Her eyes turned icy, the sort of ice that would melt easily.
I laughed at her, my hands sliding underneath her to cup her ass. “How long are we going to carry on this standoff?”
“Until you give in.” Her grin was victorious.
Her morning sickness seemed to have turned into evening sickness, with an unexpected dash to the bathroom just before we were heading to our separate beds.
I followed behind her, knowing the signs, feeling worried because this was a change and I wouldn't feel secure enough in any changes until we’d had that scan.
I held her hair back while she vomited, sitting behind her so she could feel my body heat because I knew she felt the cold when she was throwing up.
“Fuck,” she cursed. “I thought we were done with that.” She sat back against me, tipping her head back against my shoulder.
“Do you think we can have the scan done sooner?” I pressed my lips to her shoulder and kissed her. “Like tomorrow morning?”
“I don’t think this is a bad sign. Why, are you worried?”
“A little. I’d just rather have some reassurance.”
She nodded. “Let’s phone the cottage hospital in the morning and see what they say. God, I feel out of it now.”
“Let’s get you into bed.”
She brushed her teeth and threw water on her face before attacking it with moisturiser. I hung around, pulling the covers back so she could get straight into bed, which she did, surprised when I got in with her.
“Come here.” I turned on my side and pulled her in towards me, her ass curving into my stomach, my legs entwining with hers.
Iris took my hand and arranged it near her breasts, pushing it under her top. I was happy to leave it there, happy never to move if that was what she wanted.
“Will I wake up to find you gone?” She sounded sleepy already.
“No. I promise that you won’t.” It was a promise I’d have no trouble keeping.
Iris
This morning couldn’t have been any more different from the previous day. I phoned the cottage hospital where I had my scan booked in for another fortnight’s time and asked if there was any chance we could come in this morning, basically explaining that the father of my baby was about to have a conniption because he was clearly worried.
The midwife I spoke to found it funny, mainly because she’d met Gully before – who hadn’t – and she loved his books. I promised her a signed copy of his latest and demanded the car keys off my baby daddy, because he was in no fit state to drive the car.
He’d spent the night not letting me go, which I wasn’t complaining about. It was a long time since I’d been held through the night like that and Gully was an easy person to sleep with; no snoring, no massive movements or talking in his sleep, he was just a hugger.
This morning he’d been quiet, which was unGully-like and while I wasn’t worried about the change in routine from morning to evening sickness, there was no way we were going to have a nice time in York with him moping.
He needed to see our baby. He needed that reassurance. Weirdly, given how worried I’d been before the positive pregnancy test, I wasn’t worried now. I knew I was still pregnant, I knew our baby was growing inside me – I could just tell.
The drive to the little cottage hospital wasn’t a long one, just a few winding roads which Gully said were making him feel nauseous and he wasn’t worried at all.
I wasn’t buying that. He was tapping on the side of the car seat and his leg was jumping like he was playing a drum kit, the least composed I’d ever seen him, including the day of the implantation.
The midwife, Carole, met us at reception, keeping cool in front of Gully until we were in one of the rooms, which was surprisingly light and airy.
“I love your books. I never read any crime fiction until you came to the island and now I’m addicted. What happens to Joe in the next book? Will anything actually happen with him and Charlotte?”
It was the best thing that could’ve happened, because Gully loved talking about his characters and stories, so he was nicely distracted while Carole spread some (very) cold gel on my stomach and switched some screens on.
“Okay, let’s check the heartbeat first.” Her words were completely aside from the dialogue she’d been having with Gully about Joe’s next mystery. “Here we go. Do you hear that?”
I did, a booming sound that filled the room and my heart. I didn’t try to stop the tears or the smile, and neither did Gully. He looked shocked, overwhelmed and I wondered whether he was going to replicate Finn and faint at some point.
