New Beginnings

First Steps

With the summer season just on the horizon, it was a very pleasant feeling for Alice to be awoken by the singing and chirping of the neighbourhood birds, the smell of fresh blooming flowers and greenery and beaming golden sunlight peaking through her curtains, and the weather served as a perfect visual metaphor for Alice's current mood.

It had been a fair few days since FP proudly and unapologetically professed his love for her, and she had been on cloud nine ever since, so high and fulfilled from being in love and experiencing true happiness for the first time since her kids were born that the thought of Hiram being on the warpath had barely crossed her mind.

Regardless, she still stayed on alert, remaining weary of her surroundings, and with FP's added emotional support, help in tracking Hiram down before he got to her, and romantic and chivalrous protection, she couldn't have felt any safer. Especially with his personalised and heartfelt sweet good morning texts he'd send her. The way her heart would flutter at the thought of the gesture made her feel like a sappy love sick teen.

"Mom!" Betty screamed out urgently from downstairs, the frightening sound of her daughter's cries abruptly pulling Alice out of her love sick thoughts and alarming her in an instant.

As she vigorously pulled her heavy silk black duvet back and reached for her satin robe on the ground, pulling it around and over her body in record time before springing out of her bed faster than the speed of light and rushing down the stairs.

With widened dilated eyes almost blank as a sheet and her racing heartbeat pounding a mile a minute, her panic levels had already shifted into overdrive and the thought of the absolute worst case scenario's involving Hiram plagued her mind as she bolted down the mahogany stair case.

However, a slow sense of relief came over her and her worst fears and dread rapidly escaped her system as she was met with anything but a terror filled scene, and instead, a beaming and pride filled Betty glancing down at her baby son as he leaned against the glass coffee table ready to shoot off and a grinning Polly relaxed in her armchair glaring at her nephew so excitedly.

"What's wrong?!" Alice fretted, her voice now in a more calming tone as she observed the surroundings and came to the conclusion that whatever the matter was, it couldn't have been as serious as she imagined.

"Just watch, just watch." Polly hissed excitedly as her bulging baby blue eyes focused on her wobbly nephew as he bravely prepared to manoeuvre around the oak coffee table, his curious blue eyes glaring up at his Mother, Auntie and Grandmother in wonder while he clenched his chubby little fists against the hardwood, and slowly raised his leg out in front of him.

"Oh my God." Alice gasped as her sapphire blue orbs practically popped out of her skull, struck in astonishment as she was about to witness her grandson's first major developmental milestone. "Oh my God! Get the phone, get the phone!!" Alice frantically stressed, flailing her hands in a gesturing motion for the cellphone to be brought to her.

Polly practically threw the device without a care, luckily directly into her Mother's hands and the reflex action caught Alice off guard.

She loaded up the video app faster than the speed of light, after struggling with adequately entering her passcode, and pressed the record button immediately, capturing the life changing moment of her grandson taking his first steps with the support of the table in front of him so eloquently.

The glowing pride all over Betty's face and the excitement that radiated off of Polly as little Tyler toddled and struggled to step towards them and eventually fell into his mothers arms made the blissful and unforgettable moment all the worth while, and in that brief minute, as she immersed herself in the happiness and praise, the worries that weighed heavy on her mind didn't matter one bit.