Rebecca stood up and swayed, knocking over her empty champagne glass. Libby jumped up to steady her, but her sister shook her hand away as if it were contaminated, then rushed out of the room.
Libby sank back down at the table. She knew how desperate Rebecca and Tom were for a second child, and how devastating her sister was finding their struggles to conceive again. Libby’s accidental pregnancy must have been a punch in the guts for her, and their mother had made it all one hundred times worse.
With a sigh, Libby picked up her phone. At this very moment, her mum would be calling her dad, telling him the news. Pretty soon she’d start telling her friends, and in no time at all the news would get back to Simon’s family. Libby couldn’t put the call off any longer. She went upstairs, tiptoed past her sister’s closed bedroom door on the way to her room, then sat down on the bed and dialed Simon’s number.
He answered on the second ring. “Libby? Everything okay?”
“Why are you whispering?”
“I’m afraid this isn’t a great time. I’m in the middle of something.”
“Okay, I’ll be quick. But there’s something important I need to tell you.”
“Hold on, then.”
Libby heard the sound of a door opening, followed by a strange, muffled noise. When Simon spoke again, he sounded as if he was in a padded cell. “Okay, what is it?”
“Where are you?”
“In the downstairs toilet.”
Libby pictured the space, a tiny, windowless room that doubled as a cupboard so that when you sat on the loo, you invariably had someone’s coat hanging in your face. For some reason, the idea of Simon hiding in there gave Libby confidence, and she took a deep breath.
“There’s something you need to know...” Come on, rip the plaster off. “I’m pregnant.”
There was no sound from the other end of the line.
“Simon?”
Still nothing.
“Si—”
“Is it mine?”
“What? Yes!”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. I’m fifteen weeks; the baby was conceived back in March.”
More silence, then...
“Fuck.”
Libby could hear the panic in his voice, and she imagined him sitting in that tiny toilet, his head in his hands.
“This has come as a shock to me too,” Libby said. “I had no idea until last week.”
“And you want to...”
“Yes, I want to keep it. You know I’ve always wanted a baby, even if this isn’t quite how I’d planned it.”
“Okay... Christ, this is a lot to take in.”
“I know it is. But look, I want you to know that you’re not under any pressure here. I’m not expecting us to get back together. I’m sure we can find a way to make it work amicably; loads of separated couples do.”
“I can’t believe this is happening today of all days.”
