Page 110 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘I agree; it’s crap. I suppose, in a weird way, it was sort of fun, though.’
‘You have a strange idea of fun.’
‘It’s why you like me.’
‘It’s why Iloveyou.’
‘Ugh…’ Billie sat up on her bed a few feet away. ‘Get a room already.’
‘We tried,’ Alex said, ‘and look where we ended up.’
Zoe let out a tired giggle. Then she sniffed the air. ‘Can you smell bacon?’
‘I can…’ Alex looked around. ‘I’ll go and see what’s going on. Do you want a cup of tea?’
‘I’d kill for a cup of tea!’
‘Me too,’ Billie said. ‘If you can manage one for your daughter as well.’
‘He’s good, isn’t he?’ Zoe said, watching him head towards the church’s kitchen.
‘He’s all right, yeah,’ Billie said, reaching for her phone. ‘All the bars.’ She held it up for Zoe to see. ‘Do you think the snow has stopped?’
‘I hope so; I don’t think it could snow much more.’
‘We’ve been saying that for two weeks.’
‘Three, I think. Anyway, it looks bright enough through the windows, so we might be in luck.’
Alex came back with three mugs and a plate of sandwiches on a tray.
‘Vicar’s come up trumps!’ he said with a grin. ‘Bacon sandwiches! He came in early to make them!’
‘That’s so sweet of him!’ Zoe took the mug he offered and a sandwich from the pile. ‘I’m starving!’
‘Me too,’ Billie said as she did the same.
Alex sat down with his own and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing with a look of great contentment. ‘Nothing quite hits like a bacon sandwich when you’ve had a long night. I feel sorry for vegans.’
‘I’m pretty sure they’re at peace with their choices,’ Zoe said, ‘but I know what you mean. This is just what I needed.’
A thin wail went up from where Georgia had been sleeping with the baby.
Zoe grinned. ‘Looks like someone else is hungry.’ She got to her feet, and Alex grabbed her hand.
‘Where are you going?’
‘To see if Georgia needs me to help.’
‘If it was me,’ Billie said as she munched, ‘I’d want you to stop interfering.’
Zoe frowned. ‘I’m not?—’
‘What she means is you’re fussing,’ Alex said. ‘In the nicest possible way, of course.’
‘She’s got to do everything for the baby when you’re not there,’ Billie continued. ‘She needs to get used to it. If she wants you to help now, she’ll shout. But she’s probably already working it out.’
‘It’s hard with a newborn,’ Zoe insisted. ‘You need support.’
