Page 37 of The Baby Plan

Sophie had always wanted more siblings, especially once Natasha had reached teenagerhood and wanted absolutely nothing to do with her annoying younger sister. Mealtimes then tended to be just Sophie and her mum and dad; Natasha would either be out with her friends or, more often, would have stormed off to her room after arguing with her parents. The three of them would eat their food in near silence, Sophie’s mother trying not to cry, and her father making occasional attempts at conversation now and again attempting to cheer them up. Eventually, they gave up trying to eat as a family, and even when Natasha left home at sixteen, to everyone’s relief if she were truly honest, they never resumed the practice, and Sophie soon became very adept at heating things up for herself in the microwave.

Things could not have been more different in this household. Maggie and Peter began piling dishes of food on the table: roast beef, huge, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, crisp roast potatoes, stuffing, gravy, carrots, broccoli and runner beans. Maria and Bethan laid the table, and Samson poured drinks for everyone. Sophie suspected these had been their jobs at mealtimes for as long as any of them could remember.

Sophie had never experienced anything like the busy, family meal which ensued. Nine people squeezed around a kitchen table, several conversations going on at once, dishes being passed around... it was all very new and different. It felt like something she’d see in a film. Alana had had a nap in the car as they drove back from the park so she was in great spirits and loved trying some different foods and watching everyone. She seemed to fit in easily with this family dynamic. Sophie wasn’t sure the same could perhaps be said of herself: she’d tried but felt a little out of her comfort zone. Overwhelmed, she retreated into herself and spent the meal listening to what everyone else was saying.

A jolt shot through her as she felt Samson’s hand on her arm. She turned to him. “Are you OK?” he asked gently. “You’re very quiet.”

“I’m fine,” she said, smiling. It was sweet he’d checked on her.

“Don’t worry,” said Bethan’s husband, Ed. “You’ll soon get used to this noisy lot.”

“Of course she will,” said Maggie kindly, patting Sophie’s hand. “In time you go a little deaf which definitely helps!”

Sophie felt herself beginning to unwind — it was lovely to think she’d be seeing this family again. They’d been so welcoming, and, while she didn’t feel properly part of it yet, she relished the thought that she could work towards that.

Chapter 10

Back in Brighton the next day, Sophie and Samson decided to take it in turns to catch up with work while Alana was awake, but first Samson watched Alana so Sophie could have her shower. He told her not to hurry, that he needed to sort the office out a bit before he could start work anyway and Alana could help.

The door to Samson’s office was closed when she was finished and went to collect Alana. She knocked, not wanting to push open the door in case Alana was behind it.

“Just a minute!” came the reply.

Sophie waited. What on earth was happening on the other side of the door? She could hear all sorts of noises. It sounded like a major refurb was going on, not a quick tidy up.

“Is everything all right in there?” she asked eventually, curious, but mainly fed up of waiting.

“Almost done!” called back Samson. “Go and make us both a cup of tea and I’ll be finished.”

Sophie thumped downstairs. Why couldn’t he pass Alana out to her if he was busy?

While the kettle boiled, she saw she had a missed call from Yvonne, the social worker, and took the opportunity to call her back so she could fill her in on how things were going. Yvonne definitely seemed surprised to hear Sophie and Alana were now living with Alana’s father. “How did that come about?” she asked.

Sophie filled her in on the details of their arrangement.

“How’s it working out?” Yvonne asked cautiously.

“We definitely had a few kinks that needed ironing out to begin with, but I think we’re doing pretty well now.”

“Would it be all right if I came by to meet Samson and check how Alana’s doing?” Yvonne asked.

“Sure.”

“Would this afternoon at around four be convenient?”

“Oh... um... yes I think so. Yes, that would be fine,” said Sophie, mentally tallying up what she’d need to do to get the house ready with this very short notice.

“Marvellous.”

“Right. Well, we’ll see you then.”

When Sophie returned upstairs with a cup of tea in each hand a few minutes later, the office door was still closed. Sighing to herself, she banged on the door with her elbow. Finally, it was opened by Samson who had Alana in his arms. “Ta-da!”

He stepped back to reveal a cleared table. Sophie recalled it had been next to Samson’s main desk with a printer and general clutter on it. Now it was opposite where he worked. Perched on top was a cardboard sign with ‘Sophie Perring’ scrawled on it.

“This is for me?” Sophie asked.

“I thought it would be more comfortable for you than using your laptop on your bed, and less distracting than the kitchen table.”

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