In January, Amy had done all she could to take it easy and so far the baby was five days late. If she could just hang on for another week, she might get away with it, but that now seemed unlikely.
‘Hello, love,’ her mother said as she came in through the back door. ‘You’ve got your feet up I see.’
‘Yes, my ankles keep swelling.’
‘What did the midwife say this morning?’
‘Oh, nothing much, just that everything is fine,’ Amy said offhandedly. In truth, the midwife said she was sure the baby’s head was in position, which meant the birth was probably imminent.
‘You look tired.’
‘I am, and I think I’ll have a little nap.’
‘All right, I’ll leave you in peace.’
Amy managed a smile and then her mother was gone, leaving her to feel sick at the lies she was forced to tell. Only half an hour later, the pains started, small twinges at first that didn’t last long, but as they increased, Amy knew she was in labour. She cupped her tummy in despair. How was she going to explain that the baby, who wasn’t supposed to be born until February, was about to be born now?
It was then that Amy was struck by an idea, and though she hated what she was going to do, it was the only thing she could think of. She stood up and moved to the bottom of the stairs, where after lying on the floor she forced herself to scream, and she kept screaming and shouting until her mother appeared.
‘That was Amy’s mother,’ Tom said frantically as he replaced the receiver. ‘Amy’s had a fall and she might have gone into labour. I’ve got to go! I’ve got to get to the hospital!’
‘You’re in no fit state to drive,’ Jeremy said. ‘Come on, I’ll take you.’
‘Yes, yes, all right,’ Tommy agreed, running from the office.
As they raced through the unit, Jeremy called, ‘Len, we’ve got a bit of an emergency. You’ll have to hold the fort and if we’re not back, lock up.’
Tom seemed oblivious to everything as he ran to the car, and soon they were speeding off. ‘Where have they taken Amy?’ Jeremy asked.
‘To St Thomas’, and get a move on!’
‘I’m going as fast as I can,’ Jeremy said, screeching around a corner, as anxious as Tom to get to the hospital.
‘Yes, sorry,’ Tom said. ‘It’s just that I’m nearly going out of my mind! Oh, God, I hope Amy’s all right.’
At last they arrived, and after parking up Jeremy found he was once again racing after Tom. Inside at the desk they were given directions, and found when they followed them that Amy’s mother was pacing in the corridor.
‘Phyllis, how is she? Where is she?’ Tom asked anxiously.
‘She’s in there, but we can’t go in. The doctors are with her and …’
Tom didn’t wait for Phyllis to finish the sentence as he pushed open the door she had indicated and went inside, while Jeremy asked Phyllis, ‘What happened? Tom only said something about Amy having a fall.’
Phyllis sat down on a chair and Jeremy perched next to her as she said, ‘I … I hadn’t long been with her and she was going to have a nap when I went home, but then about an hour later I heard this awful scream. I dashed back to Amy’s and found her on the floor. She … she had fallen down the stairs.’
Phyllis was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks, and Jeremy had just placed a comforting arm around her when Tom came out of the room with a sheepish look on his face. ‘I got chased out,’ he said.
They both jumped to their feet, Phyllis asking, ‘How is she?’
‘They’re making sure that Amy hasn’t sustained any injuries from the fall, but the doctor said so far everything looks fine.’
‘And the baby! What about the baby?’ Jeremy asked.
‘There don’t seem to be any problems. They’re going to closely monitor the birth, and once they’ve finished examining Amy, I can go back in.’
This proved to be true when shortly afterwards the doctor came out and echoed what Tom had told them, along with saying that Amy was in the early stages of labour.
‘What does that mean?’ Tom asked Phyllis when the doctor walked away.
‘It means it could be hours and hours before the baby is born.’
‘So we could be here for a long time,’ Jeremy said.
Tom shook his head. ‘There’s no need for you to stay, Jeremy. I’ll ring you and Mum, when there’s any news.’
‘All right,’ Jeremy reluctantly agreed, though inside his guts were churning. He should be there. Amy was going to have his baby, yet Tom would be named as the father.
Amy was glad to have her mum there, but it was mostly Tom who sat by her side. As the hours passed, the pain increased to an intensity that had her yelling out, begging for it to stop. The doctor and nurses came in on regular occasions, listened to the baby’s heartbeat and examined her, but they had just left when Amy felt something change. ‘Tommy, quick, I think the baby’s coming! Go and get the doctor!’
He dashed outside, soon returning, and as Amy felt another urge to push the nurse said, ‘Mr Frost, you’ll have to wait outside.’
‘But I don’t want to leave her.’
‘Tommy, just go!’ Amy cried, straining through clenched teeth.
Tommy reluctantly left, and Amy gave in to the urge that was impossible to ignore. The doctor’s instructions came through a haze of pain as she pushed, and then again, grunting, yelling, until at last, with one final push, her baby was born.
Amy heard small cries, and then the doctor said, ‘Well done. You have a baby boy.’
Amy sank back, her body and hair wet with perspiration, but shortly after that her baby was placed into her arms. She took one look at him, and all her fears dissipated as her heart swelled with love.
All too soon, the nurse said, ‘I’ll just clean you up a bit and then your husband can come in.’
The baby was taken from her, but it wasn’t too long before he was back in her arms and Tommy was walking into the room. He moved to the side of the bed, gazing at the baby, and Amy saw tears of emotion form in his eyes. ‘My son,’ he choked.
Amy fought tears too; tears of guilt, but as she held the baby up for Tommy to hold, she could see the love in his eyes – love for both of them.
Tommy looked so happy, so overwhelmed with joy as he looked down at the baby, and Amy knew she’d rather live with the agony of her lies than take that away from him.