Meant To Be (41 page)

Wasn't the first ultrasound not until after three months, anyway? Surely she couldn't be any more than a month along. She'd been on the pill for years, and had always heard that women were unlikely to get pregnant straight away after missing a few doses.

No, she'd better get it over with while she had the time. The doctor had wanted her to return in a week for the results. Oh
well, she'd only be a few days late. Not the worst thing in the world, considering everything else that was going on.

Soon she'd be enveloping invitations, recording RSVPs, keeping track of acceptances and declines, and sorting out the catering. She tried not to think about how it would be running the gallery with a baby in tow. ‘Cross that bridge when you come to it, dear,' Gran had often said. No doubt Thora would say the same. Emily felt a little guilty about confiding in John's mother and not her own, but it wasn't as if she'd planned it.

‘So, you're off to see the doctor this morning, right?' Jake said over breakfast one day.

‘Yes. Nine o'clock. I'd better get going.'

‘Want me to come along?'

‘Thanks, but there's no need. I think I know what's going to happen: He'll tell me that I'm definitely pregnant, probably hand me a leaflet on what to expect, and give me a referral for an ultrasound.'

‘Well, if you're sure…?'

‘Totally' She'd told him of her visit with Thora and that she was determined to think better of things.

A few moments later the phone rang. The handset was nearer Jake, so he picked it up. Emily instinctively checked her watch – a little after eight. She had to leave at eight-thirty, eight thirty-five at the absolute latest, to get there on time.

‘Jake speaking. Oh, hi Barbara. Yes, she's right here, I'll just put her on.' He handed her the phone.

‘Hi Barbara, how's things?' Emily asked.

‘Hi Em, doing a bit better this morning, thanks.'

‘That's good to hear.'

‘Yeah, but another day here and I won't be.'

‘Oh?' She raised her eyebrows at Jake.

‘I need to get out of the house. Do you have any plans today?'

‘Today? Um, I don't have anything major on,' she said, wincing.

‘Can I come down and hang out?'

‘What time were you thinking?' She crossed her fingers.
Hopefully I'll be back from the doctor in time.

‘Would nine o'clock work?'

Emily shot a stricken look at Jake. ‘Oh, er, sure. Nine o'clock would be fine.'

Jake frowned back and she shrugged helplessly.

‘Great, thanks so much,' said Barbara.

‘No worries. I'll see you soon,' Emily said, and hung up.

‘What are you doing?' Jake demanded.

‘I couldn't really say no to Barbara,' Emily said. ‘Not when she's made the first move to start coming out of her shell.'

‘But what about your doctor's appointment? Couldn't you have told her to come over later? It's not like this is just a regular check-up.'

‘I suppose. But it's done now. I can't exactly call her back now, can I? She'll want to know why.'

‘Hmm, I see your point,' Jake said. ‘Hey,' he said, after a few moments, ‘Why don't I just go on your behalf? I could get the blood test results and ask any questions you wanted to know.'

‘There's no way they'd give out my information, because of confidentiality,' she said.

‘Maybe they would if I had written consent from you,' he suggested. ‘It's worth a try.'

‘Would you mind?'

‘Of course not. It's my child as well. This is the least I can do.'

‘Well, I guess it's worth a shot. It's that or miss the appointment. They don't open until nine, so I can't cancel it now anyway. If they won't accept you as my proxy, then they can put the results in the post.'

‘You write the note and I'll get changed,' he said, getting up.

‘You're the best. Thanks, Jake.'

Half an hour after Jake left, Emily heard the arrival of a car. Now there was less traffic coming and going for the building across the way, her ears were again tuned in to the sound of vehicles turning in off the dirt road out front.

She went out to greet Barbara and was surprised to see David getting out of the driver's side. She was even more surprised when he opened the back door of the dual cab ute and Sasha emerged.

‘I don't want Barb driving at the moment,' David said as he embraced Emily. ‘She's a bit distracted.'

‘He means I'm a basket case who can't be trusted behind the wheel,' Barbara said, coming up beside them.

‘Oh. Right,' Emily said, feeling a little uncomfortable.

‘Probably best, I am a bit distracted,' Barbara added. ‘Yesterday I drove down to the end of the driveway to check the mail and ended up in Wattle Creek. See, totally off the planet!'

Emily relaxed slightly.

‘Hope you don't mind Sasha coming along, but we've become a bit attached.'

‘Not at all. Grace will be pleased to have the company.'

‘Is Jake in?' David asked.

‘Er, no, you just missed him. He had to pop over to Hope Springs,' Emily said.

‘Oh, maybe I'll head down there and see if I can catch up. I'll come and collect you in a few hours. You'll probably be ready for a lie-down by then.'

‘Thanks darling,' Barbara said, and hugged her husband.

‘Have fun,' David called with a wave as he got back into the vehicle.

‘Here, this is a treat for later. Just bung it into the fridge,' Barbara said, handing Emily a brown paper bag.

‘Okay, thanks,' Emily said.

‘Isn't this nice? Just like old times,' Barbara said, as she linked arms with Emily and they walked up the path to the house.

To Emily, it was nothing like old times. Part of her wished she'd put Barbara off in favour of the doctor. Once upon a time they could just be together without either of them making any effort, but it certainly didn't feel like that today. When she'd visited the other day there was no pretence that things were normal. Now it all just felt awkward.

Inside, the dogs had a quick reunion and then settled onto their mats while Emily put the kettle on. Emily only remembered then that she hadn't removed Sasha's bedding – they'd been so busy with the cottage. While she explained the progress over the past two weeks, Barbara was alternately excited and subdued.

The two friends sipped tea amid long silences that regularly strayed into awkward.

‘So, come on, I'm dying to see the place,' Barbara said suddenly after they'd finished their tea. She got up.

‘Okay, just let me have a wee first.' Emily was finding her bladder capacity shrinking by the day. Recently she'd been trotting off to the toilet almost half-hourly. She assumed it must be psychosomatic; surely the baby was tiny. But telling herself that didn't make any difference.

‘As you can see, it's a lot bigger than a cottage, but we've never managed to stop calling it one,' Emily said as they made their way towards the building site.

‘Oh, well, sounds better than
the building
or
the house,'
Barbara said. ‘And there was a real little cottage there once. Until a certain someone knocked it down.'

‘Yeah, don't remind me. I try not to think ill of the dead,' Emily said.

‘That's noble of you.'

‘Thanks, but really, at the end of the day, it was only bricks and mortar.'

The words, ‘not a living, breathing person' hung unspoken in the chilly air around them.

They traipsed on, both with hands thrust deep into pockets. The dogs bounded on ahead, Sasha struggling to keep up with Grace.

‘I'm giving you the full experience,' Emily said. ‘Hence going the long way around.' They could have climbed over the fence and cut across the paddock, but instead they were going up to the official driveway. ‘Sorry for the extra walk.'

‘Don't be. I've been sitting around like a blob for too long; some exercise will do me good,' Barbara said. ‘And I'm not sure I could climb a fence at the moment.'

They paused at the edge of the road to take in the scene. The sun glinted off the galvanised iron roof and verandahs, and the pale stonework and creamy mortar was lit up in streaks where clear laserlight sheets had been used above the windows to help light the rooms inside. Even though she'd seen it plenty of times, Emily still felt a little awestruck. The sun was at a perfect angle, and was shining brightly.

‘It looks brilliant,' Barbara said.

‘Thanks. It's come up well.'

‘It still looks very much like the old one, only better – more complete with its verandah.'

‘I hope so. It's a lot different inside,' Emily said.

‘So it should be – the previous incarnation was practically derelict! And it'll be nice to see it without all the pigeon poo!' Barbara declared. Emily was pleased to get a glimpse of her dear friend's sense of humour. She smiled to herself as she thought:
she'll come back, she'll be okay.
She could see that now.

‘Oh, no, we kept that for posterity. You know how sentimental I am.'

‘Still attached to a sample of old floorboards, I hope.'

‘Yes, we've sent it off to be gold plated. It's going to hang above the fireplace behind my desk,' Emily said, grinning and playing along. ‘But seriously, we were thinking of landscaping out the front,' she explained, as they walked off the road and started across the large white rubble and gravel parking area. ‘But we couldn't decide what to do.'

‘I like it like this; it looks like a real business. You don't want it looking too domestic. And you need plenty of parking for all those visitors you're going to get.'

‘I hope so,' Emily said, smiling at her friend.

‘It's going to be a huge success.'

Emily could see how hard Barbara was working to put on a happy face – she just hoped the façade wouldn't crumble from all the effort.

‘Love the colour of the door and the timber highlights,' Barbara said. ‘Not too brown, not too brick-red or plum-red; it's just right.'

‘It's garnet,' Emily replied, glad that she had noticed. ‘We've chosen it as our brand colour. I should have shown you when we were at the house. Remind me when we get back.' She inserted the key in the lock and threw open the door.

‘Welcome to The Button Jar Gallery of Fine Art.' She took a moment to enjoy the way the name rolled off her tongue.

‘Wow,' Barbara said, taking in the view for the first time. ‘Is that polished concrete?'

‘Yes, with chips of quartz and coloured stone in it. I was a bit sceptical to start with, but I love it now,' Emily said.

‘It's brilliant, and will be a doddle to keep clean.'

‘I'll get a hall runner at some stage.' She flicked a switch and the chandelier lit up above them.

‘That is totally gorgeous,' Barbara said.

It was the first time Emily had seen it in all its glory. As rainbows from the Italian cut crystal lit up the ceiling and walls, she thought it worth every cent. It was stunning.

‘I want to get ottomans for people to sit on, but I haven't decided exactly what shape and fabric yet,' Emily explained as they made their way through. ‘We're leaving it empty for the opening though.' All the rooms were bare except for the one at the back left that held Emily's desk and chair. She was surprised to see the desk in place. Had, in fact, completely forgotten about it. Jake couldn't have moved it on his own; he must have got the electrician to help the other day when he was here.

Each room had high picture rails for hanging the art on. It was one nice clean line rather than having hooks sticking out of the walls.

Next Emily opened the doors to the bathrooms and they peered in. Nice and clean in neutral tones, but nothing over the top. Unlike the kitchen.

This was the first time she'd seen it fully completed. It was perfect, just what Jake had described.

‘What a gorgeous kitchen,' Barbara said, running her hands over the stone bench top.

‘I can't take any credit, really; it's all Jake,' Emily said, walking over and running her hand across the chunky raised gas cooktop. She'd seen it in the pictures, but Emily would never have believed a kitchen appliance could actually look so handsome, so
sexy.
But it did; the cast iron trivets, the gas ring below, all framed in sleek,
shiny stainless steel. It was a work of art compared to the boring black coils and solid electric elements she'd used all her life. She was a little overawed.

Finally she unlocked the row of five glass café doors. They walked outside. A paved patio area held a stainless steel outdoor kitchen and a large timber table with bench seats.

‘Gosh, you've thought of everything,' Barbara said, looking around.

‘Jake has,' Emily corrected.

‘I'm surprised you guys aren't going to move over here. I would.'

‘Who knows what will happen?' she replied with a shrug, ‘but for now it's definitely going to be a gallery.'

‘And a very successful one at that,' Barbara added firmly. ‘When is the grand opening?'

‘The evening of June twenty-fifth. It's a Saturday. It's going to be cocktails standing up, so make sure you wear comfy shoes,' Emily warned. ‘We're hoping for hordes of people.'

‘I'm sure you'll be swamped.'

Emily smiled. ‘We're still waiting for the invitations to arrive from the printers. Otherwise the two of us would've been stuffing envelopes and sticking stamps all day.'

‘I wouldn't have minded,' Barbara said. ‘It's good not to just be sitting around with my sadness shadowing me,' she added quietly. ‘I'm so glad I'm here.'

Emily turned to her. There were tears welling in Barbara's eyes. ‘I'm glad too. I've missed you.' They embraced and then Emily held her friend by the arms. ‘I know you might not want to talk about Albert,' she said.