SECOND CHANCES

The alarm clock struck seven in the morning. Carly rose sleepily and turned it off but then pulled the covers over her face again. Being Saturday, she had a whole lot of time to relax and just be in the moment. Today was a day to take time for herself and away from the noises of kids everywhere. However, seconds later, she felt someone tugging on the covers and smiled. *Well, not away from every kid I guess. * She thought silently. She waited until she felt the hands almost touch her face and threw the covers away growling.

"Grrr! Gotcha, now I'm going to eat you up."

"GRRRR! I'm the biggest bear. You don't get to eat me!"

Carly laughed as the little seven-year-old struggled to capture her face and kissed it all over," Okay, okay you are."

"Yes!! win, again," little Teddy jumped into the bed whooping. "I always win."

"Yes, that you do. How do you get so strong every day?" Carly asked ruffling the soft blonde hair on her son's head.

Teddy laughed, "That's because you always let me."

"No, no. That's because you are a winner. You always are and always will be."

"Toby doesn't think so. He thinks that I'm a loser because I go to the same school you teach."

Toby was the tallest boy in his class and a bully, Teddy's greatest fear.

"Now that's just ridiculous. Fuck him and everyone else who thinks so!"

Teddy looked at his mother and squinted his eyes, "Mom?"

"I used a bad word, didn't I?"

Teddy nodded, "And you promised you wouldn't."

"I am sorry baby. Will you forgive me?"

"Always Mommy," Teddy replied smiling.

"Come here my little snicker doodle!" Carly smooched his cheek and Teddy giggled. His cute smile always melted her heart. Little Teddy was the apple of her eyes and she always went to depths to ensure that he was always smiling. He was her special child and she would take on the whole world for him.

Now eight years out of college, she was a teacher at an elementary school in the neighborhood, something she would never have thought of doing during her teenage years but a job she now loved dearly. Maybe teaching a group of rowdy pupils from the rich suburbs of Australia was a hectic job but she did it out of love and pureness of heart. In return, most of her students cooperated and her class always scored the highest grades in the entire school.

Now it was the last weekend towards the last week of the school year and a major change. The change was the biggest thought that had been occupying her mind for the last few weeks. There was an underlying tension which she wasn't sure whether it was brought about by the fact that she was relocating to another country or if it was because the country she was going to was the very country she had been brought up in and in the same neighborhood she had spent all her earlier life in.

Or was she just afraid of facing her parents after being away for seven years? That was one of the many reasons. She had told them about Teddy but they had never seen him, not even in video calls or photos. He was a stranger to them and they to him. All she hoped was that they would accept him as their grandson and not the son of the man they were so against her marrying, which had resulted in them moving to Australia.

It had been a difficult time and going against her parents was among the many reasons she dreaded going back home but she had to. To get

away from her ex-husband and his current wife and also to finally make his son's dream of seeing his grandparents come true. That much she would do. She always made the best decisions regarding his son even if they meant her condemnation.

"Mommy, what are you thinking about? he asked in a tiny voice. He always seemed to notice whenever she was carried away.

"Nothing for you to worry about baby. Mommy will handle it, okay?" Teddy nodded reluctantly. "I need to hear you say it. What will mommy do?"

"You will handle it and I should not worry," Teddy replied.

"Yeah. Now what day is today?"

Teddy sat there thinking for a while then jumped up immediately and raised his tiny hands in the air shouting, "It's Saturday, pancakes day!"

"And?" Carly asked raising her eyebrows. He closed his eyes pretending to think. He was always good at remembering dates, and not just dates. He was good at almost everything except sports. But that was only because he had a health condition that wouldn't allow him to overwork his body.

"The day we go shopping to prepare to meet Grandma and Pops," he replied excitedly.

There was no single day that passed without him talking about it. He was excited to meet people he had never even seen, only in pictures. Maybe it was because the other kids in his class always talked about their grandparents and now he was just happy that he wouldn't be left out.

"You got that right. Now let's go make pancakes," she said and carried him on her chest sideways as he loved.

"Will Uncle Carl be there?" he asked kneeling on a kitchen bar stool as she gathered all the pancake ingredients.

Her brother had visited them on several occasions and she guessed he would always be Teddy's favourite. Her relationship with her brother had been the only one that had survived the change before and after she moved away, but then it had gone through its own tumbles when they were younger which probably made them stronger as adults. She only hoped that they would find him home when they arrived. Maybe he would make things easier for her.

"I think so but how about we ask him tonight?"

"Yes! I can't wait." Teddy squealed with excitement. "Can I get a gift for him too?"

"Only if I get to know what it is." Teddy looked at her with those begging and pleading eyes he always used whenever he wanted something so bad, especially if it was something she was against which always made her change her mind quickly. Of course only if that thing was harmless to him. "Alright, you can get him something as long as it doesn't cost beyond twenty dollars."

"Thanks, Mommy," he replied and hugged her tightly.

"Alright, whip, flip or pour?" she asked.

"Can I do all?" he asked hopefully.

"Easy there teddy bear. You can whip a little. I'll pour and then we can flip together."

"Just because I am tiny doesn't mean that I don't know how to do all those things," he replied with a little disappointment in his voice.

"I know but you are seven, wait until you are at least ten," she replied and kissed him lightly on his cheek. "Now apron?"

"Check."

"Gloves?"

"Check," he replied raising his small kitchen mittens-covered hands.

"Eyes, hands, smile," she added teasingly.

"Check, check, check," Teddy replied laughing.

Hours after they had finished their breakfast and washed the dishes, Carly went to the laundry room in the back as Teddy retreated to the sitting room to play video games on her tablet. That was something he could do for hours non-stop if not managed properly. He tended to be a loner at school since he was the littlest and many kids tended to pick on him. His health condition only made it worse since he could not engage in any games the other kids played, making it hard to have friends. Carly was his only friend and he seemed to have gotten used to it over time.

As she sorted the clothes to determine which would be washed first, her thoughts wandered off into memories of her past life way before even college. She had always been a strong-headed kid who never liked to be pushed around. Well, except for that one time she had slinked into the shadows and hidden her real identity because her mother wanted her to. It had been the worst time of her high school life. Living another person's life was not something she was too happy to do but she felt it was needed. It had been the worst mistake of her life and she still shuddered whenever she remembered it.

She had hurt people who had done nothing wrong. And most of all, one who had done nothing but make her happy. Even after all these years, her picture stood perfectly in her mind and she was actually always the first person she thought of whenever she thought about going home.

Dylan Lewis. Was she still living there? She wondered. The last time they had spoken was when she had told her that she would be leaving for Australia with her then-boyfriend, right after college. Her brother Carl, never agreed to speak about her no matter how hard she tried.

"Mom?"

Carly jumped in surprise at the gentle tug of the little hands on her arm.

"Sorry baby, what is it?"

Teddy looked at her curiously for a while then sighed heavily, "I just wanted to tell you that the battery is running low on the tablet. Can I go plug it in?"

"I will do that for you," she replied quickly.

"Are you okay?

"Of course, let's go."

"You haven't set the machine on," he said and pointed with his lips.

"Oops! I thought I did," she chuckled. "Seems like we have to wait extra minutes before we go shopping."

"I wish you could tell me what's bothering you. I am your best friend, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are and that's why I wouldn't overload your mind with unnecessary things because I love you."

"You always say that Mommy even when I want to help you," Teddy replied with downcast eyes.

Carly looked at him and felt bad. Her little boy always tried every way he could to make sure she was smiling just the way she did for him. He cared too much and always knew whenever she was struggling which made him so special. He always made her not look back at her failed marriage and always counted him as a major blessing.

She leaned down and held his cheeks meeting his gaze. How could she tell him that the last days before her marriage had brought a major drift with almost everyone in her former life? How could she tell him that his grandparents might not be too welcoming? No, those soft little blue eyes did not need to be disappointed, not at this point.

"I promise it's not something worth any of your worries. Not about me, not about anything else, okay?"

"You will handle it."

"Good boy," she then pulled him closer to her and hugged him affectionately.

She closed her eyes as she felt him wrap his arms around her tightly then kissed her cheeks. He always did that as a sign to show that he cared and it was always more than enough for her. He was her pride.

On Thursday morning, Carly drove slowly along the long school driveway. Teddy sat quietly beside her as he always did during their drive to school. Carly knew that even though he tried to hide it he was always having a hard time going there. Maybe she needed to teach this Toby person a lesson. But then that would not be necessary since her son would be leaving soon. Maybe for the sake of another kid who would fall victim next. She slowly guided the car into the parking lot reserved for teachers.

"Are you okay baby?" she asked as soon as she parked and saw him hesitate to unfasten his seat belt. "Do you want me to walk you to your class?"

"I'll be okay Mommy. Don't worry about me."

"Have I ever told you that I was bullied when I was in middle school?"

"No, you don't talk much about your younger life."

"Maybe it's