Page 89 of Wild About You

‘Oh my God. Can I speak to her?’

Fi opened her mouth to speak, but nothing coherent came out.

‘Fi?Fi?’ Richard’s voice was frantic.

‘Richard. Richard!’ Jamie’s voice: relentless, firm, calm. ‘Just get in the car if you’re not in it already, and drive back. Don’t take any risks, eyes on the road. We’re taking good care of her. Do you understand?’

I heard him swallow. ‘Yes.’

‘That’s good. We’ll see you soon.’

‘I’m hours away.’

‘We’ll see you soon, Richard. Remember what I said.’ He named the hospital and gave him the co-ordinates. ‘Drive safe.’

‘Okay.’ Richard’s shell-shocked voice brought fresh tears to my eyes.

Jamie raised hell at the hospital. I’d never seen people move so fast; they were out in a minute with a wheelchair. I ran alongside Fi down the white corridors, then stood at the edge of the room as the medics did their thing. Fi had stopped crying. Deadly calm, I could see hope and despair fighting in her eyes. When a doctor started to speak, in a slow, measured voice, I came forwards, seeking to understand him when she might not.

Baby is in distress.

Emergency caesarean.

Baby small, but viable.

Would she give consent?

‘Her husband’s hours away,’ I said, my mouth dry.

‘Just do it,’ said Fi. ‘Save him.’

Him. I choked back a sob. Her and Richard’s secret: they were expecting a little boy.

‘Can my friend come in with me?’ said Fi. Her temporary calmness was dissolving; I could hear the tremor in her voice.

‘Of course,’ he glanced at me. ‘You’ll have to get gowned up.’

I stepped out of the room for a moment. The corridor was busy, the hospital full of the ceaseless activity of human life. When Jamie took me gently by the shoulders, I started and stared up at him.

I repeated what the doctor had said. ‘The baby’s small but viable.’

‘Viable? Jesus Christ.’ He let me go and turned away, then back. ‘Are you alright?’

‘Yes, I think so.’

He enfolded me in his arms. Just for a moment, I breathed in his warmth, the scent of him. It felt as though we were clinging to each other, holding onto each other’s strength.

‘Anna?’ A nurse had appeared. ‘Follow me to gown up.’

Jamie released me, and we stared at each other. We nodded at each other, then I went.

It was the longest minute in the world. It felt like the longest silence, even amidst the frantic activity of the medical staff. I leaned over Fi’s head, stroking her hair, as her son was taken out of her and carried over to a trolley.

Waiting, waiting, holding my breath, Fi trembling. The silence, the terrible silence.

Then, a wail.

I heard Fi gasp, saw her frantic terror alchemise into joy.

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