our baby the moment he holds it—’
‘Holy crap!’ Nell gives a wild laugh.
‘What?’
‘No. You do not want to know.’
‘
What?
’
‘Well, OK, so I was listening to you, I promise, but I was also googling caffeine and milky drinks and miscarriage at the same time, and I found this news story about a married obstetrician who slipped drugs into his pregnant mistress’s tea to make her miscarry his unborn child. Good grief.’
‘Nell,’ she howls. ‘Stop googling, for Christ’s sake!’
‘No. It’s OK. It all turned out all right in the end – well, kind of. The mistress spotted this yellow powder at the bottom of her tea mug and realized he was drugging her. It says here she put the tea mug in a plastic bag and took it to the police. It was all OK in the end – she gave birth to a healthy boy and the doctor went to prison.’
Chapter Six
She hears the mail thud onto the porch and goes to the door. As she opens it, she sees Helena’s silver Prius pulling up by the fence. The passenger window glides down and a hand waves. Tess pushes back her hair and tightens her cardigan over her belly, wishing she had at least put on some mascara or brushed her hair. The sickness has passed overnight, but she still feels peaky. The ultrasound showed that the baby was fine and she’d heard its heartbeat, a distant, rapid swoosh and thud, like tiny footsteps running across snow. Over the phone from Chicago, Greg had sounded relieved, but not surprised. Everything was going to be fine.
She gets to the window of Helena’s Prius.
‘Hey, Tess.’ Helena is leaning on the passenger seat, her wrist laden with beaded leather bracelets. ‘How’s it going?’ She is in dark jeans, subtle lipstick; her skin looks luminous.
‘OK, thanks.’ Tess tucks her hair behind her ears.
‘Wonderful! So, listen, Josh and I were wondering . . .’ Helena pauses, smiles, opening her eyes a little wider. ‘Could you park your Volvo somewhere else? Maybe in your garage? It’s just that when you leave it out front like this, backing out of our driveway can be a little tricky.’
She tries to keep the smile going.
‘OK, great! Well, I have to go now – I’m on my way to the airport – but you have a great day, OK?’ The window slides back up and Helena pulls away, skirting the Volvo in an exaggerated arc.
Overhead, the branches of the oak tree knock together, a hollow, lonely sound. Tess looks at the Volvo. The street is three times as wide as her road in England – you could get an articulated lorry past it. When she goes to the supermarket, this is the fastest way to unload the shopping – the alternative is to carry heavy bags up the basement steps. Helena’s request is nonsense really, purely territorial, designed to make her feel like an outsider. It is as if Helena wants to make her as uncomfortable as possible. She leaves the Volvo where it is and goes back into the house.
*
She experiences a surge of relief when she opens the door an hour later to find David filling the porch, tanned and battered-looking, in the leather jacket he’d owned since they were together. His messed-up curls are receding now, silvery at the sides, and there is the smile she used to find irresistible, his bottom jaw jutting slightly sideways. She hugs him tightly and if he is surprised by her affection, he doesn’t show it.
After some overexcited wrestling with his dad, Joe thunders upstairs to pack up some toys. She makes David an espresso and, as they sit at the breakfast bar with the doors to the deck open, he talks about his new job defending human rights campaigners in conflict zones. She doesn’t ask too many questions. Over the years she has realized that it is best to avoid the specifics of the perilous situations David puts himself in. Nor does she ask why it has taken him a month to get to Boston; it would only sound querulous and Joe is delighted that he is here – she must not spoil that. They have always managed to
‘Holy crap!’ Nell gives a wild laugh.
‘What?’
‘No. You do not want to know.’
‘
What?
’
‘Well, OK, so I was listening to you, I promise, but I was also googling caffeine and milky drinks and miscarriage at the same time, and I found this news story about a married obstetrician who slipped drugs into his pregnant mistress’s tea to make her miscarry his unborn child. Good grief.’
‘Nell,’ she howls. ‘Stop googling, for Christ’s sake!’
‘No. It’s OK. It all turned out all right in the end – well, kind of. The mistress spotted this yellow powder at the bottom of her tea mug and realized he was drugging her. It says here she put the tea mug in a plastic bag and took it to the police. It was all OK in the end – she gave birth to a healthy boy and the doctor went to prison.’
Chapter Six
She hears the mail thud onto the porch and goes to the door. As she opens it, she sees Helena’s silver Prius pulling up by the fence. The passenger window glides down and a hand waves. Tess pushes back her hair and tightens her cardigan over her belly, wishing she had at least put on some mascara or brushed her hair. The sickness has passed overnight, but she still feels peaky. The ultrasound showed that the baby was fine and she’d heard its heartbeat, a distant, rapid swoosh and thud, like tiny footsteps running across snow. Over the phone from Chicago, Greg had sounded relieved, but not surprised. Everything was going to be fine.
She gets to the window of Helena’s Prius.
‘Hey, Tess.’ Helena is leaning on the passenger seat, her wrist laden with beaded leather bracelets. ‘How’s it going?’ She is in dark jeans, subtle lipstick; her skin looks luminous.
‘OK, thanks.’ Tess tucks her hair behind her ears.
‘Wonderful! So, listen, Josh and I were wondering . . .’ Helena pauses, smiles, opening her eyes a little wider. ‘Could you park your Volvo somewhere else? Maybe in your garage? It’s just that when you leave it out front like this, backing out of our driveway can be a little tricky.’
She tries to keep the smile going.
‘OK, great! Well, I have to go now – I’m on my way to the airport – but you have a great day, OK?’ The window slides back up and Helena pulls away, skirting the Volvo in an exaggerated arc.
Overhead, the branches of the oak tree knock together, a hollow, lonely sound. Tess looks at the Volvo. The street is three times as wide as her road in England – you could get an articulated lorry past it. When she goes to the supermarket, this is the fastest way to unload the shopping – the alternative is to carry heavy bags up the basement steps. Helena’s request is nonsense really, purely territorial, designed to make her feel like an outsider. It is as if Helena wants to make her as uncomfortable as possible. She leaves the Volvo where it is and goes back into the house.
*
She experiences a surge of relief when she opens the door an hour later to find David filling the porch, tanned and battered-looking, in the leather jacket he’d owned since they were together. His messed-up curls are receding now, silvery at the sides, and there is the smile she used to find irresistible, his bottom jaw jutting slightly sideways. She hugs him tightly and if he is surprised by her affection, he doesn’t show it.
After some overexcited wrestling with his dad, Joe thunders upstairs to pack up some toys. She makes David an espresso and, as they sit at the breakfast bar with the doors to the deck open, he talks about his new job defending human rights campaigners in conflict zones. She doesn’t ask too many questions. Over the years she has realized that it is best to avoid the specifics of the perilous situations David puts himself in. Nor does she ask why it has taken him a month to get to Boston; it would only sound querulous and Joe is delighted that he is here – she must not spoil that. They have always managed to
Similar Books
