CHAPTER - 5 Fresh start in a new city

Emma drove the car away from the parking lot and stopped near the gate. Once she swiped the car, she joined the ongoing traffic carefully. She did not say a word until she passed the security gate and entered the main road. 

“I did not expect you to be so brave and make that decision all by yourself without consulting me first,” Emma complained while adjusting the rearview mirror to look at the back.

Kara, who was placing the baby in the child seat looked up and said, 

“I learned it from you! Now drive while looking ahead. And stop checking on us, like, every two seconds. Once we are home we will talk about what we need to do next. I am too tired now as I was worried earlier that we would be caught at any minute. All of this struggle was just for you sweetie pie…” 

Kara pinched the baby’s cheeks and tickled her chin.

‘If you had listened to me, then we would have not been in this trouble. We could have properly adopted her.’ Emma wanted to nag but she did not have enough courage to voice out her concern loudly.

Kara played with the baby and tried to entertain her. Emma looked at Kara’s motherly nature with a smile and drove the car towards her home. 

Once the car stopped next to Emma’s apartment building Kara removed the baby from the child seat. She got down first along with Dina. They both went inside Emma's apartment and she placed the baby on the couch. 

She went inside the room to take paper and pen to make a list of things that would be needed for the baby. Emma felt like she was being left alone by both of them. She pouted her lips and walked near Kara.

"Here's the list of important things that we would need for our baby right now. We will buy some more things later as per the need. Ava had already packed some formula, clothes, and diapers that we could use for a couple of days. But we need to buy and stock up a little more as we won't be moving to another city for the next two months." Kara said and gave her a long list of things that she needed to buy.

"Actually, regarding that, I was asked to join the hospital early. I mean by next week... So I came to the nurse's station today to give you a heads up about that. But in the end, we brought a baby home." Emma said while looking at the baby in Kara's hands.

Emma was still unable to believe that they already had a baby before they even got married. She had just proposed yesterday and now their family has grown into a size of three. She was still in a daze when Kara responded to her in delight.

"Really?" Kara asked and lifted the baby to her chest.

“Look at you! It’s all because of you my dear,” She held the baby and kissed her once again.

Usually, Kara rushed towards Emma and hugged her tightly. The kiss would have landed on Emma’s cheeks instead.

“Don’t you know you cannot kiss the baby so much? She may get allergic reactions as their skin is too delicate,” Emma complained without hiding her jealousy.

Kara ignored her jealous tone and stood up from the sofa. She hugged Emma while holding Dina in one hand. Then she pecked on Emma’s lips.

"I was so worried before that we might need to stay in this city for two more months. I know, you are the best! I love you," Kara kissed and hugged her once again.

Even though the happiness that she expressed now was not completely because of her, Emma was not hurt. She nodded her head in understanding, as what they did was actually a crime. So, the sooner they leave this city, the better.

"Pack your things along with mine. We are leaving today as soon as I come back from the hospital. First, I have to go back and finish the formalities for both of us. You can give me your resignation letter, I will hand it to Mariah. So, you do not have to go back there." Emma said.

"Okay! You are the best," She kissed her cheeks once more.

“I know!” Emma said and handed the paper back to Kara that had the list of things needed for the baby which Kara made a while ago.

“This we won’t need for now. Didn’t you say Ava already packed the necessities for a week or so? We will get these items once we settle down in the new city.” Emma stated and left to work.

By the time, everything was settled, it was already late in the evening. As they did not want to delay anymore, they started their journey by car around ten O'clock at night. When they reached the new city, it was almost the next evening.

They took a break for every two hours in between so that the journey would not cause stress to the baby. They also booked a hotel on the way to the city to get some rest. 

Once they reached the motel, they pulled their tired body towards the bed. But before they could even reach the bed, Dina started to cry.

Kara gave Dina to Emma and fell on the bed. Without complaining, Emma took her inside and changed the diaper. She then heated the formula and fed the baby. After rocking the baby to sleep, she went inside to take a bath. When she tried to burp Dina after feeding, the baby vomited a little bit of the food on her shoulder.

Kara's eyes wandered wherever Emma went. She felt lucky to have fallen in love with such a good woman. She jumped up and went inside the bathroom to join Emma in the shower. They both did not come out for a long time and enjoyed their lonely time while Dina was still asleep on the bed.

Meanwhile, the plane landed on another country and Grace got down while holding Tina in one hand. The luxury cars were parked in a row and she entered inside one of them without waiting for anyone else.

"The sun here is too hot! That's why I never wanted to come here. But now I have decided to settle down here just for you, darling," She lifted Tina and kissed her chubby cheeks.

"No one ever asked you to come here. It was you, who decided to come to this country." Millie remarked.

She couldn’t stop herself from commenting when she heard her daughter's complaint. She looked at Grace sarcastically.

"Mom, do you really have to nitpick at everything I do? Sometimes, you give me a feeling that after dad passed away, you turned into completely a different person altogether. Where is my mom, who used to support me with everything I do?"

"No mom will support their daughter when they know that she was talking a wrong path in her life," Millie commented.

"What did I do now? I just wanted to move to a new place, where my daughter can also get her grandparent's love and affection. Is that wrong of me to even expect that?" Grace tried to prove that there was nothing wrong with her decision.

"Are you sure that is the real reason why you did all this?" Millie questioned her.

"Ladies, that's enough. Looks like the heat around us is making our head boil. Let us drink some cocktails and relax. It is really a long journey that we had just now." Mason said.

He tried to soothe things between mother and daughter as the atmosphere was getting heated up in the car.

Millie took one glass from his hand while Grace waved her hands indicating that she did not want any. At that moment, Tina started to weep. So Millie put the glass on the tray and tried to take her from Grace. 

But Grace did not allow that and tried to check by herself, the reason why her daughter was crying. First, she checked her diaper but did not see it wet. Then she tried to feed her formula meal. But Tina refused to drink that.

Looking at Grace’s struggle, Millie said,

"It must be because of this prolonged journey. She is a newborn and not an adult who could express herself easily with a few words. Do you really need to behave like a spoiled brat to bring her to another country without even thinking about the baby's health?" 

Millie could not take it anymore with her daughter's attitude. She is irritated by this adamant woman who doesn’t understand anything.

"My daughter is absolutely fine and healthy. Nothing would happen to her, so you don't have to worry. Mom, please, just enjoy your cocktails while I take care of Tina."

Millie shook her head in disappointment and looked outside the window. She could not understand her daughter anymore. Until her father was alive, Millie only saw the good in her and missed to see her daughter's other characters. Or to be precise, she might have thought that whatever happens, her husband would take care of it.