Page 3 of The Village Midwife
‘What?’
‘I came this way deliberately, hoping it would help to sway you. Is it working?’
‘You mean there are less windy roads into the village?’
‘Yes. But none as beautiful as this one.’
‘If the only factor I had to consider was whether the view is amazing, I’d have already made up my mind.’ Zoe turned to her again, tucking chin-length hair behind one ear, cheeks dimpling as she offered a smile. Not sombre, exactly, but not quite as joyous as the smiles she’d once felt able to wear with ease. It was a smile nonetheless, and they’d been in short supply since…in truth, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt real happiness. Certainly not since she’d lost her baby. ‘But it isn’t.’
‘Good place for a new start, though,’ Ottilie said, her smile brighter and more certain. The smile of a woman who had already travelled the road Zoe was about to embark on and had reached the end of it changed for the better.
‘I mean, it’s lovely…’
‘Wait until you see the village. It’s small but perfect. Quiet, friendly…you might not know it when you first arrive, but trust me, it’ll be exactly what you need.’
‘You’re certainly a good advert for life there.’
‘That’s what I was hoping for.’
Zoe pushed that smile across her face again as she turned her attention back to the road ahead. A silver thread trailed a section of a distant hill.
‘Up there…’ Ottilie took a moment to point to where Zoe was looking. ‘A waterfall.’
‘Wow! I didn’t think you got those around here.’
‘There are a few if you know where to look. Places where underground springs break through, I think, or so Heath tells me. There’s one that feeds the most gorgeous swimming hole. I’m not sure we’ll have time today otherwise I’d take you for a dip. When you’re here next summer…’
‘IfI’m here, I’ll look forward to it.’
‘If. Of course. If you’re here…’
Zoe glanced to see Ottilie grin, her freckled nose scrunching up. She wore her caramel hair longer now than Zoe remembered. She seemed easier, more comfortable in her own skin than Zoe recalled too. And while Zoe was grateful for her quiet, supportive optimism, she wasn’t sure the move her old friend was trying to persuade her to take was the right one at all. On paper it seemed perfect, but paper wasn’t real life, with real dilemmas and real complicating factors and real unknown variables. On paper was a simple cut-and-dried fix for her circumstances, but it would take a lot more than that to mend her broken heart.
It was a strange situation to find herself in, emotionally. Zoe hadn’t seen much of Ottilie since her move to the Lake District, but back when they’d shared a flat as students, Ottilie had been the cautious one, and Zoe had been the life and soul of any party, the one who lived with abandon and never worried about what her future might hold. She’d almost needed Ottilie to ground her. Now, Ottilie was the optimistic one, living her best life, overcoming the pain of the tragedies that had marked it in recent years, and Zoe was filled with trepidation for what hers might throw at her next. Zoe’s tragedy wasn’t the same, and she couldn’t imagine what Ottilie had gone through, but her own felt real and painful enough to her. She wasn’t convinced that the move Ottilie was proposing was the right one, but Zoe could hardly argue with the evidence of a happy, settled and now visibly pregnant Ottilie sitting in the driver seat beside her.
‘How are you feeling?’ Zoe asked.
‘Fine.’
‘Not too tired? Managing OK?’
‘You’re not on duty now,’ Ottilie said with a smile. ‘There’s no need to fuss; I’m doing well.’
‘I’m asking as a friend, not as a midwife.’
‘But I’m sure you must be thinking professionally, somewhere in the back of your mind. I know you – you can’t help it. And I know I’m an ancient mum according to the received wisdom, but honestly I feel healthy and strong and not knackered by my old age at all.’
Zoe’s light laugh was easier and more genuine now. ‘I’m sorry I asked.’
‘Thanks for asking, though. I’m being looked after by everyone – better than I’d like, sometimes. Heath follows me round the house with pillows and foot massages, and everyone at the surgery watches me like a hawk, even if they pretend not to.’
‘I’m looking forward to meeting your team properly. I’ve spoken to Dr Cheadle, of course, and she was…’
‘I think the polite phrase you want isa character.’
‘That’s the one. But they all sound interesting.’
‘They’re that all right.’
