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She was aware of a warm pressure through her padded coat and looked down to see Storm resting her head on Frankie’s thigh.
Frankie would create a distance from Jay that would be permanent this time. No nostalgia. No melancholy. No holding on to a teenage dream that she and Jay would be together.
It would have been easier to avoid everyone concerned had it not been two days before Christmas when there was a load of family time planned.
Including the birth of their baby.
CHAPTER 48
ROCCO
For a quickly thrown together baby shower, Rocco was pretty pleased with the outcome. When his mum had called him just a few days earlier with the idea, Rocco had immediately insisted it be at his house, mainly because Valentina wouldn’t have to travel anywhere but also to finally have his party house live up to its name.
Frankie and his mum had pulled together the guest list and contacted people while Rocco bought up most of the pink and blue balloons in the vicinity. Chris at the trattoria had produced the most beautiful cake with pink and blue sponge layers, decorated with a lemon buttercream icing and delicate mini pink and blue meringues.
Rocco, Frankie and his mum had worked fast, as well as silently, to get everything set up while Valentina took an afternoon nap.
Luckily most of those invited could manage, despite the short notice, and they all assembled quietly outside the front door of Rocco’s house where he ushered them all in, just after five.
And then he saw her, near the back of the crowd: Alison.
Of course. Because she and Valentina had become friends, he should have realised she’d be invited.
Because there was the need for silence, Rocco didn’t have any opportunity to say anything to her, but she gave him a little half smile as she passed on her way through to the living area.
When everyone was in place, with a lot of unnecessary hushing, Rocco was given his cue and he ran up the stairs to Valentina’s room.
‘Teens! Want some food?’ he called out with a quick knock.
A moment later, Valentina opened her bedroom door. She normally appeared from her nap in pyjamas and slippers with her hair resembling a bird’s nest. But now she was wearing a dress, make-up and had her hair swept up in a bun. She’d even sprayed on perfume.
‘What?’ she said when seeing Rocco’s face. ‘I’m pregnant, not stupid. Did you honestly think I didn’t hear you lot downstairs? Or see the balloons you’d hidden in the utility room?’ She patted Rocco’s chest. ‘Come on then, bro, lead the way.’
Despite working out the party was afoot, Valentina still burst into tears when she saw the massive balloon arch and her friends and family standing behind the dining table, which was piled high with food.
‘Surprise!’ everyone shouted, rather redundantly.
‘Oh God, I love you guys,’ Valentina said, wiping her eyes and accepting a glass of non-alcoholic Prosecco.
* * *
It was the weirdest party Rocco had ever been to.
When his mum had designated herself as “games organiser”, Rocco had assumed the entertainment would lie somewhere between kiddies’ musical chairs and stopping short at a stripper and downing shots, but he’d not expected a baby-food tasting, a blindfolded nappy change challenge and a game where teams had to blow up balloons, stick them up their tops then bump into each other to make them pop. There was even a double-sided sheet of A4 paper doing the rounds where everyone had to guess the party guest from their baby picture.
It was also the most emotional party Rocco had ever been to. Valentina cried after opening up every present and sobbed uncontrollably when she’d cut the cake to reveal the layers of pink and blue sponges.
Rocco’s dad and uncle had long ago shuffled over to the buffet table where they were topping up their paper cups with a purloined bottle of whisky from Rocco’s drinks cabinet.
But despite the heightened emotions, Valentina was clearly having a brilliant time, throwing herself into the challenges and revelling in being the centre of attention.
Rocco’s mum stood up. ‘Okay, we’ve got our last game. It’s called what’s on your phone!’
Everyone got their mobile phones out as Valentina wailed, ‘I can’t play! I’ve lost my phone. I’ll have put it somewhere stupid because of baby brain.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got it. You left it at Nonno’s last night.’ Frankie passed it to her.
Rocco’s mum ran through the bizarre rules where you awarded yourself points for certain apps, photos of the mum-to-be and having more than ninety per cent battery life.
