On the day of Aimee's birth, Emily was rushed in the delivery room on a wheelchair to hasten her arrival there as the baby was ready to come out. When they got there, Freddie was made to wait outside, at the waiting room for delivery room. He was anxious and felt as if he should be there with his lovely wife to be able to absorb her pain if he could. Anxiety was all he felt till he heard the nurse saying Emily wanted him there. Freddie was happy, he had gone for classes with her, he was taught what to do on this day and he was trained enough to see his wife this way and be able to comfort her in the best way possible.
After dressing up like a surgeon, in blue, he stepped into the labour room to see Emily in pains. He calmed down, composed himself then took deep breaths before stepping to Emily's right hand. As Emily was restless, he held her arm and stroke it gently with as much affection as he could afford at that moment. Emily turned to look at him then held his hand as tight as she could as if to try and relieve the pain by all means.
"Don't worry, Emily, we can get through this" Freddie said and pecked her knuckles.
"What on earth is he talking about when I'm the one in pains" Emily yelled in her thoughts.
"OK, madam, now give it your best push" The doctor said, trying to encourage her.
"HMMM...." Emily pushed, crushing Freddie hand but the baby wasn't out yet.
"I'm never doing this again!" Emily yelled again in the thoughts still looking at Freddie.
"Come on baby, we are almost there" Freddie whispered while Emily held unto his hand for as much as she could get.
"OK, madam, I can almost see the head, now push as hard as you can" The doctor said.
"HMMMM..." Emily pushed with her last effort and finally, the baby came out. Soft but loud crying of a baby filled the room. As Emily set her eyes on the little creature, she fell in love with it. She felt peace like never before and she was more than happy to have had the love of her life by her side during this period.
"Aimee" Emily whispered as they took the baby away.
"You're the strongest I have ever seen, Emily" Freddie said placing a peck on her forehead while Emily blushed staring into Freddie's eyes. She couldn't have done it without his support and how calm he appeared to be.
After being prepared and wrapped up, the nurse brought in the baby to the couple who were both still in the labour room. As she was given her baby, she looked at it with some of much love. It was so beautiful and it came to life, out of her. Now that's a mysterious wonder from the Highest who is the creator of all things, both young and old.
Freddie placed his hands that had crushed fingers around Emily's shoulders as they looked at the little baby
"Little Aimee..." Emily called referring to the baby in her hands.
"Aimee, huh?" Freddie said as he collected the baby from her with a broad smile.
"Aimee, our dearly beloved" Emily said and Freddie nodded, cuddling the little baby in his arms.
Later on, after Emily was examined for any hiccups and the couple were now alone in the room, grandma Elizabeth showed up with flowers and a basket of sweet pie to congratulate the new parents.
"Look who's now a father" Grandma Elizabeth said as she walked in to the labour room.
"Mom" Freddie called excitedly.
"Oh, look how much my little boy has grown" Grandma Elizabeth said taking her seat beside Emily.
"You used to be such an energetic fussy little boy" Grandma Elizabeth added.
"Oh come on mother" Freddie said looking away from her, feeling a little embarrassed while Emily laughed.
"Look at my beautiful daughter, Emily, I'm so proud of you dear" Grandma said hugging Emily.
"Thank you, mother" Emily said as they disengaged from the hug.
"I brought pie for you, dear, it's rich in the essentials but still tasty" Grandma said feeding Emily with a spoonful of pie.
"Hmm, tasty" Emily said chewing a mouthful of pie
"You be busy with that while I hold my little grand baby" Grandma Elizabeth said handing Emily the basket while she picked up little Aimee.
"Does my little grand baby have a name?" Grandma Elizabeth asked as she cuddled the baby.
"Yes, Aimee" Freddie answered smiling.
"Wow, that's a beautiful name, I'm guessing you didn't come up with it" Grandma Elizabeth said in a teasing manner, referring to Frederick. Freddie only looked away while Grandma chuckled out a loud laughter.
Lewis, Maya and other few neighbors came to the hospital with flowers and chocolate for the new dad and mom. They celebrated the new baby with joyful wishes and congratulated the couple for this new chapter of their lives. Having a baby was definitely the mark of a new beginning for any couple at all as it raises the responsibilities of that couple.
After the doctors were done with whatever they were doing, they discharged Emily and her baby after certifying that there were no complications with both mother and child.
Back at home, the neighborhood were lively as everyone welcomed the new parents back home. A small surprise welcome party was thrown by the neighbors for them. The party, though small, was a nice one. Everyone enjoyed it.
"Thank you so much for this wonderful party guys, we appreciate you celebrating us this way and we say a big thank you" Freddie said, addressing the neighbors in their living room who reacted with loud hailings.
"A toast to a new beginning for the family of the Malcolms" Lewis said raising up his glass of wine.
"A new beginning!" They all chorused lifting their filled wine cups high before drinking from the cups at the same time.
Now, in the suburbs of London, close to the Abbey road, a cottage stands alone in the midst of other cottage that seemed far from this particular cottage that sat lonely. The walls were kind of old but looked very strong. That cottage had lasted for a long time now. It's a big cottage that has a chimney on top. It was a cottage where memories made the walls for Frederick Malcolm. It is a heritage for the Malcolms, it's grandma Elizabeth's house, the cottage she lived in with Harrison, her husband, since they were married.
Grandma Elizabeth and grandpa Harrison were a happy couple in love. Even for the fact that they had little, they were still very happy till in their old age, inferno of love didn't die even for a bit. Frederick used to hardly know when they were not in good terms with each other. He would see them going out the house without talking to each other but they'll come back to the house, laughing and holding hands like a newly wedded couple.
Frederick was always happy but his humble background limited him from a lot of things like going to a standard school. He was a very smart boy so he gained his admission into the university on a scholarship. Harrison, Frederick's father, had a small farm where a very few amount of apple trees stood and where there was a stable consisting of only one horse, Cliff and the house he took over from his father who took over the house from his grandfather. The house was purchased by Frederick's great grandfather, since then, it belonged to the Malcolms all the way.
Frederick enjoyed playing around with Cliff, the horse, when he was young. Even when he was in university, he would call to ask about Cliff or if he could, he would bring nice fresh apples for the skinny horse. Frederick and the horse were best of friends, aside from the friends Frederick already had. But at a critical moment, in the final year of Frederick's university days, Cliff had to be sold to raise enough money for his education.
As much as it pained the Malcolms, they still had to give out their last remaining horse that had stayed with them for years in exchange for money they knew would soon disappear. With a heavy heart, Harrison sold Cliff to a rich business man that dealt in horse racing and the rest. But with great hopes of a future for his son, Harrison collected the sale price and fixed into his boy's academics. Frederick was very sad when he heard about the news of Cliff being sold, he didn't like the feeling at all.
"Oh, mother, I miss Cliff" Freddie said sadly to grandma Elizabeth when he had come back home for a visit.
"I know Freddie, we all miss him but it's for the best, we can get more horses in the future" Grandma Elizabeth said and Freddie sighed. A new horse won't do, Cliff was the one he wanted. That was the only animal friend he had.
Years later, looking at the cottage from a distance, Freddie could see how beautiful this old house is. The Malcolm's cottage, a place where every corner had a story to tell all the way from great grandpa Malcolm. Freddie's dreams were formed in these walls. He knew something better could be done about their financial situation. But sadly, Pa Harrison died before he could reach the climax of his success. At the time of his demise, Freddie had just gotten married to his beautiful Emily and the 'project winery' was still on.
Grandma Elizabeth was so sad and withdrawn, she was taken so aback by his death that it seemed as if she won't be able to take it. But grandma Elizabeth is a strong lady, she took it all in and one day, she stood up happy, doing all the day's work with ease. Grandma Elizabeth is tough and strong willed. Freddie admired her courage as she continued to live this house filled with bitter-sweet past experiences of her life with her deceased husband. With ease, grandma Elizabeth was able to turn it into
her cottage and now that she's a grandmother, it's grandma Elizabeth's Cottage.
"Hey..." Emily said joining Freddie in the old but clean stable where Cliff, the horse, used to be.
"Enjoying an alone time" Emily said holding his arm
"I'm guess so" Freddie said looking into the stable, he was leaning on the wall.
"Is Aimee asleep yet" Freddie asked while Emily nodded.
"She is..." Emily said.
"She's quite a handful, isn't she?" Freddie said wrapping his hand around her shoulder.
"She sure is" Emily said closing her eyes as she rest her head on his shoulders.
"Let's get you to bed, darling, you look tired" Freddie said stroking her arm.
"Yeah, I guess so" Emily said rubbing her palms on her eyes.
Gently, he led her out of the stable back to the house and they walk into their bedroom. The couple came around to visit grandma Elizabeth's cottage with little Aimee. Grandma has been very helpful in taking care of the baby. Aimee has been a little cry baby as she cried mostly at night.
Gradually, little Aimee grew up and it was time for her first birthday party. This is the day Emily was waiting for, the day to celebrate Aimee's first year. Aimee seemed to be very smart as she learnt how to toddle on her feet at a young age of twelve months. The party was a huge one. All the children in the neighborhood were invited. Drinks and food were shared adequately, one would think it was an adult's party except that there was no alcohol. Face painting for both children and adults were available. It was fun. Lewis and Maya Horace came to the party too with three year old Jasper by their side.
"Happy birthday, Aimee" Maya said to little Aimee who was in Emily's arms.
"Oh, thanks Maya, welcome to the party" Emily said
"Thank you, Emily, Aimee is really cute, just like you" Maya complimented smiling.
"Oh, you flatter me Maya, how's little Jasper?" Emily asked.
"He's fine, he's with his father" Maya replied making Emily nod.
Aimee, the future of the Malcolm's wineries is growing up to look very bright and smart. Grandma Elizabeth really loves her and always talks to Freddie about bringing Aimee home to the cottage for vacations.