From Here to Maternity (16 page)

‘I can see how this is a really good option for you, darling, but what do I get out of it?’

Babs looked at him through her blue-cocktail haze. Rumour had it that he was a notorious womanizer and had slept with several of the prettier presenters. He was gorgeous – for an older guy – he made her laugh, and she found his confidence irresistible. He was unfaithful to his wife anyway, so it wasn’t as if she’d be a home-wrecker. Sod it, she thought. I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. ‘Well, I’m sure we could find something to make it worth your while.’

Billy slipped his hand around her waist. He’d been dying to shag her since he’d seen her bouncing on the mattress.

They left the bar and went back to the apartment. It had one bedroom and a large living room overlooking the river. Babs loved it.

‘All right, darling, on your back,’ said Billy, and whipped off his shirt to reveal a toned torso.

Babs smiled to herself. This was going to be fantastic. ‘What about the champagne and strawberries?’

‘This isn’t
Dynasty,
love. Come on, get your kit off.’

Babs laughed. This was the beginning of her real London experience. Granted, she hadn’t planned on sleeping with her boss, but why not have great sex, free accommodation and guarantee yourself a raise? She lay back and thought of Hollywood.

The next day she woke up to find Billy had gone. He’d left her a note.

Morning, vixen. Can’t believe what you talked me into last night. Mind you, if that was a taste of what’s to come (no pun intended!) it’s all right by me. Be in the studio by ten and don’t even think of telling anyone at work about your new living arrangements.

Babs grinned, then walked round the apartment admiring her new quarters. It was minimalist – brown leather couches, cream walls, wide-screen TV, and one or two paintings hung haphazardly on the walls. The bathroom had a lovely big Jacuzzi bath, which Babs couldn’t wait to use. She made herself a cup of coffee and sat on the couch, staring out at the river. This was definitely a good move. The sex had been fantastic: Billy certainly knew his way around a woman’s body – there was a lot to be said for older men with experience on their side. She had just one problem: what was she going to tell Sean?

She switched on her mobile and saw seven missed calls, all from her brother, increasingly irate as the night had gone on. The three he had left this morning were less angry and more worried. She dialled his work number. ‘Hi.’

‘Where the bloody hell are you?’

‘Chill, Sean. I crashed at a friend’s house.’

‘Why the hell didn’t you ring me to let me know you were all right?’

‘I switched my phone off. Look, it’s no big deal.’

‘I thought something had happened to you – I’m surprised it didn’t, wearing those clothes in Soho.’

‘I’ve got some news,’ said Babs, deciding to jump right in.

‘What?’

‘A girl in work is leaving to go to Australia for the year and she’s renting me her apartment. She lives right beside the studio and it’s really cheap, so I’ll be moving out. That’s where I am now. I came back to have a look at it last night and ended up crashed out here.’

‘What girl?’

‘Pippa. She’s one of the other presenters.’

‘Where’s the apartment?’

‘I told you, beside the studio.’

‘How much is the rent?’

‘Seventy quid a week.’

‘Seems very cheap. It must be a really dodgy area.’

‘It isn’t, it’s nice.’

‘Why is she charging so little?’

‘Because her dad bought it for her when she moved to London. They’re loaded and she doesn’t have any mortgage. My rent is just play-money for her,’ said Babs, thinking on her feet.

‘I’ll need to see it. You’re not moving out until I’ve checked it’s OK. I’m not having Mum accusing me of neglecting you.’

Shit. Babs looked around. Would she get away with pretending this belonged to a girl? She’d have to hide Billy’s clothes and shaving stuff, but he didn’t keep much here so it’d be easy enough. Besides, it’d get Sean off her back once and for all.

‘Yeah, fine. You can give me a lift over later with my bags.’

‘Typical of you to land on your feet. Did you force the poor girl to emigrate so you could have her pad?’

‘A certain amount of arm-twisting was involved.’

‘Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?’

‘Oh, even you’d be surprised at my persuasive skills this time.’

‘Nothing you do would ever surprise me,’ said Sean.

‘Never say never,’ said the scarlet woman.

Chapter 18

As I had predicted, when we boarded the plane to go and visit James’s parents Yuri hated it. He shouted the place down, much to the annoyance of all the unfortunate passengers seated around us. It was a total nightmare. I tried shoving his dummy into his mouth but he just kept spitting it out. I bounced him, cuddled him, read him his favourite
The Hungry Caterpillar
book, sang ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ over and over again – although I could never remember the last bit so just la-la-la’d it – tried feeding him bread, yogurt and Farley’s rusks, all to no avail.

‘Do something,’ James hissed at me, while he apologized to everyone around us for the racket.

‘Like what?’

‘Walk him up the aisle or something.’

‘Good idea,’ I said, thrusting Yuri at his father.

James marched up and down as Yuri continued to howl, then passed him back to me. It was the longest flight of our lives. The fifty minutes felt like ten hours. Eventually when we landed, a frazzled Yuri fell asleep in my arms. His equally frazzled parents waited until everyone else had disembarked before trying to unload the overhead locker.

‘I told you he’d hate flying. It’s too early to take him on a visit,’ I snapped at James, who studiously ignored me as he heaved our bags down.

‘Why in God’s name can we not put our luggage in the hold like all normal people?’ he muttered. ‘This obsession with having everything to hand is ridiculous.’

The thing is, that I never, ever check in my bag if I’m only going away for a weekend. I hate having to wait for an hour after landing, watching people being knocked sideways by enormous Samsonite suitcases hitting them as they are frantically grabbed off the carousel by people half their size. The absolute panic that ensues if – God forbid – your suitcase happens to pass you by in a moment of distraction, is comic. You see very respectable, normal-looking people galloping round the carousel, chasing their oversized suitcases as if their life depended on it. Or those really desperate people who stand beside the plastic flaps, where the luggage comes out, and poke their heads through as if that’s going to speed things up.

I like to have my bag with me in the overhead locker. Sure, sometimes it’s a bit of a squash to fit it in, but at least I know it’s there and if I should decide I want to change my outfit, redo my makeup or give myself a manicure, I can. Not that I ever have, as James points out every time we visit his parents.

Anyway, now that we had Yuri, the two large cases crushed into the overhead locker were full of his things. Gone were the days when I brought six outfits for one weekend. I had barely managed to squeeze in one decent dress. I had decided to bring everything Yuri owned to make him feel at home when we got to James’s parents’ house. I didn’t want him playing up in front of them, and I’d figured that if he had all his familiar toys and books he might remain calm. Judging by the flight, things didn’t look promising.

Once we were in the terminal building we headed for Arrivals, where James’s brother Henry was waiting for us. When he saw us he rushed over, shook James’s hand and thumped him awkwardly on the back. They weren’t the hugging type of brothers.

‘Congratulations, old boy,’ he said to James, as Yuri was introduced to him. ‘He’s a fine fellow. Doesn’t look unlike you.’ Then he kissed me and congratulated me too. ‘So, Emma, how’s motherhood? Bloody nightmare in the beginning. Takes a while to get used to. Sleep deprivation is a bit tricky.’

I smiled at him and nodded. I really liked Henry: he was all bluster and what-ho but underneath all that lay a very thoughtful and kind person. ‘You can say that again.’ I laughed. ‘I never thought I’d be able to survive on five hours a night, but somehow I have.’

‘Wait until number two arrives – you’ll be wishing for five hours,’ he said, grinning at me. ‘Marvellous news. Delighted for you both. Nice to have a sister or brother for Yuri. Better warn you both – Mother and Father are beside themselves. Dying to meet this little fellow. They’ve been shopping for weeks so the house is full of toys and bears and clothes. Yuri’s going to be spoilt rotten this weekend. Imogen’s bringing Thomas and the girls over after school to meet him.’

I sighed. Yuri had had quite enough upheaval for one day. The thought of six-year-old Thomas anywhere near him gave me the shivers. He was bound to cause havoc. An hour later we arrived at James’s parents’ house. It was a lovely old country cottage set in a couple of acres of well-tended garden. Mr and Mrs Hamilton were waiting for us on the doorstep. Thankfully, Yuri was still a bit groggy from the flight so he didn’t cry when he saw the new faces. Mrs Hamilton held him while her husband hovered in the background beaming over her shoulder at Yuri’s pale little face. ‘Seems a healthy little fellow,’ he announced. ‘Bit peaky, but I suppose that’s to be expected. Food can’t be good in Russia.’

They were clearly relieved to see that he was normal. They must have been expecting the worst.

‘I’m sure Emma’s been doing a wonderful job of feeding him,’ said Mrs Hamilton, endearing herself to me. ‘Come in and sit down. We’ll have some tea and you can tell us all about our little grandson.’

We walked into a living room that looked like Christmas Day in Santa’s grotto. There were beautifully wrapped gifts everywhere. ‘A lot of them are his Christmas presents that were too large to post, and we’ve bought a few other bits and pieces since then,’ said Mrs Hamilton, as James and I gasped. ‘We felt he needed spoiling after starting his little life in a nasty orphanage.’

‘Thanks,’ I croaked, trying to retain my composure at their kindness and enthusiasm and feeling guilty for not having allowed them to come over for Christmas. ‘It’s so sweet of you.’

We spent a lovely hour having tea and scones. While James filled his parents and Henry in on our Russian adventure, I sat on the floor with Yuri and opened his presents. He was delighted and cooed appropriately at the wonderful toys and books. He couldn’t have been more angelic. I was incredibly relieved. James’s parents were both seventy and I didn’t think they’d be able for a screaming baby. So far so good…

Until Imogen arrived with the twins and Thomas. The twins, now two, were identical, although I could tell my goddaughter Sophie from Luisa almost instinctively. Thankfully, despite their mother and brother, they had remained sweet-natured. Thomas, on the other hand, raced into the room and dived on Yuri’s presents, throwing them about and even breaking one in the process.

‘Thomas!’ said Henry sternly. ‘Leave Yuri’s things alone. Come here and say hello to your new cousin.’

Thomas shuffled over and glared at Yuri, mumbled hello, then tore off to smash a few more toys.

James stopped Henry scolding him. ‘Leave him be. It doesn’t matter – Yuri has too many anyway.’

While the men took Henry’s children out to play in the garden and Mrs Hamilton went to put the kettle on again, I was left with Imogen and Yuri.

‘Well, he doesn’t look at all as I’d expected,’ Imogen announced, in her loud, horsy voice. ‘I though he’d be like one of those little refugee children you see on television, covered with sores, but he’s quite normal. A bit pasty, but not too bad, considering.’

‘We think he’s the most beautiful child in the world,’ I said.

‘Wait until you have some of your own. There’s nothing like the feeling of having your own child. Your own flesh and blood. A child that is the mirror image of you in every way. It’s truly amazing. You’ll find out soon enough. I hear you’re preggers.’

I nodded.

‘Well, of course, I knew it would happen all along. There was no need to rush into that whole adoption palaver. You could have saved yourself and James a lot of trouble. I suppose it’s too late to give him back?’ she said, sighing at all that wasted time.

‘Give him back?’
I was livid. ‘We adore him, Imogen. Why on earth would you even suggest that we give our son back?’

‘Temper, temper, Emma. I was only pointing out that you needn’t have adopted, after all. I always felt you were too impatient with your fertility treatment. These things take time and look at you now – pregnant.’

‘The only reason I got pregnant was because of Yuri. I was so distracted by the adoption that I finally stopped worrying about trying to get pregnant. So if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be expecting this baby.’

‘Nonsense. You would have got pregnant naturally anyway. You were just far too uptight. Still, I suppose it’s a good thing that you’re being positive about the adoption. Too late for regrets now.’

The only regret I have is allowing myself to be left alone with you, you stupid cow, I thought.

‘Did I tell you Thomas has started horse-riding?’ she asked, but before I could answer, she droned on, ‘He’s very talented. They think we may have a future champion on our hands,’ said the delighted mother. The horsy genes had clearly been passed down.

‘How fab,’ I said sarcastically.

‘You should try the little Russian when he’d old enough. It’s
maaahvelous
for them to be out in the fresh air bonding with the horses.’

‘His name is Yuri. Y-U-R-I. If you find it too difficult to remember, I can write it down for you,’ I snarled.

‘The girls, of course, are thriving. My toddler group simply cannot believe how advanced they are for their age. Quite remarkable, they say, when they hear them talking,’ Imogen continued, ignoring me while boring me to death on the amazing talents of her children.

‘Yuri does a very good barking sound,’ I said, managing to keep a straight face. ‘He actually sounds like a dog. It’s phenomenal.’