“You still did the right thing, Luke.” I grab his hand and hold it tight. “And if it means losing a bit of money, well…so what?”
Just wait. Just you wait, Iain bloody Wheeler.
On impulse I get down off my stool, go round to Luke’s side of the counter, and put my arms around him as best as I can. The baby’s so huge it doesn’t really have room to jump around anymore, but it’s still squirming every now and then.
Hey, baby, I telegraph it silently. Don’t come out till I’ve had my baby shower, will you?
I read the other day that a lot of mothers experience a genuine communication with their unborn babies, so I’m trying to send it the odd little message of encouragement.
Tomorrow would be fine. Maybe lunchtime?
If you make it out in less than six hours, I’ll give you a prize!
“I should have listened to you, Becky.” Luke’s wry voice takes me by surprise. “You were the one protesting against Arcodas in the first place. And you never liked Iain.”
“Loathed him.” I nod.
No, I’m not telling you what the prize is. Wait and see.
There’s a ring at the buzzer and he lifts the receiver. “Hi, bring it up.” To me he says, “It’s a package.”
I stiffen. “A courier package?”
“Uh-huh.” He shrugs his coat on. “Are you expecting something?”
“Kind of.” I swallow. “Luke…you might want to see this package. It could be important.”
“It’s not more bed linen, is it?” Luke doesn’t look enthusiastic.
“No! It’s not bed linen! It’s—” I break off as the doorbell rings. “You’ll see.” I hurry into the hall.
“Package for you. Please sign here,” mumbles the courier as I open the door. I scribble on his electronic pad, grab the Jiffy bag, and turn to see Luke coming into the hall.
“Luke, I have something pretty major here.” I clear my throat. “Something which could…change things. And you need to be open-minded about where I got it….”
“Shouldn’t you give that to Jess?” Luke is squinting at the Jiffy bag.
“Jess?” I follow his gaze and for the first time see Miss Jessica Bertram typed on the label.
I feel a plunge of disappointment. It isn’t from Dave Sharpness after all, it’s some stupid thing for Jess.
“How come Jess is getting parcels delivered here?” I say, unable to hide my frustration. “She doesn’t live here!”
“Who knows?” Luke shrugs. “Sweetheart, I need to get going.” He runs his eyes over my swollen stomach. “But I’ll have my mobile on, and my pager…. If there are any signs at all…”
“I’ll call.” I nod, turning the Jiffy bag over in my fingers. “So, what am I supposed to do with this?”
“You can give it to Jess—” Luke stops himself. “Sometime. Whenever you see her next.”
Hang on a minute. The overcasual way he said that…
“Luke, you know, don’t you?” I exclaim.
“Know what?” His mouth twitches suspiciously as he picks up his briefcase.
“You know! About the…you know!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Luke looks as though he wants to laugh. “By the way, Becky, on a completely unrelated matter…could you possibly be in at around eleven this morning? We’re expecting the gas man.”
“No, we’re not!” I point at him, half-accusing, half-giggling. “You’re setting me up!”
“Have a wonderful time.” Luke kisses me, and then he’s out the door and I’m left alone.
I linger in the hall for a bit, just looking at the door. I almost wish I’d gone in with Luke today, to show moral support. He looks so stressed. And now he’s got to face all his staff. And his finance people.
Hemorrhaging money. My stomach gives a nasty flip. No. Stop it. Don’t think about it.
There’s still two hours to go before eleven, so I put on a Harry Potter DVD to distract myself, and open a box of chocolate snowmen, just because it’s the festive season. It’s got to the bit where Harry sees his dead parents in the mirror, and I’m reaching for a tissue, when I happen to glance out the window — and see Suze. She’s standing in front of our building, in the little car park next to the landscaped garden, and she’s looking straight up at the window.
Immediately I duck down out of view. I hope she didn’t spot me.
After a few moments I cautiously raise my head again and she’s still standing there. Only she’s been joined by Jess! In slight excitement I glance at my watch. Ten forty. Not long now!
The only thing is, they both seem quite perturbed. Suze is gesturing with a frown, and Jess is nodding. They must have a problem. I wonder what it is. And I can’t even help.
As I’m watching, Suze gets out her phone. She dials, and as the phone in the flat rings, I jump guiltily and move away from the window.
OK. Act casual. I take a deep breath, then lift the receiver.
“Oh, hi, Suze!” I say, in my most natural manner. “How are you doing? You’re probably in Hampshire on your horse or somewhere.”
“How did you know it was me?” says Suze suspiciously.
Shit.
“We’ve got…Caller ID,” I fib. “So, how are you?”
“I’m great!” says Suze, sounding totally stilted. “Actually, Bex, I was just reading this article about pregnant women, and it said you should go for a twenty-minute walk every day for health. So I was thinking maybe you should go on one. Like…now. Just round the block.”
She wants to get me out of the way! Right. What I’ll do is play along but not make it look too obvious.
“A twenty-minute walk,” I say in thoughtful tones. “That sounds like a good idea. Maybe I will.”
“Not any more than twenty minutes,” Suze adds hurriedly. “Just twenty minutes exactly.”
“OK!” I say. “I’ll go right now.”
“Cool!” Suze sounds relieved. “Er…see you…sometime!”
“See you!”
I hurry to the hall, put on my coat, and head downstairs in the lift. When I step outside, Suze and Jess have disappeared. They must be hiding!
Trying to look just like any normal pregnant woman having a twenty-minute walk, I head toward the gates, my eyes swiveling from left to right.
Oh my God, I just saw Suze behind that car! And there’s Jess crouching behind the low wall!
I can’t let them know I can see them. I can’t giggle. Keeping my composure, I reach the gates — and spot a familiar spring of curly brown hair behind a rhododendron bush.
No. I don’t believe it. Is that Mum?
I get past the gates and burst into laughter, muffling the sound with my hands. I hurry along the pavement, find a bench in the next street, and flick through Heat magazine, which I hid inside my coat so Suze wouldn’t see. Then, on the dot of twenty minutes, I get up and turn my steps back toward home.
As I walk through the gates again there’s no sign of anyone. I let myself in and take the lift to the top floor, feeling bubbles of anticipation. I head to our apartment, put my key in the lock, and turn.
“Surprise!” A chorus of voices greets me as I swing the door back wide. And the weird thing is, even though I was expecting it, I feel a genuine shock to see so many friendly faces clustered together. Suze, Jess, Mum, Janice, Danny…and is that Kelly?
“Wow!” I drop Heat without even meaning to. “What on earth—”
“It’s your shower!” Suze is glowing pink with pleasure. “Surprise! We fooled you! Come in, have a glass of Buck’s Fizz….”
She ushers me into the sitting room, and I can’t believe the transformation. There are pink and blue helium balloons everywhere, and a huge cake sitting on a silver stand, and a pile of presents, and bottles of champagne on ice….
“This is just…” My voice suddenly wobbles. “It’s just…”
“Don’t cry, Bex!” says Suze.
“Have a drink, love!” Mum thrusts a glass into my hand.
“I knew we shouldn’t surprise her!” Janice looks alarmed. “I said it would be too much of a shock for her
