Rosie’s smile dimmed. “Every time I think about where you were living, I get upset, and I never even saw the place. I’m glad Mum and Dad brought you back here. I know losing your job was the last thing you needed, but at least it means there’s no excuse for not staying here with me now, at least for the time being.”
“If your parents weren’t there this morning when I turned up at work and found out my job was gone, I think I might have come apart at the seams.”
Rosie gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You’ve got us to help you now. That’s what matters. We’ll help you figure it all out. In the meantime, let’s eat. I’m famished.”
Courtney served the meal while Rosie poured soft drinks. They tucked into the pasta for a few minutes while Rosie chatted about her day at work and Courtney mentioned the sunny walk she’d enjoyed to the park. When Rosie had half-emptied her plate, she gave Courtney a serious look.
“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Rosie said. “I know that with all that’s been going on in your life over the past few months, you still have so many things to sort out before the baby comes. And so, I’d like to help you.”
Courtney paused with a forkful of pasta halfway to her mouth. “Youarehelping me, Rosie. You’re letting me stay here. You’ve no idea what that means to me.”
“I’m talking about helping you with things you have to buy for the baby. I’ve been thinking about something you mentioned when we first met on Friday. You said you’d been saving up forthe baby coming, but when your mum passed away, most of your savings went to pay for her funeral. Since then, it doesn’t sound like you’ve had any opportunity to stash away much spare cash. So, I’d like to help.”
Courtney was already shaking her head. “That’s incredibly kind of you to offer, but I won’t let you do that. You’ve already gone above and beyond for me, Rosie.”
“Do you have a pram for the baby?” Rosie asked, her tone kind but firm. “Do you have a little cot for her to sleep in? A changing mat and supply of nappies? Enough baby clothes?”
Courtney flushed with shame. “No, it’s true that I don’t have everything I’ll need, not yet. I have some little baby onesies, but there wasn’t enough space in the bedsit room to store new purchases, and I hoped the housing officer would find somewhere new for me to stay and then I could buy the rest of the essentials I’ll need once I had enough spare cash on hand. But my due date is still six weeks away and there’s enough time to sort it all out.”
“And I want to help you sort it out,” Rosie insisted. “All that stuff costs a fortune, Courtney. And even if you only buy the basics, it’s still going to run into several hundred quid, I reckon. So, I’d like to give you some cash to help out.”
“No, I…”
“I’m giving you some cash and that’s all there is to it,” Rosie interrupted. “Look, I’ll let you into a little secret. Do you remember that bloke who was here at the party on Friday, Leo Pierce?”
Courtney nodded, remembering seeing Rosie with the guy not long after they’d arrived together at the birthday party. Rosie had later explained Leo was her ex-boyfriend, but hadn’t said much more about him.
“Well, last year, I loaned a chunk of money to Leo and, because of one thing and another, I thought I’d never see apenny of it ever again. Imagine my surprise when Leo not only turned up at the party on Friday but also paid back the loan. I didn’t expect to get that money back, and although I plan on using some of it to pay a few bills and put some of it towards a training course I’d like to take, I want to give some of that cash to you, too. My guess is you can buy a lot of nappies with five hundred quid in your purse.”
Courtney gasped and dropped her fork into the pasta bowl with a clatter. “Five hundred quid?Are you crazy?”
Rosie laughed. “I’d only be putting the spare money back into my savings account otherwise, and I’d feel better if I knew it was actually being put to some use.”
“I can’t… it’s too much! Far too much!”
“Look at it this way, Courtney. If we’d always known we were cousins, I would’ve taken you for a blazing night out when you turned eighteen, and when you turned twenty-one, too, probably. We’d probably have done tonnes of other stuff too that would’ve cost money, one way or another. I missed out on all that. We both did. But I don’t have to miss out on helping you right now, when you really need it. I’m sure my mum and dad are planning on giving you some cash to see you through, and I want to do the same. We’re not rolling in money in this family, but we’ve got enough going spare to help one of our own.”
Courtney was speechless. It took a long moment for her to find a response. “You can’t give mefive hundred pounds, Rosie.”
“I can and I will. If it makes you feel better, you can pay some of it back once you’re on your feet again. But for now, why not just say you’ll accept the money and start thinking about all the gorgeous little baby things you can now buy, and which I can coo over and get all broody about?”
Courtney laughed, seeing the fun and light in her cousin’s eyes. “Okay, I’ll accept the money as aloan. I’ll pay you back every penny.”
Rosie only gave an easy shrug and started eating her pasta again. “What shall we buy first? A new pram? A pretty changing mat and table? What about one of those sweet little mobiles that goes above the baby’s cot? Ooh, let’s go online once we’ve finished dinner and pick out gorgeous little baby clothes and lots of other cute stuff!”
Despite the misfortunes that had led her to meet the Austin family in the first place, Courtney felt lucky, so incrediblylucky, to know them now. The love she already felt in their presence was nothing short of completely overwhelming.
And as for their generosity… it was miraculous.
Rosie must have realised how her gesture left Courtney undone, because alarm now replaced her excited grin. “Oh no! Don’t start crying! I didn’t mean to upset you!”
“I’m not upset, I’m just…” Courtney dabbed at her eyes. “You’re messing with a crazy pregnant woman’s hormones in a dangerous way when you do something as kind as this. Rosie, I don’t even have the words…”
“That’s enough of your blubbering,” Rosie said good-naturedly. “Come on, pull yourself together and finish your dinner, and then we can start browsing for baby stuff we’d like to buy.”
With a laugh and a sob, Courtney mopped up her tears, yet again, and told herself to stop falling apart all the time. She was digging into the last of her meal when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Rosie said, already jumping to her feet. “You stay here and finish your pasta.”
