“You have six months. And then you need to be ready to teach Beanie about how to get along with others. She’ll pick up on your vibes.” Keren consciously moved his hand to her stomach.
“That’s the first time you’ve said ‘she’ or ‘he’. Do you think it’s a girl?” His eyes were soft now, large pools of brown that she’d spend secret minutes thinking about.
“I don’t know. That just came out.”
“I’m sorry. About Jake.”
“And now he’s mad at you.”
“We’ll get over it.”
She looked at the raven as it flew away, probably to go back to its raven pals and tell them all about the soap opera it had just watched.
“I hope you have the chance.”
20
The room smelled of coffee, not that Keren was drinking any of it. Her once flat stomach was now home to a growing, prominent work of baby who was cooking nicely and exactly as it should.
She had another four months to go before they’d meet the newest Maynard and time seemed to be going a little too quickly, slipping away faster than coins in a penny arcade. She was still living at Scott’s, although today had been the day when the insurance pay out for her little terraced house had come through. So it was time to move. Time to think about where would be the best place for a baby and her.
And Scott.
Her thoughts swerved towards him even though she should be concentrating on the interview she and Gordon, her part-time partner at the dental surgery, were currently conducting. She and Scott were still bickering; that hadn’t ceased. But it was playful and then afterwards there was always the making up with the nights and mornings when he’d be inside her, fucking her senseless or making love to her so tenderly she forgot they were two separate people as she lost herself in them.
“Is there anything else I can tell you?” The man they were interviewing asked. She’d completely missed his last answer.
“I think we’ve gotten what we need. Is there anything you’d like to ask us about the position?” Gordon, thankfully, had been listening.
“A couple of things: the position is for twelve months, with the possibility of it becoming permanent. Is there a salary raise at the end of that period?”
It wouldn’t matter if there was; Keren didn’t like the man. She hadn’t liked any of them so far. It was going to be hard enough to not work like she was used to, and to hand her clients over to someone she wasn’t sure of herself was not an option.
“It’s negotiable. It will depend on feedback from the patients and how well the successful candidate settles in.” Which was half true. They were ideally looking for someone to buy out Gordon as partner and work full time when Keren came back, giving them the chance to expand the practice and Gordon the opportunity to retire when he wanted. This person wasn’t the one for that role.
“Perfect. I can start in a month, if that helps you make a decision.” He stood up, offering his hand.
Keren mirrored his action, managing to find a smile from somewhere, although she was now thinking about the cottage cheese and crackers that were in their small kitchen.
“Thank you for coming. We’ll be in touch in a couple of days.” Gordon started to walk him to the door, giving Keren a nod to stay where she was. “We have another candidate to see and then we’ll start to make a decision.”
She sat back down, puzzled over Gordon’s reference to the other candidate. As far as she knew, strange odd guy had been their last one, the last of a bad bunch.
“We have someone else to see?” She blamed pregnancy for getting rid of her filters, no longer having the patience to add a gloss of politeness when it was someone she knew well.
“One more. I would’ve scheduled them for an earlier interview, but they couldn’t get here until now.” Gordon pushed his glass back up his nose and gave her a smile that warmed the room.
There was a knock and the door opened. A small, curvy figure stood there, all wild hair and coffee coloured skin that was as clear and beautiful as it had been when they were eighteen and headed to university together.
“Layla!” Keren shrieked and was vaguely aware of Gordon holding his hands over his ears. “Holy fuck! Layla!”
Layla Andrews, top student in Keren’s university class, looked just the same as she had nine years ago when she’d left straight after graduation to go to work in California, where her brother was also a dentist.
“Keren. And bump! I can’t believe it’s been so long. Where did time go?” Layla glided into the room and threw her arms round Keren. “And this.” She pointed to the neat bump. “This is amazing. Can I touch?”
Keren nodded. She hadn’t quite got used to the amount of people, always women thankfully, who wanted to feel the bump. She didn’t mind, as long as they asked first.
“Scott Maynard. I never would’ve guessed. You used to go on about how much he irritated you. I did wonder if it was a little of you protesting too much.”
