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‘Don’t be upset, honey.’ Marvin moved to her side. ‘It’s just a job. You already have a good job, and besides, maybe it’s for the best.’
‘What do you mean?’ She put the spoon on the bench and turned sharply to face her husband.
‘Well, you shouldn’t add any more stress right now, you need to take it easy while we’re trying for a baby.’
‘I don’t want to take it easy. I wanted that promotion,’ Gina raised her voice.
‘I know, honey, but when you get pregnant you’ll have to take maternity leave, and you’ll want to stay home with our child until they start school, so Mark would have had to find someone else eventually. It’s probably for the best that Brianna got the job.’
Best for who?Gina’s lips tightened.‘Can you pass the jar of sauce?’ She pointed to the pantry behind her, keeping her eyes on the mince.
Marvin picked up the jar and tried unsuccessfully to open it, before handing it to Gina. With a firm turn of the lid, Gina opened the jar with a pop andreleased the blood-red contents into the pan. Marvin disappeared into the living room, the television sounding soon after.
Gina pursed her lips. Maybe itwasfor the best that Brianna got the job. Would being promoted to Accounts Manager really have made things better? Maybe. Maybe not. But she wanted to feel valued and appreciated, and put her years of experience in accounts administration to good use.
As she stirred the sauce into the mince, Gina recalled the list of Top Five Passions she’d come up with after doing Liz’s bonus workshop. The club members had been advised to make ‘Passion Cards’ – little cardboard index cards with the top five passions written on them – and display them in various places as a reminder of what was important. Gina hadn’t made hers yet, although she’d typed the list into the notes app on her phone. She couldn’t possibly display them around the house. Besides, she’d ingrained the list into her memory, and although she didn’t yet know the specifics of what she wanted, she knew what made her feel good, andthat,Liz had said, was what passions were all about... whatfeelsgood in your life; what you would be feeling and how you would be living if your life was ideal. And Gina’s list of passions made her feel hopeful.
Gina’s Top Five Passions:
When my life is ideal, I am...
1. Feeling loved, secure, and happy in my life.
2. Experiencing perfect health and optimal fitness, and enjoying daily exercise.
3. Enjoying good conversation with friends and family.
4. Making a valuable contribution to people’s lives through my work.
5. Taking regular holidays to beautiful places around the world.
Number two was pretty much a reality, apart from the temporary iron deficiency and high prolactin levels, but number one? Well, shewassecure, she thought, but didn’t feel enough love in her life. Or maybe love was overrated, and she was kidding herself for thinking there could be something better. Blame it on the movies, and those romance books, for giving false hope.
Number three was about six out of ten, made possible by the presence of Naomi in her life, but number four? What contribution was she making to people’s lives through her work? Sending bills to people and making Mark Villotti rich? There was nothing wrong with her job, someone had to do it, but there had to be something more. Something better suited to her that also made a difference.
As for taking regular holidays ... well, that had always seemed self-indulgent. The Giovanni family had rarely taken holidays just for the sake of them, except to visit family. ‘Home is the heart and soul of one’s life’,Gina’s mother always said. A regular getaway had never been on the list of top priorities.
Until now.
SEVEN
Grandma Joy’s Words of Wisdom:
‘Housework is only as important as you wish to make it.’
Ahh ... bliss. Total and absolute bliss.After ninety minutes of bedtime stories, cuddles, and explaining to Jacob how stars were ‘stuck’ to the sky, Cara finally surrendered to her bed. She’d been up since four and barely sat down all day. Exhaling slowly, she savoured the delicious feeling that came before sleep; the sense of not yet asleep, but not quite awake. It would have been even more delicious to cuddle up to Pete and doze off with her face resting on his chest, but he was on night shift. A wave of peace washed over her, and she drifted into beautiful, sacred sleep...
‘Maaama!’
Cara bolted upright, having developed the ability to switch rapidly from ‘completely relaxed’ to ‘alert and readyfor duty’ in a moment’s notice. Motherhood had given her good reflexes.
‘Bugger!’ Cara swung her petite legs over the side of the bed and went into Toby’s room, which she’d crawled out of only minutes before. Tommy Teddy lay helpless on the floor, while Toby stood in his cot, arms outstretched trying to reach him.
‘Shh ... it’s okay, Tobes. Mummy’s got him,’ Cara soothed, placing the teddy bear into Toby’s arms and tucking him back in. She leaned over and kissed his forehead, smoothing his blonde hair with a gentle hand. This was close to the thirty-seventh time Tommy Teddy had fallen out of the cot in the last month. Cara considered tying the bear to the cot with his very own bungy rope, but it wouldn’t be safe. She also considered buying a larger teddy bear that wouldn’t fit through the bars of the cot, but Toby was so attached to Tommy; he wouldn’t go to sleep without him.
Resigned to on-call-rescue-duty for the unforeseen future, Cara crawled back into bed with a yawn and shuffled around to get comfortable.What if he wakes again?Maybe I should wait a little before closing my eyes.There was nothing worse than getting comfy and drifting off to sleep only to be woken again. She crooked her neck to one side, preparing to pick up the slightest whimper indicating an imminent awakening from her son. Satisfied that it was safe to fall asleep, Cara rolled over to her side, waiting for that delicious, sleepy sensation.
Waiting...
