THE DREAM CHILD (22 page)

"Well, if everything goes pear shaped I still have my unit to move back into, but I don't think it will... I have to go now. Adrian's just woken up and wants to be fed."

"All right. Just ring us if you need anything," Vicky said.

"Thanks. I will," and they both hung up.

Sophie picked her son up from his crib. Her milk had just started to come in, for which she was eternally grateful. She'd been on the verge of asking for a bottle of formula as the colostrum wasn't satisfying him in the slightest, and she felt as though all she was doing was feeding him, day and night. She was exhausted, but happy, as it was no longer painful to feed him. In fact it had become quite a pleasurable experience, sitting or lying comfortably with him suckling as she stroked his little fair head. The only problem was she now had to sleep with a bra and breast pads, or risk milk leaking on the bedclothes.

The day he'd received his first bath had shown how blonde his curls really were. Victor had been with her as the nurse showed them how to hold the slippery little infant in the bath, and how to clean his still healing belly button and umbilical chord stump.

Sophie had asked Victor if this was how he'd looked as a baby, to which he'd replied that he’d try and find a baby photo, as well as ask his mother. To Sophie's surprise she discovered that he still hadn't told his parents about Adrian. Was he really that worried about their reaction?

The forecast was for sultry autumn weather on the day Sophie was due to leave hospital, so she’d put on one of her summer Gypsy skirts and a plain white t-shirt, which was now even tighter around her bust, but at least her skirt was comfortable.

She knew she would have to wear elasticated clothes for a few weeks yet, while she tried to regain some of her former figure. Now that she had someone to look nice for, she didn’t particularly want Victor to see the stretch marks and how loose her skin was from having accommodated a three and a half kilo baby.

Just as she zipped up her suitcase, she was surprised to see Duncan walk into the room. Even though she knew he worked here, his presence immediately put her on edge, because she suspected she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

Marie had popped in for a few minutes the pervious day, apologising for bringing Louise. When Sophie asked how Louise was, she said that she hadn’t come in to work that day, and Marie suspected that they probably wouldn’t be seeing her for a while. Even though the entire experience had really rattled her, Sophie couldn’t help feeling sorry for Louise, because it could very well have been her standing there crying her eyes out over the failed magic spell.

If she hadn’t actually experienced those dreams herself, Sophie would have thought Louise had gone stark raving mad, but the fact that magic actually existed, and that there were people out there with the power to cast such spells, left Sophie feeling in awe of her. She really hoped Louise got what she wanted, weather it be to rid the world of fraud, or a baby of her own. But somehow she doubted it since Louise was already well into her forties. She just hoped that neither Victor nor herself ended up on the receiving end of one of her incantations again.

“No, he was probably just doing his rounds. He is a security guard here, after all.” The lie flowed easily from her lips, and for once she didn’t regret bending the truth. It would only give Victor something new to worry about, since he’d already been abandoned once by someone who professed to love him.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Are you packed and ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said.

Sophie was both relieved and apprehensive to be leaving the hospital. She’d appreciated the on-tap availability of the nursing staff whenever she had a problem, but wanted to get away from the constant hustle and bustle.

The fact that she wasn't returning to her own home also concerned her, but Victor had assured her that she'd be happy with the way he'd set up the baby's room, and the fact that she'd be able to take Adrian out into the back yard pleased her no end. He'd said there were nice places to take him for walks, and when he grew bigger, a park with play things at the end of the street.

“I’m sorry,” Sophie apologised, realising just how much her comment had offended him. “I’m just a little tense from all the changes in my life.”

“I understand, but I wish you’d have a bit more faith in me. I want your homecoming to be perfect.”

She reached out to touch his face, and said reassuringly; “I’m sure it will be.” He was right; she really did have to learn to trust him more.

True to his word, the car seat had been fitted correctly, but it took both of them quite a while to adjust the straps to fit their little son. Adrian remained oblivious, snoozing comfortably in his pram, until it was time to get him strapped into the seat. This elicited a loud protest, because they had disturbed his slumber.

“Hopefully he’ll be like most babies, and go back to sleep once we start driving,” Sophie said, as Adrian continued to complain about his new incarceration.

The two adults got into the car, and the three of them set off. Every so often Sophie glanced over her shoulder to check on Adrian, particularly as it took him a while to quieten down again.

“He’s still there, Sophie,” Victor decided to reassure her at one point. “He can’t crawl yet, and I doubt he can work out how to get out of his straps, no matter how smart we might think he is.”

Since it was the middle of the day, it didn’t take them very long to reach their destination. Sophie was suitably impressed with the leafy grounds surrounding the small complex of villas and town houses.

Victor’s home was the last one along, and as he pressed the remote control to open the double garage door, Sophie saw her car already parked inside.

Adrian protested again when Sophie undid his shackles and took him out of the car seat to carry him inside.

“I’ll show you around,” Victor said, unlocking the door leading from the garage into the house. He began pointing out various rooms as they went. Sophie continued to cradle Adrian in her arms as she gazed about in awe.

She soon learned that the house had ducted air-conditioning, the humidity leaving the air soon after Victor turned it on. All the rooms were large and airy, with windows overlooking either the pretty central courtyard, or a shady enclosed backyard.

Large comfortable beige lounges occupied the living room in front of a wide screen TV and stereo system. A dining area veered off from a shiny modern kitchen at least three times as large as the one in her flat. Even the bathroom was enormous.

But what surprised her most of all was the baby’s room. Even though it was at least twice as big as the spare room in her unit, Victor had set it up exactly the way she had, with one fundamental difference; He’d painted the walls a lovely shade of sky blue.

“It’s beautiful, Vic,” she breathed in awe.

“And all your books and beading goodies are in the study,” he said. “Come and have a look.”

Sophie followed him to the next room along, and true to his assertion, her desk was next to his, with all their books lined up neatly on the shelves.

“Enough room to work in here together, don’t you think?” Victor said. “And now for the main bedroom.”

Sophie was stunned by the huge four poster bed, and the enormous mirrored wardrobe, as well as an en-suite. Victor slid one of the glass sliding doors across. “See, plenty of room for your clothes.”

Sophie gaped. “When did you have time to do all this?”

“Like I said, my bushwalking friend is a removalist. But mostly I stayed up to get it all done. You’ll probably want to change things around. I just put stuff where I thought it would fit best... I hope you’ll be happy here,” he told her meaningfully.

“I’m sure I will be. It’s a beautiful home. Thank you for doing all this for us.”

“It’s not over yet. I bet you’re hungry. I’ve got lunch organised and you won’t have to lift a finger for dinner, as I’m going to wait on you hand and foot for the rest of the day.”

“I’d hug you if I wasn’t holding a baby,” she said, tears welling in her eyes.

“How about we put bubs into his new crib in his new room so you can do just that,” Victor suggested, wiping the tear from her cheek.

But Adrian wasn’t happy with his new crib, so Sophie had to stay and rock him until he settled down again. By that time Victor had set the table and laid out a virtual feast for lunch. Once again Sophie was awed at the effort he’d made to make her feel welcome.

“No, I’m just enjoying the peace and quiet after all the hustle and bustle of the hospital. Make sure you check his nappy. He could probably do with a change.”

Victor gave her a salute and headed off.

Sophie picked up her cup of tea and sat down in the plush easy chair. It had padded arm rests which would be ideal for feeding Adrian.

Just then the phone beside her started to ring.

“Want me to get that?” Sophie called out.

“Yes please,” Victor called back. “Particularly as this is a smelly one. You timed that perfectly kid. Save the aromatic ones for Daddy,” Sophie heard him remark.

Sophie already had a pretty good idea who was on the other end of the line. “Vic’s busy changing a nappy at the moment, but I could get him to ring you back in a few minutes if you’d like to leave your name and number.”

As she settled down to feed Adrian, Victor sat on the two seater lounge to have it out with his father. Well, it serves you right for keeping the truth from them for almost a week, Sophie thought to herself. She could tell from the tone of the conversation both parties were extremely tense, and a frown deepened on Victor’s brow.

“Well, live with it, Dad. She’s staying. Adrian’s staying, and that’s all I’m going to say on the matter,” he said finally before terminating the call.

He didn’t look at Sophie straight away, but when he returned the phone to its podium, he said softly. “They want to come over and meet their grandson.”