As the illness passed, Lucy began to feel like herself once more, finally plucking up the strength to go back to work, feeling thoroughly uninspired at the prospect of another year at J&L Communications. She didn’t want any more awkward encounters with Jack and she made a vow to herself that she would stay well away from him this year.
Chapter Thirteen
The sun made a welcome appearance in March after a dreary, drizzly winter. Lucy opened the curtains one Saturday morning and jumped for joy at the clear blue sky. She busied herself toasting bagels for her and Alex and made a cafetière of fresh coffee. Alex lounged in bed, unwilling to rouse himself, only emerging from under the layers of bedding when Lucy brought his breakfast to him in bed.
‘Thanks babe,’ he said, stretching like a bear emerging from hibernation. ‘You’re the best,’ he mumbled sleepily.
Lucy bent down and kissed his stubbly cheek, admiring how completely sexy he could look having just woken up. She had good days and bad days, sometimes perfecting the tousled, just- got-out-of-bed look surprisingly well. She had realized that keeping her mascara and eyeliner on normally made her look much better, provided that she remembered to wipe the smudges away from under her eyes to stop her looking like a panda. Perhaps, this was because Alex had told her that he preferred her with make-up on – something Claudia had been furious about when Lucy had told her. The last couple of months had flown by. Alex had settled in well. His moods had been mixed as usual but Lucy had decided to accept him as he was. There was no use trying to change him, and the more she let his bouts of the blues stress her out the more it would have a negative impact on their relationship. He had really impressed her with the effort he had made on Valentine’s Day the month before. Alex had booked a table at a local restaurant for a six course tasting menu with a matching flight of wine. Lucy had been immensely touched by his thoughtfulness and had relished the chance to be one of those couples that she had always envied, staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, on the night of the year when she had always felt at her lowest.
She left him happily munching his bagel as she curled up on her window seat next door to phone Tor. They were meeting for their regular lunch at Tor’s insistence, despite her being in her ninth month of pregnancy. As soon as Tor answered she said, ‘Holland Park?’
‘That’s exactly what I was calling about! It’s such a beautiful day… but can you manage to get yourself there okay or will it be… too much?’ asked Lucy tentatively.
‘Lucy, I’m the size of a whale, I agree, but I can still walk, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the elephant-child that has taken up residence in my womb stop me from enjoying myself,’ Tor said. ‘Besides, you’re supposed to keep moving if you want the damn thing to come out!’
‘Okay, fine. But don’t go breaking your waters on me or anything like that!’ warned Lucy.
‘I’ll try my best! Eugh, it’s all so disgusting!’ whined Tor. ‘I’ll see you at the usual time.’ she said, hanging up the phone.
The usual time was one o’clock. Alex had made a last-minute plan to meet a friend on Ken High Street at midday so he dropped Lucy off early en route. She ordered a coffee at their usual cafe and sat inside at the table in the corner, thinking about Tor and how lucky she was to be having a baby so soon. The very thought of it stirred the maternal longings within her; she was so desperate to experience it for herself. Lost in thought, she stared blankly out of the window, stirring her coffee.
Suddenly an enormous copper dog, almost a metre high, came bounding over to Lucy, crashing into the table and causing her latte to spill all over the place. Jolted from her daydreams, Lucy looked up in shock at the huge animal, noticing its glossy chestnut-red fur and brown almond-shaped eyes. The dog was rooting around under the table, trying to gobble up the crumbs that were lurking in the corner, wagging its tail happily. Seconds later, the door to the cafe flung open and a tall, well-built man came striding through it, bringing a blast of fresh spring air in with him.
‘Rufus!’ he boomed in a deep, throaty voice; the ‘r’ rolling softly with the gentle lilt of an Irish accent.
At the commanding tone of his master’s voice, Rufus, who Lucy presumed was the dog responsible for the disruption, sprang to attention: body frozen, ears pricked.
‘Rufus!’ bellowed the voice again, resonating with a note of warning.
At this, the dog began to retreat sheepishly from Lucy’s table. Turning his long head to look expectantly at his owner, he paused.
Lucy followed Rufus’s gaze, taking in the heavy boots, the worn jeans and the thick, knitted jumper; the dishevelled black hair lay in a riotous mess at the top of a ruggedly handsome face. The man’s startling blue eyes were staring beneath dark lashes with a look of forbiddance at the dog; his mouth set in a stern frown.
‘Rufus, here!’ he shouted, pointing at the floor beside him. Rufus darted over to him in a flash, proffering his neck apologetically so that his owner could attach the lead to his collar.
Lucy grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser on the table and started to mop up the mess of her spilt drink.
The man, aware that his dog had wreaked havoc at her table, approached Lucy, clearing his throat awkwardly. ‘Ahem,’ he said; his voice was gravelly and gruff. ‘Apologies for the behaviour of my ill-mannered mutt,’ he muttered huskily.
Lucy looked at this huge hulk of a man and felt something kick-start deep within her. She had never seen someone so striking; his features looked like they had been carved out of stone, weathered by the outdoors. A dark layer of stubble covered his chin, his thick brow was crumpled with the effort of his apology; he was clearly uncomfortable with the situation.
Lucy laughed, trying to put him out of his misery. ‘Honestly, it couldn’t matter less!’ she said. ‘It might have looked like a big spillage, but it was only a couple of drops really.’
‘Could I not buy you a new coffee, at least?’ he asked, concern like a shadow cast over his face.
‘No, not at all. Really, it was nothing!’ she chimed, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder in an effort to look relaxed in front of this strangely attractive man. His presence was having a peculiar effect on her. She felt like she was thirteen years old once again, when she and Claudia would try (and fail) to impress Rob’s older rugby mates, massively out of their comfort zone.
‘Well, if you’re sure? I’m terribly sorry to have disturbed you,’ he said, before turning on his heel, dragging poor Rufus along behind him and out the door, back into the park.
Lucy watched out of the window as he set off along the path, Rufus scurrying along with his tail between his legs, aware that he was not in his master’s good books. Feeling bizarrely flustered, she took another sip of her coffee. She wondered what that salt-of-the-earth-looking Irish man had been doing in Holland Park; he looked like he belonged on some windswept island in the Atlantic.
As she stared out of the window, she noticed Tor’s car crawling up the road towards the small car park that was located just south of the Orangery. Lucy was pleased to see that she had driven, that she was cutting herself at least a little slack given her current state. She watched Tor park the car and went over to help her haul herself and her tummy out from its resting place underneath the steering wheel. They made their way to the cafe, ordered their lunch and sat down, sunglasses firmly in place as they caught up on the recent gossip. Tor laughed at the story of Rufus the dog causing havoc a few minutes earlier and was jealous that she had missed the episode, particularly given Lucy’s flattering description of his owner.
Later, as they were strolling at snail’s pace around the Dutch gardens, Tor proceeded to tell Lucy about all the side effects to pregnancy at the later stages that everyone failed to mention; some of them very unpleasant indeed.
Lucy balked at the thought, squealing, ‘Enough! There’s a reason why people don’t tell you, you know! It’s enough to put anyone off!’
Tor laughed, ‘I couldn’t put you off, could I? Yo
u’ve always wanted kids more than anyone I know. Have you and Alex talked about it yet?’
Lucy said, ‘Kind of. He said he hadn’t really thought about it much when we first talked about it at New Year’s Eve. But then the other day, after we had Claudia and Dan around, we had this conversation about why they are so dead set against having kids. I told him to imagine what life would be like for Granny Annie if she hadn’t had any children. All her friends have died; the only people she sees are her children and her grandchildren. I can’t think of anything worse than being all alone when you are old, with no family and… he kind of agreed. So I think he’s definitely coming around to the idea.’
‘Excellent… so when are you going to start trying? Hopefully soon and then our kids can be friends!’ said Tor excitedly.
‘I was just having the same thought this morning. The thing is, I think we would both want to be married first, and I’m hoping that Alex won’t take too long to ask me. I mean, we are getting on a bit! I know it hasn’t even been a year yet but I think when you know, you just know! Though I’m not sure Alex is quite as ready as I am….men take so much longer to get their heads around change.’
‘True. Well, you’re birthday is next month! Thirty six, you’ll finally join the club! It’ll be here before you know it…’ teased Tor.
‘Don’t remind me!’ groaned Lucy, clasping her hands over her eyes and shaking her head. ‘How did we get so old, exactly?’ she asked in disbelief.
‘Hey, I’m six months older than you!’ Tor said. ‘You can’t complain!’
‘At least you will have a baby by next month, apparently your chances of conceiving rapidly decrease if you haven’t had your first child by the time you’re thirty-five. So I’m screwed,’ moaned Lucy.
‘No you’re not, don’t be daft!’ Tor shoved her playfully. ‘You’ve met the man of your dreams, a smoking hot one at that, he’s moved in, and in no time at all you’ll be engaged!’
‘Maybe I’ll come off the pill as soon as I get a ring on my finger!’ chuckled Lucy.
‘Why not?’ said Tor. ‘A quickie wedding and then nine months later, you can be on maternity leave with me and we can do this every day!’
‘Bliss!’ sighed Lucy, hoping fervently that Alex would get a move on, forcing any creeping doubts that he may not be quite as ready as she was to the back of her mind.
As Tor had predicted, Lucy’s thirty-sixth birthday was upon her in a flash. She couldn’t believe how the time was flying; it seemed only recently that she had entered this decade. On her birthday morning Alex woke her up with breakfast in bed: chocolate croissants, freshly squeezed orange juice and Columbian coffee. He said that she would have to wait until dinner for her present and told her to meet him at six thirty at Leicester Square tube. She wondered what mysterious plans he had in store for her as she set off for work, her mind coming up with all sorts of exciting scenarios of what their evening might entail. Every time the tiny voice inside her head peeped up with the suggestion ‘maybe he’ll propose!’ she immediately drowned it out, wary of raising her expectations, but sadly unable to stop the thought from appearing in the first place.
At work, Lettie and Simon had organized a huge birthday cake for her. Jack sent her an email wishing her a happy birthday; there was no innuendo, she was pleased to see. He had reigned in the flirting since she had left him that evening in the bar. Every now and again she still caught him looking at her, his eyes lingering slightly too long, but mostly he retained a respectful distance and restricted his conversation to work-related topics. She missed their flirtatious banter but she knew that it was for the best.
Later that morning the whole department gathered in the boardroom and sang ‘Happy Birthday’, making a fuss over her and causing her eyes to well up with emotion. She may hate her job, but she really did love her work colleagues, they were such a well-meaning bunch.
She told Lettie and Simon off for going to so much trouble, but they insisted that they all go out to lunch together as a birthday treat. They asked many a leading question about what Alex would be getting her for the big day and she fobbed them off by saying probably something for the house.
For once, her clients seemed to be kind to her today, no complaining emails, whining voicemails or last-minute deadlines. Besides, she had far more important things to be doing with her time, such as reading all her birthday text messages, WhatsApps and Facebook posts, and listening to screeching voicemails from her friends, enjoying the one day of the year when she felt truly popular. Before she knew it, the clock ticked six o’clock and it was time to go and meet Alex.
At the tube station Alex gave her a hug and a birthday kiss before leading her into the French restaurant opposite. Not the most exciting place in the world, Lucy thought, but they did love steak and chips, she reasoned, thinking perhaps Alex had wanted to choose an old favourite to remind her of their first date. He ordered the usual minute steaks and frites in record timing, appearing rather uncharacteristically rushed. He then announced that he was going to give her his present now, if that was okay?
Slowly, he reached inside his suit jacket, retrieving something from the inner pocket. Lucy didn’t even blink or catch her breath, she sat frozen, on tenterhooks, her eyes fixed on his hands as he pulled out… an envelope.
Oh! thought Lucy! Okay, an envelope… plane tickets, a romantic holiday, a mini-break to Paris? her mind whirled through the possibilities.
Alex passed her the envelope, grinning sheepishly. Without a second to lose, she ripped open the envelope and read the card.
Dear Lucy,
I know how much you have wanted to see this. Hope you like it!
Happy 36th Birthday!
All my love,
Alex
Two black and white tickets had fallen out. She read the printed script: Shakespeare in Love, Stalls Row B3, Tuesday April 12th, 7:30 p.m.
‘Oh WOW!’ cried Lucy, disguising her slight disappointment with an over-the-top, enthusiastic reaction. This was an art form that she had perfected over many years of receiving unwanted Christmas presents from her rather strange Aunty Gwynn. ‘That is so kind of you! I have been dying to see this show. I can’t believe we are actually going!’ She got up and leant across the table, kissing him on the lips. Alex visibly relaxed, he was clearly worried that she would be disappointed with her present, and she chided herself for being so greedy. Not to mention for being so desperate for a ring on her finger. She told herself off. She needed to get a grip; it would happen when Alex was ready and not a minute sooner. She blamed the desperate ticking of her biological clock for her impatience.
‘I’m so glad! I remember you saying that you couldn’t wait for it to come out months ago.’ said Alex. ‘That’s why I wanted to order so quickly so that we will finish in time for the start of the show!’
‘Ha ha,’ laughed Lucy. ‘It all makes sense now! The devious goings-on in the mind of Alexander Hayes!’
They finished their meal with plenty of time to spare; walking hand in hand to the theatre, stopping off to buy some peanut M&M’s en route to keep them going until the interval.
It was a wonderful performance, definitely more Lucy’s cup of tea than Alex’s, but he managed to stay awake throughout, bolstered by a stiff gin and tonic in the interval. After the show they got the tube back to Baron’s Court where Lucy opened all the birthday cards that the postman had delivered for her.
As they got into bed, Alex said, ‘Now it’s time for your real birthday present!’
As he began to kiss her, she thought that as birthdays went, this one hadn’t been bad at all.
Chapter Fourteen
Thoroughly fed up with the wintery chill that had been dragging on throughout spring, Lucy had suggested to Alex that they should book a holiday somewhere in the sunshine. She was slightly worried that the long working hours and stress of their day jobs was taking a toll on their relationship. They weren’t spending as much time together as they had when they had first started goi
ng out, and the time that they did spend together felt rather snatched. She longed for the days when they had been more intimate with each other, spending hours and hours lying in bed and talking, snuggled in each other’s arms. It was hard for Lucy to know whether there was actually something wrong between them, as a couple, or whether this was just natural for a relationship as the honeymoon period wore off and they became used to each other’s company. Maybe this was what Jack had meant? She really didn’t want to lose that initial spark, but noticed that whenever she tried to get closer to Alex he seemed to recoil slightly. So she tried not to force it, coming to the conclusion that some time spent together, just the two of them, might be all that was needed to bring them closer together again.
Alex seemed reluctant at first to take time off work but he eventually agreed. They decided to book a trip to Sicily, hoping to catch some early Italian sunshine before the summer kicked in. Lucy had spent a whole weekend while Alex was stuck in the office trawling through travel web sites and TripAdvisor, comparing the costs of flights and all the alternative options available. She finally settled on a sweet little farmhouse bed and breakfast just near the town of Cefalu on the north coast. With their flights and accommodation sorted, it occurred to Lucy that she would need to embark on a shopping spree at some point to find some new bikinis and beachwear for the trip.
Her Saturdays had become rather more empty since Tor had had baby Otto several weeks before, a beautiful bouncing baby boy. When Lucy had gone over to visit him she had marvelled at the radiant glow of motherhood emanating from her friend. She looked so unbelievably happy with this miniature bundle in her arms. It was a miracle of Mother Nature that one could look so amazing despite getting less than two hours sleep a night. Tor had thrust Otto straight into her arms, telling Lucy that she had better get used to him if she was going to be his godmother. Lucy was over the moon and said yes immediately, showering Tor and Otto in kisses while holding his tiny body against her, gazing in awe at every miniscule feature, every perfectly formed little part of him. By this stage her body clock was ticking so firmly that she could almost hear it. Her breasts ached when she was near a baby and she realized that she was going to have to do something about it soon before her body had some kind of phantom pregnancy.
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