From what I’ve heard, babies don’t always arrive on time so it might be more sensible to wait until Ziggy or Rebel is here. And I would LOVE to be a godmother as long as Mike won’t object. He probably thinks I’ll be a bad influence. I swear I won’t.
I have my christening certificate here with me. Will you need it to prove I’m part of the flock? It’s amongst my other worldly possessions like my birth certificate. I couldn’t risk leaving anything important with Aunty Sue. Can you believe everything I own fits into a giant rucksack? It’s nearly as big as me and weighs a ton but I can squash my entire life inside.
That’s a bit of a shocker about Mike’s secretary – are you sure she didn’t top herself out of boredom? It can’t be much fun working with Mike so maybe she threw herself under the car in desperation. Sorry, that’s a bit crass, poor woman. Are you going to the funeral?
I’m going to hang on here until the work dries up but I’ll try to ring you before I head to the Pyrenees. I worry that I’ll miss one of your letters. Once I have a contact number I’ll let you know.
Please take care of yourself, Wendy. I am a bit worried about you being so tired. Is it awful being preggers? I bet the thought of having a gorgeous baby keeps you going but I imagine being the size of an elephant isn’t fun, and you’ve still got to actually give birth. Ouch.
It’s probably best I’m not there – for a start you’d have slapped me by now for being sarky and then I’d faint if I saw anything gory. I remember those books in the library we used to look at – the ones with the photographs. You were fascinated but they made me feel queasy. I’m sure you will be fine though. Get lots of rest, and I hope Mike is taking good care of you, or else!
Sending you and the bump lots of love and a kiss.
I’m counting the days till I see you again.
Lots of love,
Your Nell xxx
Sealing the envelope, Nell allowed herself a smile. It made her feel giddy inside thinking of seeing Wendy again and there had been moments when Nell contemplated heading home there and then. The only thing that stopped her was the glorious sunshine and holiday atmosphere, and a rather delicious lifeguard who was keeping her occupied in between shifts and the sheets. It would be stupid to give up her job and fun lifestyle and go back right now. Wendy would be fine and it wasn’t as though she was on her own.
No, Nell was going to stick to the plan; get autumn and Christmas over with and wait patiently for Wendy to ring and say the baby had arrived. It was best to save any big decision-making until Nell was back in Sheffield, once she had gauged the reaction from Mike and worked out if, after all this time, he would accept her as part of Wendy’s life and give her a chance. She was no threat to him. Nell had kept quiet about what happened that night in the beer garden so she really couldn’t understand why he had made things so awkward and tried to force a wedge between her and Wendy. Maybe he was incredibly insecure but hopefully, a happy marriage and being a father had mellowed him. After all, Wendy said Mike had asked after her, so surely that was a good sign.
All she could do was wait and see. Fingers crossed, returning to Sheffield would be a fresh start, the chance to put down roots at last. Glancing over to her rucksack that was hooked on the back of the door – no way could she leave it on the floor to be infested by cockroaches – Nell sighed. She was definitely getting tired of her nomadic life. In the meantime, she resolved to enjoy her summer fling, sangria, sun, sea and beach, maybe even have a wintry affair in the Pyrenees with some unsuspecting fit-bit, then she was going home, to Wendy.
10
Wendy rubbed her ever-expanding stomach, in a vague attempt at conveying to her baby that the kicks were a bit naughty, and Mummy could do without them at the moment.
Tenth of December, Christmas almost here, and after that would begin the proper countdown to the birth. She glanced at the other expectant mums sitting around the room in the large antenatal clinic, and smiled. Several of them had to be nearing term, they looked like great leviathans as they adjusted their gait to accommodate the huge lumps they carried in front of them.
Some of the women hardly appeared to be pregnant at all, and she guessed they were the ones here for their inaugural visits, and they wouldn’t visit again for several weeks.
Wendy took out her crochet work, and settled down to do a couple of rounds. She had found a beautiful circular shawl pattern in an antique book incongruously displayed on their shelves at home, and had immediately bought the three-ply wool it needed.
She did a few stitches and then checked back to make sure she’d remembered the pattern correctly. She felt somebody sit down in the seat beside her, and counted aloud. ‘Four, five, six, seven…’ she muttered.
‘Sorry,’ the woman said with a smile, ‘did I disturb you?’
‘Not at all, I was checking I was on track. It’s a complicated design, and while I love crocheting, I don’t enjoy pulling it back and having to redo it. But I’m good, I’m where I need to be.’
‘It’s beautiful. A shawl?’
Wendy held it up. ‘Yes, a circular one. I thought it was so different, and baby isn’t due until February so I should get it finished. The pattern’s from a really old book I found on our shelf.’
‘I’m doing a square one, but it didn’t occur to me to bring it here. That’s an hour of crocheting time wasted,’ she said with a laugh. ‘You been here long?’
Wendy glanced at her watch. ‘About half an hour. Should be my turn soon, the last name called was a woman I followed in.’
She wrapped the wool around the hook and inserted it into the correct stitch. She had only done three stitches when she heard her name.
‘Wendy Summers.’
She quickly slid the hook at random into the work, and dropped the shawl into her bag.
‘At last,’ she said. ‘Good luck with yours.’
The woman stared at her.
The nurse was waiting for her, but Wendy paused for a moment and turned back to the woman, whose face was drained of colour. ‘Are you okay?’
‘What’s your husband’s name?’ she croaked.
‘Mike. Do you know him?’ She turned to the nurse. ‘Sorry, I’ll only be a minute, this lady isn’t well.’
‘No, I’m fine. You go. When you come out, if I’ve been called in, will you wait for me?’
Wendy nodded in agreement, touched the woman’s shoulder and followed the nurse through to the examination room.
After her appointment, Wendy took out the shawl, and continued to work her way around the circle. It felt so beautiful, so soft, and she could imagine her tiny baby swaddled in it. It was a peaceful five minutes, and then suddenly the woman from earlier was sitting down next to her once again.
‘Thank you for waiting. I was so worried you wouldn’t have…’
Wendy popped the shawl into her bag and stood.
‘Shall we go for a cup of tea? You looked as though you needed one. Is everything okay?’
‘With the baby? Everything’s fine.’
They left the antenatal unit, and walked to the WRVS, where Wendy ordered two cups of tea. As she carried them across to the table where the woman sat, quietly waiting, and looking so serious, Wendy felt her heart go out to her.