Chapter 1.12 - Growing So Fast

Amber had been very busy looking after Cassandra and also trying to give Bonnie the attention she deserved. Bonnie was very independent and it made it easy to forget that she needed the same amount of attention that any child would.

Amber tried her best to bond with both her daughters equally, she and Bonnie had a very special connection in the sense that Bonnie was exactly like Amber used to be, so Amber felt the two of them had an understanding that didn't exist between herself and her own parents. Their daily chess games were getting more intense and Bonnie often said some things that other parents would probably find disturbing but she and Amber would share a laugh over it.

It was finally Cassandra's birthday, Amber opted for a private celebration as opposed to the usual party she would organise, as it wasn't long before Bonnie's birthday either and she didn't feel like she could handle having two parties in the same week!
She had ordered a cake just for Cassandra's special day, she would order another one for Bonnie too. As she took Cassandra in her arms to blow the candle out, she smiled. Finally her daughter was going to become a toddler. Amber had decided that she wasn't going to have any more children, she was starting to tire of babies and toddlers. She didn't want to have to deal with dirty diapers for much longer, and soon Cassandra would be potty trained and she would never have to touch a dirty diaper again.
"I love you Cassandra," she thought, "but you're costing me a fortune in diapers! Time for you to grow up so I can get you out of them!" And she leaned over to blow out the candle

Huzzah! Super special shiny transition time!

Now that her sister was older, Bonnie was able to help out a little with looking after her. Or at least keeping her occupied for a while so Amber could get stuff done around the house.
Although Bonnie soon tired of playing "Where's Cassandra?", it wasn't intellectually stimulating and didn't appeal to her sense of fun, she often ended up getting Cassandra something to play with alone so she could get on with more interesting things.

"Well done!" Amber said, "You're nearly there now Cassie!"
Cassandra was starting to walk on her own, hardly needing assistance. Although Amber was proud of her daughter's achievement, part of her felt like teaching Cassie was rather tedious. Bonnie picked things up much faster and wasn't anywhere near as frustrating to teach.
"Ugh, will you hurry up and learn to walk so I can concentrate on other things?" Amber thought, quickly followed by "Why is it so difficult this time round? Am I a bad mother for feeling like this?"
Part of her wished Cassandra was more independent already, Amber loved her daughters but felt like she could be doing other things right now. She really wanted to excel at work and looking after a toddler took up a lot of time. Her patience for it was running low.

When Cassandra was left alone, she would spend a lot of time playing with her doll. She would babble nonsense and sing to it. Amber still thought the doll was a bit creepy looking but at least it kept Cassandra occupied.

Giving her more time to plan for the next job...although maybe she should focus on Bonnie's party for now, she would be home from school soon and Amber wanted to surprise her.

When Bonnie walked through the door after school everybody was already there. She had asked her mother not to worry about a big party, she didn't have many friends at school and didn't really enjoy time spent with other children, they all thought she was strange and she thought most of them were quite boring. Not that she told her mother that.
"I'm just not into parties." She had said.
Amber had invited a few children from Bonnie's school as well as a few teenagers who had recently moved on from the elementary school Bonnie attended. She had also invited Ayden's other children so that Bonnie could get to know them if that's what she wanted. David had also shown up, to see Cassandra and Amber more than Bonnie, Amber was worried that it wasn't such a good idea, last time Bonnie saw David she thought he was going to be her new Dad.
Most children would have been happy with such a gathering, but Bonnie was more confused than anything. "Why has mother done this?" She thought as she walked in. "Uh-oh she is looking right at me, best act like this is what I wanted."
"Mother! You shouldn't have!" She exclaimed, faking surprise when in fact she had seen the party from the window when she got off the school bus. "Seriously, you shouldn't have!"

When it was time to blow out the candles, Bonnie thought long and hard about her wish.
"Come on Bonnie!" someone called out, "The candles are dripping wax everywhere, and I want some cake soon!"
"Imbecile," Bonnie thought, "Birthday wishes are important, you don't get very many and they need to be used carefully."
Eventually she decided, and blew out her candles.

Ta-da! Bonnie grew up into a teenager, she was looking forward to having a bit more freedom.

David hadn't been there as a father for Cassandra, or a partner for Amber, but that didn't mean that his and Amber's friendship had to stop. As they danced, he did explain that he couldn't be her boss and her lover, nor could he be a father for Cassandra, people would talk too much. Amber's rapid progression through the ranks was due to nothing except her skill at the job and David didn't want people to think he was giving her any preferential treatment.
"I understand," Amber said, "I am happy keeping things as they are anyway."
Although at one point she had hoped David would become father to both her children, and extra help with Cassandra could be useful, she was happy doing it all herself still.

Amber was at work for the evening, but that didn't stop Bonnie from practicing chess on her own. She didn't need to play with her mother every day now that she was older, she was happy perfecting her game by herself. She was able to see how life is like a chess game, each move you make has consequences and planning ahead is the key to success. And just like that, chess became a bit of an obsession for her, she would be as cunning in life as she was in the game.

This had taken some planning too, she had decided to throw eggs at a house and she knew she wouldn't get caught. She had taken every precaution. It was a small victory yes, but everyone had to start somewhere. She hoped that she could apply her skills to larger plots and plans in the future, following in her mother's footsteps in a way, but she aimed to make more money than her mother did.
Amber didn't know her daughter was aware of her career, but Bonnie was a very sharp girl and had figured it out for herself, she could see a more promising path than the one her mother was taking though.