by Neale, Kitty
For a moment Juliet said nothing then she reached across and grabbed Michelle’s hand. ‘I am,’ she said. ‘And don’t you forget it. You won’t be alone, I promise you. We’ll help you get through this. Looks like I got back just in time.’
‘You did,’ said Michelle, smiling through her tears, and for the first time in a very long while she felt the heavy burden lift a little from her shoulders.
Chapter Forty-Three
Maureen put down the office phone and drummed her fingers against the desk. Almost there. It was all about contacts and she’d called on everyone she’d ever met who could be useful, and some of Dave’s names as well. Finally someone had put her on the right track and now everything was nearly ready. She silently congratulated herself. It was all going to be legit and above board. While she had no objection to doing things otherwise now and again, this wasn’t about her.
A burst of shouting outside was enough to tell her that Dave was back in the building and as she listened to whatever words she could make out, it sounded as if he’d realised the truth about Michelle at last. Men were so dense. Half the cast and crew had worked it out weeks ago, and the girl had been at the sharp end of their comments ever since. It was a good job that Juliet was back – ever since her return she’d been to the club nearly every day and had rounded on anyone who said anything in her presence. Most people didn’t dare but it didn’t stop them having a go once she’d left for the night to go back to her mother. Then Michelle was fair game for all the snide remarks and outright insults. She was more than paying the price for all her previous behaviour, Maureen knew. The others had resented her, and now they were taking full advantage, some of them secretly glad that it hadn’t happened to them.
Well, now it was time to play her ace. Juliet had told her something very interesting when she’d first got back and Maureen had been waiting for the right moment to pass on the news. This looked like it.
The door crashed open and almost fell off its hinges.
‘Do you know about this?’ Dave shouted, face even redder than usual. ‘I suppose you’ve all been laughing at me behind my back. That little tart has gone too far this time. I’ll kill her for making a laughing stock of me. And she’s been on stage! A wonder I haven’t had complaints. What if they want their money back? She can pay that out of her own pocket, the lying little cow.’
‘Relax, Dave, I’m taking care of it,’ Maureen said, wondering how much he’d put away today already.
‘What do you mean?’ he demanded. ‘How can you take care of it? You aren’t a doctor, you have no idea …’
‘No, not like that,’ she said, yet again wondering what she’d ever seen in him. ‘I mean I’m going to look after her when the time comes and sort things out. So there’s nothing to bother you. Punters have had so much to drink half the time they can’t see the girls properly anyway so if you haven’t had any complaints yet then there probably won’t be any. Besides, I’ve got some news you’ll want to hear.’
‘Not about any other girls getting into trouble, is it?’ he thundered. ‘I won’t have it, this is a respectable establishment, not a bleedin’ nursery.’
‘Sit down a moment,’ she said, not wanting him to get so worked up he would forget what she was going to tell him. ‘Take the weight off your feet, calm down and listen to me. You know the Ashdown development?’
‘What, are you winding me up?’ he snarled. ‘That’s dead and buried. Don’t try and change the subject with that old crap.’
Maureen stopped herself from groaning out loud. She walked around the desk so she could face him head on. ‘It is dead and buried. All very neatly squared with the planning department and no more said. But you did worry that they’d just try and get another site to turn into a club, one that would be easier to sort out.’
Dave looked at her in horror. ‘They’d better not. Is that what you’ve heard? You ask me to calm down and then you come out with that? Are you mad? Don’t you know what that will mean for the Paradise Club?’
‘That’s not what I was going to say,’ she protested. ‘The very opposite, in fact. I found out who one of the major investors in the project was. You won’t have met him, he was very much behind the scenes, didn’t want to get his hands dirty. Well, he’s just died. The wife and daughter want nothing to do with the Ashdown group so they are well and truly done for. Isn’t that good news?’
‘How do you know all this?’ Dave demanded, his face full of suspicion. ‘Are you having me on?’
‘Oh for Christ’s sake, give me some bleedin’ credit!’ she shouted. ‘Turns out the daughter is a friend of mine. Actually you know her too.’
‘Don’t talk soft, how am I going to know someone like that?’
‘But you do, Dave. Remember Juliet, the blonde dancer who had to go and look after her sick father? That was him. He’s now died and Juliet and her mother get all the money. They don’t give a toss for the Ashdown lot, so you’re safe. We’re all safe.’
‘Really?’ It sounded as if he was still having a hard job believing it. ‘That posh bird with the long hair? Didn’t she drop us in it when she ran off?’
Maureen forced herself to speak calmly and not scream at him for being so ungrateful. ‘It was fine. I sorted it, remember? She didn’t have much choice. God, you should be thankful. If she hadn’t gone back to look after him, he might have disinherited her and given the money to someone else, someone from Ashdown even.’
Dave nodded. ‘Suppose so. Suppose that makes sense. Good.’ He rubbed his hands. ‘So there’s no trouble brewing there, then?’
‘None at all,’ Maureen assured him with a big smile. ‘Right, must be off. But I wanted to stick around to tell you the good news.’ She moved towards the door.
‘Excellent!’
She could see he was back in a good mood again and the danger of him punishing Michelle had passed, or at least for the time being. So she’d better act sharpish, find the girl and tell her the latest, before he changed his mind.
Summer turned into autumn and Michelle gave up any pretence of hiding her bump. She came into Soho less and less often as she grew more ungainly, but every week or so would turn up to see what everyone was doing. Juliet would usually join them in Bar Italia even though she had now started at drama school.
‘Blimey, never thought I’d know anyone who went there,’ Michelle grinned. ‘I must be going up in the world. Did you have to do an exam to get in or anything?’
Juliet shook her head. ‘Not exactly. You have to do an audition.’
‘You must be really good,’ said Penny. ‘Aren’t they meant to be very difficult?’
‘Depends,’ said Juliet, pushing back her hair. ‘I’ve spent most of my life pretending that everything was absolutely fine at home, acting my socks off day in, day out, so you could say it comes naturally.’ She smiled. ‘Silver lining or what?’
‘That’s one way of looking at it,’ Penny agreed.
‘Not bad for a dancer from the Paradise Club,’ Michelle said. ‘Ooof, I feel like a beached whale. Not sure how long I’ll be able to keep on coming in to see you lot. This bump is doing my back in, even sitting here. I’ll come next week but that might be it. I’m all set to have it in the Homerton hospital so I don’t want to come too far west when I’m near my time.’
‘You aren’t due yet, are you?’ asked Penny. ‘Still a little while to go?’
‘It feels like it could come any minute,’ Michelle groaned, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. ‘Suppose this is how it’s meant to be but I can’t wait to get it over with now. When I think of all the effort I used to go to to keep my figure.’ She met their glances. ‘I know, I know, this was my choice. I don’t regret it. I’m just saying.’ She shifted herself again, pulling a face. ‘Anyway, how’s the world of Dave’s dodgy deals? Who’s he putting the frighteners on now?’
‘The really weird thing is, he seems to have calmed down,’ Penny told her. ‘I don’t know if that’s good or bad. It’s so unlik
e him I don’t want to say anything in case it sets him off again. I don’t understand it at all.’
‘Better make the most of it then,’ smiled Juliet, keeping what she knew to herself. ‘He’s bound to be back to his old ways soon enough. Then you’ll be longing for a bit of peace and quiet.’
‘You got to admit it’s odd though,’ said Michelle. ‘Wish I was there to see it. I’d say to give him my best but I don’t suppose he’ll want to know.’
‘No, better not push things too far,’ agreed Juliet. ‘Right, time I was off. I know everyone thinks drama school is a doss but they actually work you bloody hard. So I’m off to put some hours in.’ She leant across the table to hug Michelle. ‘Look after yourself and see you next week. Ring me if you need me.’
‘Oh, everything will be fine,’ Michelle assured her. ‘I was just having a whinge. See you next week, same time, same place.’
By the next week Michelle was feeling heavier than ever. She wondered if she’d be better off ringing her friends to say she couldn’t come. Then she decided that it would probably be her last chance to see everyone before the birth and she didn’t want to miss that. So she dragged herself onto the Central Line, glad it was at least cooler now. Somebody even gave up their seat for her and she smiled at them weakly. Be grateful for small mercies, she thought. You don’t get that every day, even at eight months pregnant.
She got off at Tottenham Court Road and cursed every set of steps as she made her way up to street level. When she reached the ticket hall she had to stop to catch her breath. She was exhausted already. Glancing at her watch she forced herself to start walking, heading down Oxford Street then cutting down a side road to Soho Square. There were some benches free and she sank onto one, just as she felt a strong cramp in her stomach. Must be something I ate for breakfast, she thought. I knew that new cereal Dad got in was dodgy. Serves me right.
There it was again. Was it really indigestion? It felt different somehow. She began to feel anxious. Was she going to be taken ill? Another cramp. It couldn’t be. Not the baby. It wasn’t due for another month. It was going to be born in the East End, not in Soho Square in front of all the winos. Better get to the café, she thought. Juliet will know what to do, she always does. She got to her feet and began to make her way to their meeting point, heading towards Berwick Street. At least nobody would expect her to pick up any bargains today.
Just as she reached the first of the market stalls, Michelle felt a wetness between her legs and suddenly liquid gushed out of her. She was standing in a pool of it and people were staring. But her stomach hurt too much for her to be embarrassed. Another even stronger cramp hit her and she grabbed hold of a lamppost for support. ‘Nooooooooo,’ she moaned. She couldn’t think what to do any more. It was all too quick. She wasn’t even going to make it to the café. This baby was determined to arrive right now, in the middle of the street.
One of the stall holders nudged a man beside him, who came running over. She registered that he was dark-haired and very good-looking but she didn’t care. ‘Can I help?’ he asked. ‘Do you need a hand?’
Breathlessly she nodded.
‘Can I get you to a hospital? We’re not far from UCH …’
‘No, wrong one,’ she said. ‘Need to get to the Homerton. No time. Aaargh.’ Another contraction stopped her saying any more.
‘What about anywhere round here? Is there somewhere you could go?’
Somehow, amid the pain and fear, Michelle remembered where Maureen lived. That would be worth a try. Penny wouldn’t be there but there was every chance Maureen would be at this time of day. At least they had a phone. She gritted her teeth through the next contraction and then told him the address.
He looked a little surprised but all he said was, ‘All right, I know where that is. Lean on me and we’ll get you there.’ Miraculously it seemed to work. He wasn’t what she’d call a bundle of muscle but he half-carried her along the pavement to the familiar street door to the flat, and rang the bell.
‘Who the hell is it?’ came Maureen’s shrill voice from the floor above. ‘Hold your horses, I’m on my way down … oh my good God.’
Michelle looked up and attempted a smile. ‘Baby’s on its way already,’ she said. ‘Didn’t have time to …’ She didn’t need to explain any more, even if she could have done. Maureen took a moment to absorb what was going on and who was on her doorstep and then said, ‘Right, let’s get you upstairs. We’ll worry about anything else once we’re there.’
Slowly she and the young man helped Michelle up to the flat, where she could do nothing more than collapse on the living-room floor, holding her stomach and groaning.
‘Okay, let’s make you comfortable,’ Maureen said, turning to the man. ‘You know which is my room, don’t you? Go and grab all the pillows from there and then some towels from the bathroom. I’ll boil some water and then I’m phoning 999. They can tell us what to do down the phone while they send someone who knows what’s meant to happen.’
Michelle almost fainted with relief when she realised that someone was taking charge and seemed to be doing all the right things. She sank back against the pillows and gave in to an overwhelming urge to push. She was aware of phone calls going on, and people arriving, but none of that seemed important. She just needed to push. She lost all sense of time as her body took over, seeming to know what it had to do to get this baby out. She dimly registered that a paramedic had come into the room and was getting everyone else out of the way. ‘Good girl,’ he was saying. ‘You’re doing really well. One more big push. There you go, that’s baby’s head out. And another, breathe, breathe, breathe … and there you go. Here she is.’
There was a pause and then a small cry that soon grew to a loud wail.
‘Oh, she’s a beauty,’ said the paramedic, wrapping the bundle in a towel and handing it to her. Michelle looked down and saw a tiny face, with what looked like brown hair very like her own. ‘Did they say she was early? Well, she’s a very healthy early, that’s for sure. Nothing wrong with those lungs.’
‘Blimey, do they do this all the time?’ she managed to say after catching her breath.
‘For quite a lot of it,’ he said. ‘Now I need to tidy you up. If you’d like to hand her over to your friend …’
Juliet and Penny stepped in and between them took the baby girl. Michelle looked around for Maureen.
‘Did you ring them?’ she asked anxiously. ‘Could you get hold of them?’
‘Of course,’ said Maureen. ‘They’re on their way. They’ve been ready for weeks, even if this one caught us all by surprise. So don’t you worry.’
‘Who?’ asked Juliet. ‘Do you mean Michelle’s parents? What’s going on?’
Penny looked at her friend and smiled. Once the paperwork had been sorted out Maureen had let her in on the plan and she knew that it was exactly the right solution to everyone’s problems. But she’d been under strictest orders not to tell anyone else just in case anything went wrong.
‘You’ll see soon enough,’ said Maureen. ‘Why don’t you let Penny take the baby and you ring the club to see if Mark’s there. He’ll want to know. Then we’ll all wait here to see who turns up.’
Michelle had been led to Maureen’s bedroom to rest after being examined by the doctor who’d finally turned up. Juliet and Mark were fussing over the baby, who had stopped crying and seemed content to sleep. Maureen was going through some files, apparently looking for something urgent that had gone missing. Which left Penny to face John.
‘I don’t understand it,’ she said falteringly. ‘Why are you here? I didn’t realise you even knew Michelle.’
‘I didn’t,’ he said. ‘Not before today. It was a complete coincidence. I saw her nearly collapse in the street, as I was coming back from the magazine. She was on her own and crying out in pain. I couldn’t just leave her there, could I? Then when I asked her if she knew anyone round here, she gave the address of Maureen’s flat. So I couldn’t exactly say no. I brought he
r here. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t try to break our promise. You do believe me, don’t you?’
Penny nodded. ‘Of course. You couldn’t exactly plan something like that, could you? That was an amazing thing to do, just step in and help a stranger like that. Heaven knows what would have happened if you hadn’t. She might have died, or the baby might have, or both. It doesn’t bear thinking about.’
‘Oh, it’s not as bad as all that,’ John said, embarrassed. ‘Someone else would have done what I did, I just happened to be right there. Now I think about it, it was frightening. I don’t know anything about babies arriving. Hatching chicks are more my thing.’
‘Good job you didn’t think, then,’ Penny said. She looked at him and smiled. Something felt different. She still had that sense of being closely connected to him and what had just happened made it even stronger, but she didn’t feel as if her heart was breaking any more. She was just unbelievably glad to see him, and glad that he’d been the one to help in a crisis. How typical of him.
‘Do you think,’ she began hesitantly, ‘do you think we might start again? As friends this time? I’ve missed you so much. There still isn’t anyone like you. I don’t want to make things awkward, but if you wanted to …’
‘I’d love that,’ John said, interrupting eagerly. ‘If you think we can do it. I’d love to try. We’ve got something special together, it just isn’t what we thought it was to start with. We almost got it very wrong. But it’s been months and I’ve missed you too. I feel different about you seeing you now but there’s no getting away from the fact that you’re my sister and we share something nobody else can. So yes, I’d really, really want to try.’