Second Time Around (12 page)

“Can you raise your top for me please?” Dr Patel asked. As soon as Halley had done that he warned “This may be a little cold.”

He squirted clear gel over a patch of her enlarged stomach then proceeded to start the scan. Finding the baby’s heart he hit a few keys on a computer keyboard and the sound of a rapid heartbeat filled the small room.

“Do you hear that?” Alec asked in wonder, squeezing Halley’s hand in delight. “It sounds like a horse galloping.”

“Baby’s heart sounds are normal,” Dr Patel murmured with a smile after taking a few measurements. “Look. Here’s the baby’s foot.”

Alec was riveted to the screen as Dr Patel pointed out the tiny toes then took measurements of the baby’s femur and then followed the baby’s spine up to its head where he measured the circumference. Alec couldn’t help but to start asking questions and Dr Patel indulged him once a glance at Halley confirmed that she also wanted to hear the answers.

As he glided the scanner back over the baby’s body he paused.

“Do you want to know the sex of the baby?” Dr Patel asked.

“Yes,” said Alec at the same time Halley said “No.”

Alec turned to Halley in surprise.

“Are you sure? It would help with names,” he suggested meaningfully.

“I want it to be a surprise,” Halley said firmly.

“What about baby clothing?” Alec added.

“Krystal kept the boy’s clothes and Cassie will be a little bigger by then so it won’t matter,” Halley said stubbornly. “As long as the baby is okay the sex doesn’t matter.”

Dr Patel confirmed that the scan showed the baby was developing normally and that Halley’s accident had not harmed it. When he had finished speaking Alec caught his eye.

“Can you tell me the baby’s gender and not her?” he asked hopefully.

“It‘s better not to,” Dr Patel prevaricated. “Some parents aren’t very good at keeping secrets and they wind up getting into arguments over it.”

“I can keep a secret,” Alec said earnestly to Halley. He didn’t know why it was important for him to know the baby’s gender. Perhaps because Miranda had found out Em’s and had refused to tell him. For some reason he felt that if he left this room without knowing he would feel as though he was missing out.

Halley sighed.

“I’ll wait out here while you decide,” Dr Patel said to Halley, indicating beyond the cubicle. He handed Halley a small towel to wipe the gel off her stomach then left the cubicle while she cleaned herself up.

“It’s okay if you don’t want me to know,” Alec told her as he helped her to sit up on the examination bed when she had finished. He felt as though he’d been unreasonably pushy. After all it wasn’t like they were married and he had a vested interest in the baby’s gender.

Halley sensed the disappointment behind his dark blue rimmed gaze as he helped her off the bed. She made a decision.

“Dr Patel can tell you,” she said as Alec picked up Cassie’s capsule.

Alec glanced at her in surprise.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Halley nodded.

“I trust you not to tell me,” she said, smiling at him.

Outside the cubicle she shared her decision with Dr Patel who grinned at Alec then scribbled something on the clipboard and showed it to him. Alec read what he had written and nodded, a smile creeping across his face.

“Can I go home now?” Halley asked Dr Patel.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to wait to be discharged by the doctor on your ward. That’ll be shortly after lunch,” he told her.

Halley reluctantly returned to the wheelchair and instead of waiting for an orderly to return her to the ward, Alec wheeled her back. Once she was back on the bed in her assigned room Halley complained that she wanted to go home.

While they waited for the doctor to visit it occurred to Alec that there was the possibility that school would finish before they could get there. A few phone calls later he had organised for Rufus to collect Halley’s car keys from the school office and take the children home.

When they finally got home hours later Alec hovered while Halley climbed the front steps to the porch of her house.

“I’m fine, really,” she said for the seventh time that afternoon.

Before they could reach the door it opened and the children came rushing out, greeting them noisily.

“Careful,” Alec warned as Corey wrapped himself around Halley’s legs in a well-intentioned hug. He handed Cassie’s capsule over to Rufus who had appeared at the door and reached down to unhook Corey from Halley.

Somehow they managed to all get inside without an accident and Alec was surprised to find Leonora waiting for them in the lounge.

“I’m here to make sure the kids survived until you got back,” she explained dryly to Halley after Alec had made the introductions.

“Dad, Dad!” Em said boisterously to get Alec’s attention. “Can I get my hair like Leonora?”

Rufus answered before Alec could.

“I don’t think so shrimp. She was born that way,” he said, giving Leonora a smirk. “She’s a mutant like in those X-Men movies.” Leonora rolled her eyes at his creative description.

“Wow. What superpowers do you have?” Casey asked her.

“I keep men in line,” Leonora told him indulgently as she bobbed her neon green head to his level. “It might not sound like much but it is very challenging.”

“Do you have a special costume?” Corey asked with interest.

“Yes she does,” Rufus told the children, his eyes twinkling. “She wears black spike heeled boots that she uses to stomp over people.”

“What about a special weapon?” Casey asked over his description, not particularly interested in clothes.

“I’m thinking of getting an electric cattle prod,” Leonora said sweetly, her eyes landing on Rufus. “I think it would be very handy to use on people who annoy me.”

“Would any of you like a coffee or tea?” Halley asked from the kitchen doorway, having missed the entire exchange because she had left to make up a bottle for Cassie who was beginning to fret.

“What about cake?” Casey suggested, immediately diverted by the thought of food.

“One piece each,” Halley said then was immediately rushed by the three children trying to get into the kitchen all at once.

“Kids! Be careful of Halley,” Alec said sternly as Halley grabbed onto the side of the door frame for support. “No one’s going to miss out.”

Rufus’ eyebrows rose as he observed the spectacle.

“We can’t stay,” he said apologetically, collecting his suit jacket which had been draped over the arm of a chair. “We’ve got to get back to work.”

With the children out of the way, Halley released the doorframe and bit her bottom lip.

“I’m sorry to take you away. I know how busy you’ve been,” she apologised.

“No problem,” Rufus said as Leonora retrieved her purse.

“I’d better go too,” Alec mumbled, feeling torn. He didn’t want to leave Halley but he felt that for appearances sake he should join the others even though he was currently up to date with everything.

“You’re not coming,” Leonora told him, well aware of the purpose of his late nights. Rufus might have been taken in by Alec’s sudden increased workload but she knew better.

“I’ve rescheduled your appointments and I don’t need to see you until midday tomorrow,” she told him.

“Thanks,” Alec said, relieved that he would be able to stay and give Halley a break.

“Great,” Rufus said, dropping his jacket back on the chair. He clapped his hands together, catching Halley’s eye and gave her his trademark grin, racking it up so that the dimple in his cheek showed. “If you’re up to it, how about we go out for dinner? You’ve got a babysitter,” he said cheerfully, indicating Alec.

Alec scowled and gestured to Leonora, silently asking for help. She nodded and picked up Rufus’ jacket.

“I didn’t say
you
were free,” Leonora said, thrusting the jacket back into his hands. “Unlike Alec you have a late night ahead of you,” she informed him with a smirk.

“What? How can that be?” Rufus demanded as Leonora started hustling him towards the front door.

“How about you start giving Cassie her bottle and I’ll see them out?” Alec suggested to Halley, wanting to put as much distance between her and his best friend. Cassie encouraged action by working herself up to a noisy wail.

“It’s nice to meet you. Bye!” Halley called after Leonora’s retreating form as she unclipped Cassie from her capsule and picked her up.

Leonora flicked the ends of her bright green hair over her shoulder as she turned to give her farewell.

“It’s good to meet you too. We’ll have to have lunch together sometime,” she called from the lounge door then gave Rufus a shove into the hallway.

Alec ducked into the kitchen and ignored the children who were sneaking a second piece of cake. He tested the formula’s temperature on his wrist then took the bottle to Halley who wasted no time getting it into Cassie’s mouth.

Beyond the sudden silence they could both hear Rufus and Leonora bickering as they made their way outside.

“Why can’t I stay?” Rufus grumbled, sounding like a little boy deprived of a great treat. “All work and no play makes Rufus a dull boy.”

“I can’t comment on that,” Leonora retorted. “I’d need to see you work first so that I can tell the difference.”

“Back in a minute,” Alec promised Halley then trailed after them.

Rufus and Leonora were getting into the car as he reached the porch.

“Don’t worry, I’ll ensure that Halley gets a great dinner,” Alec told Rufus cheerfully. Now that the outcome of the evening was certain he wasn’t above rubbing it in. Rufus shot him a filthy look, making his victory all the sweeter.

You owe me
, Leonora mouthed from the driver’s seat as Rufus clipped in his seatbelt in the front passenger’s seat.

I know
, Alec mouthed back then waved as she backed the car up to turn it around.

As the car headed down the driveway Rufus spoke first.

“How long do you think it will be before they get together?” he asked.

“A week, tops,” Leonora mused, eyeing Alec waving gaily from the porch via the rear vision mirror. “I think you’re right. They’ll make a great couple.”

“I know. I realised the moment I first saw them interact,” Rufus said.

Leonora turned her head to look at him when she braked at the end of the street.

“That was pretty sneaky of you, forcing Alec to act on his attraction,” she told him approvingly.

“Considering that I was the one who introduced him to she-who-cannot-be named it was the least I could do. That b… ahem, cow did a real number on him,” Rufus said. He cleared his throat to change the subject. “Do we have to go back to the office and work?” he asked plaintively.

“Yes,” Leonora said. She spied a gap in the traffic and squealed the car around the corner.

“Cripes! If you’re going to drive like this how about we eat first?” Rufus grabbed the hand rest above the window as Leonora swerved between lanes of slower moving traffic. “Even condemned men get a last supper.”

Leonora eyed him for a moment.

“My place or yours?” she asked.

Halley hummed as she stood on the dining table and wiped the fly spots off the small chandelier dangling from the ceiling above it. With only two weeks to her due date she was suddenly full of energy and determined to get everything as clean as possible.

She knew that a spring clean at this time was a little extreme but it would be worth it when everything was done. Apart from not having to look at anything dirty after the baby arrived she rationalised it by thinking that she would have to eventually come across the bank account that Krystal had set up for her.

In the other room the TV switched on. Before Halley could ask the children whether they had finished their homework the doorbell rang.

“Could one of you answer the door for me?” she called out, eyeing the dining chair she had used to climb onto the table warily. Somehow it now seemed a lot further away than when she had used it to climb up.

“I’ll get it!” Casey said.

“No, I will!” Em and Corey chorused.

There was a scuffle in the hallway and as Halley awkwardly crouched down to sit on the table she hoped the visitor at the door couldn’t hear them.

“I said it first!” Casey growled aggressively and Halley heard a thump.

“No fighting!” Halley reminded them. Sitting on the table, she used her feet to swing the chair around so she could use the back of it to hold onto. There was another thump and Em cried out.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Halley put one hand on the table and the other on the back of the chair for support as she focused on getting her feet onto the floor. Although she needed to intervene before someone got hurt she knew she couldn’t rush things. One day in hospital had been more than enough.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” she promised Cassie who was busy studying her fingers while propped in a seated position amongst couch cushions on the floor.

By the time Halley waddled out of the dining room Corey had lost interest in whoever was on the other side of the door and was on his way back to the lounge.

“Who’s at the door?” she asked as he passed her.

He shrugged.

Obviously not someone selling the afterlife
, Halley thought. Since his parents had died Corey had been full of questions about death and had switched from the Ethics class at school to Scripture hoping for answers. Two weeks later he had been switched back to Ethics; the Scripture teacher complaining that he kept questioning everything she told him.

Knowing it wouldn’t be Alec because he had a key to get in, Halley was becoming curious. She wasn’t expecting any parcels to be delivered and beyond a courier she couldn’t think of who else it could be. If someone was fundraising for a cause Corey would have said so.

She reached the front door in time to see a scrawny middle aged woman on the porch dressed in a straight red skirt and matching blazer hand Casey a business card. Halley noticed that her fingers were adorned with multiple rings; on two fingers the rings reached her knuckles.

Seeing Halley approach, Em stepped back to give Halley and her huge belly room to get past.

“Can I help you?” Halley asked politely as she took in the rest of her visitor’s appearance. The woman had brittle looking bleached blonde hair that ended at her shoulders. Her arched pencil thin brown eyebrows perched above wrinkled dark brown eyes, keeping her expression in perpetual surprise.

“Don’t you recognise me honey?” the woman asked in a gravelly voice as Casey pressed the business card into Halley’s hand. “It’s me. Your mother.”