"He is adorable!" June's Mom cooed rocking her newborn grandson in her arms. "His skin is so soft." She continued as she rubbed her finger across his cheek.

"Dear, pass him along there is a queue here!" her dad eagerly stretched out his hands and her mother reluctantly deposited the sleeping baby into his grandfather's arms.

"He feels so heavy, aww." Her dad looked overwhelmed his eyes transfixed on the baby held in his arms who was fast asleep after coming into this world a few hours ago.

"The two of you are hogging and will definitely spoil him." May complained laughingly as she encouraged April to support her.

"You already held him, plus it is our duty as grandparents." Her mother countered.

Her son weighed 8lbs 10 ozs; he had a full head of dark hair, long limbs and the same patrician nose as his father. He would be tall and handsome, so far the only thing of hers he had were her blue eyes.

June groggily shifted on her bed. The delivery had been real tough. She had gone in for a normal delivery with no complications but suddenly while in the delivery room her son's heart rate was falling quickly. The doctor had listed her as critical and almost cancelled the normal delivery to turn it into a caesarean. Luckily her son was eager and rushed out. June then lost a lot of blood in the process, her blood pressure rose dangerously high and she slipped into a coma. She had to have blood given to her. However things took a turn for the better and she woke up. She had just held her son for the first time an hour earlier five hours after he was born.

She looked at her family cooing and gushing over her son she was so relieved that it was all over. She was very sore but extremely ecstatic she s had her son.

"It is feeding time!" a nurse walked into the room and took the baby from his grandfather.

"I'm not used to this as yet." June commented from her hospital bed. She was tired but just holding her son made her feel so refreshed. The nurse arranged her son in her arms and guided her on feeding him.

"That is it, let him suckle and get accustomed to the action." The nurse ensured that her son's head was correctly positioned.

"It feels weird; I can feel the fluid move." June was stating about the breastfeeding.

"That is a good sign; it seems your milk has come in early." The nurse said as she stood back after ensuring that June could continue on her own.

"Let him suck as much as he wants on the breast, to help him get used to the motion and also to aid your body to produce milk." June was amazed at her son. His mouth was tightly latched to her breast and he was suckling quite well.

"You both seem to have caught on pretty quickly. I will leave you to it then. Call the nurses station if you need any further assistance."

"Thanks." June said smirking as the nurse left her room.

He appeared hungry and after 10 minutes she was unsure if she should stop him as he continued to suck. His eyes were closing and she was unsure what to do.

"He has been feeding for a while, should I stop?" June looked up at her mother who was seated on the foot of her bed.

"No keep on for about 20 minutes and see," her mother advised her.

Her son was sleeping soundly after being fed ten minutes ago. Breastfeeding had felt strange at first but the sensation was filled with pride as her son suckled from her. His small eyes were open and bright. She knew she would love him for life.

"So June what name have you decided for this precious one?" her mother asked.

"Jonathan Zack Stapleton," she said confidently.

"Ooh that is beautiful J!" May complimented.

"A fitting tribute my girl," her father gave her a hug. Jonathan was her paternal grandfather's name and Zack was her maternal grandfather's name.

"Great choice, he certainly looks like a Jonathan." April added looking pleased.

"Stapleton?" her mother inquired looking at her. "No tribute to his real father?"

"Mom, I don't want to discuss this!" June said annoyed.

"Honey, what about his father? What happened to you and Dmitri?" her mother was prodding

"Mom, J needs to rest." April tried to divert the elephant in the room.

"No, we are going to discuss this, my grandson will not be raised like this!" her mother was not going to end this.

"Dear, June has had a rough day, she needs to rest we can talk about this another day." Her father tried to pacify the situation.

However her mother was out for blood.

"Mom let her rest." May tried to collect their bags.

"No, June why did he leave? He was here why did he go" her mother was adamant on this and this made June realise that she had to at least pacify her family. Dmitri had disappeared during her delivery. She guessed he had seen Gared and decided to leave. She did not have the heart to tell her family that she lost the opportunity to tell Dmitri about their son. Her mother would be livid.

"June, try to rest, we will see you tomorrow." April gave her a hug and a kiss as she tried to guide her mother out of the room.

"I am not going to be silenced here. June I want answers!" her mother insisted.

"Let her rest, dear, we will discuss this later." Her dad gave her a kiss

"Fine but we need to talk seriously, okay June?" her mother finally relented as she was ushered out of the room.

June lay back and watched her son's chest moving up and down. She walked over to him and touched his chubby cheek. He really was a picture of Dmitri. Gared had been supportive and he had been very helpful. He had stayed until she had woken up but he knew it was not his place to stay around.

No one really knew when Dmitri had left. It seems that while June was being taken to the delivery room Dmitri had just disappeared. June wondered where he was when she awoke but May had told her that he had left while she was in the delivery room. She held nothing against him and she was at least grateful to him for being there when she had gone into labour.

She knew that telling Dmitri about their son now would be catastrophic but maybe it was not meant to be. She knew that he needed to know but somehow the time had never been right and the opportunity had never clearly presented itself.

June returned to work three months later on a part time basis. She didn't want to leave little Zack alone for too long. Gared was his godfather and her two sisters doubled up as godmothers. Zack was spoiled and fussed over. She had gone into consultancy work in order to devote more time to motherhood. Mr. Hamilton was loathing losing her so he was agreeable to let her choose her work pattern.

She mostly worked from home and only went to the office for meetings or reviews.

Her son was growing rapidly; he was a good baby and had a great appetite again. It was remarkable how strong Dmitri's genes were. She saw him in all of Zack's movements. She had not seen Dmitri at the office and since the business project with his company was over he no longer had a cause to be in their building. There was absolutely no news from him or of him. He had always been a private person so the media had no information about him. She had spotted an article about him in Forbes magazine but his interview had been squarely focused on his business with nothing about him personally or his private life.

It was a normal Wednesday morning and June was eager to finish this assignment when her boss told her that he wanted to see her.

'Please have a seat, June.' Mr. Hamilton gestured as she entered his office.

She sat wondering what was up.

'The Elberg account has been going well but I want you to over the final overview, personally.' Mr. Hamilton said brightly.

The Elberg report was stationed in New York. June looked panicked at her boss.

'Sir, you want me to go to New York?' June asked to confirm her thoughts.

'Yes only for a few days, they are hosting a gala event to promote the new convention centre and they want you present at the opening ceremony." Mr Hamilton stated looking very proud.

'A few days?' June said amazed; she had never spent a day away from Zack since his birth eleven months ago. A few hours but a few days?

'I know that you don't want to be away from your son, June but its only for a short time and I need you to take this over, Jay is in the Bahamas and Minoa is in Athens," she looked at her boss trying to digest his words, " You carried this project and you deserve to be there. I am so proud of you since you are juggling motherhood and work and still giving me excellent results."

She knew this day would come but she had to face it now.

"I have never been away from my son for a day." She voiced openly thinking about her decision. She was proud of her work on the Elberg account. She had supervised it since it began before Zack's birth and now it was completed she happy it was her handiwork. Elberg and Associates had been quite pleased at her efficiency in ensuring that the project was completed and continued during her maternity leave. Although she had never seen the building in person the finished work was exemplary from the pictures she had seen. June did not know what to do. Zack was turning one next month but she was unsure.

"Sir can I give you my answer tomorrow?" June asked

"Sure we need to finalise the event by noon so I expect a response before then June." With that she was dismissed.

June went home pondering on her decision she had to make.

She called her sisters to come over to throw the idea at them.

Zack was being fed before settling him for the night.

He was busy throwing his food everywhere as usual except into his mouth. He loved food time and was messy but eventually ending up eating.

"Mama!" Zack squealed with delight as she placed his cup of milk in front of him.

"Hey you!" June responded ruffling his hair.

"Mama!" he squealed again.

She mimicked putting a spoon into her mouth as he remembered what he was doing and continued eating.

"You are doing so well." She cooed as he had eaten most of the food on his plate.

"Ooh, Ooh!" Zack giggled continuing to feed himself happy with her compliment.

The doorbell rang and she went to answer it. It was her sisters.

"Hi J!" May greeted giving her a hug and rushing to Zack in his chair.

"Hello Sis." April said also giving her a hug and also going over to Zack.

He was laughing excitedly at the sight of his aunts knowing that they would spoil him tonight.

"My big boy, how are you?" May greeted and Zack opened his arms to give her a messy hug. He dropped his spoon on the floor as he was so delighted.

"Move over," April said getting in the action.

"Ahh ahh! Mama!" Zack squealed as his aunts showered him with kisses and cuddles.

"Enough you two let the child eat his supper!" June intervened looking at her sisters all covered up in baby food.

Zack was busily feeding May and April who in turn made him spoon some food into his mouth. June took the opportunity to prepare her son's bath.

An hour later her son was sleeping soundly in his room. His soft snores could be heard on the baby monitor she had in the living area. June had moved into a maisonette three months ago. Her new home had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The living area was an open plan reception room and kitchen. Although the space was one unit it was cleverly split into three distinct areas that she used as her living area, kitchen/ diner and play area for Zack. She now had a back garden where she set up a mini playground for Zack. He enjoyed playing on the grass and learning with his huge Lego blocks.

Gared had come over towards the end of Zack's bedtime routine. He had become a great confidante and friend. He was the only one who knew that she had never told Dmitri about Zack. Her family had assumed that Dmitri was not interested in being a father and had chosen to not be in his son's life.

"So what is the crisis that brought us here tonight?" May asked sitting Indian style on the sofa.

"My boss wants me to attend the opening of a convention centre I helped set up in New York." June stated sipping her glass of juice.

"New York?" May repeated stunned.

"You need to go J." April said openly. June looked at her younger sister.

"Really?" she asked in doubt.

"Definitely." agreed May, "What kind of event is it? Formal? Black Tie? Casual?"

"Black tie event,Elberg and Associates are New York top brass." June replied

"It will be a good opportunity for Zack to show his independence since he will soon be one." Gared added.

"You need to do this June and for once I agree with him!" May exclaimed giving Gared a dubious look, "It's New York and Zack can stay with us for the time you are away."

"Sure, you need the break from Zack," April raised her finger at June who wanted to interrupt, " Yes, he is your son we know but you have been constantly there, he needs to become less attached."

"No, I'm not leaving my son!" June was adamant.

"So you don't trust us?" May asked glaring at her sister. Before June could respond Gared spoke.

"April yes but you...hmm?" Gared added bending his head to one side to look at May with doubt. May threw a cushion at him which he caught and threw right back at her. It took her unawares and hit her smack dab on the face. May got up and threw two cushions in quick succession, the first flew past Gared and the second hit him on the head.

"You two behave, sit May and leave Gared alone!" June reprimanded. Gared and May were always fighting or disagreeing about something. May grudgingly sat down after giving Gared a death glare. Gared smiled at her wickedly and arranged the cushions at his back and lounged on them.

June looked at her sisters and her friend. She was stuck but she had a good family and friend network and maybe it was time to ease her maternal reins a little bit.

"Of course I trust you guys." She said quickly after making her decision. " I will go to New York."

"It is settled then, we baby sit our adorable nephew while you go to New York." May said with certainty.

"Well...." June was still thinking, "Okay but I have my list of ground rules." She added.

"I have the perfect dress for you!" May exclaimed loudly. "It is a new design I fashioned for a show last month in Milan and it would be perfect for your first post baby glamour appearance."

June wrung her fingers did she make the right choice? Zack would be fine but would she?

June hated leaving Zack but her sisters promised he would be okay with them and her parents would be there as well. She felt like her heart was being pulled out when she kissed him goodbye. He gave her one of his slurpy kisses and cooed. She loved her son so much.

On the plane ride she tried to concentrate n her work but it was tough.

She missed Zack already.

She called her parents as soon as she landed at La Guardia Airport.

They told her not to worry and she tried not to but that was like telling the sea to stop being salty. Her son cooed when he heard her voice on the speaker phone but he sounded happy and excited. June relaxed somewhat as she made her way to her hotel in Manhattan.

The dress May had picked out for her would arrive tomorrow afternoon. June hoped it fit as she had no other option. She had decided to shop for the rest of the day and tomorrow she would oversee the final preparation for the opening gala.

The next day June was up early as the time difference was five hours between New York and London. Her son had slept throughout the night like he had been doing since he was six months old. He was currently in the park with her parents enjoying the swings and the slide.

Zack had mastered a few steps and had loved to use his feet. She imagined him running around on the grass.

The morning was spent finalizing the evening's gala celebration. Her team had been very efficient and she had finished by 1 pm. She had booked a spa treatment with the works. She would do her hair, face and nails after getting a relaxing mud treatment.

It was nearly five pm when June got back to her hotel room. She carried her dress box into her room. It had been delivered while she was out. She laid the box on the bed and removed the lid. She opened the tissue wrapping and pulled out the red creation. It was absolutely gorgeous.

It was a red mermaid sheer lace dress with nude lining and a short sweep train; 3/4 sleeves and a scooped neckline. The back had a plunging sweep which exposed most of her back. There were silver ankle strap open toe stiletto heels and silver accessories to complete the look. June put on the dress and looked at herself in the mirror. She had not felt this sexy since giving birth. She had worked had to lose the baby weight and she was pleased with how he hips were curvy and her breasts look so much fuller. She let her hair fall in waves to the right side of her neck. She had lightened her red hair and loved the combination tones. It made her paler skin look more alive.

She took a picture and sent it through a text message to May to thank her for the dress.

Thanks so much for such a beautiful dress, sis.

You look absolutely amazing J!

I feel amazing, how is my boy?

Asleep, he is such a good boy, we took him to Aunt Celia's and he loved Uncle Ivan's beard. He kept trying to pull it off.

Oh my! I miss him so much.

Who would guess that from the 100 texts I received today on my phone from you? Surely you could have sent some more?

Behave, thanks again. I must dash, my cab just arrived. Bye!

Bye sis and enjoy!

June entered the ballroom to see that the party was just beginning.

Sergio the assistant who was assigned to her came running toward her. He was decked up in his tuxedo.

"Ah senorita bellísima, bellísima' he said admiringly in his thick Italian accent.

"Molten grazie," she responded with a little curtsy.

'Let's begin!" She moved to ensure that this evening would be perfect.

Guests were arriving all dressed fabulously. The staff were working brilliantly to ensure that everyone was fed and thirst quenched.

"Ms Stapleton" Mr Elberg said as she approached him. " You look ravishing and this event would not be possible without you."

"Thank you sir." He was a middle aged man with peppered grey hair and a Robert De Niro look.

"Meet my lovely wife Sophia." June shook hands with a blonde Barbie who looked like she was barely legal to drive. She was heavily made up and her ample chest courtesy of a cosmetic clinic was dangerously teetering to spill out of her gold dress. June gave a polite smile and quickly excused herself.

William Elberg took to the stage and the ceremony began. He gave a marvellous speech and the convention centre was formally unveiled by the Mayor of New York. The night continued with entertainment from a popular musical group.

June was pleased. She kept in the shadows not wanting to be sucked in the crowd. She had made her rounds early and had even exchanged a few personal business cards.

At the end of the presentation Mr Elberg came back onto the stage to give the final words.

"I would also like to thank a simply talented and hardworking young lady, who can multi-task very well. She single handedly ensured this building was completed on time and with a high standard of quality. She