Page 27 of Christmas Chaos
‘Are you going to be okay for money?’
‘For a while we should be. We’ve been saving for years so we have enough to upgrade to our forever home and keep ourselves fed for a few months at least. Dunc can always pick up work as an electrician. We’ll be fine.’
* * *
October
28 weeks
With one look from his wife, Rory knew he was in trouble.
He’d returned to the cabin to find Zoe, naked from the waist down, washing clothes in the sink. It couldn’t have been another bleed as she looked mad, not sad.
‘What’s happened?’
She pointed a soapy finger at him. ‘Youhappened, Rory.’
‘Um.’ He racked his brains to try and think what he’d done.
‘The toilet?’
Fuck. He’d forgotten to tell her.
‘You baby-proofed the bloody loo and didn’t tell me! You know I have the bladder control of a small dog after drinking a pint of builder’s tea,’ she ranted. ‘I tried for thirty seconds to work it out, failed, and pissed myself before I could find a bucket.’
‘Shit.’
‘Luckily it wasn’t that, or I’d be even madder.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Rory, our baby isn’t going to be born till next year and won’t be mobile for at least six months after that. You’ve got a phone line sorted to the cabin now. That’s the most important thing done. You need to stop baby-proofing everything. The Rayburn doesn’t need to be fenced off, the furniture doesn’t need to be wrapped in foam, and the bloody toilet seat doesn’t need to have more security than Fort Knox.’
‘Okay.’
‘Is that an “okay, I’ll put away the bubble wrap”, or an “okay, let’s placate the pregnant woman”?’
‘I’ll put baby-proofing on hold.’
‘And sort the loo seat. I need to go again before we leave for the next scan.’
An hour later,Rory stared at the moving black-and-white image. This was what he needed to protect. His wife had not accidentally swallowed a basketball. A tiny defenceless human was inside her belly.
‘Och, you’re a wee wriggler.’ The sonographer laughed.
‘I think they’re playing football,’ said Zoe. ‘That or breakdancing.’
Football’s for plebs. Rugby’s a real man’s game. His father’s words stole into the room like an icy draft. He gripped Zoe’s hand tighter.
‘Did you want to know the sex?’ the sonographer asked.
Zoe glanced his way and raised her eyebrows as if checking he hadn’t changed his mind from their last appointment.
He shook his head.
‘No thanks,’ she replied. ‘We’re going to keep it a surprise. Even though everyone thinks it’s a boy, even me.’
Rory’s heart thudded inside his chest.Please, not a boy.He rarely thought about his father. But ever since that second blue line had appeared on the pregnancy test, long-forgotten memories from his childhood awoke to slash at his heart and confidence.
