Page 56 of The Village Midwife
‘Very,’ Nadya’s mother-in-law said. ‘He’s our little prince, isn’t he, Nadya?’
Nadya’s warm smile spread. Zoe was glad to see that Nadya had plenty of support from someone she clearly liked. As she understood it, Nadya’s mother lived abroad and was ill at that time, and so it seemed her mother-in-law had taken up the responsibility of helping out the new parents.
‘I hate to deprive you,’ Zoe said, taking out her scales, ‘but I’m afraid I do need to take him from you for a few moments.’
Nadya’s mother-in-law gently handed him to Zoe, who scooped him into her arms. No matter how many babies she held like this, she never tired of the feeling, of the happiness, the unique and wonderful smell of a newborn, the little faces they pulled as they gazed up at her or sought sleep. She smiled down at him, all that warmth flooding back, as it always did.
‘Sorry about this, poppet,’ she said, placing him on the scales. He grumbled, but he didn’t cry, and after recording his weight and then giving him a brief once-over, she looked up. ‘Don’t fight – who wants him?’
‘I’ll take him,’ Nadya’s mother-in-law said, and Nadya simply grinned.
‘I can barely get a look in.’
‘Take advantage of the help while it’s here,’ Zoe said. ‘How are you feeling? Recovering from the birth OK? Nothing worrying you?’
‘I think I’m all right,’ Nadya said. ‘Tired all the time, but that’s it.’
‘That’s to be expected. Like I said, take advantage of the help when it’s here, rest when Musa rests; even if you look around the house and think things need cleaning, resist the urge. There’s plenty of time to have a neat house, but this isn’t it. All that will wait; enjoy getting to know your son.’
‘I will,’ Nadya said.
‘I’ll make sure she doesn’t overdo things,’ her mother-in-law said.
Zoe gave a nod of approval. ‘I’m glad to see it.’
Zoe was packing up her equipment, chatting to Nadya and her mother-in-law, when she became dimly aware of her phone pinging the arrival of a text message. But it slipped her mind, only coming to her attention again as she drove the road back to Thimblebury and started to run through a mental list of all that she had left on her to-do list for the day.
Back in the office, she completed her notes for the home visits she’d made and then checked her phone to see that the message was from Alex. Even if he hadn’t told her about Billie’s refusal to go to her scan, she would have seen the second notification from the hospital before the end of the day anyway. She let out a sigh, though this time it wasn’t sympathy for the young woman but exasperation. There was only so much Zoe could do for her. If Billie wanted the best care for her baby, then she had to make the effort.
Despite knowing all this, there was no way Zoe could ignore what was going on. Aside from concern for the baby, she was worried about the impact Billie’s neglect might have on her own health, so she certainly wasn’t going to leave Billie to decide whether she took care of herself or not.
She was about to phone when she realised that phoning was no good. Billie hadn’t wanted to talk to her the last time she’d failed to attend her hospital appointment, and there was no reason to suppose this time would be any different. It was out of her remit, yes, above and beyond the call of duty, and some might even say meddling further than was polite, but Zoe was going to go up there and see Billie face to face. One way or another, she needed to make her understand how important these appointments were. If anything happened to Billie or the baby and Zoe had done nothing, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself, and so whether it was beyond her professional remit ornot, the first place she was going after she packed up for the day was Hilltop Farm.
She messaged Alex to check that someone would be home, wrapped up the day’s loose ends and then headed out.
‘Hi.’ Alex seemed tense as he opened the door to her. He managed a courteous smile and nod, but his movements as he stepped back to let her in were taut and anxious. ‘I haven’t told her you’re coming. Should I have done? I thought she might make an excuse to go out so she wouldn’t have to see you, so…’
‘That’s your call,’ Zoe said. ‘I do think it’s important I see her, but it’s a free country, and if she’d wanted to go out, then it would have been her prerogative. But if she’s in, that’s good. Hopefully, she won’t try to climb out of a window when she sees me.’
Zoe had kept her uniform on, partly because she’d come straight from work, and partly because this felt like work and it seemed a good idea to clearly mark that this was a professional visit.
Alex gestured to the closed living-room door. Zoe could hear the sounds of the television coming from the other side. It sounded like a quiz show or something, and Zoe suspected that Billie wasn’t really watching it, only distracting herself from having to acknowledge her current situation. She knew this because she’d done it often enough herself during tough times, and the last year or so hadn’t been short of those.
Knocking softly, she waited for a second and then went in.
Billie was curled up under a blanket on the sofa. As Zoe suspected, she didn’t appear to be watching the television because she had her phone in her hand.
She looked up from it as Zoe walked in. ‘Oh,’ she said in a dull voice.
‘You can guess why I’m here,’ Zoe said.
‘Not really,’ Billie replied, going back to her phone, but Zoe knew better than to believe that.
Zoe took a seat on an armchair and took off her coat. ‘Do you mind if we turn the telly off for a minute?’
‘If you want.’
Zoe looked for the remote control but couldn’t see it. Billie watched her for a moment before turning her attention back to her phone.
