Page 7 of The Village Midwife
‘I’m…’
‘You don’t have to answer,’ Ottilie said.
Zoe shook her head. ‘I know, but I have nothing to hide. I’m going through a divorce.’
Flo folded her hands over one another on her lap and regarded Zoe shrewdly. ‘He was a bad ’un? Knocked you about?’
‘No!’ Zoe recovered herself and lowered her voice. ‘Nothing like that! We just…drifted apart.’
‘In my experience,’ Flo replied tightly, ‘nobodyjust drifts apart. There’s always a reason.’
‘I lost our baby,’ Zoe said tersely, and for the first time since she arrived, Flo had the decency to look ashamed.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ she said.
‘And,’ Zoe continued with a brief nod to acknowledge Flo’s sympathy, ‘we struggled after that.’
‘That’s a real shame.’ Flo looked up as Ottilie placed a mug in front of her. ‘But we shouldn’t dwell on it. All this talk of losing babies…tempting fate to say it out loud.’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Ottilie began, but then she checked herself too. ‘We should stop talking about it, but only because that’s not what we’re here for. Zoe’s come to see what she thinks about Thimblebury, and we’re hardly selling it to her so far, are we?’
‘You’re coming to be the new midwife?’ Flo asked Zoe. ‘Seems a bit…well, I wouldn’t have thought that was the job for you, given your circumstances.’
‘Flo,’ Ottilie warned, but Zoe put a hand up to stop her.
‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘It seems difficult for some to grasp why I’d carry on looking after other expectant women when I’ve lost my own.’ She shrugged. ‘I thought about giving it up, but I don’t know what else I would do. It’s more than a job…it’s like it’s part of me. I know it sounds daft when people say something’s a calling, but I suppose that’s the nearest thing I can compare it to. I can’t see myself doing anything else.’
‘What do you want to do it here for?’ Flo asked. ‘We’re hardly overrun with expectant mums.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ Ottilie cut in, looking pointedly at her own belly. ‘Or have you forgotten?’
‘You, and Stacey’s girl…’ Flo looked confused. ‘Who else?’
‘Yes, there’s Stacey’s daughter Chloe, Maisie Jenkins and Tegan Forester. Not to mention a couple of the mums at the parent and toddler group. And if Zoe did come to take on the role, she’d be responsible for neighbouring villages too, so there’d be plenty to keep her busy.’
Flo gave the vaguest shrug, as if mentally she’d already moved on from that particular topic. ‘I wonder what will happen to Hilltop Farm now that Ann and Darryl are leaving.’
‘Whatever happens, it’s none of our business, is it?’ Ottilie said mildly.
‘I dread to think who’s coming to take it on.’
‘Surely it’ll be a good thing. Ann would be the first to admit the place is run-down. It needs some money spending on it, and presumably someone who’s gone to the trouble of buying it will do that.’
‘And then there’s Melanie leaving that house Victor built for her.’
‘Actually…’ Ottilie glanced at Zoe. ‘I’ve spoken to Victor and Corrine about that. He’s willing to rent it out at a very reasonable rate if someone should need it.’
So that was why Ottilie had been keen for Zoe to go and meet them. She tried not to be irritated. It seemed Ottilie really wanted her to take the job at the surgery and had gone out of her way to make the move as easy as possible should she want to make it. And while Zoe appreciated her friend’s enthusiasm, she was beginning to feel harassed. She wanted to make up her own mind, but it was hard not to feel the weight of Ottilie’s hope. ‘I’ll bear it in mind,’ she said shortly.
‘I wouldn’t want to climb that hill every day,’ Flo said. ‘Is that kettle done yet? I’m parched.’
‘Daffodil Farm is in a lovely spot,’ Ottilie said, going to stand by the kettle, presumably so Flo could see it had her full attention, and that the tea would be made the instant it boiled. ‘And accessible enough with a decent car.’
‘Cold in the winter,’ Flo continued. ‘All exposed on top of that hill.’
‘I’ve never heard Corrine or Victor complain. And the alpaca seem happy enough.’
‘Well, they’re hardly going to write out cards for the suggestion box, are they?’ Flo huffed.
