Page 64 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘For the house. He said he wanted more tools.’
‘I can’t buy him tools!’
‘I don’t know, but he was pretty excited when he got an electronic screwdriver.’
Zoe burst out laughing. ‘Was he? There’s a new hidden depth I wasn’t expecting to find!’
Billie put a hand to her chest and grimaced.
‘Heartburn?’ Zoe asked.
‘Yeah. It’s all the time now.’
‘Your baby’s taking up more space as he grows, so it doesn’t leave a lot of room for your own bits, I’m afraid.’
‘You’re going to tell me it’ll get worse before it gets better as well?’
‘I’m not because you already know it,’ Zoe replied with a faint smile. ‘But at least you’re on the home stretch now, so there’s that.’
Billie sighed heavily. ‘Feels like I’ve got ages yet.’
‘Just nine weeks. Sounds like a lot but it will go faster than you think.’
The kettle boiled, and Zoe went to get a cup, deep in thought.
‘I’m going to get a shower,’ Billie said. ‘You know where everything is, don’t you?’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.’
Billie nodded, and Zoe went to get her handbag from the chair where she’d left it the night before. Her phone was low on battery as she pulled it out, but at least there were no missed calls or urgent messages on it.
By the time Zoe had finished breakfast, cleared the kitchen and dressed, Alex had returned.
‘Heard from Georgia this morning?’ he asked as he teased Grizzle with a doggie chew.
‘No. It’s Sunday – maybe she’s sleeping in. Anyway, I don’t suppose she thinks she owes me a call. I mean, it’s probably only me who was stressing about the situation, and I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge there.’
‘Probably,’ Alex said. ‘It’s annoying,’ he added absently. ‘I wanted to go over to the fields and do some more detecting today.’
‘Good luck in all that snow.’
‘Exactly. I’ll have to think of something else to do.’
Zoe raised an eyebrow. ‘You do realise this is incredibly flattering for me? To have you sit across from me wondering what to do with your day. A girl could let all that attention go to her head, you know.’
‘Sorry.’ He gave a sheepish laugh. ‘You know what I mean, and I didn’t want to assume I’d have your company all day.’
‘As it happens, you won’t, but that’s not the point.’
‘You’re not staying?’
‘I can’t, not all day. I’ve got things to do…It is almost Christmas, after all.’
‘I’ve got things to do as well; I’m just feeling lazy about them. I thought I’d decorate the smallest bedroom, actually. It needs a lick of paint.’
‘Right…’
Zoe wondered why he would do that, this week of all weeks, so close to Christmas. And why had he chosen the smallest bedroom when he’d said many times that there were more prominent areas of the house he wanted to make over? But he didn’t offer anything more, and she wondered whether she was seeing too much into it, so she decided not to ask. What he didwith his spare time in his own house was his business, after all. Telling herself that didn’t stop her from worrying that he was turning the room into a nursery in the hope Billie was going to change her mind about the adoption. It might happen, but though he didn’t say so, Zoe felt he was pinning a bit too much on those hopes.
