Sleepwalk (38 page)

‘Wash your mouth out
Vernon
! They
can
hear you know………. everything we say!’

‘Going soft in your old age.’ Said
Vernon

‘Go to hell Bassett.’ ……….
Bassett? Where did he get that nickname?
Oh yes, she remembered now. His Mother used to make him wear brightly coloured striped tank tops and he reminded everyone at school of a liquorice allsort.
Now
………
where had she seen that face before?
Not
Vernon
’s of course…….. the stranger on the river path………. he seemed somehow familiar. As she neared the Landrover a silver car was just pulling away over the viaduct. She pulled herself up onto the sill of the Landrover and strained to see through the rails of the bridge hoping to catch a glimpse of the registration number but the car had accelerated too quickly and was now just a silver blur in the distance.

‘Come on Bits. That’s enough for today. Let’s go home.’

The little dog scampered up the bank and leaped up onto the passenger seat of the cab, panting hard.

‘Ee..uew! We must do something about your doggie breath Bits. A little trip to the canine dental hygienist wouldn’t go amiss methinks………….’

Oliver only attended school in the mornings until September when he would be full time. Felicity had been collecting him from school every day for the past few months since she had taken her maternity leave from work but now that she was so close to her due date David’s Mother had taken over this role. On Wednesday morning Felicity was feeling good. She had done two machine loads of washing, had hoovered and polished right through the house and was in the back garden hanging the washing on the line when she heard the phone ringing and rushed in to answer it.

‘Ah Felicity dear. How are you feeling this morning?’

‘Fine thank you Sonya; in fact I’m feeling as fit as a fiddle. There’s really no need for you to come over today. I feel really quite active so it’s not going to happen for a few days yet I think.’

‘Do you really? That’s good. Do you think you would be able to pick Oliver up for me at lunch time? Only I have a slight predicament. Charles has forgotten to take some rather important paperwork with him today so I have to go in to the city and take this file to his office, then I have an appointment at the opticians which I’d quite forgotten about amidst all of the confusion with the baby due and what with looking after you and everything. Now do you think you could manage it?’

Looking after me! All she does is busybody her way around the house moving things around and interfering with their happy homestead
…….

‘Of course Sonya I’ll be fine, really. I’m feeling quite athletic today. I could run a marathon in fact! You go on and do what you have to and I’ll collect Oliver today.’

‘If you’re sure.’

‘Absolutely.’

‘All right. Well I’ll see you on Friday then and Felicity?’

‘Yes?’

‘Please don’t run any marathons in your condition.’

‘No. Just a figure of speech.’

At
twelve thirty
Felicity was at East Barton prep school waiting at the gates for Oliver.

‘Goodness Flick look at you! Must be any day now!’

She turned to see Helen Stoodley, Tommy’s Mother, sporting a posh blue buggy; one of the new fold away ones that had a reclining seat so it could be adapted for babies and toddlers of all ages. It was the kind Felicity had wanted but David’s Mother had already brought them a new pram which could easily be converted into a carry cot and a rocking cradle. It was better for the baby’s comfort and safety she’d said. What she’d omitted to tell them was that it was incredibly heavy and you needed a mini-bus to transport it because it took up so much room. Felicity peered into the buggy, lifting back the little pink blanket to croon over Helens new baby who was sleeping peacefully.

‘Helen she’s beautiful. What did you call her?’

‘Adrienne.’

‘That’s a pretty name.’

‘Have you picked a name yet?’

‘Tammy if it’s a girl; we’re a bit undecided if it’s a boy.’

The school door opened then and Miss Turner appeared, her eyes squinting in the sun as she checked for parents.

‘Joshua, your Mummy’s here so you can go; and you Heidi…….. and Katie Green……. David Jenkins and Katie Goddard. The rest of you wait there just a minute please.’

The first few children ran to their Mothers showing off their drawings and cardboard models.

‘Oh great….’ Sighed Helen, ‘….more junk to display on the sideboard.’

Felicity laughed.

‘Thomas Stoodley your Mummy’s here……. And Jane, and Oliver; you can go too.’

Miss Turner was saying.

Oliver appeared with the biggest toilet roll holder and egg box adaptation of a dinosaur Felicity had ever seen.

‘Look Mummy I made a dinosaur!’ he shouted excitedly.

‘Wow Ollie! That’s great! Well done!’

Helen looked at Felicity and they both laughed.

‘I’ll walk along with you Flick.’

They walked the twenty minutes it took to get to
Chestnut Drive
where Helen lived and by that time Thomas had invited Oliver to tea and Oliver had accepted. Helen insisted it was okay and she would drop him home later when Ian got home from work. Felicity set off at a good pace home as she was in dire need of the bathroom but she hadn’t got far when the first pain hit her. It was strong, and lasted for what seemed like a couple of minutes. She had to stop and lean against a garden wall until it passed.
Oh my God that really hurt
……. She composed herself and continued on her way but as she turned the corner into
Rose Lane
a second pain struck her. It was stronger than the first and again she had to stop and reach for the railings of the garden she was passing, where she almost cried out; the pain was so bad. As soon as it passed she walked more quickly, her heart racing and then as she reached the gate she heard a car behind her. She hoped it was David but of course it was too early. It was a red car, and not one she recognised. She had almost reached the door when she just couldn’t hold herself any longer and felt a sudden wetness beneath her and on her bare legs and her feet.
Oh great
now I’ve actually wet myse
lf;
how embarrassing
……. she thought, and then realised that it must mean her waters had broken and Felicity began to panic. She had the key in her hand but her hand was shaking so much she couldn’t get it into the lock.
Must phone David
……..

‘Felicity isn’t it?’ said a soft voice behind her. She turned around and was faced with her worst nightmare.

‘Are………. Are you ok?’

The next few minutes were a blur. Felicity’s head was swimming as she helped her into the house and sat her down in the kitchen; all the time, her voice calm and reassuring.

‘It’s okay Flick. Everything’s going to be okay…….. just breathe…….. that’s it….. remember your breathing…… that’s it……. good. Has it passed now?....... good. Okay now just…… don’t try to move……. That’s it. I’m just going to the phone. I’ll be right back. Everything’s going to be fine.’

Everything’s going to be fine? What was she doing here? The letter
…….
She had said she was coming
…….
b
ut not now
…….
not like this
…… Felicity could hear her on the phone in the hall.

‘Ambulance please. No
9 Rose Lane, East
Barton. Please hurry she’s having the baby!’

Felicity got to her feet and stepped toward the kitchen door but as she did so she was struck down with another contraction and she quickly retreated and sank into the hard chair panting for her life and clutching the table with her left hand. She could hear Ellie shouting her orders at someone.
‘Well you’d better find him, and quickly! His wife is having the baby now!’
She must be phoning David
…….
o
r was she pretending to phone?
.......... What if she had come here to finish the job she’d started when she set fire to the cottage?
Oh my God!
……
I must get to the phone
…….

‘What are you doing Flick? Sit down, you could fall!’

‘I want the phone. I need to phone David.’

‘I’ve tried
he’s not in the office. They’re going to track him down and send him straight home. Don’t worry. An ambulance is on it’s way and I’ll stay with you. You have nothing to worry about.’

Ellie pulled a chair around the table and sat down beside her.

‘Ok now Flick……. You don’t mind me calling you Flick do you? Ok, now when is the baby due?’

‘Two…… two days.’

‘Ok. Good. So it’s full term then, that’s good. So why has David left you on your own?’

‘He…… he didn’t. His Mother was supposed to ………’

‘Ah…….. The delectable Sonya. Well, trust me …… we’re better off without her help.’

Felicity felt herself warming to Ellie with just that one statement. Already they had found some common ground.

‘
Do you have a pen and a piece of paper
Flick?’

‘In my bag.’

‘Ok.’ She reached for Felicity’s handbag that was lying on the kitchen table and passed it to her. ‘Well maybe you could
write a note for
David while we’re waiting
for the ambulance
, you know, in between contractions.
Then, if he gets here after we’ve gone in the ambulance he’ll know we’re on our way to
Exeter
maternity unit.
Ok so, how long have you been having the contractions?’ Ellie checked the clock on the kitchen wall. He hadn’t changed it. It was a round retro sunshine clock that she had brought him on their honeymoon. He’d wanted it because he had seen one like it on the film set of ‘Only Fools and Horses’ so she’d bought it just to please him. The clock said
1.20pm
.

‘I ……. I don’t know ……. Ten minutes? Fifteen maybe.’ She was
writing a note
to David, her
pen
unsteadily
across the
paper
.

‘And how many have you had? And how long are they lasting?’

‘I don’t know
- not very long
. Oh
God
where’s David? Oh ……… Oh……. Ouch! Oh Jesus not again!’

‘Ok Flick. Now breathe…….. that’s it …….. you’re doing really well.’ Ellie watched the second hand flickering around the suns rays ……. all the way around, and a bit more before the pain began to subside.

‘God it bloody hurts, this child bearing lark.’ Felicity panted through the end of the contraction. Ellie smiled. She didn’t envy Felicity her pain right now. The pain of childbirth was one she would never forget.

‘That one lasted over a minute Flick. We need to time them. How often they come and how long they last. We need to tell the ambulance staff when they get here.’

‘Where the hell are they anyway? And why are you being so bloody nice?’

‘Sorry?’

‘I wanted to hate you for what you did but you’re making it very hard when you’re being so bloody nice to me ……. Ow! Ouch Oh God!’

‘Another one?’ Ellie was shocked. If the pains were coming this quickly the ambulance had better hurry up or they’d be too late .………

David had spent two hours with important clients. He had spoken to his Mother earlier to make sure she was checking on Flick and she’d said Felicity was nest building, which meant the baby would be along in a day or two, but certainly not today. One of the clients had an appointment but the other he had seen at short notice and he had wanted their business so badly he had switched
his telephone to the answering machine
and refused all calls for an indeterminate period of time. As Peter Hinchley of Hinchley Partnerships shook his hand and left his office with a cool smile on his face David was feeling quite positive. He knew he had done the right thing. The branch had been lacking in personal service for some time and now he was in control this was going to change. Businessmen liked to know their affairs were in order and this, David believed required the personal touch. And if Peter Finchley and Partners flourished then so would this branch and David was determined to succeed in his new role as manager. David closed the door and returned to his desk to make some notes and file the Hinchley’s loan offer but no sooner had he sat down than there was a knock on the door and Lorna burst into the room.

‘Mr Wilson, Sir………. I’m sorry……. You gave me specific instructions not to disturb you under
any circumstances
and………’

‘What is it Lorna?’

‘It’s the baby Sir. We think it’s on its way.’

‘What?’ David was up and already on his way out of the door, then stopped. ‘Where is she? At the hospital? How long ago did she phone?’