Amanda was wary. After visiting the pediatrician, both hers and Niels' minds had been put at ease. Their baby girl, indeed, just had the common cold; no cause for too much concern. Yet, time was passing and Elia didn't seem to be getting any better. Her fever was gone, but that was about the only symptom cured. Her cough remained.
Today, the weather was too lovely to stay indoors, so along with the Barthel family and Emi's friend Maddie, they spent some time in Central Park. Both Rhea and Elia were rather cranky while the older kids were more than thrilled to be there. They were thrilled with the animals they got to see in the Central Park zoo, the ice-cream trucks, and the playground was the greatest attraction. However, somehow the outdoors seemed to make Elia cough even more. "I thought some fresh air would do her well," Amanda remarked to Niels. She frowned at their coughing baby girl. "Maybe we need a second medical opinion?" "You think so?" Niels asked. "She seems okay now, though." He smiled at Elia who seemed to be enjoying the swings more than anything else they'd tried. Her crankiness was long forgotten. Gradually, Amanda's worry faded as Elia seemed to be having more fun in the swings. Amanda was gifted with big smiles and happy babbles every once in a while, but after some time, Elia fell asleep in the middle of all the fun. It was a rather cute sight,. Just as expected, Uncle Rico was there, snapping photos of the rare moment. "I think it's time we headed home," said Amanda, laughing at the situation.
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Amanda groaned as the sound of Elia’s crying reached her ears. She squinted at the clock on her side table and frowned. It was 5am. Why in the world was Elia wide awake? She sighed and as Niels mumbled something incoherent, she nudged him. “I think it’s your turn, baby.” She’d gotten up just a few hours before to tend to the little girl. This was ridiculous. Niels grumbled under his breath as he got out of bed. It wasn’t often that he was frustrated with any of the children, but he had every right today. Elia had been pretty restless all week. They’d wondered if she was sick or something, but she had no fever or any other symptoms that would suggest she was ailing. Amanda was still wondering what was going on with their youngest when she started falling asleep again. She was literally at the door of dreamland when a soft touch startled her and brought her back to reality. “Hmm?” she mumbled. She heard Elia’s fussing and groaned again, but she needed to put on a pleasant face for her baby. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” she asked Elia. She turned onto her side, putting her arm around Elia’s small body as Niels set her down. “Of course you don’t…” Niels crawled back into bed, already looking as though he was back to sleep again. “Mama,” Elia fussed, pressing close to Amanda. She tugged hard on Amanda’s shirt. “Ah-gah,” she said as though it actually meant something in common English. “Ah-gah!” This time her little hand landed heavily on Amanda’s breast. Amanda grasped her hand. “No,” she said firmly. But this only made tears spring from Elia’s eyes and loud cries filled the room. “Okay shhh,” Amanda let her have her way and within seconds she could only hear her quiet gulping. Amanda rubbed Elia’s back while she nursed. She hated to give in to a 1-year-old every time, but the baby girl was so inconsolable otherwise. As many happy moments as she had, she had even more tantrums. Was her child a spoiled brat or was there something wrong? Today felt like a dream. Amanda’s two little girls were a year older. Just a year ago, they’d been uncertain if their baby girl would even survived. Born extremely tiny and with breathing difficulties, Elia had beaten the odds and was now a thriving infant. One year old… had it really been a year already? Amanda could’ve just sat all day and reflected on the pictures in Elia’s baby book, but their house was filled with an additional six children, not to mention Aubrey who’d come to keep Angelo company. The morning had been dedicated to Elia. They’d gone to the park and then returned home for some cake. Then, while Elia napped, they continued preparing for Emi’s sleepover. Niels and Amanda were busy serving popcorn and kiddie drinks like chocolate milk and juice. Meanwhile, the kids were engrossed in How to Train Your Dragon 2. It was something that both the boys and the girls seemed to enjoy. Amanda stood in the doorway of the living room, a tray of cake slices in her hands. She could see Elijah giving Jarrett the evil eye. The boys seemed to have some sort of rivalry going on when it came to gaining Emi’s attention. But Emi, bless her, didn’t seem to notice. If only she’d always be this oblivious to male attention... Amanda couldn't believe her little girl was eight. The girls sat rather close together. Maddie's arm touching Emi's and Emi’s leg partially on Tansy’s. The boys, however, kept distance. It was quite interesting to watch the difference. Niels joined Amanda at the doorway, Elia babbling happily in his arms. “Are those two still warring over our daughter?” Niels asked. There was a slight sting in his voice.
Amanda chuckled. “Elia, tell your daddy to calm down.” She grinned at Niels. “Amore mio, they’re just kids…” “So were we,” said Niels. He gave Amanda a knowing look and she understood just what he meant. “Baby, we’re right here. What can possibly happen? And look, Emi barely bats an eye at them.” She pointed with her chin--a small nod towards Emi, whispering something to Maddie and then looking at the TV again. It seemed that even at these ages, the kids wanted more than anything to stay awake late into the night. Aubrey and Angelo were the first to doze off and then it was up to the adults to get the other kids to sleep. “Alright!” Niels announced, getting everyone’s attention when all the festivities were through. “Boys, come with me and Teun. Girls you can stay here with Amanda and Rosa.” Amanda smiled. She was grateful for their parents’ help. It was easier to round up six kids and efficiently separate them. When finally there were four sleeping girls on the floor of Emi’s bedroom and four boys in the guest bedroom, everyone was finally able to relax. Rosa and Teun retired to bed but Amanda and Niels plopped down onto the couch. “That was successful,” said Amanda, all smiles. “Now we can finally--” Before she could finish her sentence, she heard Elia’s cries ring loud and clear through the baby monitor. She laughed softly, “Well I guess our miracle baby wants to party some more.” After returning from London shortly before the time of the Big Bang, the van Loons almost forgoed their annual trip to Rio. As jetlagged as they all were, somehow the beach acted as a healing agent. It had been a time, not only for Amanda’s family to forge stronger bonds, but they’d also had the chance to see their parents and Aubrey again. Their littlest sister was growing so quickly, as were Emi and Elia, soon to have a birthday.
Amanda watched her girls playing in the sand. Even with the age gap, they seemed close already. Amanda prayed that they, unlike her siblings, both adopted and biological, they would always remain close. Both her family and Niels’ seemed to have a pattern of dissolving, but perhaps the curse ended here, with their own children. They would always share a birthday, and Amanda hoped that it wouldn’t become a nuisance to Emi. She was soon turning 8 years old and Elia would make it to her first birthday. Almost an entire year ago, the infant’s life hung in the balance, but now look at her. Amanda thought back to the Valentine’s Day they’d had, as a family. The boat trip across the island had given them a chance to bond in closer quarters, and of course the view of the dolphins were a treat for the kids. Even afterwards, Emi and Angelo hoped to get a dolphin as a pet. Emi suggested that they purchased the ocean. Amanda chuckled, just thinking about it. Meanwhile, Angelo was giggling and yelping intermittently as Niels taught him how to hop over the waves. He returned to shore, still working off the adrenaline, running around happily. "Di' you see me mummy?!" he asked. "I sure did," Amanda replied. Soon they would return to New York and get back to life as usual, but this little trip certainly did them all well. Amanda sat on the bed of her step-father’s villa in Rio. The view was wonderful from the window. Outside, she could see the waves gently caressing the sand. Somewhere in the distance, colourful kites hovered in the breeze. Elia babbled something, her little voice muffled as she cuddled up in Amanda’s arms, her hand possessively resting on her mother’s bust. Amanda chuckled and looked down at her baby girl. “Hey, no talking with your mouth full,” she said, a little amused.
Elia smiled up at her and continued nursing. Amanda stroked her daughter’s hair. She would be one pretty soon, yet she still rarely slept through the night and trying to wean her was a nightmare that Amanda simply couldn’t handle. It was so unlike her older children who had been strictly bottle-fed by their half-year mark and sleeping through the night 90% of the time. Amanda knew well enough that it was the way she clung to her youngest, the beginning of her fragile life had been so frightening that she’d refused to let her out of her sight for too long. As calm as Elia normally was, when her cries were ignored and her parents insisted on feeding her formula from a bottle, she turned into a tiny, wailing monster. There had to be an easier way. Niels stood in the doorway of the bedroom, admiring his wife and his younger daughter. “The kids are going to revolt if we don’t take them to the beach,” he teased. “What do you say?” Amanda laughed lightly. “No need for a revolt. We’d love to go to the beach, won’t we?” She looked at Elia so the infant knew she was being spoken to. Elia gurgled something that sounded agreeable, but as Amanda tried to lift her away from her body, Elia held on tighter, her eyebrows furrowed, displeased babbles coming out of her mouth. Amanda laughed and shook her head. “Get the kids ready. We’ll meet you at the beach when little princess here is ready.” Amanda wrapped her arm around Niels' waist, beneath rippling abs. Kobe, they'd been together for about 3 decades and he was sexier than ever. “So how does it feel to be the big 3-0?” she asked him.
He laughed softly. “Not any different than it did hours ago when I was still 29,” he said. He let his fingers run through her hair. Somehow this birthday was weighing on her mind even more than it weight on his. She just kept thinking… he’d been turning eleven years old when they met. Now he was turning 30. How did time fly so quickly? “Well I’ll love you no matter how old you get,” she teased. “You better,” said Niels. He tilted her face to his. “But didn’t I just prove that I’m as young as ever?” He offered her a goofy grin, making her laugh. But it wasn’t enough for him because soon she was writhing and giggling as his fingers tickled her until she was breathless. “Baby--stop,” she managed to bring out through her laughter. “You’ll make me wake the kids.” She grinned. Niels glanced towards the window. The sun was already shining through the blinds. It was morning. Amanda followed his gaze. Had they really been awake that long? Holy Kobe… The rest of the day would probably be a nightmare, with the kids and all. “We should try to get some rest, at least,” Amanda suggested. “Yeah we--” Before Niels could even finish his sentence, a loud wail pierced the calm atmosphere. Both Niels and Amanda turned towards the source: the baby monitor. Eliana was awake. Amanda groaned and covered her face. When she uncovered her face and opened her eyes again, Niels appeared to be fast asleep. She laughed and nudged him. “It’s your birthday. You sleep, I’ll go feed the princess,” she told him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and then on the way out of the door, she threw on a robe. “Happy birthday, old man,” she whispered playfully before dashing off again. The penthouse was almost living and breathing with excitement. Emi was beside herself with excitement as she worked along with Aubrey and Angelo on making more Christmas cookies. The first batch had easily been devoured the day before, but Emi insisted on making more for her aunt and uncle. Meanwhile, Rosa and Amanda were busy preparing dinner to take to Rico and Ceci’s house while the men looked after soundly sleeping Elia and focused on wrapping and piling Christmas gifts for the kids into a big bag. Even with each family celebrating the Christmas morning and afternoon separately, they loved to come together for a common dinner and unwrap presents together.
“We’re all done!” Emi announced, looking back at Amanda from where she was kneeling on the kitchen stool. Amanda moved closer to look at the cookies decorated by the children. They were surprisingly well-done and quite impressive if she did say so herself. Now just to pack up all of the food and head over to the Barthels. “Here, let me pack,” said Niels, appearing in the kitchen with Elia babbling on his arm. Amanda chuckled and took her baby girl. “Alright, I’ll get this little one ready. Emi help your brother get ready. His clothes is on his bed, as is yours.” Aubrey glanced down at her clothes, spotting smears of frosting on her princess outfit. “Don’t worry Aubrey, I’ll find something for you too,” Amanda said with a wink. Within a few minutes, they were all dressed, the food and presents were loaded into the cars and they were on their way. Niels eyes were lit with excitement as he drove. It had been just yesterday that he had been driving Ceci and Rico to the hospital when the newest member of the family decided she didn’t want to wait to be in the hospital to make her debut. Today, they were proud kobeparents; Amanda could see it in Niels’ eyes. The kids sang along with Christmas carols on the radio all the way to Rico and Ceci’s house. Rosa, Teun and Aubrey followed behind them in their rental car, carrying the bulk of the presents in the trunk. After getting through traffic, they all finally arrived but rather than be eager to eat and open presents, everyone was excited to see baby Rhea Eve again. She was certainly a cute little Christmas present for everyone. “We won’t stay long, I promise,” said Amanda, giving Ceci a light hug. “But we certainly weren’t leaving you guys out of our family celebration this year.” Ceci smiled at her. She looked exhausted, but delighted. There was that maternal glow that couldn’t be denied. Amanda set Elia down on the carpet and then began to place the presents under the Christmas tree. Once Eli, Aelin and Belie arrived, they all ate dinner and then enjoyed some hot cocoa and Christmas cookies while they kids opened presents. All the while, Rico was snapping photographs, happy that his family was together once again, with the exception of Bella who did send word that she was alive and well. Amanda hoped that they would always be this close, or even closer. As promised, they didn’t stay very long, and instead they cleaned up promptly after presents were opened, then bid the Barthels goodbye before heading back home. The kids didn’t put up any fuss to go to bed that night, leaving Amanda and Niels some time alone. They settled in the living room, with nothing but the lights of the Christmas tree to illuminate the area as they sipped more hot cocoa. “It’s been an eventful couple of days, hasn’t it?” Amanda asked. Between Eli showing up with a girlfriend, Rhea’s exciting birth, and family dinner, it had been one of the greatest Christmases. “It has,” Niels agreed. “Merry Christmas, baby.” “Merry Christmas.” |
Amanda at a GlanceNames: Amanda Pontremoli, Amanda van Loon Archives
August 2017
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