Extra 9

Extra 9
Emotions were running high, but Emma did her best to be the best version of herself. She finished changing the baby's diaper and smiled as she saw her calm. She recalled Elaine's words from a few days ago at that restaurant. It was something rare to see in her mother, her trying to be maternal. Or maybe she always was but never showed it.

"Who's mommy's princess?" she began to cuddle Emily. "Who's mommy's princess?" she repeated, showering her with little kisses.

"Madam?" called the housekeeper. Emma straightened up and looked toward the door.

"Yes?" she said, gathering the rest of the baby's things to put them back in the drawer.

"A package has arrived," she said, handing it over. Emma thanked her and looked at the sender. But there was nothing, just her name. She returned to the crib, and Emily was starting to pout, about to cry.

"No, missy, you can't insist on being held all the time. No, missy," Emily began to cry, and Emma let out a long sigh and shook her head. She wasn't going to cry with her, but her emotions were on the verge of surfacing. She picked her up and tried to soothe her. "There, there, don't cry, my little sunshine." Emma gave her a couple of gentle kisses on her cheek to calm her, but she cried even more. "Your dad isn't here, I can't take you to the office and ask him to help me stop you from crying, no, no, no, I'm your mom, I need to have the superpower to calm you down..." Emily cried and cried. She had eaten, was bathed and clean, and although the pediatrician had checked her several times and said everything was fine, Emma felt frustrated. She began to walk around the room to lull her, but it was impossible. She looked at the box and after a few moments, put Emily back in the crib, turned on the mobile above her so the little stuffed animals would spin. She took the box and opened it, then surprise hit her.

"Elaine," she sighed, then a smile appeared on her lips. It was a musical box, and as she opened it, she saw the ballerina start to spin while music played. "Für Elise," she whispered, looking at it for a few more seconds. Then she furrowed her brow; Emily's crying had stopped. She looked at the crib and approached it with the box still in hand. She was surprised to see the little one yawning, a big smile spread across her lips. "Grandma sent it, do you like it?" She placed the box next to the furniture and pulled up a chair to get closer to her, resting her arms on the edge and her chin on her hands to watch her daughter, who slowly began to fall asleep. Soon, without realizing it, Emma fell asleep too.

For the first time in a long time, she had really slept. So when Max arrived, he was surprised to see her snoring, leaning against the crib with that music playing in the background. He picked her up and carried her to bed. When he looked at their daughter, he watched her sleep for a moment. A while later, Max finished dinner. It was past seven in the evening, and Emma and little Emily were still asleep.

"Should I wake the madam? If not, she won't be able to sleep later."

"No, no, I'll do it in a bit. They're still sleep-deprived; I want them to rest." After finishing, he headed to the guest room to take a shower and change, letting Emma and the baby rest. He took one of the monitors with an integrated camera and sound to keep an eye on them. He lay down, settled on his usual side, and let himself drift off to sleep.

Emma woke up, but not to her daughter's crying, rather because her body felt a bit more rested. It was four in the morning when she realized Max wasn't in his usual spot. She got up to look for him, checked on Emily, who was still asleep, and was surprised at how much the musical box had helped in such a short time. She changed into her pajamas and went to find Max. She found him in the guest room, in the dark. She climbed into bed and wrapped her arms around him from behind. Max woke up and rested his hand on the arm Emma had draped over his stomach. He turned to face her.

"Hey," Max whispered.

"Hey," Emma replied.

"You found me..." She smiled in the darkness, her hand caressing his jaw.

"Always, love."

In the following days, Emma and Eda began to organize the wedding that would take place in two months. By then, she would be fully recovered. Max was involved in every decision, even arguing about the arrangements, but they reached an agreement in the end. Emily was growing more and more each day, showing those ocean-blue eyes, her blonde curls, and a smile that charmed everyone she met. Elaine hadn't appeared since that day at the restaurant, and Emma began to wonder about her in silence. That musical box was the best. Over the days, she started to recover from her lack of sleep, looking more energetic, which was contagious for Max.

"I'd like to go back to work, what do you think?" Emma said as she cuddled next to Max on their new couch. She had the baby monitor in her hand. He didn't look at her for a moment, but furrowed his brow as he stopped what he was doing on his laptop.

"That's fine, but what happened to working after Emily grew a bit more?" Emma sighed.
"I want to feel useful, love," Emma confessed. Max set the laptop down on the table in front of the couch, then leaned back to wrap his arms around her. She smiled and snuggled back into him. He planted a few kisses in her hair and then inhaled her scent.

"You don't need to work, love, but I can't clip your wings. I'll support you in everything, give you whatever you ask for. You won't lack anything."

"I know you're a millionaire, but that doesn't mean I'll just sit and take whatever I ask for. I've always been independent, earned my own money, and I don't want to stop doing that." Max sighed.

"What if you wait a couple of months like you said at the beginning?" Max asked, hoping she would agree.

"Fine, but I can start working now. I can work while Emily is taking her nap."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Very sure..."

And so it was for the next few days. Emma kept her pace while little Emily napped, her fingers flying over the keyboard. Now she felt more clear-headed, a routine that suited her quite well, and she felt useful.

"Ma'am, you have a visitor," the housekeeper announced.

"Who is it?" Emma asked without taking her eyes off the laptop screen.

"Mrs. Spencer." She stopped what she was doing and couldn't help but tense up. Her mother was there, after a long silence since that encounter at the restaurant. She wondered if she would finally cut ties with her or give her a chance. Now that she was a mother, she saw the world from a different perspective. But her relationship with Elaine was quite unstable. Did she want her in her life? In little Emily's life?

"Thank you, let her into the living room. I'll be down in a moment."

"Yes, ma'am." Emma closed her laptop and then grabbed the baby monitor. Emily was napping and would likely wake up in about an hour. She descended the stairs and then saw her mother standing by the fireplace, with her back to Emma.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked. Elaine turned to face her.

"I'm here to say goodbye. I'm leaving for England in a couple of hours."

"Have a good trip," Emma said, clearing her throat.

"I wanted to know how you are, how the little one is. Has the music box been useful?" Emma crossed her arms and slowly closed the distance between them.

"We're fine, thank you. And thank you for the music box," Emma said. "It has worked."

"That's good," Elaine replied, clearing her throat again and then sighing. "Well, I have to go. Take care," she extended a bag towards Emma. "I bought some vitamins, take them with breakfast every morning. And..." she approached her. "I bought this for the little one; it should fit her in about a month." It was a pink dress with bows, and Emma couldn't help but smile when she saw it.

"Thank you, you didn't have to..." Elaine stopped her.

"Don't say that, it's fine. I really wanted to do it. Well," Elaine said, looking towards the second floor, then sighed, looked at Emma, and observed her for a moment. "I'm leaving, Emma. I'm not coming back into your life. I don't want to somehow stain your life and my granddaughter's with my presence. I understand I did a lot of bad things, and I'm sorry I can't change that. Just take care, take care of my granddaughter and Max." She sidestepped Emma and walked towards the elevator doors. Emma felt a tightness in her chest.

"Are you leaving without meeting your granddaughter?" Elaine had just pressed the button for the elevator doors to open before her. She turned to her daughter.

"Can I?" she whispered, thinking that if she spoke louder, her voice would tremble.

"Yes, you can, but with one condition." Elaine tensed up at those words. Emma approached until she was a meter away from her.

"What condition?" she asked.

"That when you leave..." Elaine interrupted her.

"I'll leave, and you won't hear from me, I swear," she said quickly, content with seeing her only granddaughter before leaving the city.

"Wait, let me finish," Emma said. "That when you leave, you make sure to call on important dates." Elaine frowned. "For example, make sure to come to my wedding with Max in a few weeks, also make sure to be present when Emily has her birthdays, when she turns one, two, and the following ones." Elaine's eyes welled up. "Also make sure to be there on her first day of preschool, to answer the call when she tells you she lost her first tooth. Make sure to be at every graduation and when she calls complaining that Max and I won't let her have her first boyfriend." Elaine wiped away the tears that escaped while she chuckled at the last part. "I want you to listen to her, support her, advise her for the better when she, in her rebellious phase, doesn't want to come to me because she'll think I won't understand her. I don't want her to be alone, like I was, Elaine. I know we can't change our past, but I think we can start by not having the same one in the present." Emma paused, looking down at the pink dress with bows in her hands. She caressed it and then sighed before lifting her gaze to her mother. "I want her to have a grandmother. Do you accept the condition of being present as much as you can in her life?" Elaine let out a sob, bringing her hands to her face and starting to cry. It was the first time Emma had seen and heard her cry, according to her memories. She gave her a bit of space to compose herself. Emma was startled by Emily's cry, and Elaine was surprised, wiping her cheeks from the tears shed.

"She sure has strong lungs, the little one," Emma smiled.

"Yes, come, come meet your granddaughter..."