‘WOW, YOU LOOK how I feel.’
Marnie paused mid yawn. She had one hand on the doorframe, and the other scratching the mass of bed-head blonde hair on her head.
‘Oh, cheers. Good morning to you too. Come on in.’ She rolled her eyes theatrically at her friend, and moved aside to let Daisy in. She was rather weighed down with the big quilted black coat she was wearing, and she waddled like a duck through to the kitchen. Her fur-lined winter boots had a frosting of snow on their tops, and she smiled sheepishly.
‘Sorry. For the snow and the snark.’
Marnie laughed, pulling out one of the chairs and helping her friend settle into it. Flicking the kettle on, she grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and checked the baby monitor. Violet was still flat out on the playmat, looking up at the jungle gym above her. Marnie smiled at the sight, and, making the tea, let her friend vent. ‘It’s fine. Come on, tell me.’
‘I’m just so fed up,’ Daisy moaned. ‘I’ve drunk all the raspberry-leaf tea I can stomach; we had a vindaloo the other night. I’ve been on a million walks, till the snow stopped me. And I’m a nightmare to everyone. I just want to snap everyone’s head off. Braxton Hicks are the worst.’
Marnie put a mug of tea in front of her and took a seat. After one look at Daisy’s glum face, she got the biscuits out too. Daisy threw her a look of pure guilt.
‘I’m sorry. You’re the last person I should be moaning to.’
‘Give over, and moan away. I get it.’
‘I know, but with everything you went through...’
Marnie’s hand was on hers before the sentence was finished.
‘Listen, we all have our own journeys to motherhood. Every journey is hard, no matter what road’s taken. You’re three days overdue in your pregnancy! You’re tired, excited, nervous. You want to meet your baby. There isn’t a woman in the world who wouldn’t feel a bit down.’
Daisy smiled, through watery eyes. ‘I knew you’d get it. It’s worth it though, right?’ Daisy looked across at Violet. Marnie followed her gaze, her whole face lighting up.
‘It’s the best.’ She smiled back at her friend and squeezed her fingers tight. ‘You moan away, have a biscuit. I’ll go find a film.’
Daisy grinned, happy to be distracted. ‘Popcorn?’
Marnie winked. ‘You know it!’ She looked through the movies with the remote, settling on a funny rom-com they’d both watched before and loved.
Marnie was putting a load of washing on when she heard Daisy from the lounge.
‘Ooh!’
‘Daisy? You okay?’
She half ran to the lounge, but Daisy was still on the couch, Marnie’s ball mask hanging from her fingertips.
‘Yeah, I forgot about the ball! How did it go?’
Marnie tutted. ‘Daisy, I thought the baby was coming then! It was good. Great.’
Daisy shook her head. ‘Listen, your daughter can listen to this conversation and not even know it, so spill.’ Daisy was smirking now. Teasing.
Oh, crumbs.
Marnie’s jaw dropped.
Gosh, did everyone know what was going on? Was it her face, giving her away? Were people talking? Oh, no.
‘What do you mean?’ She feigned ignorance but gave up when she realised Daisy wasn’t buying it. It had been a pretty poor attempt. She couldn’t help it but whenever she thought of Ash, even though she couldn’t do anything about her attraction to him long term, she knew she lit up. It was driving her crazy, but she smiled at her friend and hoped she’d at least buy that. ‘You’re being weird.’
Daisy laughed. ‘Yeah, I’m being weird.’ She air-quoted her sentence, the epitome of sarcasm between the two of them. ‘I saw you, dancing with that guy! You know, tall, dark? Wearing a mask? Who was he?’
‘Oh, him.’ She waved her away. ‘Just a father of one of the babies I delivered.’ She groaned. Wow, that was pathetic. Thinking on the spot was normally her forte, but Ash made her mumble, blurt things out awkwardly.
I think I’m in trouble. Hormones! It’s the hormones, calm yourself.
Thinking of being twirled in Ash’s arms under the Christmas lights. The heat of his body against hers...
‘Marnie! Hello?’
Marnie snapped her eyes to the impatient bloodhound before her. ‘What?’
‘I have never seen you act like that around one of the new dads before.’ Daisy’s smile was near smug, and Marnie blushed. ‘Well, I’m sure I’ll get it out of you.’ She looked sincere. ‘I’m glad for you, either way. You looked like you were having fun.’
Marnie didn’t say anything, just busied herself with setting them both up for the film. It was a distraction tactic, of course, but it worked. Daisy was in need of a sit and a bit of girl time, and she happily let the subject drop in favour of sweet popcorn and a bit of Christmas cake. Marnie had done nothing but bake Christmas cake and cookies when she couldn’t sleep waiting for Violet to come. Daisy could enjoy the fruits of her labour, so to speak. The thought made her smile.
She sliced some cheese to add to the slices of rich fruitcake, marzipan and royal icing before heading back to her friend. She was glad Daisy had come to visit. It was better than the two women spending the morning alone in their homes. They both needed something to keep them busy, albeit for very different reasons. Marnie found she really needed this too. As distraction techniques went, this one wasn’t half bad for her either. It stopped her from thinking about that kiss, the jolt she felt when she was around Ash. She’d never felt like that with Oliver. She wondered now whether she would feel it with anyone else.
No, stop it, Marnie! There is no man in your plan. Read the fine print. Career, home, baby. That’s it.
He was leaving anyway, and those eyes...
There was more to Ash than met the eye, and she knew it. That was half the problem, she guessed. Maybe she should just ask him outright. Maybe he was married, a total cad! Then all of this angst would be a moot point.
Oh, dear Lord, she thought to herself as she walked back to her friend. You really need to get it together.
One film turned into two, and the two women were having such fun. Daisy was more relaxed, and all baby and sexy colleague/neighbour frustrations were forgotten for the moment. Marnie was putting their plates in the dishwasher when she heard a sharp gasp behind her, followed by an unmistakably loud splash of liquid onto her kitchen tile.
‘Marnie, I think the baby might be coming.’
‘Really?’ Marnie was shocked and excited at the same time. The excited friend had taken over from the seasoned midwife in her, and she’d not even moved.
‘Er...yeah, my waters just broke on your floor.’
The two women looked down at the pool of liquid and back up to each other. After a long second, Marnie sprang into action.
‘Oh, okay. Baby coming! Right!’
Violet chose that moment to let out a lustful cry, and Marnie’s training kicked in. She was going to need some help, and fast. She realised that she had it, right next door. She needed Ash. He picked up on the second ring.
‘Marnie?’
‘Yes, it’s me, I—’
‘Hi, listen, I’m glad you called—’
His voice was soft, and she wondered what he was going to say for half a second before Daisy let out another puff of air and a groan.
‘I need you, Ash. Are you home? My friend’s in labour!’
‘What? Where are you?’
‘At home—can you come?’
The line was silent for a half-second, and then his strong voice came through the line, as clear as a bell, even over the wails of Daisy and Violet.
‘I’ll be right there.’
He bounded through the front door, his kit bag in hand. Marnie, having quickly wiped up the spill on the kitchen floor, was just settling Daisy onto her sofa. She’d just put a new Christmas-themed throw on there. It wouldn’t make it, but maybe her sofa would. She laid some towels down quickly and Ash headed to the kitchen. Marnie could hear him washing his hands in the sink as she settled Daisy as comfortably as possible.
‘Have you rung work, let them know we have incoming?’ Ash asked as he entered the room.
‘I’ll call now.’ Marnie found the contact and fired off a quick call to Carey House. As ever, the staff were ready and willing to help, and by the time Marnie had hung up she knew they were organising transportation to get Daisy and her baby delivered there safely. She saw Ash watching her and turn to their patient the second he’d seen her looking. Marnie knelt down by Daisy at the foot of the couch.
‘Hi, I’m Ash Ellerington.’ He smiled easily at her friend, and Marnie was once again distracted by the smile on the man. When he flashed his pearly whites, she found herself utterly lost and incapable of speech.
Trouble, she reminded herself. Trouble was what this man meant. Chaos in the relative order of her life.
Daisy let out a low growl, which snapped Marnie back into the room.
‘Hi,’ Daisy said through gritted teeth. ‘I would shake your hand, but...’ Another contraction took hold, and they were coming faster. This baby wasn’t going to wait for an ambulance. ‘Argh!’ She breathed through the latest contraction, Marnie timing it with her wristwatch. Once it passed, Daisy puffed out and relaxed against the cushions.
Ash laughed softly. He knelt down by Marnie’s side, his leg jamming up against hers. A half-second later, she saw him jolt from the contact just as she felt it reverberate through her own body. She could feel the heat from his thigh warm her own. She resisted the urge to dry-hump his leg, given the situation, but only just. If there hadn’t been a woman in imminent labour in the room, she had a feeling it would be a different matter. Ash was looking at her, his expression just as shocked as hers.
Is he really feeling this like I am?
Marnie felt as if the pair of them could burst into flames. Just as she was trying to focus back on her patient, he broke her gaze, and it was back to business.
‘Don’t worry, Daisy, is it?’ Marnie nodded at him as she helped Daisy to remove her underclothes. Once Daisy was relatively comfortable, the frown on her face softened a little. She smiled at Marnie, before turning her gaze back to Ash. Marnie recognised her mischievous grin a mile off. Her friend might be in labour, but she still hadn’t missed a trick. She wondered momentarily whether Daisy had seen the sparks between them.
‘Yeah, that’s right. Nice to meet you, Ash.’ She waved her arms around her. ‘Not in these circumstances, obviously.’ She turned to look him up and down fully, and Marnie felt her whole body tense. He passed her a pair of gloves and she avoided looking at him as they both put theirs on. ‘Settling into Carey Cove, okay?’
Daisy’s face changed from curious to uncomfortable again, and Marnie thanked her contraction for being a distraction. She was still timing it when Daisy spoke again. ‘Weird—’ pant of breath ‘—without your—’ pant of breath ‘—mask on? Eee-yah-ah!’
The question turned into more of a steam-kettle noise towards the end, but she knew Ash had understood every word by the blush on his cheeks. Marnie focused on the business end of her friend and chose to ignore the other situation altogether.
‘Daisy, you’re fully dilated already, okay. When you feel the urge to push, push!’
She took her friend’s hand, ignoring the vice-like grip and breathing right along with her, Ash by her side. The two women panted together and in a few short contractions, Ash delivered the baby and placed him right on Daisy’s chest. The little boy let out a lusty cry, and as Ash checked him over Marnie checked Daisy and marvelled at the moment she’d watched her friend become a mother.
‘Oh, Daisy, he’s perfect! Well done. He was fast for a first baby!’ Ash’s smile was so happy.
Daisy, her hair matted with sweat, pushed a lock away from her forehead and, tearful, she kissed the top of her new son’s head.
‘I’m so sorry about your living room!’ She laughed, and Marnie brushed her off. A tear fell down her own cheek as she laughed with her friend.
‘Don’t worry, he’s worth it,’ she retorted. ‘You did good, Daisy. He’s perfect. Ten digits, and ten toes.’
‘Thanks, I’m even more glad I got bored at home this morning now.’
The two women laughed together as Ash dealt with the placenta, giving Daisy an injection to bring it along a little faster and clearing away the debris of the very fast home delivery. He watched the two women laugh together, Marnie’s ruined sofa not even a thought in their heads. He’d witnessed something special today. Something different. It felt more personal. Being here, in Marnie’s home, with her assisting the delivery right next to him.
Birthing babies was always special, but watching Marnie do it, with her friend as the patient, that was something else. His heart was breaking wide open, and that wasn’t a good thing. Even just then, back there, touching her body with his had reminded him of how she made him feel. How he felt when he was around her. He’d never expected to feel anything like that again, but this woman, the feelings he experienced with her...and it was with her, he knew that.
As he left the two women to clean up, and enjoy the moment, he washed up in the kitchen and put the rest of his kit back into the bag he’d brought. All the while thinking of how Marnie’s lips parted whenever she first saw him. As though a breath had caught in her throat, and she needed air back in her lungs. How he felt when he was near—
The horn sounded outside. The transport to Carey House had arrived. Zipping his bag up, he pushed the thoughts away and headed out of the cottage to meet the team outside. Relay the happy news of the birth and all that it entailed. Well, almost all.