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“I had no ambition,” Agatha said as Poppy crawled away from her.
“Maybe not for bartending and waitressing, but every day you created art in your room. You never stopped, because that’s what you wanted to do. We were all shiftless for a while. Only Sera ever really had a plan for her life. Harper and Lucy struggled to start their catering business. Maby has never struggled, but she’s Maby. Me, I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I married well, so I don’t have to.” Buzz laughed at herself.
Agatha pointed to her stomach. “You’re going to be a mom.”
“I am, but you already are, and you’re killing it. I hope I’m half as good as you are at it.” Buzz leaned back on the couch. “I worry about that.”
“You are going to be so much better than me. I didn’t even know if I want to be a mom or could be a good one. Or if I’m just messing her up.”
“You practically raised Violet so that Mom could work,” Buzz pointed out.
“But Violet was her baby, not mine. Sera always came home at the end of the day.”
“But she didn’t need to. In fact, she sometimes didn’t. She had you. Maybe I should keep you, and you can raise this one.” She tapped her belly.
“You can’t afford me.” Agatha laughed
“I have access to a sexy, rich man’s checkbook. I can afford anything.” Buzz grinned, most likely thinking about her sexy man since his checkbook had never mattered to her. No matter how often she complained, she never updated anything. In fact, she had on a sweatshirt that had belonged to Mabel during her college days.
“I have to focus of raising Poppy right now.” Agatha watched the baby pull herself up to stand by the couch.
“Did you tell the dad about her?”
“I don’t know who the daddy is,” Agatha lied.
Buzz’s laugh scared Poppy, and she fell onto her butt, crying. Buzz stopped laughing and pulled the baby up to sit with her. “Your mommy is such a kidder. She thinks Aunty Buzz is stupid. Aunty Buzz was there too.”
“You were not; I was covering for you,” Agatha stated, then slammed her hand over her mouth.
“Suddenly, you remember.” Buzz grinned at her. “And you can thank me with cash or babysitting. I might want babysitting more than cash.”
“I am not talking about it.”
“You don’t have to. I have an imagination. Just one question, though. Was it in a public location?” Buzz asked, playing pattycake with Poppy.
“It was not!” she hissed at her sister, then remembered it wasn’t that far from a public location.
“Is Mommy blushing, Poppy?” Buzz asked. “Must be a pretty hot memory.”
“Let your imagination go wild, Buzz. It’s the best you’ll get.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I am. But on a more serious note, Ag, this kid is adorable. I mean from you and him to this? Crazy. Maybe you carry more of my genes than I ever thought.”
“Thank you, Buzz. I think she’s pretty cute myself,” Agatha said and left her sister with the baby. It had been a long few days, and she hadn’t had much time without her daughter. Buzz could watch Poppy so that Agatha could take a nap or dwell on her lonely future. Whichever happened.
Alone in her room, she crawled into bed fully clothed and curled into a ball. Buzz was right; everyone in the family supported her in any way possible. So they never said the words out loud, but they believed in her. From finding her jobs that wouldn’t interfere with her drawing time to making sure she had food when they knew she wouldn’t put forth effort or time to make it. They never teased her about something that could have just been a hobby. It was with that silent support that she had been able to finish not one but six of her books before they even all moved out of the house.
If she had been brave enough to tell them about Poppy when she was pregnant, they would have given her the same support. Not one would have told her that she couldn’t or shouldn’t raise her daughter. They would have been there for every appointment and late-night feeding she allowed them to be at. In fact, seeing them rally around Buzz and Lucy when they each were pregnant and alone, she knew they would have done the same for her.
Now she had to learn how to lean on them more than she had in the past. They want her to lean on them. They always had.
