“I left your father. Heforbademe to help you. Ha! My baby is having a baby, and he tells me I can’t help? I won’t let anyone keep me from you.” Her mom dragged in a shaky breath, straightening her shoulders. “I stayed away these few years because you needed to make your own way. But now, you need my help even if you don’t know it. I’m not letting you do this alone.”
“Thank God,” Aubrey said with a heartfelt sigh.
Theeverything will be finemantra Aubrey had been hypnotizing herself with flickered and showed its cracks. She’d been doing this on her own, but it hadn’t been easy. She was constantly afraid, sad, and so alone. But not anymore. She didn’t have to do it alone. Her mom was with her to love her and take care of her. The relief liquified her knees, and she sank onto the nearest sofa.
“I’m here, baby. Everything is going to be fine.” Her mom sat down beside her and enfolded her into a warm, healing hug, and Aubrey sighed into her arms. “If your father dares come between us, I’ll expose his secret overseas accounts.”
“I’ve always thought the Korean markets were a front for something more sinister, but overseas accounts?”
“Your father is very good at keeping secrets, so I don’t know the details either. All I know is it involves powerful politicians in Korea and possibly money laundering.”
“Money laundering?” Aubrey gasped. She’d known her father was a scoundrel, but finding out he was a hard criminal shocked her to the core and destroyed any lingering hopes for a reunion.
“Before I left, I broke one of his passwords. I was afraid to take any photos on my cell phone, so I copied out as many account numbers as I could.”
“Wow. So this is the real you.” Aubrey giggled and hugged her again. “You’re a total badass.”
“Yeah,” her mom said as though she were savoring the thought. “You and I both. We get that from Grandma.”
Aubrey’s laughter was smothered by a yawn she couldn’t hold back.
“Why don’t you go take a nap? I’ll keep myself busy.”
“Busy?” She quirked her eyebrow. “There isn’t much to do in the house except to settle in. That sage-colored room straight ahead? You could use that room. It’s a bit cramped with all my cook books and baking toys, but the bed’s comfy and cozy.”
“I’m sure it’ll be perfect.”
Her mom kissed her on the forehead and headed to her room. After another huge, teary yawn Aubrey shuffled her slippered feet to bed. One of her pregnancy superpowers was to fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Even the happinessand anticipation of having her mom with her didn’t diminish her power.
When Aubrey’s eyes opened to a dusky room, she remembered hearing her grandma singing in her dream. She swung her feet to the floor and then paused, struggling to get her bearings. Her house smelled just like Grandma’s. Confusion marring her forehead, Aubrey padded out to the living room, following the aroma. She stopped in her tracks when she reached the kitchen.
“Mom?”
Her mom was wearing a slim pair of jeans and a pullover with her hair tied loosely at the base of her neck. She looked younger and more relaxed than Aubrey had ever seen her. And she was baking. Linda Choi did not bake.
“Hi, sweetie. My St. John’s suit felt like a weighted vest, so I borrowed one of your sweatshirts.” Her mom blushed as she glanced down at herself. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. I’m glad we wear similar sizes. You can borrow anything you need. I made the switch to maternity clothes a few weeks ago,” Aubrey said, tugging on the stretchy material at her tummy. The stomach panel was made of a magical material that stretched way out and supported the bump without squeezing it. “These leggings are crazy comfortable; I don’t think I’ll ever wear regular tights again.”
“Oh, my baby. You’re so beautiful,” Mom said, going to Aubrey and place her hand on her stomach. Sniffling away her tears, she tested the secret panel and whistled. “Wow. I wish they’d had those when I was pregnant with you.”
Aubrey beamed at her, warmed by the shared moment, and her mom ushered her to the table, bustling around with joyous energy. Soon, a small feast lay before her.
“This looks amazing, Mom.” Aubrey lowered her head, close enough to feel the steam coming off the goodies, and breathed in heaven. “The kitchen smells exactly like Grandma’s. I had no idea you knew how to bake.”
“It’s been so long, you might break a tooth on that biscotto.”
“Oh, my God.” Aubrey’s words were muffled because she was stuffing another bite of said biscotto into her mouth.
Jelly Bean loved the almond biscotto and fluttered in her tummy. It was perfection. So were the lemon bars and sticky buns. Aubrey was too stuffed to try the cherry upside-down cake, but she knew it would taste just like Grandma’s.
Her mom sat across from her and fiddled with her fork. “You’ve always been braver than I have.”
Aubrey stared at her with a mouthful of lemon bars. Even if she could speak, she wouldn’t know what to say. This new mom not only knew how to bake a mean biscotto, she’d just initiated the Big Talk. She was going to stick with staring for now.
“I was very young when I met your dad, and I never got over the feeling that he was way out of my league. The more I fell in love with him, the more afraid I became of losing him.” Linda glanced down at her hands and took a shuddering breath. “I was only twenty-four when I first found out about your father’s dalliances. I confronted him, and he wept at my feet. He promised it would never happen again, but it did.”
“Why didn’t you leave?” The question that had been burning at the back of her throat for years broke free in a fragile whisper.
