Chapter Two

Life with a toddler was busy. I was surprised one morning, when I found myself the only one awake in the house. I checked on Rett, and he was sleeping soundly. Holly had been sleeping more and more lately. I figured it was because she was tired from taking care of Rett while I was at work. There’s a lot to handle. He seemed to be hungry every hour, and he was always learning.

Holly taught him to use his little potty all by himself, and he was already beginning to start saying real words. Last night, he had even taken a few steps! I was so proud of him, and I knew Holly was working hard to make sure he learned all the important things in life.

On the morning I woke up early, I took the opportunity to cook Holly a nice breakfast, to surprise her. I made eggs machiavellian.

"Almond, this is amazing! Did you learn this recipe at work?"

We chatted and laughed, and it felt good to reconnect with my wife. It almost seemed like we'd been living separate lives, lately. By the time I got home from work, she and Rett were usually asleep. We finished our meal, and were both astonished that Rett was still sleeping.

We weren't ones to pass up an opportunity when it came along.

It didn't come as much of a shock when we found out we were expecting our second child a month later.

Holly's second pregnancy was a little harder on her than the first had been, probably because she also had a toddler to chase around. I tried to give her breaks whenever I could, helping out with Rett so she could take little cat-naps. I brushed up on my newborn skills by reading pregnancy books. I'd been through this once before, but it couldn't hurt to be reminded of those first few months with a baby.

By the time Holly was nearing the end of her pregnancy, our little man could walk all on his own, and was speaking full sentences. He was still a cuddle-bug, though, especially with his mama.

Holly went into labor just as I got home from work, one evening. We had agreed to do a homebirth, this time, because we didn't really have anyone to look after Rett while we were at the hospital. As she cried out in pain, however, I was regretting that decision. I hated being helpless while she did all the work and endured all that suffering. She couldn't help but yell as her contractions intensified, and her cries woke Amaretto. Holly assured me she was all right, and asked me to go tend to our son.

It was while I was with Rett in the nursery that our little daughter, Sage, was born.

Now that we had a boy and a girl, I felt our family was complete, at least for a while. Sage was a demanding baby, often waking us in the middle of the night for feedings or play time.

I think the exhaustion of too many interrupted nights was starting to wear Holly down. I know I was dog tired, most days.

Still, I never let my performance suffer at work, and I just got promoted to Executive Chef! It's a good thing, too, because it allowed us to add another room onto our little place for Sage. I was only two positions away from the top of my career, now!