“True. Do you think they’ll be happy?”
“I really do. Shall I text them and set up a video call? They’re at home at the moment.” I swallowed, starting to feel nervous, although there was no reason to be.
Zoey nodded, biting her lip. I wished I was the one biting it.
“You know I love you, don’t you?” I said it without thinking. “And I just wish I was there right now. That’s the hardest thing and I guess that’s not easy for you, either.”
“I wish you were here, but you’ll be home in ten days. It’s not that long.” Her smile came easier, I could tell. “I think we should tell your dad and Amelie. Do you think it’ll be okay if I stay with them tonight?”
“I think they’ll be fine with that. Have you eaten?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t been able to pull myself together enough to cook yet. Flora dyed Seren’s hair red, so she and Thane were trying to conduct the circus, else I would’ve eaten at theirs. I’m not great at being on my own yet.”
“You don’t need to get great at that. I’ve no long trips planned after this anyway, just a couple of nights here and there and you can always come with me.” I exhaled, letting my shoulders relax. “We can work everything out as we go. It’s all going to be alright.”
“You won’t be saying that when you have a tweenage girl, especially if she’s like the twins.”
I grinned. I knew exactly how wild and spirited the girls were, and that Thane and Fleur wouldn’t have it any other way, even if it was their hair that needed the grey dying out of it. “This one might be a boy.”
“They might be.”
Then I saw the smile, the overwhelmed but ecstatic grin coming through.
“You’re really happy about this, aren’t you?” I was grinning too now.
She nodded, crying again. “I am. I can’t explain it – I just feel all warm inside and really protective. I’ve spent the last two hours researching nursery décor and cots. That was in between playing out conversations in my head with you and working out how you were going to take the news.”
“Did I react like you’d planned?”
She nodded. “I had two scenarios – this, where you were completely chill about it, and the other where you were panicked and stressed. I didn’t think the second would happen; I was just worried because you’d said you wanted to wait for kids.”
“You know how good I am about planning things so I think it was always going to happen this way. I’m thrilled, Zoey, really. I just want to get home to you.” I wanted to hold her, make sure she ate, to rush things along with the house so we could get settled.
I breathed, pulling myself together. “Let me text my dad. Then you can get over to their house for now.” As tough as she was with all the touring and making such a success of herself, she had a fragility to her underneath it. Puffin Bay had been her home for so many reasons, and it would especially be now.
“I love you.” She blurted the words. “I’m so lucky to have you.”
“Yeah, well you might not be saying that when you can’t see your toes anymore in a few months.”
She laughed and I knew everything was going to be alright.
My dad hadn’t asked any questions when I said we needed to jump on a video call with him and Zoey, although afterwards he told me he’d known what I was going to say although he didn’t know why. Amelie had always been a bit new age, so maybe some of her psychic sense had rubbed off on him – another thing to wind him up about.
I saw the Strait in the background of my dad’s screen when he came online. He and Amelie were at the bottom of their garden, just near the jetty. The night was clear and they had mugs of tea with them, big coats on.
“How come you’re not inside?” I knew it was still chilly, not exactly the same as it was in Antarctica, but cold all the same.
My dad grinned. “We’ve been bird watching.”
I shook my head. “I don’t believe you. Seriously. Why are you outside when it’s probably cold enough to freeze your balls off.”
“I wouldn’t let him freeze his balls off, Caleb, I like them too much.” Amelie patted the side of my dad’s face. He moved away and glared at her. She laughed, clearly enjoying herself. “That’s two of you freaked out in one sentence.”
“Please stop. Anyway, Zoey and I have some really new news. Zo?” I took a big breath of air and held it.
Zoey’s voice quivered as she spoke. “I’m pregnant. I found out today and told Caleb about half an hour ago.”
Unsurprisingly for anyone that knew her, it was Amelie who spoke first, as soon as Zoey had finished the announcement, leaving no pause for any shock or any space for not knowing what to say.
