Colette’s eyes opened blearily and she forced herself up from where she lay against the side of the bath.
She’d drifted off at some point after her tears had drained her.
There was silence on the other side of the door and she wondered what time it was.
Ed was more than likely at work now. Had he called the office to let them know she wasn’t going to be in this morning or that she would be late?
She got to her feet and unlocked the door. In the bedroom the curtains were still drawn. She walked to where she’d left her phone beside the bed and checked the time. It was just after ten o’clock.
She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed as she flopped down onto the bed. She’d made such a scene. She was going to have to apologize to Ed.
Quickly slipping out of her nightgown, Colette headed back to the bathroom to shower. As she stood under the warm jets of water, her hand slid over her flat stomach and she imagined what it would be like to smooth her hand over one with life inside it. How it would feel to have a child moving around, the feeling of little kicks against her hand. She wanted that so much.
She turned off the water, determined to put it out of her mind.
She dressed in jeans and a light cashmere knit, and the gurgling of her stomach reminded her it was long past breakfast time. Going downstairs, she heard Ed’s voice still in the house. What was he doing still home? He should be at the office by now. She moved toward the sound and stopped in the doorway of the kitchen.
“I should have more information soon,” he was saying. “No, I think that should be enough for now. But let me know of any further developments.”
Another business deal, Colette mused, as she stepped inside the room.
Ed noticed her immediately and moved to end the call. “Great, thanks, just make sure to keep me up to date.”
“What are you still doing home?” she asked.
“I took the day off.” He smiled.
Her shock was obvious. Ed never took days off for no reason; he rarely even called in sick.
“What do you mean you took the day off?”
“I thought my wife needed me more today than my clients. So I told them I’d be available for calls but wasn’t going to be in the office.” He set his phone down on the kitchen island and walked toward her slowly. “Unless it’s an emergency, I’m all yours.”
Colette couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” he replied. “I already called into work for you, too, and told them you won’t be in, so you don’t have to worry.”
Ed’s approach as he moved toward her was hesitant but Colette wasn’t upset anymore. She wasn’t going to keep going with the discussion. What was the point? It wasn’t as if their arguing about it was going to make any difference. The tests were still negative.
He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry, my love. About everything.”
Colette hugged him back. “I’m sorry, too,” she said, a little taken aback by the hollowness in her voice and the numbness she felt as she spoke. The longer she was disappointed and the more absent Ed was, the more alone and empty she felt. She’d hoped a baby would end the feeling, but even that was being denied to her.
“So we’re going out for the day,” he announced chirpily. “All you have to do is put on some comfortable shoes and we’re off.”
“Where are we going?” she asked. She didn’t understand this. This wasn’t the Ed she knew. Her husband didn’t just take her out on spur-of-the-moment day trips.
“Don’t worry about where. Trust me,” he said with a smile. “Today, it’s all about us, Colette. Just you and me.”
Curiosity got the better of hunger, so she did as Ed asked, got a pair of ballet flats and her handbag, and followed him outside.
His driver was waiting with the car already running when she stepped out onto the street and then her husband followed with a picnic basket in hand.
“Did you pack that?” she asked. If he had then she’d fallen asleep in the bathroom for far longer than she’d thought.
“No,” he laughed. “I had something delivered. I’m sure you’ll like it, though.”
The drive to wherever he wanted to go was a long one. Traffic was especially bad from Belgravia and it took them over half an hour to really get moving.
As they drove along the Mall, Colette glanced up at the Queen Victoria Memorial standing prominently in marble, the golden angels with wings and hands raised to the heavens.
The queen had nine children. The thought ran unbidden through her mind. She shook it away, needing to move away from that mind-set.
That was what today was all about, apparently.