Page 19 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘We don’t have a lot of time, though,’ Zoe reminded her.
‘Plenty of time!’ Victor said cheerily.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Billie said. ‘You all said Corrine was going to win anyway.’
‘We said she normally wins, but as we’ve never seen what you can do, you never know.’ Zoe gave an encouraging smile. ‘You might have some hidden natural talent for baking that you didn’tknow you had. You might secretly be a gingerbread-house-constructing genius.’
‘Or maybe I won’t bother.’
‘Oh, please bother!’ Zoe said. ‘Even if you only help me with mine. Because, believe me, they’re so rubbish I need all the help I can get!’
‘Maybe…’ Billie’s attention went back to Grizzle, who was now dozing. ‘Do you think he looks better yet?’
‘How long since he was sick?’ Victor asked.
‘A few hours, I think.’
‘I expect he’s on the mend then. Follow the plan and I bet he’ll be right as rain this time tomorrow.’
‘I can’t thank you enough for coming over,’ Alex told him, but Victor just waved a hand.
‘Don’t think on it for another minute. It’s what neighbours do, isn’t it? At least they do round here.’
‘They do,’ Zoe said with a smile. ‘But especially round here, which is why I’ve started to think I’ll never want to leave.’
8
Zoe had agreed to meet Ottilie and Simon’s partner, Stacey, for a trek around the perimeter of the village. Stacey was still on the fitness kick Simon was encouraging her to be on (though she admitted it was hardly a kick and more of a limp flex of her toes) and was always glad of company. Ottilie was getting too pregnant to go far, though Zoe would have liked to have ventured out beyond the village, and in the end, the company was more important than the activity. There was a vantage point she’d heard about called Stanley Ghyll, not far from where they were, and she’d been meaning to go up and take a look, and had almost suggested it until she’d remembered how breathless Ottilie was becoming and how bad the weather was. It would have to wait, and it would probably be somewhere for her and Alex to explore alone when the spring came.
There were pockets of snow all over the hills, hardened like glass in hollows, while what had fallen on the roads and lanes of the village had become frozen slush, crunching underfoot as Zoe stepped on it. Some people had hung Christmas tinsel and baubles onto the bare branches of the trees outside their houses and on the lanes, and the village postbox was wearing a ratherfetching knitted topper that depicted Santa and his reindeer pulling a laden sled.
So, eager to make the most of a few spare hours, the friends had settled on a circumnavigation of the village boundaries and a walk of a mile or two along the riverbank, if Ottilie was up to it.
She was on her way to the rendezvous at Stacey’s house when she noticed a van outside Simon’s old place. He’d rented it from Fliss for a time, but had now moved in with Stacey and freed it up for Emilia to take possession of. Zoe recalled a doubtful conversation with Stacey about that.She’d worried that he wasn’t moving in with her because he wanted to but as a practical measure, a consideration for his new GP colleague. Of course, Ottilie and Zoe had told her not to be so daft, and that even he wasn’t that much of a people pleaser, and though she’d told them they’d made her feel better, Zoe wondered if it had.
As Zoe approached, Emilia herself was in the doorway giving directions to the removal crew. At her side was a woman who could only be Georgia. Nobody could forget that distinctive flame-red hair, especially not Zoe, who had always been so envious of it and had always viewed her own as drab in comparison. Of course, Georgia herself had hated it, and perhaps understandably when it was often the source of bullying. But she seemed far more comfortable with it now, wearing it long and curled. She was also clearly very pregnant, her belly visible even beneath a heavy coat.
With a kick that was both excitement and trepidation, Zoe changed course and hurried over.
‘Hi, Emilia…’ she began and was about to address Georgia when the words were snatched from her mouth by a high-pitched squeal.
‘Zoe! Oh my God!’ Georgia flew down the path to fold Zoe into an enthusiastic hug. ‘Em said you were here! Isn’t that thecraziest thing? Of all the places we could have moved to, we came to the exact village where you are!’
‘I only moved here recently myself,’ she replied, noting vaguely how Georgia had referred to her own arrival in a far more permanent way, but too distracted to process the information as she hugged her old friend again before holding her at arm’s length to appraise her. ‘Which makes it even madder! It’s so good to see you – and you look so well!’
Georgia beamed. ‘So do you. Incredible, in fact. Life here must suit you.’
Zoe nodded and then, smiling, sent a pointed look to Georgia’s belly. ‘And you’re blooming nicely.’
‘Waddling is more like it,’ Georgia said with a laugh. ‘Em tells me you’re the surgery midwife. That’s even crazier. So you’ll be looking after me? Imagine telling us in primary school that this is where we’d be – we’d have thought it mental.’
Zoe laughed. ‘Especially as I was rubbish at science. I had to take my biology exams twice to get on the course.’
‘I’ll leave you two to catch up,’ Emilia said before going inside.
Georgia gave her a vague nod and then turned back to Zoe. For a second, Zoe was distracted by it. Something in both Emilia’s and Georgia’s expressions during the brief moment told her all wasn’t well. But then Georgia spoke again, and she sounded so bright Zoe wondered if she’d imagined the tension.
‘But you did it. Always were a determined one. Em says you’re brilliant at your job, so you must have been better at biology than you thought. Anyway, what do exams count? Everyone knows they don’t mean anything really.’
