"I haven't seen you in ages! You're looking wonderful!"
"Thanks, Andrea. Now Teddy is sleeping six hours through most nights, I'm feeling a bit more human."
"I can't believe how much he's grown!" Andrea commented, holding her arms out to take him for a cuddle. "Oh? I meant to ask you, how did the playgroups go?"
"I've only been to one, so far, but it was a complete bust," I admitted, describing the dynamics of the group and the mothers who were more interested in lattes and designer fashion than their progeny.
"That's horrible," Andrea said. "Still, I bet they died when realized it was you!"
"That's part of the problem. I'm new to this and I want to be a normal mom. I don't want to hang out with people who want to know me just because I'm Mrs. Christian Grey."
"Mr. Grey was adamant the playgroup should be in Medina, but there's one in Bellevue held at the Episcopal Church which might be more to your liking? It's nothing fancy, but my sister-in-law used to take her son there, and they enjoyed it. Maybe that's worth a try?"
I was willing to give anything a go, so Andrea texted her sister-in-law to get the details. In minutes I had a GEH With Compliments slip with all the details written in Andrea's neat writing. The Bellevue playgroup ran three days a week, 10:00 am to midday, and I could go as often or as infrequently as I liked.
"She said they ask you to take a piece of fruit to cut up and share at the end, and they appreciate it if every now and again you can give a few dollars toward the coffee, tea and milk."
"That sounds more like my sort of place," I remarked with a giggle, encouraged enough I planned to give it a go tomorrow.
Andrea and I compared diaries and were accepting a few social invitations to attend when the doors to his office opened, Christian following Williams, Anderson and Ms. Burke into the antechamber. He made a beeline to where I sat with Teddy, kissing me tenderly before taking Teddy from me and cradling him against his Italian tailored, English wool suit.
"Thanks for your time. We shouldn't need to meet again, however keep me in the loop by email," he said in a voice that exuded confidence and control.
Christian wrapped his arm around me as Andrea walked the group over to the lift, using her swipe card in order for them to access the elevator, the floor being on restricted access as it was any time Teddy visited. Christian waited until the elevator doors closed before stating "Andrea? Alicia Burke is not to be invited to meetings with me in the future." Returning to her seat, with some deft strokes on her keyboard, Andrea ensured Alicia Burke's access to the coveted executive level was revoked.
"Andrea's found another playgroup for Teddy and me," I announced, watching as my husband sat on the edge of Andrea's desk, making goofy faces at our son. Earning a few excited giggles from Teddy, they encouraged Christian to continue.
"Oh? In Medina?"
"Bellevue. It's at the Episcopal Church. Andrea's sister-in-law took her boy there. It sounds more up my alley, so I'm planning to take Teddy there tomorrow."
"With security of course."
"I'll take Sawyer, McIntyre and Clarke," I promised, knowing it was Prescott's day off. I'd prefer to take Prescott since it would mostly be women there – but I'd do what I had to do.
"I want to express breast milk," I revealed over our dinner at Escala later in the evening. I'd had fun at GEH today. Chatting with Andrea had been pleasurable, and I'd even been excited by instructing her to accept a few invitations for Christian and me we could work around Teddy's schedule. I wasn't ready to leave Teddy with strangers, however I liked Christian or our family being able to bottle feed Teddy my milk from time to time. "Dr. Blaine suggested waiting until he was a few months old to avoid nipple confusion or diminishing supply. We've got a strong nursing routine – I'd like to introduce a bottle with expressed breast milk every now and again."
Christian had become more vocal about wanting me to breastfeed as my pregnancy progressed. An issue we agreed on, I'd been lucky that Teddy had nursed without a problem. I still wanted to provide him with my milk, but skipping a feed here or there, or perhaps enjoying a glass of wine was appealing. Of course, Mr. Control Freak would probably not see things that way…
"That makes sense," Christian surprised me by agreeing. "If you express, I can bottle feed, or Mom or Gail can babysit. That reminds me. I'd like to resume Teddy's Wednesday visits at GEH."
"But there's no need now I'm no longer lunching with Kate."
"I appreciate that. However, I enjoy sharing my workspace with our son, and you need down time where you can relax and enjoy yourself. We can start with just a few hours, if you'd like, but once Teddy is used to taking a bottle, we might extend to the whole afternoon?"
I nodded, lost for words. I was so used to having Teddy with me all the time that the prospect of an afternoon without him was a little daunting.
"We can work up to that," Christian promised, leaning forward to wipe a crumb from my lip with the pad of his thumb before bringing his lips softly to mine.
"How did it go?" Christian asked when Teddy and I returned to Escala at lunch time the following day.
"Christian! I thought you were working at Grey House all day today?" I gasped, smiling as my husband came over and kissed me before unbuckling our son from his car seat.
"I'll go back soon. I wanted to have lunch with you and see how you went at playgroup."
"It was good. It's held in the church hall and there were nine other moms there today. We sat around and played with the babies for a while, then we went around the circle introducing ourselves and saying something that had challenged or surprised us this week."
"You didn't disclose anything private, did you?" Christian worried. The Seattle Nooz were sniffing for information, especially considering the whole Elliot and Kate fiasco, so I had to be conscious of everything I said.
"Not unless Teddy shoving his fists in his mouth any chance he gets is a state secret," I replied in exasperation.
"Will you go again?"
"I'd like to. It runs Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I may not do all three sessions each week, but I thought we could look at having Prescott work those days? It was a bit awkward having three male CPOs sitting in the back of the hall. Just one CPO inside would be enough. Prescott would blend in a bit better, and then McIntyre or Clarke could wait in the foyer?"
"I'll have Taylor speak with the team and work something out," Christian replied.
"Also, I want to take Teddy to Tiny Tots. A mom told me about it today. It's held by the Seattle Symphony, and they do percussion and music especially for babies and infants. It's only half-an-hour, but I think he'd enjoy that, and the books say exposing him to a range of sounds and sights is crucial for his development."
I looked up to see Christian grinning at me.
"What?"
"I just enjoy seeing you so excited," he replied, brushing his lips against mine again. "I was wondering whether you're up to seeing my parents tonight? I thought we could have them over for dinner so I can tell them I've asked Welch to look into my birth mother." My darling fifty seemed nervous, so I reached over and squeezed his hand.
"That's fine. Your mother hasn't seen Teddy since the weekend, so I'm sure she'll be over here in a flash," I answered with a giggle. Grace was taking her role as Grandmother seriously and wasted no opportunity to see her precious Theodore.
Christian pulled out his phone and called Grace, issuing an invitation for her and Carrick to join us for dinner. Early so they'd have a chance to play and interact with Teddy before he went to bed. As I'd expected, Grace enthusiastically accepted on behalf of them both, so I left Christian playing with Teddy as I wandered off to tell Gail the numbers for dinner had changed.
"Your brother already has people getting ready to put his condo on the market," Carrick commented as we sat down to a starter of soup.
"He wasted no time," Christian remarked.
"Elliot's hoping to sell it before he settles on the Medina property. He seems quite determined about this boathouse idea, although I've told him he's welcome to stay with us as long as he likes," Grace said.
"It's a great spot, and he doesn't need much until he decides what he wants to do with the rest of the block." Christian left the rest unspoken; that Elliot was waiting to see if he needed to build a family home for Kate and himself.
"I've seen the plans. It's little more than a large room with a bathroom and kitchenette," Grace fretted. "He'll have hardly any space."
"I don't think he's planning on entertaining, Mom," Christian remarked dryly.
"Oh let the man build it if he wants to," Carrick said to calm Grace. "He's got lakefront land – he'll need a boathouse there sooner or later."
"Yes. But he doesn't need to live in it!"
"I took Teddy to a playgroup in Bellevue today," I announced, changing the topic and giving Grace the full run down of how Teddy and I spent our morning, including my Tiny Tots Seattle Symphony discovery.
"That sounds wonderful! I'd love to go with you, if you wouldn't mind?" Grace checked. Assuring her I didn't, and the more the merrier, I promised to check the website and send her a list of potential dates.
"Would you like to come too, Cary?" Grace asked sweetly.
My father-in-law looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Clearly, half-an-hour of musical percussion and nursery rhymes surrounded by a gaggle of mothers and young children was of little interest even if it was by the Symphony Orchestra.
"No thanks. I'll leave that treat for you ladies to enjoy together."
Grace nodded, but I suspect she'd noticed Carrick's relieved sigh. We were half way through Gail's Braised French Onion Chicken with Gruyère when Christian cleared his throat before announcing to his parents we'd invited them over for a particular reason.
"I've decided I want to learn more about my birth mother, Ella."
Carrick nodded, automatically reaching over to grasp Grace's hand on top of the table top. Their fingers interlaced, they looked at Christian expectantly.
"I'll not sure whether there's anything to find, but I've asked my security advisor Welch to make some discreet enquiries about her background and early life. He'll probably want to talk to you to get any information you have from my adoption and all that."
"We have a file at home we've kept in case you ever asked," Grace said, her voice trembling only a little. "Although I should warn you, when your mother died, she was going by the name Ella Riley, which is also the name listed on your original birth certificate. When she passed, they weren't able to find any matching birth or social security records for an Ella Riley, so it's probable that wasn't her real name or date of birth. Finding out more may be more difficult than you anticipate."
I looked over at Christian, seeing a small v form on his forehead as he frowned.
"I didn't know that," Christian murmured.
"You were always so against hearing anything about your birth mother, so we didn't mention it," Grace explained. "That's one reason you had to go to the Colliers before you came home with us. The police and social services were trying to identify Ella and find out if you had any living family who could take you. In the end, they could not discover anything, and Ella's description and details matched none of the missing persons reports, so after the required period we were allowed to adopt you. There was nothing in the apartment other than a few photos and a couple of documents relating to you where she was named as Ella Riley."
My poor fifty looked so disappointed. Now he wanted to discover more, it sounded like that might not be possible.
"Let's not give up hope, yet," I said lightly, looking at Grace and Carrick. "So much has been digitized and systems integrated in the last twenty-five years. Welch and Barney are at the top of their field; hopefully they'll find out more."
"Kate! It's Ana – did I get the time right? It's what? 7:30 pm? Is now a good time?"
I was sitting curled up in the library. Christian was at work, Teddy had just gone down for a nap, and I'd worked out it was early evening in London.
"Steele!" Kate greeted, sounding genuinely pleased to hear from me. "It's a great time. I'm not long home from work, and I'm not going out tonight."
"So what's been happening? How is work? How are you going? How is London?!"
"Work is good. I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. It's not too dissimilar to reporting, but kind of on the other side. My journalism experience is proving handy but I'm learning heaps too."
"Do you see your Uncle much?"
"He met me at the airport and brought me to the apartment, except they call them flats here, and then I went up to Milton Keynes on the weekend to his place for lunch with him, my auntie and cousins."
"Did you drive?" I gasped.
"Oh hell no! I keep nearly getting run over when I cross roads because I am looking the wrong way! Besides, you don't need to drive here. Everything's walking distance or on the tube."
"Where are you exactly?"
"I'll right on the border of Belsize Park and Kentish Town. I love it here! Not too far from Camden Market and Regent's Park. I'm in a one-bedroom place in a converted terrace. My Uncle used to use it to crash when he was doing more in London, but since he opened the Manchester office, he's hardly ever here, so he's letting me stay here. It's actually a pretty decent size by London standards."
"Have you met many people so far?"
"Heaps!" Kate said and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Everyone's friendly, and since I'm new to PR, they're showing me the ropes. People seem to go out here a lot more, too. Plus my youngest cousin Caroline is only a year or two older than me and she works not far from the office, so she's promised to show me around this weekend."
"Sounds like you're having fun?"
"I am. It helps distract me." She paused. "Have you seen Elliot?"
"Yes. He's stayed over a few times since you left. He's actually moved back to Bellevue, and he's putting his condo up for sale."
"Mia said he's building some bachelor pad above the boathouse at Medina?" she asked.
"Hardly a bachelor pad. It's a room with a kitchenette and a bathroom," I corrected. "He said the plan is to live there so he can be on-site to supervise when he starts the Medina build."
"He's still planning to build a house there?" For the first time Kate sounded regretful.
"Not right now. Between his current work projects, Grey Constructions Manufacturing, extending the pergola at Bellevue for Grace and planning the boathouse he's pretty flat-out."
"Mia didn't say… Has he been going out or anything?"
"You haven't spoken to him yet?" I probed. I'd suspected as much.
"Not yet. I asked for a fortnight before we interacted… So has he been hitting the clubs?"
"Not as far as I've heard. He's had dinner and stayed at Escala with us a few times, and like I said – now he's living back at Bellevue with Grace and Carrick. He's not putting himself out there."
Kate sighed theatrically; her tell that she wanted to debrief.
"Do you want to talk about how you're feeling?"
"I don't know… It's so confusing! I'm still angry about what happened and humiliated that everyone knows. I'm grateful Ethan lied to cover it up, but no one believes him. Everyone in Seattle knows my fiancé was getting a blow job from a stripper at his Bachelor Party! But if what the strippers say is true, he didn't know what was being done to him. Either way, I can't believe my father would do that to him and me!"
"Have you spoken to your father?" I asked. As far as I was concerned, Eamon had got out of this whole debacle pretty much unscathed. I was curious about Kate's stance on that.
She snorted. "No! Dad did what he always does when he does things like this. He took off to New York, is always busy when I try to call, and a few days ago he transferred a large sum of money into my account."
"What about Ethan? Has he spoken to him?"
"No. This was the final straw for Ethan. Mom will make sure Ethan is financially taken care of – but I don't think my brother will ever talk to our father again."
"Busy day, baby?" Christian asked as I came running across the great room to smother him with kisses when he got home.
"Not really. I read a couple of manuscripts I've had sitting around for ages. It was a nice afternoon, so Teddy, Gail and I had a picnic on the balcony. Oh – and while Teddy had his late morning nap, I rang Kate."
"How is she?" Christian asked, his attention focused on Teddy who was furiously kicking his legs on his bunny rug and grinning at his Daddy.
"She's fine. Loving London, her new job and all that."
"That's good. What did she have to say about your playgroup trips?"
I stopped to consider it.
"We didn't talk about that," I replied. I was moving over to the kitchen to pour Christian a glass of Sancerre when it occurred to me that Kate hadn't asked about Christian, Teddy or me at all.