Page 17 of Advice from a Sunflower

I spent a large chunk of my savings from working at the diner the summer before to send a large gift basket filled with the best toys that moms were talking about in the online baby forums and a ton of diapers. Marnie called me that night gushing over her gifts and all the attention she got at the party.

It didn’t escape me that while everyone in town was doing their best to support Marnie, a lot of them ended up only being able to scrape together enough for a couple of outfits, some toys, a bouncer, and some diapers. The baby didn’t even have a crib to sleep in once she arrived home. Denise hadn’t bothered to buy anything, claiming that her gift would be to watch the baby when Marnie was exhausted or needed a break. I wasn’t sure about the validity of that statement but either way I hoped it wasn’t true. I wouldn’t trust Denise with a baby if she was the last person on Earth.

The following week, I scraped together some of the money I had been given from my scholarships for living expenses and sent a bassinet to the house anonymously. Marnie immediately called me when it arrived to thank me.

“How did you know it was me?” I asked through a guilty smile.

“Because no one else is as selfless as you, Mouse. I appreciate you so much.”

I cried myself to sleep that night missing home. Not The Hollow itself, or the house I lived in when I was there. I missed the people that felt like home: Marnie, Eli, and even Denise.

***

When I arrive at the hospital on Thanksgiving night, Lottie meets me at the front doors to let me in, taking me to a back elevator that leads to the Labor and Delivery unit. Marnie's sleeping when I walk into the room, her daughter tightly swaddled in a clear plastic bassinet beside her bed. I stand over it and stare down at her, memorizing every curve of her plump little face. She’s beautiful, just like Marnie and I instantly feel a strong sense of protectiveness over her the moment she opens her tiny little eyes and lets out a soft groan.

Marnie’s eyes flutter open at the sound. She immediately sits up in her bed to check on her daughter, wincing at the sudden movement of her torso.

“Hey,” I say, stepping beside the bed. “Slow down. She’s okay, she just made a little noise. Lay back down.”

I help ease her back, noting that she still hasn't taken her eyes off the bassinet.

“Isn’t she perfect?” she gushes, finally tearing her gaze way away from the baby to meet mine.

“She is. You did a good job, Mom.”

Her lips lift at the new name and I decide that this is exactly where Marnie is meant to be. The name fit perfectly. There isn’t anyone else more worthy of that little girl than she is.

“We’re naming her Allyson. Allyson Grace. We haven’t announced it yet; I wanted to wait to tell you first.”

“That’s a beautiful name, fit for a beautiful girl.”

Her smile grows instantly, pride oozing from every pore on her body. “Do you want to hold her?”

“Definitely,” I agree eagerly, stepping over to the bassinet to slip my hands under the tiny body.

Marnie instructs me how to support her head before I walk over to the chair beside the bed, relaxing into it as Allyson relaxes into me.

“You’re a natural. I can’t wait to see what your kids look like,” Marnie says, tears misting her eyes.

I don’t bother telling her about my doubts when it comes to having kids. Not from lack of wanting them. Family and a love life just don’t seem to be in the cards for me. I haven’t even given it much of a thought until this moment while holding my niece in my arms with nothing but love and joy in my heart.

Marnie’s eyes drift closed, and I send a silent prayer up to whoever's listening that one day I’ll get to be in the same spot, holding a child of my own. It's an odd request, one I’ve never considered before but desperately want now that the thought is infiltrating my mind.

I look Allyson right in her glossy little eyes and speak to her for the very first time.

“Hi, Allyson, it’s your Aunt Lyla. I’m so happy to finally meet you. I know we’re going to be the best of friends when you grow up.”

Tears well up in my eyes as I find the courage to quietly whisper my next words.

“I’m going to get you out of here before this place consumes you. I’m not sure when, but I’ll find a way. I promise.”

I know, with every fiber of my being, that I’ll make good on that promise. There’s no way I’ll let another generation of Scott girls rot in The Hollow. She’s a victim of circumstance. Someone who doesn't deserve to have history repeat itself on her because Marnie’s incapable of learning from our mother's mistakes long enough to do it herself.

Two hours later, I say goodbye to Allyson and set her back into the bassinet before placing a soft kiss on Marnie’s forehead. Without bothering to enter The Hollows town limits, I head back to the airport to catch a flight back to New York.

Chapter 10

Lyla

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