Serendipity: A New Generation of Knights

Part 1: Ch. 13. Golden Afternoon

Autumn stood in the middle of the room, her arms crossed over her chest as she pondered. After going back and forth between Benny's room and what would soon be her daughter's room, she settled herself on the ground in the middle of the empty room. She sat with her legs folded in a sort of criss-crossed fashion with her palms flat behind her against the dark wood flooring. Now at nearly 32 weeks pregnant, her bump seemed to grow each day, and she could hardly ever find a comfortable way to sit.

All of the artwork and art supplies that had previously decorated the walls and floors of this room had been cleared, moved downstairs into the library to make way for new baby things. The walls had been painted a plain navy blue, a blank canvas awaiting her inspiration. But she just hadn't found it yet.

When she was pregnant with Benny, The Jungle Book theme came to them all too easily. It seemed perfectly fitting for his nursery. It was Winter's favorite Disney movie when he was young, the little things they had collected for their baby before they even knew if they were having a boy or a girl were all decorated with little trees, leaves, elephants, monkeys... Even the walls in what had previously been the office were already a pale sage green, so other than a few touch ups to the paint, there was no extra work to be done other than creating the mural. So after they settled on a theme, Autumn spent hours alone in that room, meticulously planning and drawing out the line art of each tree and every character as Baloo, Bagheera, Hathi Jr., and Benny's favorite, King Louie, took their places on the walls. She had carefully selected each color to match the characters and each other. It was one of her favorite places to be in the house - a house she'd made into a world of her own and now shared with the love of her life and the product of their love, their son. And she couldn't wait to welcome their daughter home as well.

Autumn pursed her lips in thought. She shifted her legs underneath of herself once again as she peered out the little window on the wall. From where she sat in the middle of the room, she could see Winter, leading their little boy on a quick walk to meet Uncle Reece for their Sunday afternoon together. Winter would only be gone for a few minutes to drop Benny off, but it was a few minutes of alone time Autumn hadn't gotten in a few weeks. With her new diagnosis of preeclampsia on his mind in every moment, the risks, problems, dangers, complications... Winter could not leave her side. Though she also worried some and humored him for longer than she decided she should have, Autumn was finally able to convince him of what her angel baby had been telling her all along: everything is going to be okay.

A chirp from the doorway pulled Autumn from her thoughts as her cat strolled into the room. He brushed up against her arm, beckoning her attention. As she pulled him into her lap, he purred happily, stretching his paws over her leg.

Autumn turned her attention back out the window where she could see her garden, her peaceful oasis, a bush of full, crimson roses standing tall in the center. They had just begun to bloom in June when they'd learned they were having a baby girl. The beautiful blooms, planted just a few Junes ago in honor of their first baby, had inspired their name choice for their last baby - Rose.

Now in early September, their garden was even brighter and more picturesque. Over the last week, the rose bush was joined by dozens of delicate pansies in shades of purple and yellow, marigolds in their golden beauty, and the verdant lambs ears around them brought everything together in a magnificent display of her hard work in the garden.

Autumn reminisced on the last few summers of her life, each one loaded with a decade's worth of joy and adoration, despair and grief, hope and healing. As the golden rays of afternoon sun filtered into the room, dancing across the wooden flooring, a beautiful idea bloomed in her mind, inspired by love, flowers, and beautiful golden afternoons, especially in the month of June.

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers
For, especially in the month of June
There's a wealth of happiness and romance
All in the golden afternoon

Winter quietly made his way up the stairs when he returned home and found his wife in what would soon be their daughter's room. He stood in silence, leaning against the door frame as he watched Autumn humming happily to herself as she painted, brushing long strokes of black and white lines across the navy canvas before her. Winter recognized some of the outlines as pansies, just like the ones that grew in their garden.

"I found some inspiration," Autumn spoke up without turning around to look at her husband. She knew he was there. She heard his footsteps.

"I see," Winter smiled as he stepped into the room. He placed a hand on the small of her back and rubbed gently. "How are you feeling, my love?"

Autumn lowered her brush and looked over to him, a soft smile across her lips.

"I'm fine, my sweet," she assured him as she tapped his nose with her brush, dabbing a bit of white paint onto his skin before she leaned in and rubbed her nose against his, spreading the paint onto her own.

Winter laughed breathily. He cherished every moment he could get with her playful side. It was something he had been able to see more and more over time, and especially as their son grew up. But seeing her this way when it was just the two of them was somehow even more special.

"Why don't we go get some colors to add to this, come back, and I'll keep you company while you finish it up?"

Their afternoon was spent together, just the two of them, listening to their Alice in Wonderland vinyl on repeat as Autumn finished up her mural of pansies, marigolds, tiger lilies, and most importantly, a big, red rose. Winter watched her carefully from a spot in the corner across the room, giving her space to roam where inspiration led her while being able to keep an eye on her for his own peace of mind.

As she added the finishing touches, Winter left briefly to greet Reece and Marjorie at the door. When they all came upstairs together, Autumn stuck out her lower lip, noticing her little boy fast asleep on her brother's shoulder. She quickly put down her paints and brush and met her brother in the middle of the room, arms out to take her sleeping baby. Once he was settled on her own shoulder she kissed his head, tears streaming down her cheeks as she rocked side to side, "In a World of My Own" still playing softly from the record player behind her.

"Wow, Aut," Reece muttered softly as he looked around the room. "You've been busy today."

Marjorie was stood behind her husband, mouth agape as she took in the view of the dazzling floral mural before her.

"I think I'm gonna need you to do something like this for my baby..."