“Good. You’re strong and healthy now and you don’t take that for granted. I don’t see any related health issues here. You’re doing what you love and you’re where you want to be, only your love line isn’t strong. You have a line that runs parallel to it, which is interesting. There’s someone you want, only you’re not sure you can have her, but you will, one day.” She came up for air, tilting my hand like she’d done with Zoey’s. “Two children and a third if you want. Like your friend’s. That’s interesting, isn’t it?”
She let go of my hand and sat back. “I think we’re done. I think you’ve heard as much as you need to.”
Zoey looked at me and then back at Madam McAllister. “You told me a lot more than him.”
“I told him as much as he needs to know. Anymore and it’d be spoilers, and where’s the fun in that?” Her smile revealed almost perfect teeth. “You’re both blessed and you appreciate that. You have choice and free will, and you’ll be happy. Both of you. Now go and enjoy Dublin like young people should.”
Madam McAllister pulled me back into the room while Zoey left, surprisingly strong for someone who must’ve been almost eighty.
“You have nothing to lose by telling her how you feel, child. It won’t turn out as badly as you think it might.”
And with that, I was pushed outside and the door behind me closed.
“What did she say to you?” Zoey pestered me as we walked outside, the drizzle of Dublin the sort of rain that really wets you.
I shrugged. “Just about career decisions. Ready for the Guinness factory?” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, liking how she leaned into me far too much.
I’d think about Madam McAllister’s advice and maybe one day I’d take it. For now, I’d enjoy the moment.
Zoey
Iwatched Caleb wander through the upstairs of the house, looking at the ceilings and the window frames, opening a couple and peering outside. I’d already been round last week while he’d still been in Antarctica, taking photos to send him and using photoshop to make them up with the furniture I’d already ordered.
I’d spent the days without him in a daze, only half aware of what was going on around me at any one time. Amelie and Roman’s house had been a good refuge, allowing me to escape people for a while and submerse myself in self-care and thinking and writing songs that no one needed but I wanted to write.
Amelie was about, cooking and baking, not rushing back to either of her businesses that were well-established enough to look after themselves really, but she gave me space and I thought how lucky Caleb had been to have her in his life.
“I think this should be the nursery.” He was in one of the smaller of the bedrooms, which was next to the suite that would be ours. “It’s closer, the view’s great over the Strait, and we can sit here with the baby looking out over the sea, so at least we’ve got something nice to look at.” He was deadly serious, just like he had been with everything to do with the baby since he’d gotten back. “When they get older and they’re big enough for their own room they can move into the room at the end of the landing. Next to the family bathroom.”
“What would we do with this room then?” I liked the idea. This room was the right size for a nursery and I’d seen a gorgeous rocking chair that would fit well next to the window.
He shrugged, but there was a shyness about it. “Have another baby?”
I laughed, rubbing my belly. The morning sickness had started and while it wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t exactly pleasant. I’d been to the doctors and they’d confirmed I was definitely pregnant, not that they needed to as the tests were evidence enough. I had no reason to be worried about the pregnancy, just the usual twelve weeks to get through, the consensus was that I was eight weeks pregnant, so the baby would be due in September, an autumn child, like its father.
“Let’s see how this one goes first. But I like the idea of this being the nursery.” We’d completed on the sale yesterday, picking up the keys this morning. Tomorrow I had decorators starting work on freshening up the place as no building work needed doing, apart from on the annex which would be my recording studio. That was starting in two weeks and should take less than another fortnight to complete, so we were up and running.
Caleb wrapped his arms around me from behind and cuddled me to his chest, his hands on my still flat belly. He kissed my neck where it met my shoulder and made me shiver, my body melting into his.
“Four weeks and we’ll be in here. My sofa will finally have its forever home.”
“The most important thing.” I laughed as I said it, the sofa having become a standing joke. It was actually too small for the lounge in the main house, so it was going in part of the annex that would be Caleb’s study for when he was working from home.
“Absolutely. When’s the scan?”
“Four weeks today.” I couldn’t wait to see our baby on screen. To say that I was excited about being pregnant was an understatement. I also couldn’t wait to tell everyone; at the moment, only Fleur, Thane, Amelie and Roman knew, and we were keeping it that way until we got to twelve weeks, then we’d also hopefully get a due date and Caleb could start studying the book he’d bought.
“I’m not sure I can wait that long.” He was excited, more so than I’d expected him to be, given what he’d said about waiting before having babies not so long ago.
“You’ll have to.” I leaned back against him. “It’s nearly nap time.” I was still exhausted. The doctor I’d seen had told me this was normal, to feel tired and to listen to my body. I was lucky, I didn’t have a day job that I had to do, so I could do just that, hence nap time.
“Want some company with your nap?” He whispered in my ear, sounding hopeful.
“Maybe.” I tilted my head so he could kiss me. “I sleep better after an orgasm.”
His chuckle was low and vibrated through me, his hands now on my waist, turning me round so he could kiss me properly. “I say we come back here tomorrow then. We’ve got more important things to do right now.”
We walked back to his parents’ house, the weather mild for the time of year, snowdrops already out in full force and the stalks of daffodils pushing though. We talked about the house, mainly, and then about Josh’s upcoming release, which would be the album we’d co-written. In the next couple of days, I’d be telling Carissa about the baby, making plans for my work schedule, and at some point I’d be letting my mother and sister know, although I didn’t expect them to be interested when they realised it would confirm I wasn’t moving back to London.
