With everyone’s help and support the first week of Emily’s life went on without a hitch. I went on a few emotional roller coasters and woke up soaked in sweat a few times at night. But in all I couldn’t ask for a better baby. Emily was easily content, sleeping most of the day and only waking for feeds and diaper changes.
My mom took on the role of grandmother very well, she rocked, washed, and cooed at Emily every chance she had. Janice cooked up a storm for everyone staying with us and froze several meals for when we were on our own again. Lane and I spent most of Emily’s feeding time in my bed going over wedding details and ideas.
“I trust you, Lane” I told her for the millionth time, “do whatever you want!” Lane took a deep exasperated breath and let it out slowly, gently stroking Emily’s head. 
I watched the people milling about from the dining room window, there were 30 or so people waiting in the backyard while rock music played on. I couldn’t see Gabriel from where I was standing but I could just imagine what he looked like in an outfit similar to Hendrix’s. I could hardly contain my excitement at seeing him.I admired Lane’s beautiful set up and hoped it wasn’t going to rain, as the skies were grey with clouds. Lane had strategically hung white sheer linen in some of the trees and placed lanterns as decorations. There were rows of white chairs occupied by the guests and white flower petals down the would-be aisle. I spotted a makeshift bar with huge ‘Beer and Whiskey’ signs hanging above it and laughed. Of course Gabriel would make sure the guests were well ‘watered’. The backyard had a very magical feeling about it. 
“I. don’t. Want. to. Go!” Emily shouted, clearly exhausted by our little family vacation. We had pulled up to the Champlain Mall in Dieppe to pick up a few things I had forgotten at home before we made it to the cottage we had rented by the ocean another 45 minutes away.“I can stay with her while you get what you need, baby,” Gabriel offered, the most patient out of the two of us. With a lump in my throat and trying to keep the tears at bay I nodded. “You can leave Felix in the truck too if you want” he offered looking over to our 4 year old with a grin. Felix looked so much like Hendrix it was freaky and the two, despite the age difference, were thick as thieves.“Do you want to stay with daddy or come with mommy, Fee?” I asked.“Daddy!” he exclaimed.“Okay I will be back as soon as possible” I said, unbuckling my seat belt. Ga
Lane and her boyfriend Alexy, along with Matteo and his wife, were joining us on our vacation, having rented the cottages next to ours for the week. Lane, who was 33 weeks pregnant and glowing, had been visiting us at least every 2 months for the first three years after Emily was born until she met one of Gabriel’s employees one summer and fell madly in love with him. Since my mom had also met someone back home and was living with him, Lane felt less guilt about moving out to New Brunswick. Her and her boyfriend were living in a beautiful home only 10 minutes drive away from Gabriel and I.Matteo’s kids were all grown now and rarely followed their parents around anymore. He and his wife were enjoying their first solo vacation in years, but had decided to spend it with our family. Being godparents to Felix, they tried to be as present in our lives as they could.
I stared down at my brown and orange stained fingers in fascination while I was waiting to see the specialist. Due to the nature of my job, my hands were dry and cracked and had a tendency to absorb color from the food I handled. It was incredibly difficult to get it out. Some helpful people had advised me that if I simply took the time to moisturize my hands, I wouldn’t have this problem. As if I had time for that! My hands were too busy with food prep, and dishwashing to take the time to let the lotion soak into my dry cracked hands. My nails were kept short, I didn’t wear rings and I washed my hands about a hundred times per day, they were definitely not sexy. My right hand had a tough raised callus just under my index finger from the constant contact with the metal of my knife while both arms had various burn marks from moments of inattention while cooking. Some of my knuckles had scars from the times the cheese slipped against the grater ca
Gabriel was sitting on the front steps of his cabin a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other. He offered me a beer as I approached him. "I thought you said this was a dry camp" I asked dubiously. "It is," he extended his hand to offer me the beer again and I took it. "It'll take the edge off after your doctor thing this morning," he said quietly. I stared at him in wonderment, these were the most non-work related words he had ever spoken to me. I opened the can and took a long drink, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I felt his gaze on me as he took a drag of his cigarette. He motioned for me to have a seat next to him on the step and I obliged. "Supper was excellent," he said simply, his gaze shifting to a squirrel running between trees just five feet away from us. "Uhm, thanks" I replied, shyly. We sat in silence for a few minutes drinking our beer watching squirrels darting around. He finally took a long drag of his cigarette before p
Gabriel picked me up from Janice’s house, his truck was full of the groceries I couldn’t get from our vendors. He came out to greet Janice and I as we said our goodbyes. "I'm going to miss you so much this week!" I whined as I hugged Janice. "I'll miss you too!" I grabbed my suitcase full of fresh laundered clothes and handed it to Gabriel. He grabbed the bag in one hand and extended his other hand out to help me get in the truck. I ignored his hand and did the best I could to get in the truck gracefully. "Did you have a good weekend?" he asked, buckling his seatbelt in and I was startled at his attempt to make small talk, he was more of a “Still waters run deep” kind of guy. "It was o
"Do you have an appointment, Miss?" an elderly gentleman in a teal blazer asked. "Hi, yes I do," I smiled. He led me to a number reel and handed me a piece of paper with a number. "You can sit here dear, and when they call your number you can go see the receptionist. Have your cards ready and have a nice day" he said walking towards another helpless soul. A chime indicated the number change on the screen and I made my way to the chair across from the receptionist. "Health card?" she asked and began typing furiously. "You haven't been to this hospital before?" I shook my head. "Okay, you'll have to fill out this form so we can open a chart for you here. When you are done you can come right back here and I will register you okay?" She handed me a clipboard with a pen attached to it and I fil
Maria showed up on Sunday night, she was a sweet girl around my age who was eager to do every single thing I asked. She was very helpful but still lacked confidence in her skills. She always asked a million questions to make sure she was on the right track or doing things exactly the way I liked them. "You have to make some decisions by yourself" I told her on Thursday after she asked me to try the salads she had put together to tell her what was missing. She looked hurt at my comment and I felt awful. But I knew she had to grow a spine and make decisions on her own if she was going to make it in the real world. "Listen, Maria, I’m not trying to be mean, but next week you are going to be the one bossing me around. I want you to be making decisions. I will be here to support you, but you need to assert yourself." She nodded at me, her big brown eyes full of tears.