‘Hi!’ she greeted, instantly seeming to catch herself. ‘How are you? Billie OK? How’s Louisa? Will we be seeing them at the parent and baby group soon?’
‘I’m sure you will when she’s caught up on her sleep a bit,’ Zoe said. ‘But they’re fine, thanks for asking. How’s Chloe doing? How’s Mackenzie coping with life as a big brother?’
‘Oh, he loves it! Can’t leave the baby alone – Chloe says it’s doing her head in, of course. Ollie’s taken to fatherhood like a duck to water too. It’s hard to tell with Chloe because she doesn’t give much away, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so happy. It’s about time she had a slice of luck, though.’
‘I’m really glad to hear it.’ Zoe collected her groceries and headed for the door. ‘I might see you soon at the group then.’
‘Absolutely, just let me know when Billie’s ready to start. By the way, I’m going to be taking my first kids as a childminder any day, just waiting for some final paperwork, so if you know anyone who’s looking for someone, I’d appreciate you sending them my way.’
‘That’s great!’ Zoe said. ‘I will.’
She left the shop, deep in thought. Something was going on with Stacey. Was that another thing Ottilie could shed some light on? It was about time Zoe paid her a visit.
Ottilie answered the door with Anthony slung over a shoulder as she gently patted his back. Zoe gave a broad smile as she stepped in. It was good to see how quickly Ottilie had taken to motherhood – the way she handled her baby now was with the confidence of someone who’d done it before. Perhaps it was her nursing background that made the difference, but as the midwife who was due to sign her off, as well as her friend, Zoe couldn’t be happier.
‘Look at you! Mama of the year!’
‘I don’t know about that,’ Ottilie said. ‘He’s been crying for the last fifteen minutes – it’s lucky you weren’t here then; you’d have thought I was torturing him.’
‘Well, he looks content enough now, so you must have done something right.’
Zoe followed Ottilie into the living room. She had to admit that although Ottilie seemed calm, the room suggested there had been some recent drama. The changing table was littered with nappies spilling from a bag, wipes, nappy cream with the lid missing from the tube and a little bag containing what was doubtless a used nappy Ottilie hadn’t yet been able to deal with. There was an assortment of rattles and other coloured toys on a play mat on the floor, and Zoe wondered if Ottilie hadbeen trying to distract Anthony from whatever was ailing him, presuming she’d crossed all the most obvious things from her list and was at a loss.
‘I think he was overtired, in the end,’ Ottilie said, following Zoe’s gaze around the room. ‘Or maybe he had wind. I suppose I might have been overstimulating him, trying to stop him from crying when all he needed was a quiet room and a bit of a grump to make him fall asleep. God knows. I’ve read just about every baby manual there is, and plenty of stuff online, but I’m still none the wiser.’
‘Sometimeshelponline only makes things worse. The trouble with online is everyone’s allowed to be an expert now, and there’s no way to tell who actually knows what they’re talking about and who’s spouting absolute garbage. Sometimes you’re better off trusting your instincts.’ Zoe nodded at Anthony, who was now sleeping against Ottilie’s shoulder. ‘Looks like they steered you right in the end.’
‘I think he was just so exhausted from crying all he could do was fall asleep. Trying to be a good mum to him is just about the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.’
‘Most of my first-time mums say that, and most of the time I think they’re doing fine. Besides, you know where I am any time you need to ask about something.’
‘Yes, I know, but you’ve got plenty of your own going on, and I didn’t like to disturb you.’ Ottilie sat down and invited Zoe to do the same. ‘Flo’s not here, by the way. Just in case you were wondering. Because I know she’s here a lot! Heath’s not here either. Zo…I heard about your dad moving in to Kestrel Cottage. I imagine you’ve had mixed feelings about it – why didn’t you tell me?’
‘There was nothing to tell, really. He liked the village, and he and Chantal thought it would be a good place to bring up their baby.’
Ottilie gave her brows a cynical raise. ‘That’s it? After all the drama between him and your mum, and your mixed feelings about Chantal? Come on – it’s me. The other thing is—’ Ottilie broke off, looking as if she’d suddenly realised what she’d been about to say wasn’t a good idea.
It was Zoe’s turn to raise her eyebrows. ‘I know that look. Come on – like you said, we go way too far back to keep things from one another. What is it you don’t think you ought to tell me?’
‘It’s not so much that I don’t think I should tell you; it’s that I don’t know how.’
‘Well, now you have to tell me, don’t you?’
Ottilie paused and then let out a long sigh. ‘The brother…’
Zoe blinked. ‘You mean Chantal’s brother?’
Ottilie nodded.
‘Go on…’
‘He cornered Stacey in the pub a couple of nights ago. Came on heavy, really didn’t want to take no for an answer. And it wasn’t the romantic kind of hassle; it was like…well, Stacey got the impression he was after a one-night stand and he didn’t really care who it was with.’
‘Stacey’s very attractive,’ Zoe said.
‘That’s obvious, but as she put it, she’s been around the block enough to know when someone is interested in her because they think she’s attractive and when it’s purely about sex.’
‘Where was Simon? He wasn’t at the pub with her, I take it?’
