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“Nana! Poppa!”
Before Benedict even had a chance to greet his parents, his oldest son Noah had already raced up the short path to the cottage to greet his beloved grandparents. With a loving smile he watched the 7-year-old hugging his own Mum and Dad and briefly he waved at them before picking up the newest addition to their family while Charlene tended to Vivienne.
“Hello there. Oh Charlene, you look absolutely gorgeous!” Beaming from ear to ear, Wanda drew her daughter-in-law in for a hug and Charlene returned it gladly.
“Thank you so much. You look fabulous, too, I have to say,” the young woman smiled before she greeted her father-in-law with an equally loving hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Benedict followed slowly, the sleeping Leopold safely in his arms. “Hello mother,” he smiled before showing off the newborn to his parents.
Both Wanda and Timothy cooed at the little boy who slept soundly against his father’s chest.
“What a gorgeous little boy. You two can be so proud,” Wanda smiled warmly, stroking her son’s cheek. Benedict blushed and nodded. He still was and always would be his mother’s little boy.
***
“Noah, darling, don’t throw the ball into the flowers please. There’s plenty of grass to play on, okay?,” Charlene reminded her son who grinned sheepishly before he ran off with his football and his little sister in tow once more.
It was a wonderfully warm and sunny day in May and while she sat on the patio feeding little Leopold, Benedict helped his father preparing lunch for them all.
“May I?,” Wanda asked and pointed to the chair beside her daughter-in-law.
“But of course. If you don’t mind me feeding him.” Charlene blushed a little despite the thin shawl she had draped over her modesty while she breastfed her son.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before, my dear,” the older woman smiled with a twinkle in her eye and Charlene laughed quietly.
“Of course.”
A few moments in silence passed and while Charlene’s eyes rested on the baby boy in her arms, Wanda’s followed her grandchildren playing on the lawn.
“They’ve grown so much it seems since we’ve seen them last. And it’s only been a few weeks,” she mused quietly, though with a loving smile. She loved her son’s family so much. Not once had she been in doubt about Charlene’s affection for her son. Not once had she been worried about their unplanned first pregnancy, their a little hastened marriage, or their shared life that followed after.
Charlene had changed Benedict, had given him what he’d always longed for. She was his haven in this hectic film industry, his one constant that he knew would always be there to catch him if he fell. Not that he ever did. But it was comforting to know that a safety net existed indeed. Comforting not only for him.
“It’s funny because I only realise they grow when their clothes no longer fit. For you it must be even more obvious,” the young mother replied quietly before she began to cover and dress herself again now that her little precious boy was happy and sated.
“May I?,” Wanda asked, holding out her hands towards little Leopold and, carefully, she accepted the newborn from his mother. “He looks so much like you, Charlene. Such a beautiful boy.”
Charlene blushed and wiped a strand of hair out of her face but before she was able to respond, Benedict and his father joined them in the garden.
“Lunch is almost ready,” he smiled, kissing his wife on the forehead before his loving gaze fell onto his mother and his youngest son. “Don’t even think about keeping him, mother. We’ll take him home with us tonight, no matter what you say,” he added with a quiet laugh and his mother pretended to pout while she held Leopold against her chest to burp him.
“You’ve got two others to keep you company, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind lending him to us at least for a day or two,” Timothy grinned in defense of his wife but Benedict shook his head.
“Sorry, father, but after everything we’ve been through with him, I won’t let him out of my sight for longer than absolutely necessary,” Benedict smiled, his ocean-blue eyes resting on the little one.
With knowing looks his parents nodded. “And that is more than understandable, my son.”