In this chapter Brandon and his girlfriend, Qiana, struggle to come to terms with what they have done and cope with their newborn baby ...
Brandon and Qiana had gone into town to visit the Papyrus Memorial Library. In all the chaos after the disaster that was their wedding party they had missed a lot of the ante-natal classes that the midwife had recommended. As a last minute catch-up they were going to attend a new and expecting parents gathering.
Thankfully, the hospital was just around the corner from the library.
Brandon felt very strange as they walked up to the hospital entrance. He loved Qiana, but their relationship, although it had been getting a little better, was still very difficult and he could sense that Qiana was still not comfortable with him. He was hurt, but not too surprised when Qiana told the nurse that she wanted her friend Sandi, not Brandon, to be with her in the birthing room.
When they left the hospital, the first thing Qiana saw was their old friend Estevan Bowles outside playing ballads for newborns. Was this a sign, was her daughter going to follow in her mothers artistic footsteps?
When the got home, Qiana was very clear, having this baby was an opportunity for them to rebuild the relationships they had enjoyed before Brandon had got 'confused' with Jesse. Their child deserved a loving home and she hoped that If they all worked together she would grow up just fine.
So, time to choose a name. Considering all they had gone through recently, she would need to be brave to confront all the challenges life would throw at her. Being perceptive and able to make sense of the world, and the people she met, would also be very important. A name that embodies those attributes? It was River who suggested 'Cleopatra' - a woman who knew how to survive in a male-dominated world. Brandon and Qiana were not sure they could name their child Cleopatra, but liked the idea, and eventually decided that 'Cleo' would be just perfect. Welcome to Sunset Valley, Cleo, the first of the third generation in the Slade Dynasty.
River was delighted to have a grandchild to dote on and, especially, that Qiana was still living with them. She could see that Qiana was really enjoying motherhood (so far!) and hoped that having Cleo to care for would help heal the rift between her and Brandon.
They would spend a lot of time together. River knew that Qiana still had serious doubts about Brandon, so their conversations often dwelt on her concerns and how Brandon could possibly recover their trust.
Brandon quickly learnt that new babies were a lot of work! For a start he was having to make frequent trips into town to buy supplies. On one such trip he bumped into his old friend Jesse. Initially nervous about how the other would react, they had hardly seen each other since the (non) wedding, quite a while ago.
But when Jesse offered a hug, it would have been churlish to refuse, and it suddenly seemed like old time again. Friends again.
Even so, Brandon owed it to Jesse, as well as himself to clear the air and make sure there would be no repeat of what had happened, that they could only ever be just friends.
He was, however, surprised by Jesse's reaction. "What? I know you felt something too, I didn't force you into anything! You think you can just turn your back and pretend nothing happened?"
Brandon tried to explain that he loved Jesse as a friend, his best and truest friend, but his future was with Qiana and Cleo. Eventually Jesse seemed to calm down a little, as if accepting that they would never be truly together. As they parted Brandon felt a huge burden lift from his shoulders, he had been honest with his friend and he hoped that he would never have to deal with this again.
Cleo changed everything for Brandon. Sure, he loved Qiana with all his heart but now he had someone who was utterly dependant on him and there was no way he could let her down.
Every time he held his beautiful daughter he made a promise to her that he would always be there for her, that he would make it right with her mother and they would be a real family.
Just as she starting to settle into the role of young mother, Qiana's next birthday came around and she turned, suddenly, into a fully fledged adult. Wow, this means I'm going have to start being responsible she thought to herself. But, in the meantime, let's PAAAARTAAAY!
As the party went on into the late evening, and their large lawn was bathed in the soft light of a Sunset Valley sunset, Qiana was deep in conversation with some of her oldest and dearest friends.
The talk inevitably got onto the subject of her relationship with Brandon. Did she have proof that he had cheated on her? Had he been good to her and Cleo since that day? Did she love him?
Before she went to bed that evening Qiana spent a long time with Cleo, just trying to work out how she felt and if she could she a future with Brandon.
Could they really make it work? What would be best for Cleo?
As she put Cleo back into her cot, Qiana had come to a decision.
Early the following morning Qiana and River were in the 'art room' working on new designs. This was something they both enjoyed, sharing quiet moments of creativity, sparking new ideas off each other and having a way to express their deepest thoughts.
Hearing Brandon coming out of the shower Qiana asked River to give them a little space, just check on Cleo for a moment ...
River loved Cleo, who wouldn't, she was a delightful baby, so alert and responsive and nowhere near as demanding and troublesome as Brandon had been!
She hoped that today would be a good day, that they could settle down to the normal family life that a child needs - especially one that could be the next heir on the Slade dynasty.
When he was a child Brandon loved to go fishing with his father, but seldom had time these days, so when he had a spare moment he would often catch the latest TV reports on the inter-town fishing competitions.
He was just enjoying the latest cast-off news when Qiana asked him to turn the TV off, she had something important they needed to discuss.
"Brandon, I know something happened between you and Jesse. I don't know exactly what, but I can guess! I was hurt, really hurt, we had only been seeing each other for a short time and I had fallen in love with you."
"I knew months before our wedding day, before you even proposed to me. It was wrong of me to humiliate you in the way that I did, but I was so very angry with you ... and when I saw Jesse at the wedding I just had to stop it."
"Since then, we've had Cleo and you have been so good with her. And I know you have hardly seen Jesse at all recently, even though he was your best friend, so that couldn't have been easy."
"I have thought about this a lot, and have to try to be rational, so I'm willing to give it another go. I want us to be a family, a proper family. If we try I think we can all be happy ..."
Brandon was overjoyed, Qiana was ready to leave their past troubles behind them. He had been stupid, had nearly wrecked everything, but this amazing woman was prepared to give him a second chance.
He was not going to let her down.
That night, it was if they had gone back to their first times together. They could cuddle and snuggle in bed and start looking forward with hope again.
Chapter 7: Passing The Maternal Baton
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