Page 26 of Christmas Chaos
TABI: My friend Elle lived on popsicles with her twins. The frozen kind, not yours, Loch Ness.
SABRINA: You must give her our love.
RORY: Will do.
SABRINA: And look after her!!!!!!
RORY: Yeah, yeah.
TABI: It’s Yia Yia, Bagpipes. Get it right.
RORY: Bugger off, Tab.
* * *
Zoe never knewhow fascinating a tiny sleeping human could be until she met Fiona’s daughter. Even though she knew a pregnant belly contained a baby, now Isla was on the other side of her friend’s tummy, the whole process seemed completely unreal. Fiona had given birth two days earlier and this was the first time they’d met the latest addition to the Sinclair household. Rory had held Isla as if she was an unstable bomb for thirty seconds, before going outside to play football in the garden with Duncan and Liam.
‘I know I probably sound like I’m mental or something, but now she’s here it’s like part of me doesn’t understand where she came from,’ Zoe said quietly. ‘It’s like you’ve performed some kind of magic trick.’
Fiona smiled. ‘I know what you mean. Ten minutes after I squeezed this little munchkin out of my vagina I wondered if the stork had brought her.’
Zoe clenched her thighs together. ‘How was it? The birth?’
‘It was fine. Much quicker than with Liam. That lasted a week.’
‘A week?’ Isla stirred. ‘Shhhhhh,’ Zoe soothed, rocking her gently.
‘Yeah,’ Fiona continued. ‘I was bloody exhausted. I was in and out of Raigmore more times than a sex addict doing the Hokey Cokey.’
‘Why didn’t they let you stay?’
‘Because I wasn’t dilated enough and they didn’t want to waste a bed. They want you to come in as late as possible.’
‘But how will I know when I’m ready?’
Fiona puffed out her cheeks. ‘Honestly, Zo, every labour is different. Just don’t even think about calling the midwife until it’s been a few hours of contractions so regular and hard you think you might pass out.’
‘What?’
‘Shit! Sorry, love, that sounded fucking awful. It’ll be fine. I promise. Just don’t go in until you can’t hold a conversation. You don’t want to do that car journey more than once.’
‘I could have a home birth like you did with Isla?’
‘You could. It was a million times better than the hospital. But at the same time, I knew what to expect. And when I was pregnant with Liam, I had to think of Duncan. He would have supported me, of course, if I’d wanted a home birth, but I didn’t want him silently freaking out. What does Rory think?’
‘We haven’t discussed it yet. It all seems so far away. I’d like to be at home for most of it at least. Mum had a really long labour with me as well, and I’d rather be in the cabin than in a hospital ward.’
They sat in companionable silence as Isla slept on, listening to the sounds of Duncan playing football with Liam in the back garden.
‘He’s not going back this time,’ said Fiona.
‘Duncan?’
Fiona nodded.
‘Because of what happened with your dad?’
‘Yes. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry, but I kept imagining Mum being pregnant with Jamie when Dad died out on the rigs. That level of stress is just not worth it. And anyway, I’ve really struggled with this pregnancy and don’t want to have to deal with two kids on my own two weeks out of four.’
