Page 111 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘Yeah,’ Billie said, ‘and she’s got Brett.’
‘He’s got to figure out how to look after a baby too,’ Alex agreed. ‘I’d give them some room, like Billie says. If they need you, they’ll shout.’
Zoe realised that as they’d been talking the baby had stopped crying.
Alex raised his eyebrows. ‘See?’
Sheepishly, she sat down again. ‘Don’t mind me – I’m still on high alert after last night’s drama.’
‘You didn’t get much sleep either, so that’s not going to help.’
The doors to the church creaked open, and Emilia slipped in. Her footsteps echoed on the stone floor as she went straight to Georgia and Brett. Zoe watched her. She was bundled up in a thick coat and hat, and looked tired and pale. Zoe guessed she probably hadn’t slept well either, despite going home.
As Zoe finished the last of her sandwich, Emilia came over.
‘How are you?’ she asked.
‘All right,’ Zoe said. ‘A bit stiff but not too bad.’
‘What about your ankle?’
‘Oh, that’s a bit stiff too, but it’ll be fine. How about you?’
‘Fine. Georgia wants to bring the little one back to the house. I think it should be all right if you’re in agreement. It’s stopped snowing. In fact, it’s quite bright out there. I don’t think we’ll have any more today.’
‘Of course we won’t,’ Alex said wryly. ‘Why would we now the emergency is over?’
‘I’ve got a pram and blankets etcetera back at the house; I could pop over for it.’
‘What about Georgia?’ Zoe asked. ‘I’m not sure it would do her much good to walk that far right now.’
‘No, of course not. I’ll bring the car; if I drive slowly, it should be all right now. I think they’d all be better at home.’
‘Yes,’ Zoe said. ‘I’m not going to argue with you there if you can manage it. We’d have to go soon anyway, unless we wanted to join in the Christmas Day service from our beds.’
‘I’ll give you a hand,’ Alex said, getting up.
‘I think we’ve got it,’ Emilia said. ‘There’s no point in us all getting cold.’
‘Well, let me know if there’s anything,’ he replied. ‘I’m right here.’
Emilia went back to Georgia, and Alex turned to Zoe. ‘I suppose, as we’re here, we could stay for the Christmas service if you fancied it. I’m not usually a massively religious person, but I’m feeling it today. I mean, if you want to go home, of course we can, but I just wondered.’
‘Itwillbe hymns today,’ Zoe said. ‘Not cheery carols.’
‘That’s all right. Sometimes hymns are quite cheery, aren’t they?’
‘I guess that means I’ve got to stay,’ Billie said.
‘Ah…’ Alex was thoughtful for a moment. ‘We could ask Emilia if you could go with them for a while until we’ve finished.’
Billie glanced in the direction of Georgia, Brett, Emilia and the baby. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said finally. ‘They’ll be busy. I’ll stay. It won’t be that long, will it?’
‘I shouldn’t think so,’ Zoe said. ‘People want to get their lunch on the go, so they wouldn’t come if they thought it was going to take up all their day.’
Alex nodded. ‘Even the vicar knows if you give people a choice between hymns and a turkey dinner, the turkey is going to win every time.’
Zoe gave a tired grin and drained the last of her tea. ‘I wonder if there’s somewhere we can freshen up? I don’t want the vicar to think we’re treating it like a hotel, but I could do with washing and brushing my teeth.’
