Page 3 of The Baby Plan

The phone started ringing almost the moment it was switched on, Sophie automatically answered it.

“Where are you?” hissed an angry woman’s voice before Sophie had a chance to speak. “You said you’d be back by eleven. I had to bring our Jade and the baby to mine. And she won’t settle, will she! It’s gone four! Jade’s got school in the morning. She never would’ve babysat if she’d known you’d bugger off again with some bloke. You haven’t done a runner have you?”

“Sorry, who is this?” asked Sophie, perplexed.

“Natasha?” questioned the woman.

“No, this is her sister.”

“Where’s Natasha then?”

Sophie couldn’t bring herself to speak the words to explain her sister was dead.

“Fine,” said the woman, impatiently, a baby’s piercing wail had started in the background. “Where are you?”

“I’m outside the hospital,” Sophie found herself responding.

“Well, you’ve got fifteen minutes to get here and pick up your sister’s baby, or I’m calling the Social.”

“Her baby?”

“I’m not kidding. Fifteen minutes.”

“Where are you?”

“15b Rodney Street.”

The woman put down the phone.

“What the... ?” thought Sophie staring at Natasha’s mobile in disbelief: Natasha had a child? When? Her sister was a mother? She was an aunt! And she’d had no idea. Grief, confusion and deep, deep sadness rose up from inside her and the sobs began again. She struggled to suppress them. Now wasn’t the time. While it was too late to repair things with Natasha, she did have a new-found niece, her sister’s baby. Another chance of sorts. She had to get to her.

But who, and where, was the father? She drew a long breath in, and forcibly exhaled. She needed to focus. She had some sympathy for the poor woman on the phone, still up at 4a.m. dealing with a squalling baby. She’d sounded very fed up, and while she had no doubt the threat to call social services was an empty bluff, she didn’t want to exacerbate the situation.

Taking her own mobile from her pocket, she googled the address — it was only about twelve minutes away: even factoring in the time getting to her car, she should be there in time.

* * *

Slowing down to check the name on the road sign caught in the headlights, Sophie drew up to the curb as her sat nav announced, “You have reached your destination”. In the glow from the street lamps, uniform blocks of flats lined both sides of the deserted road.

As Sophie approached the building housing 15b, she saw the front door was wide open and the lights on in the hallway illuminated a broad, heavyset woman with short, blue hair, holding what at first glance appeared to be a bundle of clothing, but on second look was a baby.

The woman stomped down the path and dumped the child and a bag into Sophie’s arms.

“Alana’s had her formula. Tell Natasha that’s the last time Jade or I help her out. Her keys are in the bag. If there was ever a kid who needed a father, it’s this one. She’s a crap mother. Believe me, I know what it’s like to be bringin’ up a little one by yourself, wantin’ a bit of time to be free, but that Natasha...”

Sophie tried to interrupt, “The thing is, Natasha...”

“I don’t want to hear any of it. I’ve tried to help her, the ungrateful cow. Well, I said never again and I mean it.”

“Natasha . . .”

“I’m not interested.”

In the face of the continuing brusque hostility, Sophie swallowed her awkward words of explanation and, clutching her precious package, turned to go. “Twenty quid is what Jade was promised,” said the woman, impatiently tapping her foot and holding out her hand. She made no attempt to mute her voice despite the hour and her presumably sleeping neighbours.

Sophie managed to move the baby so she could hold her in one arm, with the bag in her other hand, she managed to extract her purse from her handbag. The woman didn’t offer to help as Sophie struggled to open the purse and extract two £10 notes.

The woman grabbed them and flounced back up the path, shutting and loudly locking the door to the block of flats behind her.

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