We are family

Laney fell in love with her little sister, from the very moment she was born. Two weeks before baby was due, Carmichael Jones decided to walk out on his heavily pregnant wife and his daughter citing he "just couldn't do this anymore!” Sienna Jones never saw it coming. As far as she knew, her husband was still very much in love with her!

Laney could not bear to see her mother curled up in a ball, night after night sobbing her heart out! Continuously rocking backwards and forwards. It was heart wrenching! The news of Sienna's beloved husband already in a new relationship with a woman he had been talking to online for months, was just too much!

"I don't want this baby Laney!" Sienna was searching in desperation for a way out as her due date was fast approaching. "Don't say that! Please momma! The baby is not to blame for what dad has done to you! To us! Sienna was fast becoming despondent and Laney could not bear the thought of her baby sister being raised by strangers!

It all happened so fast! One minute Laney was making her mother a cup of tea, the next she was calling an ambulance as Sienna’s waters broke while she waddled down the stairs towards the kitchen. Laney knew that this was not a drill, or Braxton hicks as they called it. She had watched hundreds of hours of birthing videos to prepare for this very moment!

“Ok Mamma, remember what you were taught in prenatal classes. Take slow deep breaths and try to remain calm, the ambulance is on its way! Laney found herself breathing in rhythm with her mother. Baby Cassie was getting ready to make her grand entrance into the world at last!

Two and a half hours after her waters broke, Sienna gave birth to a healthy 7lb 6 ounce baby girl! And she looked so beautiful and perfect. It was in that instance, Sienna decided to keep her. Her dear wee Cassie-Boo.

Mother and baby recovered quite quickly after such a rapid birth. Cassie was gaining weight and feeding well. The doctor was happy with how Sienna was coping emotionally and physically. But just to make sure, he arranged for Sienna to have an assessment with the hospital psychologist before signing her out to be discharged.

Laney checked on her mother and baby sister one more time making sure they both slept soundly, before she headed out on to the back veranda to sit and process everything that had happened in the past three days. Tears began to flow freely once she was sure her mother would not see her crying. The gratitude that filled her heart over her mother’s decision to keep Cassie-Boo was almost overwhelming!

Carmichael stood out in the front yard of the house he once shared with his ex-wife Sienna and his daughter Laney. He was a broken man. He had made so many mistakes in his life-time. But none as big as this! He longed to erase the past, to start over, so that he could get back to his family and how things used to be! He hadn’t even met his new baby daughter yet! Not without trying. He had attempted to knock on the door several times after receiving news of Cassie’s birth. But each time his courage failed him causing him to turn around and walk away like the coward he was!

Laney thought she heard a noise coming from the front yard of their house. Racing through the side gate she immediately came to a halt as she found herself face to face with her father. She stood frozen and transfixed as she gazed at the defeated figure that confronted her. She barely recognized him! He had aged dramatically in the past three weeks! His once shiny black “mane” turned grey and ashen.

It felt like hours had passed, but in fact it had only been minutes. Laney couldn’t hold back any longer! She grabbed her father rather forcefully, enveloping him in a warm, loving embrace. Carmichael was taken aback by his daughter’s actions and soon found himself crumbling into her arms. He sobbed and sobbed without speaking a single word. With Laney, words were not always needed.

At first, Sienna was angry with Laney allowing “him” to enter their home. What he had done only weeks before, still hurt as though it had happened yesterday. It had taken a lot of coaxing and mediation through Laney, so wise beyond her seventeen years! To make this meeting happen. Upon seeing Carmichael’s wretched and anguished state, Sienna felt a rush of empathy flooding her senses. She just couldn’t turn him away! Not without asking “why?”

Laney made her parents a fresh pot of herbal tea, inviting more calm into the tense energies she felt surrounding them both. Leaving them to talk, she headed upstairs to check if her baby sister was ready for her bottle of breast milk Mamma had finished expressing only moments ago. All the while, silently praying her parents could talk without killing each other!

Sienna felt all anger towards Carmichael, fade as she felt the genuine remorse behind each word that he spoke to her. His once proud demeanour lost in the pain of how much suffering he had caused, to Sienna and to his family! Sienna gazed at her husband, eyes brimming with tears. She searched for any signs of lies or deceit, finding none remained. She extended her arms out, clasping Carmichael’s hands in her own. “I forgive you” flowed easily out of her mouth into the quiet still room.

Cassie-Boos laughter filled the room like a musical sonata tugging at your heart with its melodic tones. Everyone peered over at her, joy filling their hearts, laughter touching their own lips, as though it were contagious.   

It had taken a lot of months, many hours of counselling and lots of patience to bring this family back together again! It will never feel quite the same again. If anything, they had become stronger as a family unit and as individuals and partners. Laney had played a huge part in getting her parents back together, but she liked to think it was their Cassie-Boo who helped to heal the rift that had once threatened to tear their family apart. She was such a joy to all that encountered her!