to get all the appropriate credentials and qualifications. This is because her first degree was in fashion. So, the first part of my proposal is that we give the boutique to Siobhan in exchange for her share of the nursery. While this is not a great financial gain it is still a sound choice. With father out of the picture, the three of us would own the nursery in full. On that matter I have made a further recommendation to add Marjorie and Charlotte to the board of directors. In doing this we would agree to owning 20% of the nursery each. As for managing the nurseries I believe Charlotte has done an exceptional job at the sister nursery and should step into the role following her maternity leave. This would leave Reece more time for administrative duties among other things."

Reece spoke from his place in front of the stove. "How do we even know Siobhan will agree to this offer?"

"She would be getting the better end of the deal. The boutique makes incredible revenue every year, and it is the least we can do for the abuse father heaped on her. You saw her face at the solicitors. She had no idea that she had been given less of the nursery then the rest of us. Besides, I have spoken to her, and she never wanted to be in this business. Her passion has always been fashion. Father pushed her into it like he did to you, Mia and myself. To me that is the easiest decision. It gives us full ownership of the nurseries and Siobhan gets the peace of mind our father never afforded her or us.

For the first time everyone agreed, but Charlotte expressed concern for Winter's exclusion. "Charlotte, I appreciate your concerns, but My love and I have discussed it at great length. I came to this nursery because I wanted to go back to the basics. I want to be in the rooms. Outside of that I am perfectly happy to help when and where I can, but I have no desire to be more than that. I hope you understand," Winter explained.

Charlotte understood as did everyone else. Char flashed him a warm smile. He replied, "I love you too, Char." They all chuckled when she looked up questioningly. "What we all know that is your "I love you" smile. You give it to us all the time and use it with the children at the nursery too," he said. Charlotte laughed and said she did not notice which made them all laugh again.

Autumn spoke again. "Okay moving forward. We have had a substantial offer on two of the three restaurants and the salon" Noticing Mia about to speak Autumn cut her off. "Before you say anything let me say this. If we sell these companies we will be leaving them in the hands of the people who have been running them for decades. At great profit to the three of us I might add. This deal would leave us the nurseries and one restaurant. As for the restaurant I would like to make a rather unusual recommendation. I would like to transfer ownership to Reece and have him run it. Brother, I know you wanted to follow your dreams, and although this was not in those dreams, you have a great passion for cooking. I think it could be a close second to your original dream.

They all decided to break there as Reece had the meal ready. Mia and Autumn's eyes locked and in that moment the closeness that they had only felt in another lifetime bound them as once again allies.

"Reecy, let me help you set the table, Mia said. She followed him to the spacious dining area. "Look, I know you want to say no, and I know you think you do not deserve it, but you should say yes. Reecy you deserve some happiness and I know you do not hate the nursery, but that was Roger's dream not yours. This would be your chance to show a bit of yourself in your work, but more than that it will release you from him. You need that Reece."

He was taken aback by her use of his proper name. "I have been working on my recipes for decades." A broad smile crossed both their faces and she knew he was going to do it. Finally, she and Autumn could give him something after all his years of protecting them.