Page 90 of Begin Again, Part 1

"Nice try!" An exasperated sigh shot through Eden's lips as she closed her eyes and mentally counted backwards from ten. There was no way she'd ever allow them to see Aiden. Their feelings two years ago were loud and clear. She couldn't even understand what had changed to make them want to win the grandparents of the year award.

"At some point, you'll—"

"I don't have to do anything, Mom!" Eden said, her distress mounting the longer she stared at the pile of toys and designer clothes on her floor. "And all this was unnecessary. Aiden's too young to use an iPad. The train set is not suitable for kids under three. What does he need a blue tooth speaker for? And all these clothes, where will he ever wear a three-piece suit? He's nineteen months old!"

"The sales clerks said he'll—"

Eden didn't want to hear it. She held up her hand, interrupting the long-winded explanation. "The sales clerks wanted your money. I'm Aiden's mom. I know what he needs."

"Would you have told us what he needs if we asked?"

Fair enough, Eden conceded. She had a point. But still, they shouldn't have bought the entire toy store. And the only reason they did was to worm their way back into her life, and pry open the door she'd closed two years ago.

This was their first real meeting in years, but Eden could already see it, their future interference disguised as parental love. And the toys...goodness, the toys, and clothes were a way to buy themselves a right to have a say in her life and how she should raise Aiden.

"This isn't going to work," Eden decided. It was too soon. She was still way too angry, and they hadn't changed. "Please leave, and take all this stuff with you."

Bewildered by her announcement, Steve scratched his head, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Erica planted her hands on her narrow hips and flared her nostrils. "We are Aiden's grandparents! We have a right to see him and spoil him."

It began. The blame, accusations, and anger they'd all harboured these last few years.

"You never tell us what you need. Look at this place; you can't raise Aiden here. Come back to the penthouse. We have plenty of room." Erica paced the living room like she did in her lecture hall at the university, oblivious to everyone around her, completely in love with her own rhetoric.

Brenda bit her nails as she watched Aiden play on the floor. She tried to whisk him away from all the anger bubbling in the room, but one icy look from Erica froze her in place.

Her face tight with anger, her body rigid from all the tension, Eden asked. "What exactly is wrong with this place?"

Silent all along, Steve joined the fray, but couldn't bring himself to say the words. "Well, it's—it's..."

"What? Beneath you? Lowly?" Eden finished off for him.

"Since you brought it up—" Erica scoffed, her lips curled with distaste.

Eden rounded on her. "I knew it; I knew you'd judge me the first chance you got. You always do. God, I should have stayed in the Blue Mountains."

"You would have loved that, since you're so hell-bent on keeping our grandson from us!"

"You didn't want him! You wanted me to abort him, remember?" Eden shouted, startling her parents and Brenda with her accusations.

Clutching his old PAW Patrol toy, Aiden broke into loud sniffles, tears streaking down his cheeks, his little face as red as his hair. The sadness in his eyes was so profound, it was almost as if he understood her words and their meaning. Maybe he did, and he was hurt by the truth, as Eden was when her parents cast her out. Brenda scooped him up and took him to the bedroom to calm him down.

"See what you've done," Erica said, her eyes hard with silent accusations.

Eden lost her shit. "That's it. I'm done. Both of you leave. See yourselves out."

Steve wrung his hands. "I think we should go and eat. Yes, food. We all need food!"

Eden wasn't surprised by his bright idea. Food was always his go-to for everything, an easy solution to life's difficult problems.

He jumped to his feet and fixed his shirt. Two buttons had popped open at some point during their skirmish. He looked perplexed and somewhat mortified when he snapped them back in place and pushed the pale flesh of his wobbly stomach out of sight.

"We have to talk," he added with a sincerity Eden hadn't seen in him in a while. "Your mom and I have something to tell you. We've delayed it long enough."

Eden took several deep breaths, praying she wouldn't regret her decision to dine with them. "Fine! Give me an hour to settle Aiden down for the night."

"Thanks, honey." Steve took her hands and squeezed them.

Eden nodded and turned to her room to begin her nightly routine with her son.

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