Page 100 of Just Say (Hell) No
Ella said haltingly, “So I’m, like, pregnant.”
“Yes,” Josie said, the smile intact. “So you said. Congratulations.”
“Oh,” Ella said, and glanced at Marko. “Uh… I guess… Marko said… And, well… you’re on the list.”
Josie had let go of Hugh’s hand and started folding her sheet again. Now, her hands stilled, and the smile vanished. “Pardon?”
“Uh…” Ella said. “I thought you wanted to adopt. A baby. I saw you, at least. On the list. But maybe you changed your mind.”
Something was happening to Josie’s gorgeous face. It was crumpling, and the hands on the sheet were shaking. Hugh took it from her, dropped it into the washing basket, and told Ella, “I didn’t tell Josie about you, that you were putting the baby up for adoption. That’s why she doesn’t know. It breaks her heart, you see. Hoping.”
“Oh,” Ella said, and then, shyly, “I wondered… Marko wondered… if you’d be interested. I thought you were too posh,” she hurried on, since Josie wasn’t answering. “And, you know, you never looked at me, both times I saw you. When I met you. You didn’t want me to go with you to carry drinks, so I thought…”
“I was…” Josie stopped, then started again. “I was… It hurts. Because I can’t, and other people… can. Sometimes I can’t… pretend anymore. Especially with the wives. They keep having babies, and I want to be happy for them, but… I can’t. And we put our names down, and I know it hasn’t even been six months, and it could be years, but…” She had a hand pressed to her lips, and her face was naked. Hope, and fear, too, like the hope was too much to bear.
She didn’t seem like she was going to say anything else, and after a minute, Ella said, “I thought you must think being pregnant was gross or something. Like, maybe you wanted somebody to do it for you, so you could stay beautiful. So your skin didn’t get stretched out, because it does. I’ve got all these marks already, and I’m only twenty-two weeks.”
“No,” Josie said. “No.” She had her arms wrapped around herself now. Not acting, Nyree could swear. Doing nothing but holding herself together. “I can’t. Hugh can, but I… can’t. I had cancer, and I can’t. That’s why. Are you… might you…” She stopped again. Her mouth worked, but nothing came out.
“I’m having these twins,” Ella said. She hurried on, the color flooding her cheeks as the words poured out. “And my grandmother’s Aborigine, so you know, and the baby’s dad is half Samoan, and the part of me that isn’t Aborigine is part Basque, so the babies will be a mix of things, not just Pakeha like some people want. I’m pretty intelligent, I guess, and the baby’s dad is, too, but my dad used to hit my mum, so I have bad genes from that half, maybe. And my mum’s a drama queen, but I’m not. So whatever you think, but that’s the truth, and I need somebody who’s OK with all that, and who wants both of them, obviously. They’re my babies, you know? I mean, they are now. So I have to be sure.”
Josie was crying. Not prettily. Her beautiful face was a mess, and her eyes and nose were both running. “I’m sorry,” she got out through the tears. “I’m sorry. I can’t… Please. I can’t think of what to say.Please.Please… pick me.”
Nyree was having trouble seeing, and she had an arm around Ella, as much to support herself as anything else. Hugh wasn’t looking one bit steady himself as he took his wife in his arms and said, “Shh, baby. It’s all good. Sweetheart. Calm down, now. We need to talk to her. You need totellher.”
“Mate,” Marko said, a grin spreading over his face. “I think she just did.”
Marko had gone with his gut, and it had worked. At least, he was pretty sure it had. There was a fair amount of crying to get through first.
Also Hugh’s sister Amelia, who’d come out of her bedroom in response to all the noise. “What?” she’d said when she’d finally understood. “That’s cool, but how could we havetwobabies here?”
Hugh was still holding Josie. Who, at the moment, was bursting into tears once more and hugging Ella. He said, “We move, that’s all, once they’re a bit older.”
“How?” Amelia said, crossing her arms and looking like a teenaged Napoleon. “Auntie Kyree and Uncle Tane live nextdoor.How could we move everybody? We aren’t going to find two houses next door to each other, Hugh.”
Hugh explained to the others, “Josie’s aunt and uncle, moved up from Katikati to help with the kids. They live in Josie’s old place.” He motioned with his head, since his arms were full. “Next door, eh, like Amelia said. So somebody’s always here for the kids.”
“Oh,” Ella said. “See—Iknewit was right. Iknewit. Like—family. Like my Amona was always there when I went to your house, Marko.”
“Exactly like family,” Hugh said firmly. “And the answer,” he told his sister, “is that we do whatever we have to do. Sell both places and get a bigger house, most likely. One with an extra unit downstairs, probably.”
“Except that Charlie and I go toschoolhere,” Amelia said.
“Yeh,” Hugh said. “Pity that there’s never been a house on the market on the North Shore. It’s going to work out, no worries. Whatever we have to do, we’ll do. That’s what I’m here for. To make it happen.”
Josie blew her beautiful nose and said with a watery smile, “I love rugby players.”
Hugh laughed, cuddled her closer, if that were possible, and said, “Hold that thought. You’re going to be a mum, sweetheart. Two times over.”
Josie laughed, too, and said, “I don’t…” She waved a helpless hand. “I guess… I need to know when. I need to know… so much. I can’t… I can’tthink.”
“Early September, probably.” Ella was recovering her confidence now, actually seeming excited, and relieved, too. Tom had come to sit beside her, was holding her hand. It was good, surely, to have both of them on the same page for this. “It’s hard to know for sure, because… twins. They usually come early, I guess, but the doctor says I’m doing well so far, and I’m strong, you know, plus having a kind that are more… more stable. No contractions or anything so far, not early like they can do. Oh! And they’re boys. Identical boys. I guess I should’ve said that.” She looked apprehensive, suddenly. “They’re in two amniotic sacs, so that’s good, and one’s a bit bigger than the other, and he’s, like,waybusy. He’s down here at the bottom,” she said, putting a hand on her belly. “Baby A. The other one, Baby B, he’s quieter, like he’s thinking, or he just doesn’t need to move around as much. But he’s healthy,” she hurried on. “He’s notmuchsmaller, just a bit. So… what do you think? Do you still think… yes?”
Josie looked like somebody had opened up Heaven and given her wings. Eyes shining, mouth trembling. Hugh looked at her, smiled, and told Ella, “I think we’ll take it. I think we’re more grateful than we can say. I think you can go home tonight and know you’ve made somebody happier than she’s ever dreamt she’d be, and that you’re giving a gift there aren’t words enough to thank you for. I think you should know that we feel…” He hesitated.
“Blessed,” Josie said. Her eyes welled up again, and, yes, there were more tears in there after all. “Blessed.”
The first day of September, and another match about to begin at Eden Park. Rainy this time, and windy, too. Winter in New Zealand, and the kind of conditions that reminded you there was a reason they called it a test match.
