but after she’d stormed off, Natalie had attempted to rationalize her behaviour, and had reminded Tina about the thin time of it Lucy had had growing up and the great job she’d jacked in to devote herself to family life. Tina had ended up feeling bad, even though she was the one who’d been attacked.
Natalie’s due date had fallen on Tina’s birthday, at the beginning of the week. Natalie had sent a card, in which she’d written
Still waiting
. And probably she still was . . . but what if she wasn’t?
It could have all kicked off: the baby could be on the way that very moment. Natalie had seemed to have everything under control, what with the assertively written birth plan and the antenatal lessons and the books. She’d certainly done her homework. But when it came to the point of being put to the test, would any of that make any difference?
Natalie’s predicament continued to niggle at Tina over the next couple of hours. It was no good – not knowing what was going on was making it impossible for her to concentrate properly. She decided to give Natalie a quick ring and set her mind at rest; if Natalie was there and able to speak to her, then all well and good . . . and if not, like Natalie herself, she would just have to wait.
Tina took her personal organizer out of her bag to check for Natalie’s number. Dan had teased her for storing her diary and contact numbers in such a hidebound format, but Tina liked to have things written down and tucked away. If Justin hadn’t had a knack for writing persuasive love letters, she doubted whether their relationship, with its ongoing restrictions and frequent separations, would have lasted as long as it did.
The phone rang for a while before Natalie answered, sounding groggy and half asleep.
‘Hello?’
‘Natalie! You’re there!’ Tina exclaimed. ‘I was doing this article and it made me think of you and I just had to call. How are you? Is everything all right?’
‘If you’re phoning to see if I’ve had it yet, the answer’s no,’ Natalie said.
‘Oh well, I’m sure it won’t be long . . . I didn’t wake you up, did I?’
Natalie sighed. ‘You did,’ she said, ‘but never mind. How are you? Did you have a nice birthday?’
‘Actually, it was pretty crap,’ Tina said. ‘I ended up staying in and watching telly.’
‘You should have come round,’ Natalie said, ‘we could have watched it together. So have you made peace with Lucy yet?’
‘Er, no.’ Tina had half hoped that Lucy might get in touch on her birthday, but she hadn’t. ‘Why is it up to me, anyway?’
Natalie sighed. ‘Aren’t we a bit old for all this? You’ve been friends since 1995. Don’t you think you should try and sort it out?’
‘I will, I will. I’ve just been kind of busy, what with one thing and another.’
‘Oh yeah, the new man. How’s that going?’
‘Badly,’ Tina said. ‘I think he likes someone else.’
‘And you like him?’
‘Well . . .’
‘Do you?’
‘He’s not bad-looking,’ Tina conceded. ‘But he has a horrible brown jacket.’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, that’s hardly a deal-breaker. Learn to love it, or buy him a new one for Christmas. Have you tried actually talking to him?’
‘I think it might be too late.’
‘Tina, I’m the one who’s too late,’ Natalie said. ‘If I haven’t gone into labour by the middle of next week, I have to go into hospital to talk about being induced, which is not how I wanted this to turn out. They’ll let me go a fortnight late, and then that’s it.’ She sighed. ‘Anyway. I’d better let you go.’
And then she was gone. It was unlike her to be so terse, but perhaps this was a good sign. Perhaps she had somehow acquired extra reserves of feistiness thatwould help her get through the approaching ordeal, and emerge restored to her usual gentle, mild-mannered self.
Tina was about to close her personal organizer and put it away when it occurred to her that she might have
Natalie’s due date had fallen on Tina’s birthday, at the beginning of the week. Natalie had sent a card, in which she’d written
Still waiting
. And probably she still was . . . but what if she wasn’t?
It could have all kicked off: the baby could be on the way that very moment. Natalie had seemed to have everything under control, what with the assertively written birth plan and the antenatal lessons and the books. She’d certainly done her homework. But when it came to the point of being put to the test, would any of that make any difference?
Natalie’s predicament continued to niggle at Tina over the next couple of hours. It was no good – not knowing what was going on was making it impossible for her to concentrate properly. She decided to give Natalie a quick ring and set her mind at rest; if Natalie was there and able to speak to her, then all well and good . . . and if not, like Natalie herself, she would just have to wait.
Tina took her personal organizer out of her bag to check for Natalie’s number. Dan had teased her for storing her diary and contact numbers in such a hidebound format, but Tina liked to have things written down and tucked away. If Justin hadn’t had a knack for writing persuasive love letters, she doubted whether their relationship, with its ongoing restrictions and frequent separations, would have lasted as long as it did.
The phone rang for a while before Natalie answered, sounding groggy and half asleep.
‘Hello?’
‘Natalie! You’re there!’ Tina exclaimed. ‘I was doing this article and it made me think of you and I just had to call. How are you? Is everything all right?’
‘If you’re phoning to see if I’ve had it yet, the answer’s no,’ Natalie said.
‘Oh well, I’m sure it won’t be long . . . I didn’t wake you up, did I?’
Natalie sighed. ‘You did,’ she said, ‘but never mind. How are you? Did you have a nice birthday?’
‘Actually, it was pretty crap,’ Tina said. ‘I ended up staying in and watching telly.’
‘You should have come round,’ Natalie said, ‘we could have watched it together. So have you made peace with Lucy yet?’
‘Er, no.’ Tina had half hoped that Lucy might get in touch on her birthday, but she hadn’t. ‘Why is it up to me, anyway?’
Natalie sighed. ‘Aren’t we a bit old for all this? You’ve been friends since 1995. Don’t you think you should try and sort it out?’
‘I will, I will. I’ve just been kind of busy, what with one thing and another.’
‘Oh yeah, the new man. How’s that going?’
‘Badly,’ Tina said. ‘I think he likes someone else.’
‘And you like him?’
‘Well . . .’
‘Do you?’
‘He’s not bad-looking,’ Tina conceded. ‘But he has a horrible brown jacket.’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, that’s hardly a deal-breaker. Learn to love it, or buy him a new one for Christmas. Have you tried actually talking to him?’
‘I think it might be too late.’
‘Tina, I’m the one who’s too late,’ Natalie said. ‘If I haven’t gone into labour by the middle of next week, I have to go into hospital to talk about being induced, which is not how I wanted this to turn out. They’ll let me go a fortnight late, and then that’s it.’ She sighed. ‘Anyway. I’d better let you go.’
And then she was gone. It was unlike her to be so terse, but perhaps this was a good sign. Perhaps she had somehow acquired extra reserves of feistiness thatwould help her get through the approaching ordeal, and emerge restored to her usual gentle, mild-mannered self.
Tina was about to close her personal organizer and put it away when it occurred to her that she might have
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