Page 36 of The Baby Plan

“Did Alana sleep through?”

“I had to give her a feed during the night, but then she settled. She usually sleeps right through.”

“She’s a good baby, isn’t she? Samson didn’t sleep through for me until he was nearly two!”

“You must have been exhausted!”

“Just a bit. Some days I must have looked like a zombie dropping the girls off at school. By the time we got back, Samson would have fallen asleep and wouldn’t wake up for a good couple of hours! It would drive me crazy, but he was always such a happy baby, you couldn’t be cross with him for long.”

“We’re back!” Samson called from inside the house. Maggie and Sophie went to greet him. Alana was being carried by Samson but she held out her arms when she saw Sophie approaching. Sophie took her and the baby snuggled into her, the greatest feeling in the world.

“Toast, all?” Samson asked, holding up a loaf of fresh bread.

Everyone answered in the affirmative, including Mutt if the frantic wagging of his tail was anything to go by, and Samson set about making them all toast with butter and jam, which proved very popular with Alana.

“Right,” said Maggie, “I’ve got a big Sunday roast to cook. You toddle off and have fun. Make sure you’re back by one!”

“Let’s take Alana out for a few hours,” declared Samson. “Dad, do you want to come?”

“I think I’m on potato-peeling duty,” Peter replied stoically.

“Sophie?”

“Sure, that would be good,” she replied, feeling unexpected excitement bubbling inside her.

“Get yourself ready, I’ll sort out a bottle to take along for Alana. The changing bag is all packed, will she need anything else?”

“That sounds like everything,” Sophie said happily. It was lovely to feel valued by Samson and to be treated like she was important and knew what she was doing, even though she still felt like she was winging it with Alana most of the time.

* * *

A short while later, and Samson, Sophie, Mutt and Alana were in Sophie’s car heading towards Hinksey Park, a favourite of Samson’s from his childhood.

They pushed Alana in her buggy around the park while Mutt trotted alongside on his lead, but in her opinion, the best thing was to sit on a bench by the lake and giggle at the swans and the model boats. Samson and Sophie sat on either side of her, both being extra vigilant in case the baby suddenly decided to throw herself off the bench in an effort to get at some of the mesmerising things she was watching.

The little girl was so fascinated with the birds, Samson picked her up to get a better view. Sophie pulled out her mobile and snapped a photo of the two of them. She was checking it and contemplating taking another shot when Samson carried Alana over to her to have a look. An elderly couple walked by with a little terrier who Mutt immediately made friends with. The woman stopped and commented lightly, “You have a very beautiful family.”

“Thank you,” Samson replied, simply.

Sophie raised an eyebrow at him once the people were out of sight.

“What?” he said, shrugging. “Did you want to go into the whole story with them?”

“Fair point,” Sophie agreed. She was filled with a warm glow at being so easily mistaken for a family, and at Samson’s reaction to it. Could it be that he also felt she and him becoming closer? That he felt at least part of the attraction she did for him? It was certainly beginning to feel like he might. He was attentive to her and seemed to be actively seeking out her company. Sophie was also sure he was more tactile than previously, touching her hand to get her attention or brushing a stray eyelash from her cheek.

They left the park in search of a coffee shop and were soon settled at a table outside with a couple of Americanos, which they drank while Sophie gave Alana her bottle. Checking the time when they’d finished, they realised they needed to head back or they’d be in trouble with Maggie.

* * *

The few hours out with Alana and Samson had been fun, and things had felt so comfortable, that Sophie hadn’t thought much about meeting Samson’s sisters. But when they arrived back at his parents’ house and spotted the extra cars outside, she began to feel very nervous. She thought she’d done pretty well with Samson’s family so far — was it pushing her luck trying to win over four more members? It was all so strange. She felt like she was meeting a boyfriend’s family for the first time, judging and being judged, worried she was being assessed for suitability. Of course, all of that was true in a way, and even possibly more so bearing in mind she was their granddaughter’s mother figure, a fixed addition to their closest circle.

But she soon realised she needn’t have worried. They entered the house and could hear everyone chatting in the kitchen. The whole family seemed to turn as one when they came in. Samson’s sisters were very similar, both younger versions of their mother. They came over to greet Sophie and Alana with big smiles on their faces, hugging Sophie and welcoming her. They then crowded around Samson and fussed over the baby who was happy to be handed over while their partners introduced themselves to Sophie.

Sophie thought to herself how lovely it was that Alana was so content to go to her aunts, but she also felt a pang of jealousy. As Alana’s aunts they had exactly the same familial relationship with her precious niece as she did. Suddenly her own relationship with Alana seemed a little precarious, and perhaps not as special as she’d come to think of it as. She told herself sternly to stop being ridiculous. She was having a lovely day but was in danger of spoiling it by focusing on her private feelings of inadequacy.

Samson’s sisters were clearly used to seeing him as the baby of the family, which Sophie found amusing to observe.

He was far taller than either of them, and in his thirties, but they continued to tease him like the younger brother he was.

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