Generation 1 Chapter 12: Amani Vista

 

During my third pregnancy, I had the most abnormal cravings. Yet again, what pregnant woman doesn’t? When I was carrying both Bee and Amanda, I had intense cravings for grape flavored popsicles, but besides that, I simply ate like a mad woman.  This time around, Red Delicious apples were my new best friend, well, that and chocolate chip pancakes with loads of whipped cream.

 

Teaching Amanda all of her life skills has been surprisingly easy, not that we’re complaining. I suppose Concord and I had just expected it to require more effort and perseverance after raising Bee with her learning disability. But nope, Amanda had grasped the concept of walking within a matter of days, was consistent with letting us know when she needed to use the bathroom and was picking up new words at lightning speed.   

 

With our new baby almost here, Concord and I have finally agreed to adding an intricate extension onto the house. What do I mean by intricate? Well, we’ve decided to invest in a second floor.

Builders added a few square feet onto what used to be the girls’ room, and we soon had ourselves a luxurious new eating area. 

 

Upstairs, the girls received a much more spacious room for the two of them to share.

 

We also made sure to incorporate a few more bedrooms, knowing we were going to need the extra space in the future. Of course, we decorated one of them for the little one that was inside of me. Who I was desperately hoping was a boy…

 

The other bedroom we had built Concord refused to convert into a nursery before I had at least delivered our third child. For now, he was using the room as a place to practice his new hobby of inventing.  

 

On top of all that, we managed to squeeze in two full bathrooms on the second floor as well as a functional hallway. We made a few other changes downstairs, too, like expanding the kitchen and moving the living room to where we used to have our kitchen table.

My once three room house wasn’t looking so small now.  

 

Adjusting to school ended up being quite difficult for Bee, something she had initially hidden from us. But when her first midterm report was sent home in the mail, we knew she had been lying about the extra help she was receiving at school. She explained to Concord and I that she was embarrassed of being treated differently, and how she hated that she couldn’t understand things as quickly as some of the other kids in her class. From there on out, the two of us made sure to set aside some time every night to work on her homework together or review for a test, even if it did end up taking a matter of hours.

 

Realizing how much time and dedication it would actually take Bee to answer a mediocre math problem really struck me hard. There were other kids out there who were skipping grades when my little Bee was barely passing the first grade. Not that I would change Bee for the world, she’s perfect just the way she is, I just longed for my children to have an easier time than her, watching one child struggle was difficult enough. So I decided I needed to buckle down and make sure I was taking every possible precaution regarding my current pregnancy.

One day, when I was headed to wash my hands, I noticed I had forgotten to put the laundry detergent away from earlier that morning. But then a thought struck me: Is it because you’re not clean enough on the inside? Is that why Bee ended up being born the way she is? I was internally agreeing with my subconscious, knowing that it was all my fault. That Bee’s disability could’ve been prevented. Hastily, I unscrewed the cap to the laundry detergent, poured the liquid so it coated the bottom of the cap, and drank the chemicals.
This child was not going to end up with a learning disability because of a mistake I made. Not this time.  

 

With only a few days left in my third trimester, I wasn’t surprised when I went into labor before my predicted due date. I was outside painting when my water broke, and I immediately screamed for Concord. He called a babysitter in record time and then ushered me to the hospital to deliver our third child.  

 

Much to my delight, I gave birth to a precious, baby boy, Aiden.  

 

But to me dismay, he was also born with a learning disability much worse than Bee’s. Doctors were baffled by this occurrence, as my pregnancy had gone so smoothly and had shown no signs of any complications. They said they think it may have been due to some heavy chemicals I may have accidentally inhaled while out and about town… But I knew the real reason.

Maybe I just hadn’t downed enough of that stuff for it to actually work…

 

Did I mention Concord and I got a new bedroom set when we renovated the house? Well we did, and we’ve been looking forward to… uh, testing it out for quite some time now.

Sheesh, what a difference a new mattress can make!

 

Bee never ceases to amaze me, picking up new hobbies left and right no matter the difficulty. Lately, she’s been focusing on chess, quite the convoluted game for a girl with a learning disability. She never gives up though, continuing to try her best even if she doesn’t understand the rules one hundred percent.

I’m so proud to be able to call myself her mother.  

 

Aiden soon became a little tyke, too, almost becoming an exact carbon copy of his father but with my green eyes.  

Of course, it wouldn’t be a new addition to the Vista family without Albany’s sacred gift giving of those stuffed animals… Aiden decided to name his Riddle.
God help us all…