Page 93 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
‘Oh no!’ Zoe protested. ‘You know I didn’t get you anything!’
‘I haven’t done it for that reason; I just didn’t want to leave you out.’
‘But I feel terrible I haven’t got anything for you and Billie.’
‘You’ve got actual Christmas presents,’ he said.
‘Yes, but they’re at my place for tomorrow.’
‘Then we’ll have them tomorrow. This isn’t about keeping score; we just wanted you to be able to join in our tradition.’
Zoe gave him a warm smile, knowing when she was beaten and touched, despite the gesture feeling one-sided. ‘Thank you, but you shouldn’t have.’
‘I’ll take it back then…’ he said, and she snatched it from his grasp.
‘No you won’t! I want to see what it is now!’
Tearing off the paper, she found a small midnight-blue box. Inside, there was a key. She looked up at him.
‘It’s a spare one,’ he said. ‘For Hilltop. You can come and go as you please, and maybe, when you’re ready, you can come and not go…’
Zoe’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked at Billie to see the plan had her approval. Her head wanted to say it was too soon, that she wasn’t ready for a move like that, but it didn’t matter. He’d phrased his hopes perfectly, so that there was no pressure.She could come and go, and when she was ready, she could come and stay forever.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered, stroking the key.
‘I hope it hasn’t freaked you out,’ he said, sudden doubt in his eyes. ‘That wasn’t my intention.’
‘Not one bit. We’ll need time, but I think…I think I’d love to be here all the time eventually.’
There was silence, and a flood of understanding that passed between all three of them that, somehow, this was a huge moment. The key in her hand and Alex’s offer would make them a family. What was bigger and meant more than that was Billie’s acceptance.
The spell was broken as the lights went back on. A few minutes later, phones began to beep the arrival of messages.
‘There’s a lot from you,’ Alex said to Billie as he scrolled through his. ‘Anyone would think you were worried about us.’
‘Very funny,’ she shot back. ‘It’s all right for you – you weren’t sitting here alone with no electricity.’
‘I think I’d rather have been doing that than fighting my way home in a blizzard.’
‘That’s not fair. I was scared. I thought something had happened to you…’
Alex’s face fell, and Zoe knew what he was thinking. He’d been flippant, but as soon as he’d made the joke, he’d realised that Billie had lost so much, people who were everything to her, so she’d had every right to be afraid for them. He’d allowed himself to forget, for just a second, and it hadn’t been fair.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘You’re right.’
‘It doesn’t matter now. At least you’re here.’
Zoe’s own phone updated more slowly, but a few seconds later it did, and she noticed the missed calls from Georgia and Emilia. Lots of them. And then a text came through.
Where are you? Georgia’s waters have broken.
It was from Emilia. Zoe looked at the time – it had been sent two hours before, when there had been no signal in the village. Perhaps Emilia hadn’t realised until it had failed to go through, or perhaps she’d sent it anyway in the hope it would reach Zoe when her phone came back online, hoping it wouldn’t be too long. She looked up at Alex.
‘Oh, no,’ he said, reading her expression. ‘What now? What’s wrong?’
‘It’s Georgia. Her waters have broken.’
‘Where is she?’ he asked. ‘They weren’t at home. So does that mean they’re at the hospital? I mean, it’s only half an hour or so to drive. So they don’t need you if that’s the case, do they?’
