What Maisie Did Next

by Katy Lilley

  Maisie thought about that. ‘Up to you, I guess. Can you spare five minutes now?’

  He dug the spade in so it didn’t fall over, picked his t-shirt up from the handle of a wheelbarrow, and wiped his forehead. ‘Ten, seeing as it’s you and Barns. And provide water or soda.’

  ‘Water for both of us please.’

  Cam nodded and inclined his head towards what she realised was a new garden bench, complete with cushions. ‘Why not try out the new garden furniture? It was going to be a surprise tonight, but hey, what’s a couple of hours between friends?’

  Maisie sat on the cushioned seat, kicked her sandals off and put her feet on the stool sited in exactly the right place. ‘This is gorgeous,’ she said, as Cam walked up carrying a tray with a dog bowl and three glasses of water on it. He put the bowl down for Barns and added the contents of one of the glasses. Barns tucked his head in it and lapped water like a suction pump. ‘Such finesse,’ Maisie said with a laugh and accepted her glass with a murmur of thanks. ‘At least he’s not trying to sit in it as well.’

  ‘Improvement, eh?’ Cam put his glass down on the chair arm. ‘Okay, spill, what’s bothering you?’

  ‘Who says anything is?’ Maisie prevaricated, as her stomach did somersaults, and her skin became clammy.

  ‘Me, your expression, the fact you’re here now and are - or were - coming around in a couple of hours anyway. Who has been telling tales?’

  ‘No one, unless you count Liz trying to explain things. Nicely, I may add. I think we’ll be okay from now on. However, I’m worried. What was Faye saying to you? I heard she was here for ages.’

  Cam sighed. ‘The jungle drums work fast. Yes, she came to complain that I wasn’t here when she’d wanted to talk. I explained that not only did I have a day off, I couldn’t be in the house 24/7. That there was a phone for emergencies, but no one—I refrained from saying no sensible person—could expect me to be on call all the time. She then spent half an hour decrying me, and her husband. The gist being I think that neither of us could be relied on and I was a disgrace to the ministry. Both for going out with an infidel, and not being where she thought I should be.’

  ‘Grief, an infidel? That’s a bit strong. And on the strength of not very much. Why not just say non-conformist and been spending a little time in each other’s company?’ She sighed. ‘I’ve got enough on my plate without Faye stirring things.’

  ‘I didn’t even try to break into the tirade,’ Cam said, as he polished off half of his water. ‘I needed that. Thirsty work, this digging. I should have done it ages ago but never got around to it. So, back to Faye, sadly. I think, at the end of she was going to sue both of us, and Dave for everything she could, but to be honest, she was so incandescent with rage, she was spluttering. I warned the bishop that she might cause trouble, mentioned you, and was told that what you and I did was no problem as long as it didn’t affect the church.’

  ‘Which it may.’ Not much may about it.

  ‘No, it may not,’ Cam said firmly. ‘Now that’s sorted out, what now? Do you want a starter before our main course?’

  ‘Eh?’ He was as good at changing the subject as Bryony. ‘No, spag bol will be fine. But Cam, really, are you sure I’m not going to cause trouble for you?’

  ‘I am.’

  How she wanted to believe him.

  Time to fess up.

  ‘Well, I’ve got something to say that might change your mind. Sit down and please don’t interrupt until I’ve said everything I’ve got to say.’

  His face went blank as he did as she asked. ‘I’m not going to like this am I? Are you saying I’ve got no chance?’

  Maisie sighed. ‘I’m not, you might though.’ She stroked Barns, who sensed there was something going on and whined.

  Cam hugged her as she turned sideways to look him in the eyes. ‘Doubt it. Go on, put me out of my misery.’

  ‘I’m pregnant.’

  It might have been better to lead up to it gently, she realised as Cam dropped his glass and splashed Barns with the rest of the contents. He whined and slunk under Maisie’s legs.

  ‘Say that again?’ he said hoarsely.

  ‘I’m pregnant. I’ve got the ultrasound picture to show you if…’ she faltered to a stop. Cam had shut his eyes as if in pain.

  ‘Yeah well, due mid April.’ She watched as he opened his eyes him and did mental arithmetic.

  ‘You’re saying it’s mine? When we used condoms?’

  ‘I’m saying it could be yours. No condom is infallible.’ Maisie took a deep breath. ‘And our second time in the shower.”

  Cam blanched.

  ‘But, it could be Stanley’s,’ Maisie added in a rush. ‘I’d only just split with him when I…we…’ She shrugged. ‘I thought you needed to know.’

  The silence was deafening. Even the distant mower and tractor were quiet. Cam nodded, blinked and bent to pick his empty glass up.

  ‘How long have you known?’

  ‘Since just after term started. I was feeling weird, realised I was overdue, and went to the chemist. The little pink lines showed up.’

  Cam stared at her, uncomprehending.

  ‘Pink lines?’

  ‘Home pregnancy test. I went and got it confirmed at the doctors. Then at half term I went to the ante natal clinic, and they said mid April. Which means I conceived mid to end of July. Sorry.’

  ‘Did you tell Stanley?’

  ‘Yes. He’s not interested and said he never wants kids and nor does his girlfriend. End of. Not his problem, he said. Which doesn’t put him completely out of the picture. I really am sorry to hit you with things like this. I’ve been trying to work out how to tell you.’

  Cam stood up and loomed over her. She’d never seen such cold, controlled fury in an expression. ‘Sorry? Oh well, that’s okay then. You’re sorry. So am I. That you’ve known about this for several months and not told me. That you couldn’t be bothered to let me know I might or might not be a father to be. What were you going to do? Wait to see who the baby looks like? Demand a paternity test? Deny it was me or him? What, Maisie? If Stanley had been interested would you have even bothered to tell me?’

  ‘Yes, no, I don’t know.’ She swiped at her suddenly moist lashes. ‘I hoped I’d learn more at the clinic when I went for my appointment. I didn’t, except I think she is a girl. Which is just as well, as I’ve decided to call her Wilma and oh shit, sorry babbling.’ She shut a mouth and took a grip on her seesawing motions. ‘I’m not expecting you to jump for joy or scream at me in anger. Though if you do, I guess I shouldn’t moan.’

  ‘But you need to let the education people know? So ooops, better tell Cam? Gee, that’s big of you. Am I the last to find out?’ He pointed a finger at her. ‘Do I not matter in all this? The man who loved you, and who thought that maybe you were beginning to feel the same way about me…Evidently not, because what sort of love would that be, eh?’

  Loved. Past tense. That hurt more than anything else he had thrown at her.

  ‘Bryony and Dario know, but not who. Well, Bry knows because she sort of guessed when I called you Cam and she remembered I’d said I’d had a fantastic night of lovemaking with someone, though I never said who,’ Maisie said honestly. ‘And our reaction when we saw each other. All Dario knows is I’m pregnant, keeping the baby and going on maternity leave.’

  ‘Got it all sorted out, have you? Good for you.’ Cam let his shoulders lift and fall. ‘I think there’s no more to be said. Thank you for letting me know. I hope you don’t get any more trouble from Faye Soole. I’m sure if she says anything to the church council or whatever I can sort it out.’

  His glance at her was strange and she couldn’t fathom out his expression. Hurt, anger, and something else?

  ‘Cam, what now?’

  ‘Now? You go and I stay. The spag bol can go in the bin.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  To her everlasting gratitude, Dario smoothed the way for her with regarding school and maternity leave
. All being well she was going to work until February half term.

  Once that was settled, she’d said that Liz would cope admirably covering as head, as long as her deputy role was confirmed, in writing. Then Maisie gave her return date as the Monday before school broke up for the summer, also in writing. A trick told to her by a colleague at her last school, so she’d be back on roll for the holidays, and in paid employment. Bryony said she’d baby sit—what was one more—for those few days and give Maisie more time to find a suitable nanny.

  The next hurdle was an evening with all their friends to tell them the news. To discover most of them had wondered, or as in Lottie’s case, confessed she’d guessed when she’d spotted Maisie at the Doctor’s surgery talking to the midwife just before she, Lottie, went to see her.

  No one asked about the father, or why Cam wasn’t around, as he was well entrenched as one of their friends.

  Maddie and Dex dropped her and Barns back at Daps Cottage. Maddie hugged her. ‘We’re all here for you. Don’t let anyone give you grief. You’re not the first single lady with a child in the village and won’t be the last. Hell, I’m still single and I’ve got two.’

  ‘And a partner.’

  ‘Okay, yes, but we can’t all have everything.’

  Which was true, Maisie thought as she got ready for bed. Cam hadn’t spoken to her since she’d told him about the baby. He was due to take the end of term service in a couple of weeks’ time, and in theory needed to talk to her about it.

  Though she guessed he could bypass her and speak to someone else.

  In the event it was Liz who answered the phone while Maisie was sorting out the music for the Christmas concert. She came into the hall and hovered as Maisie finished playing Silent Night to accompany Krystal’s sweet voice. The child had more talent than anyone ever thought and blossomed when Maisie had told her so.

  ‘Krystal, that is lovely,’ Maisie said as Liz sniffed and nodded.

  ‘Off you go now, I can see Gran waiting for you.’

  ‘Yeah, cos Mum won’t go near them in fiddlers that throw stones or sommat in glasses. She’ll get me from outside the shop.’ She skipped out singing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer at the top of her voice.

  Liz watched her go and turned back to Maisie. ‘Stones and glasses? Infiddlers? What have I missed? I swear Faye needs to come off her high horse and sort herself out. She’s now talking about letting Dave ‘come home’.’ Liz rolled her eyes. ‘When at least three people have mentioned to me, in confidence of course, he’d got another woman over Torquay way. Runs a Candy floss stall at some fair or another.’

  Maisie grinned. ‘Me, infidel and people who live in glass houses etcetera. You could say Faye still loves to cast me as the baddie. Luckily the governors and all powers that be don’t. Last I heard she was trying to get a petition to remove me. Wonder how many people have signed it?’

  ‘No one, if they have any sense. You’re the best thing that’s happened to this school since whenever. Anyway, the vicar rang. Says all is okay for the service on Friday, do we still want to rehearse on Thursday afternoon and is he still on to be Santa at the parties on Wednesday. I said yes to it all, was that right?’ She smiled in a comforting, understanding way. ‘I didn’t want to disturb you.’

  ‘Perfect. And Liz?’

  Liz raised her eyebrows in query.

  ‘Thanks for everything.’

  Liz blushed. ‘Give over. Now time for home. Feet up, cuppa, wee snooze. Where’s Barns today?’ It was of great interest and caused much hilarity that the pup appeared to have more of a social life than any of them. His social life was a whirl of walk outings and sneaked treats.

  ‘Craft shop this morning, Old peoples home Christmas party this afternoon with Dario. He was going as Santa’s helper. Ca…Cam was Santa evidently.’

  Liz nodded. ‘Maisie, I…oh hell, I’m here if you need another shoulder to thump on. I don’t know what went wrong, but you two looked so good together.’

  Maisie shrugged. ‘Pregnancy. Some can cope, some can’t, and some aren’t sure if they even want to. I’m not going to put Cam in the position of having to decide.’ Even if it appeared to her, he already had.

  Liz didn’t ask.

  Maisie had been told in no uncertain terms, she would spend Christmas with Bryony, Dario and Theo. She tried to cry off, saying they should have Christmas as a family. Dario had told her in no uncertain terms she was family, and as Bryony was in her own words, the size of a house, if she dropped a sprout, she wouldn’t be able to see over her bump to find it. Therefore, he expected Maisie to be sprout spotter, so he could pick it up before Mop or Barns saw it, ate it and had smelly farts for the rest of the day.

  As Bryony was due to be induced just after the new year, and turned on the suspect waterworks when Maisie tried to say why she thought it might be better for Dario and Bryony if she spent Christmas elsewhere, Maisie decided she was outnumbered.

  ‘You will not go anywhere else,’ Bryony said forcefully. ‘You will be here with me, Dario and Theo. Now, what about Cam? Do I ask him? I want to.’

  ‘Cam? Not a chance. If he knows I’m here, he won’t be.’

  ‘He will because I’ll say the same to him as I will to you,’ Bryony retorted. ‘This stupidity has got to stop. Now. You’re making yourself ill over it, he looks as bad as you, and people are talking more than ever about stuff that’s none of their business. For God’s sake whatever you do at the school Christmas service do not scowl. Be sweetness and light, even if it kills you. Practice with Santa at school first.’

  ‘Yes, Miss.’

  It wasn’t easy but she thought she’d pulled it off. He looked as bad as she felt, and their politeness towards each other was excruciating. However, when Cam as Santa handed out the presents, and after all the children received theirs, called ‘Miss MacLean,’ she started and narrowed her eyes at him.

  His smile was a challenge. She glanced at Liz and Pam who both did a, ‘nothing to do with me’ gesture. Ken just shrugged.

  ‘New to me as well.’

  She gave in with good grace and approached Cam with a defiant smile as the children cheered and clapped.

  In the PC era there was no sitting on Santa’s lap. Merely a handshake and a ‘Have you been good this year?’

  She smiled.’ Oh yes,’ she announced in a clear tone. ‘on and off,’ she added under her voice.

  Cam handed her a package. ‘Merry Christmas.’

  By the time the other teachers had received their gifts, school was dismissed, and Cam had refused a glass of wine and some cake on the grounds he had to go over the river—reason unspecified—Maisie was ready to drop.

  Pam shoved Maisie into a chair, handed her a cup of tea and a slice of the cake she’d made. ‘Sit, eat, drink and be as merry as you want or not. Only tomorrow to get through and then two and a bit weeks of chill. If the weather stays like this, chill in more ways than one.’

  Maisie laughed as she accepted the goodies. ‘I’m intending to. The furthest I’ll go is Bryony’s for Christmas day, and if I can stay awake, the Red Pig for the bells. Just tomorrow and our night out to get through.’ They’d decided on the Red Pig for their night out dinner. Close by, reasonably priced and early doors straight from school. Barns was going to spend the evening with Bryony, who said she would pop him home around the time Maisie was due. They’d worked out he was perfectly happy for an hour or so and wouldn’t give her the cold shoulder—or chew her new trainers - until he’d been alone a lot longer.

  The following evening, resplendent in s new swish maternity dress—allegedly an early present from Theo—Maisie wandered back home at a time most people wouldn’t have even started to get ready to go out. Full of turkey and Christmas pudding, she swore she waddled. The School Carol service had been good, Krystal sang so well there probably wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and as they left the church and she’d geared herself up to thank Cam, he’d kissed her on the cheek.

  ‘I’ll see you at the M
onks after Christmas Day service. We’ll talk after that.’

  She nodded. ‘See you then.’

  Silly but her heart sped up and her pulse was jumpy. At least they were now speaking, albeit a bit stilted.

  The staff get together evening had been great fun. Good food and company, plus a silly present each from ‘Santa’. In her case a pair of bed socks, with “mum to be” knitted into them,

  The only fly in the ointment had been when they left, and Faye Soole was walking across the green. The look she gave Maisie was anything but friendly.

  ‘Ignore her,’ Liz said as she said hello to Faye who didn’t answer. ‘She’d let Dave come home and then discovered a receipt in the waste bin for another meal at that posh restaurant up the hill. Where she hadn’t been and at a time when, according to him he was at a meeting with his bosses, thirty miles in the opposite direction. And couldn’t come to the school concert because of it. The bastard. So now it’s everyone else’s fault, and you being pregnant riles her something awful. She always wanted a boy, but Dave said one child was enough. I always thought what with him as part of the family she had a boy child anyway.’

  ‘Poor Faye.’

  ‘Don’t worry about her. Faye is Faye and if she hasn’t got anything to moan about, she’s miserable.’

  ****

  The next morning, Maisie showered and thought back over the conversation. It was oh so easy to say, do not worry, but not so easy to believe it. When it came to anything to do with her life, Faye Soole appeared a bit over focussed. Single minded and with no thought to any outcome, except as she wanted. It would help, Maisie decided, if she could find out what that was. Apart from taking Call Me Dave to the cleaners.

  Maisie rummaged through her wardrobe, found floaty maternity trousers, happy she was now wearing clothes that were comfy and quite flattering, and a loose-fitting top and put on trainers. She grabbed Barns and put him on his lead, snatched up a pashmina from the cupboard and some stale amaretto biscuits from the pantry, and headed out. She was going to feed the ducks and get some fresh air whilst she could. The forecast was awful.