Orchards and Moonlight - a Mialotte story (TNN)

Sleepless nights

Marjorie had never never said it out loud before. She was too scared to say it. She wishes things were different, but they aren't. The night she told Reece everything was the first time he said it out loud.

"Carly is my daughter."

Now, it was nearly two months later, Christmas was around the corner, and Marjorie had not had a peaceful night's sleep since that night. The guilt had been sitting with her for years. But it almost felt worse now.  Every time she saw Carly, she wanted to hug her and tell her everything, but she couldn't. 

All those years ago, she didn't want to just put her little girl in foster care. so she contacted an old friend from school. She was a few years older than her and had recently gotten married. She confided in that friend her fears, and after a few days, she called and told Marjorie that she and her husband talked, and they would be happy to adopt Carly. 

Marjorie had given her the name to give her something of herself. Not many people knew this, but Marjorie's middle name is Caroline. The day she gave Carly her name, was the day that she shed herself of the middle name. She had passed it on to her daughter now. 

It was once again a sleepless night for Marjorie. Her mind flooded with how her life would have been if she had kept Carly. What would happen if she fought for he daughter and not just ran away? She was ready to start crying again. She put a hand over her mouth to choke back a sob. 

Unfortunately, Reece was a very light sleeper and he woke up immediately. He knew what this was about. It was the same thing that kept her awake every other night. All he did was wrap his arms around her and pull her into his chest as she sobbed herself to sleep. 

Every morning they woke up, and Reece could see that his girlfriend was getting worse and worse. He wish that he could do something to help her. He kissed her as they made their way to their respective cars and drove to work.

Marjorie sat in her office, her eyes half closed, falling asleep behind her desk. Autumn had gone on lunch with Winter, and the kids were all asleep, so the nursey was quiet. Maybe a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Carly was walking back to the preschool room after lunch when she heard Marjorie mumbling in the office. She poked her head in to see if she was alright, but all she saw was a sleeping Marjorie. before she could leave, she heard her again. Marjorie was talking in her sleep.

"No. She is my baby. I'm keeping her."

"You can't make me get rid of my baby."

"Take care of my baby for me."

Did Marjorie have a kid? Before she could ask any questions, Reece walked down.

"Hey, kiddo."He said, startling the poor girl.

"Oh hey, Reece. Um, you might want to talk to Marjorie. She is talking in her sleep." she didn't want to say anything about the baby. He nodded at her and went inside. She hangs around to listen. He could hear Reece waking her up, and then he could hear Marjorie cry.

"You have to tell her." He said. Tell who? What?

"I can't she hate me. Besides, her mom and I made an agreement. They would tell her on her 18th birthday." 

"Marjorie, she has your name." 

"She doesn't know it's my name, no one but you knows. What if she hates me?"

"Oh, darling. She couldn't hate you if she tried."

Carly was so confused. Who were they talking about? Did Marjorie have a daughter? Did she know her? She shook her head and went back to the room, letting Sorcha go on lunch. All day long the conversation floated around in her head. 

Who could they have been talking about?

Carly wasn't blind, she could see that something had been bothering Marjrie for a while now, and clearly Reece knew about it. and so she decided that she was going to ask Reece tonight when he dropped her at home, and she wasn't taking no for an answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Carly got into the car, she didn't waste a second.

"Reece. What was Marjorie talking about? When she was talking in her sleep. She said something about her baby. Does she have a daughter?" Reece's eyes widen at her questions.

"Ha, Carly. I have no idea what you are talking about." he tries to cover, with a laugh.

"First off, you are a terrible liar. Second of all, I know you know, because I overheard you two talking about telling someone the truth and they they would hate Marjorie."

"We really need to soundproof that office."

"Come on Reece. Tell me. I care about Marjorie, and maybe I can help."

His eyes soften. He bites his lip thinking, and Carly can see tears start brimming in his eyes.

"I'm... umm... I'm sorry Carly, but this is something Marjorie needs to tell you. I can't." she lowered her head in defeat. 

Why couldn't they just tell her? Did they think she couldn't keep it a secret? Who is Marjorie's daughter? And if she's not 18 yet, how come Carly has never met her before?

Soon they arrived at her home. She said a quick goodbye as she hopped out and went inside. Carly had always felt a strange sense of disconnect when she looked at her family photos. Her parents loved her deeply, but she couldn't help noticing how different she looked compared to them—her wavy dark hair, her deep green eyes, and the way her nose curved in a way that didn't match anyone else's. But she never gave it too much thought, pushing the doubts aside as just a quirk of genetics.

She needed to see her baby photos, and so she went up into the attic looking through all the boxes she could find. She stumbled upon an old, dusty box. It was filled with papers, photos, and keepsakes from the past. Curious, she started sifting through the contents until she came across a small, faded envelope. It was addressed to "Carly," written in a delicate, familiar handwriting. With a date. It was written on her 13th birthday. 

She opened the envelope to find a letter inside. The paper was worn and yellowed, but the words were clear:

"My dearest Carly,

You don't know me, but I've loved you since the moment you were born. I've watched from afar as you've grown into the beautiful, strong young woman you are today. I made a choice long ago to give you a life I couldn't provide, and though it broke my heart, I knew it was the right thing for you. I hope one day you'll understand and forgive me.

With all my love,
Mom"

This was not her mother's handwriting. She knew this handwriting because she saw it every single day. 

It was her.

She is Marjorie's daughter