Page 32 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘No,’ Billie said, as unflinching at the mention of her dead mother as Corrine was in addressing her.
Zoe was used to that reaction now. Billie had built a wall around her grief – for both her mother and Luis, the boyfriend she’d lost tragically, shortly before she’d discovered she was pregnant with his child. She kept it locked up tight, and Zoeunderstood better than most that it was a coping mechanism, the only way she’d learned how to function in the face of so much heartache.
‘Mum ran the business with Dad,’ she continued. ‘She didn’t have much time for cooking. We ate out a lot in Spain. It was cheap and pretty good.’
Corrine looked sceptical, as if the notion of someone who didn’t cook must be a lie. But then she gave a practical nod. ‘So I’ll start at the beginning and you won’t feel I’m teaching grandma to suck eggs. Righto, that’s all I needed to know.’
Zoe and Billie went to wash their hands while Corrine got various tools and bowls from the cupboards. From the corner of her eye, Zoe spotted what she presumed was Corrine’s latest gingerbread test run sitting on a board. If it were possible, it was even more impressive than the one Zoe had seen before.
‘Corrine… this is amazing!’
‘Well, it’s better than the last one,’ Corrine said, coming up behind her and giving it an ultra-critical once-over. ‘Yes, I think it’s getting close to something reasonable now.’
Billie came to see what they were looking at. ‘That’s what I’ve got to do?’ she asked, staring at Corrine’s creation with uncharacteristic awe. It wasn’t often Zoe saw her impressed, and that had to be impressive in itself. ‘There’s no way!’
‘Don’t be downhearted before you’ve even had a go,’ Corrine said. ‘You don’t know what you’re capable of until you try.’
‘I know I’m not capable of that!’
Zoe herself was fully aware of her own severe shortcomings, but she intended to have fun trying. ‘As long as it tastes good, I won’t worry too much if mine doesn’t look perfect,’ she said.
‘That’s the spirit,’ Corrine said with an encouraging smile. ‘It’ll all look the same once it’s gone down.’
‘Easy for you to say!’ Billie replied, eyeing Corrine’s baking with serious doubt. ‘That looks amazing and probably tastes amazing too.’
‘Come on,’ Corrine chirped, ushering them back to the area she’d set up as their work space. ‘Let’s get started and see what we can do!’
No matter how often she was met with a blank stare or a silent response, Corrine kept Billie in her sights. Zoe, on the other hand, she left largely to her own devices, and it was clear that she had a good reason for this. Corrine, ever perceptive, ever empathetic, knew what Billie needed. She could see that there was a happier person beneath that quiet, serious exterior, someone who’d been damaged, who’d had the heart ripped from her and feared the world because of it. She was cautious and cynical, but Zoe knew from Alex that she hadn’t always been that way. And it seemed that what Zoe knew as fact, Corrine sensed instinctively.
‘Some are born knowing how to bake,’ she said as Billie measured her sugar, then her ginger and then tossed them together before dabbing a pinky into the whole thing to taste. She paused then added more ginger.
Zoe glanced down at the recipe book they were sharing. ‘It doesn’t say to mix them together like that.’
Corrine gave a nod of approval as Billie looked up, the concentration on her face morphing into a look of sudden doubt. ‘Oh, have I done it wrong?’
‘If you think it’s right, then that’s fine.’
‘But what if I’ve ruined it?’
‘I don’t think you have.’
‘I don’t know…’
Billie started towards the bin, bowl in hand.
Zoe leaped to take it from her. ‘Don’t throw it away! We don’t have enough ginger for you to start again!’
‘We can always send Victor out for some more,’ Corrine said serenely. ‘But I think you ought to trust your instincts a bit more, Billie. I think they’re serving you well so far.’
‘Will you taste it then?’ Billie asked, and Zoe was thrown by an expression that said Corrine’s opinion really mattered. ‘To check it’s all right.’
‘If you like, my love.’ Corrine went over and dabbed a finger into the bowl as Billie had done, and then nodded. ‘Oh yes, that’ll do. I’d say crack on with that and let’s see what happens when it’s been in the oven. We’ve got all the time in the world. If it comes out wrong, we’ll just try again.’
Before Billie could reply, Zoe dropped her wooden spoon onto the floor and let out a sweary hiss. Corrine tutted, as if to chastise her, but she was smiling with it.
‘Sorry, Miss.’ Zoe laughed as she bent to retrieve it and then went to get a cloth to wipe the floor.
‘Let me,’ Corrine said, going to the sink and taking it from her. ‘Here’ – she opened a drawer and took out another spoon, which she handed to Zoe – ‘you carry on while I clean up.’
