‘I guess we all wore it.’ Aoife shrugged, dropping it back in the box.
‘Look at this.’ Mimi pulled out another sleepsuit. ‘It’s so tiny! It’s hard to imagine any human ever being this small.’
A lump came to Sive’s throat as her fingers rooted through layers of tiny cardigans, dresses and jumpers.
‘Oh, there are even shoes!’ Mimi squealed with glee as she dove her hand into the box and pulled out a tiny pair of bootees. ‘I can’t believe Mum kept all this stuff.’
‘I suppose she was planning to hand them down to us for our children,’ Aoife said.
‘Lucky we came up here or we’d never have known. Not that any of us are going to need this stuff for quite a while!’ Mimi tossed the shoes back into the box.
‘I am,’ Sive said, but so low that neither of her sisters heard.
‘Will we leave the rest of this for another time?’ Aoife said.
‘Yes, lets,’ Mimi said. ‘I think we’ve done enough for one day.’
‘All we did was find granny’s wedding dress,’ Aoife said, a smile in her voice.
‘Well, that was the reason we came up here, so mission accomplished. Sive?’ Mimi looked at her and frowned.
Sive felt both her sister’s eyes on her and tried to blink away the tears that stung her eyes.
‘Are you okay?’ Aoife frowned, moving towards her.
‘No!’ Sive wailed, covering her face with her hands as she lost the battle and tears streamed down her face. ‘I’m pregnant!’
‘What?’
‘You’re …what?’ Mimi sputtered.
When Sive took her hands away, her sisters were sitting on the floor either side of her, fixing her with wide-eyed stares.
‘Oh my god!’ Mimi gasped, clamping a hand to her mouth. ‘You can’t be pregnant!’
‘Well, I am,’ Sive said in the brightest tone she could muster as Aoife slid an arm around her. She didn’t want them worrying about her. ‘I’m having a baby,’ she added, choosing her phrasing carefully to make it clear she’d decided what to do about it.
‘Are you sure?’ Mimi asked.
Sive nodded. ‘I did a test yesterday.’
‘Just one? Can’t they be wrong?’
‘Almost never for positive results, apparently,’ Sive said, having researched this thoroughly. ‘Anyway, I was already pretty sure.’
‘Wow!’
‘I presume it’s Ben’s,’ Aoife said dully.
‘Yes, it’s Ben’s.’
‘Are you definite about that?’ Mimi asked. ‘There’s no chance … I mean, you and Sam…’
Sive shook her head. She almost laughed at how hopeful Mimi sounded, as if she’d rather it were Sam’s. ‘There’s absolutely no chance it’s Sam’s,’ she said with a laugh. ‘That would take some kind of miracle.’
‘But how did this even happen?’
Mimi rolled her eyes at Aoife. ‘Seriously? Do we have to go over the birds and bees talk with you again?’
