Page 14 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘You were best friends with my sister at primary school.’
‘Georgia?’
Emilia nodded, and Zoe’s look of apology became a broad smile. ‘Georgia Capaldi! So you must be Emilia Capaldi!’
‘I used to be. It’s a funny way to say that, isn’t it? Like you used to be a different person when only the name has changed.’
‘No wonder I didn’t recognise your name – you got married!’
‘I’m sure I’ve changed a bit too. I was a chubby fifteen-year-old with no time to talk to my little sister, let alone her friends. I remember you being at our house a lot. Until you and Georgia fell out over that boy.’
Zoe’s smile became more rueful than delighted. ‘What a stupid thing to fall out over, eh? He didn’t like either of us in the end, and then we went off to different high schools and that was that. How is Georgia? What’s she up to nowadays?’
‘She’s…’ Emilia seemed confused for a moment. Perhaps not so much confused as cautious about what she was going to say. ‘She’s been running a company with her husband.’
‘Oh, what kind of company?’
‘Oh, you know, investing, stocks, that sort of thing. I can’t say I’m really sure what they do. But she’s taking a break from all that anyway to have her first baby.’
‘She’s pregnant? How lovely! How far along is she?’
‘Quite far – she’s due in early January.’
‘Aww…I’d love to catch up with her.’
‘Well, I expect that will happen sooner than you might think.’ Emilia spooned some coffee into a mug. She didn’t hold Zoe’s gaze at all as she finished her statement, and if it had looked to Zoe like she was holding back before, there was an unmistakable awkwardness in her now. ‘They’re coming to stay with me. They’ll be arriving in the next few days, in fact.’
‘That’ll be so nice! Will they be staying long?’
‘At least until Christmas.’
Zoe again sensed an awkwardness. It was the oddest feeling, but she couldn’t shake the notion that there was more going on here than Emilia felt comfortable admitting. But then, as adults, they barely knew one another at all, so perhaps thatwas understandable. Perhaps she didn’t feel it appropriate to be sharing the details of her sister’s life with a woman who hadn’t seen her since primary school, especially as her sister wasn’t there. ‘You’ll have to let me know when she arrives. I’d love to see her again if she’s not too busy.’
‘Well…’ Emilia began in that strangely evasive way again, ‘I’m sure that will happen. She may need your care while she’s here.’
‘Of course. I’m only too happy to be on standby in case she needs some advice, but I assume she already has a midwife at home.’
‘She does, yes, but the stay with me may extend beyond her due date. It’s…it’s a little open-ended.’
Zoe couldn’t work out what the between-the-lines text was, but she couldn’t deny it was there. So she simply smiled and nodded. ‘It’s not a problem. If she needs anything, she can come to me.’
‘Thank you.’
‘You’re living in Simon’s old house, aren’t you?’ Zoe asked, looking to find a new angle to connect with Emilia, but it really didn’t seem as if Emilia wanted that. She simply nodded and picked up her coffee.
‘I must get on, but I’ll let you know more when Georgia messages me about her arrival.’
Emilia left the room, and Zoe was thoughtful as she made her own drink. It hadn’t crossed her mind for years, but now she recalled vividly scenes from the argument between her and Georgia as if it had happened the day before. Though she barely remembered what had escalated it, she knew it had been silly. A huge deal at the time but in reality so inconsequential that when they’d gone their separate ways, it had faded into an incident that had once happened, a footnote in Zoe’s life that had been overtaken by new friends, new experiences and growing up ingeneral. She’d thought of Georgia in much the same way during that time, but they’d been close once.
How did she feel about the prospect of meeting up again after all this time? They’d be very different people now, but perhaps enough of those two young girls remained in both of them that it would be a good experience. Not that she could avoid her anyway because it looked as if she’d be involved in one way or another in her capacity as midwife.
However she felt about it, the fact was, Georgia Capaldi was about to come back into Zoe’s life.
7
Zoe and Alex had agreed on a quiet night at Kestrel Cottage. It was partly to save money after they’d splurged on the overnight stay in Keswick, but partly because while Billie was now far more supportive of their relationship, it still felt awkward spending time together at his place, where she was often pottering about, than at Zoe’s. Tonight, Alex had brought wine and snacks, and she’d found a good film on a streaming service, and they were currently sitting on the sofa together, so wrapped up in one another that the wine was barely touched, the snacks unopened and the film running while nobody watched.
‘We could go to bed,’ Alex said in a hot whisper.
