Page 15 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
Zoe was breathless in her agreement. ‘We could,’ she said. ‘What about the film?’
‘What film? Were we watching one? I don’t recall.’
‘We were…something about a school and a Christmas play or whatever…I feel a bit guilty kissing like that in front of the children…’
Despite her so-called guilt, she kissed him again – a deep, long, insistent kiss that told him everything he needed to know.
Grinning, he pulled away to grab the remote control and switched off the television. ‘There,’ he said, settling back into her, ‘no need to feel bad now.’
After more increasingly frantic kissing, he stood and offered his hand. She took it, and he was leading her to the bedroom when the phone he’d left on the sofa began to ring. He suddenly looked torn, and Zoe decided to put him out of his misery. He clearly wanted to answer it but didn’t want her to think she was second best. Slipping her hand from his, she went to peer at the caller ID and then looked up at him.
‘It’s Billie. I don’t mind if you want to take it.’
‘Sorry…’ he groaned, but she wafted away the apology. She understood that neither of them were entirely free of obligations outside of their new romance, and that his daughter would of course always need to come first.
After swiping to answer, he listened in silence for a moment, his expression growing more troubled as Zoe watched. She couldn’t quite make out what Billie was saying, but his responses were made with a tone that suggested he was trying to be understanding but was in reality frustrated by the turn of events. And then he finished by promising to go back to Hilltop immediately.
‘It’s Griz,’ he said. ‘Billie thinks he’s eaten something from the fields and he’s throwing up. She wants to know whether to call a vet, but I think I ought to go and see before she does that. I’m so sorry, but would you mind? I know it’s cutting our date short, but?—’
‘Of course I don’t! I’ll walk with you.’
‘You don’t need?—’
Zoe was already dashing upstairs to get her coat as she gave her reply. ‘I want to. I might not be able to help, but at the very least, I’ll get to see how Billie is. Hang on…’
She returned a minute later wearing her thickest coat and stoutest boots. Not exactly a sexy date outfit, but that was the reality of living in Thimblebury, she supposed.
Alex was already at the front door, lacing up his own Arctic-grade footwear.
‘You’re a star,’ he said, looking up for a second. ‘You know that, don’t you? I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but it must have been good.’
Zoe gave a soppy grin, too mesmerised by his dark eyes to think up a witty response. And then they stepped out into a night brittle with frost, with a sky so clear every star looked to be in touching distance. The snow had cleared in pockets and what was left crunched underfoot. Alex reached for Zoe’s hand. It felt like instinct now to let him fold his fingers into hers, a thing he did that needed no permission, no explanation or thought, and on the rare occasion that he didn’t take the initiative, she would find his in the same way, slotting her hand into his palm as if it was made to fit there.
‘Are you worried?’ she asked as they walked beneath a haloed moon.
‘I’m sure it’s fine. The thing is, she doesn’t say it, but Billie loves that dog more than anything. I’m not going to let anything happen to him, not after the last few years. He’s more than a dog; he’s the only survivor of her old life, and I worry that something like that would send her over the edge.’
Zoe wanted to remind him that he was also a survivor of Billie’s old life, but Alex himself had lost so much in that time that he was as emotionally delicate as Billie herself, and she wondered if it would be wise to remind him. So she simply nodded in the gloom. ‘I can understand that.’
‘But I reckon he’s just eaten too much grass or something.’ Zoe could hear the effort to be positive in his voice. ‘He’s a daft dog – he’ll put anything into his mouth and give it a chew.’
‘Don’t they all do that? The dog we had as a kid was just the same.’
‘Quite possibly.’
They were silent for a moment, and Zoe sensed his worry, despite his efforts to hide it. And so she groped around for something to take his mind off his immediate concerns. In the end, all she could manage was a rather lame enquiry about his day, one that had seemed far too boring when he’d first arrived at Kestrel Cottage with romance very obviously on his mind.
‘So now we’re both paying attention,’ she said into the gap, ‘tell me about your day.’
‘There’s not much to tell. I had an interesting meeting with a guy from a company that provides ready-made camping pods. He’s going to send me a quote for what I need. I’ll be honest, I still haven’t decided what our guest capacity might be – I think it will very much depend on how much the pods cost. I did a bit of research about advertising and stuff, went to see Victor, and that was about it. It was boring, really. How was your day?’
‘I don’t think it’s boring. You might think mine was boring, but I think it was…if not interesting, certainly eventful. Our new GP arrived.’
‘God yes, of course. You said she was due to start work, and I clean forgot. How was it?’
‘Fine. She seems very nice, no drama. I actually sort of already know her, which was a weird coincidence I didn’t see coming. I used to be best friends with her little sister, way back in primary school. I didn’t recognise her at first, but she knew me. What’s crazier is that her sister is coming to stay with her for Christmas. I mean, I haven’t clapped eyes on the girl since we were eleven.’
‘That’s great!’ Alex gave her hand a squeeze. ‘You’ll have so much to catch up on.’
