Just the Two of Us

by Georgie Capron

  After work she met up with the girls, Tor, Claudia and Nicola, for supper. They went to a trendy new tapas bar in Borough Market. The others drank lots of red wine and chatted about baby names, trying to steer the topic of conversation away from Rory and men in general, keeping things light-hearted and fun. Lucy grilled Nicola and Tor with a million questions about pregnancy and childbirth, while Claudia played her comedic role to perfection, rolling her eyes in bewilderment and pretending to pass out in disgust! Lucy was genuinely intrigued to find out exactly what was going to happen to her in the next six months. She wanted to be as fully prepared as possible for what was to come.

  After the meal, Nicola gave Lucy a beautiful gold bangle with a turquoise stone for her birthday present.

  ‘It’s stunning!’ said Lucy as she slid the cool metal over her wrist. ‘Thank you so much Nic.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure,’ said Nicola, thrilled with Lucy’s reaction.

  ‘And from us, an envelope!’ said Claudia as Tor pushed a card across the table.

  ‘A Mothercare voucher!’ laughed Lucy. ‘What a good idea!’

  ‘It’s to put towards baby stuff,’ said Claudia, stating the obvious.

  ‘But only when you have raided all my bits and pieces that I no longer need for Otto,’ added Tor. Tor was keen to give her as much baby paraphernalia as possible now that Otto was growing older and no longer needed it; she was desperate to declutter her house a little.

  Later, as the time came for them to make their way home, Lucy said, ‘Thank you so much, for everything… for your presents and for tonight. But mostly, thank you so much for being there for me, no matter what. It means the world to me and I couldn’t do this without you.’ She found herself getting a little tearful when she said goodbye as they put her in a taxi, with shouts of ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘We love you!’ fading into the distance as she set off towards Baron’s Court.

  Lucy sat back heavily in her seat and reached into her bag to check her phone for one last time in the dim light of the taxi. Still nothing. Her heart sank to the bottom of her shoes. A shuddering sigh escaped her lips. With her hand on her tummy, she said to her baby, ‘This is it now. It’s just you and me.’ She sat like that for the rest of the journey, staring out of the window as the lights of London flickered like oil lamps from the inky black silhouettes of the buildings they passed by. Finally, the taxi driver turned into Mayfield Road and pulled up opposite number thirteen. A big van was parked outside her house and she wondered vaguely who it belonged to as she paid the taxi driver and thanked him for taking her home.

  Wearily, she clambered out of the taxi and crossed the road, reaching into her handbag to find her house keys. As she weaved her way through the gap between the van and the car next to it, she suddenly became aware of a person sitting on the steps leading up to her flat.

  He lifted his head as she approached, ‘Lucy?’ he asked softly.

  Lucy took a sharp intake of breath; she could not believe her eyes. There, sitting right in front of her, bedraggled and exhausted, was Rory. Her heart stopped beating; she was frozen to the spot as though the Medusa had turned her into solid stone. She dared not move, dared not breathe, in case she somehow shattered the illusion and he disappeared, as he had done so many times in her dreams. Finally finding the strength to speak, she whispered, ‘Rory… you’re here.’ A single tear escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

  ‘Happy birthday,’ he said, standing up and coming over to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as though he would never let her go. She felt as though she had finally come home, this was where she belonged; she knew it with every fibre of her being. She breathed in the musky, peppery smell of him and squeezed as tightly as she could. ‘I’ve missed you so much,’ he said, his voice choked with emotion.

  ‘Me too,’ she sobbed into his shoulder. ‘I thought you weren’t coming,’ she whispered. She was desperate to know why he was here. She didn’t dare believe that all her wishes had come true, that he was back for good, that he had somehow found it in his heart to forgive her.

  Gently, he pulled away from her and looked down at her with those beautiful blue eyes, ‘I’m so sorry, Luce. I’ve been in turmoil these last few weeks, I didn’t know what to do, what to say, so I just didn’t say or do anything at all. It was so cowardly of me. You didn’t deserve it. I’ve been in Edinburgh working this past week or I would have come sooner, but I had to see you.’ Seeing that she was crying, he said, ‘Don’t cry, please don’t cry. I’m here now. It’s okay, it’s okay,’ wiping away the tears that were falling down her cheeks. Then he took her face in his hands and he kissed her. The moment she had been dreaming of and praying for had finally arrived; relief flooded through every part of her body as she kissed him back. She hoped fervently that this meant he had indeed forgiven her, that he could see a way forward for them.

  ‘You’re freezing,’ she said, noticing that his face and hands were stone cold beneath her touch.

  Rory rubbed his hands together to warm them up. ‘I’ve been sitting here all evening, waiting for you to get home. I didn’t know what time you’d be back, and I didn’t want to call you. I needed to speak to you face to face, to explain.’

  ‘Let’s get you inside,’ Lucy said, fumbling once again for her keys and opening the front door. They walked up the stairs, hand in hand. She unlocked the door to her flat, switching on the light and putting her bag down on the floor. Her heart was pounding.

  They crossed over to the sofa and sat down. Rory took both of her hands in his. Taking a deep breath, he said, ‘Lucy, before I start I just have to tell you how much I love you. The thought of living without you these past few weeks has been like torture. I thought about it, I really did. You see I just didn’t know what to do; the whole thing came as such a shock, the pregnancy, the donor stuff. I felt like I’d been knocked sideways. It was awful. I love you so much but I had to think carefully, I had to decide whether I could stand by you if the baby isn’t mine. I hated myself for not contacting you. When I heard you outside my house all I wanted to do was race to the door and open it, to tell you it would be okay, but I just sat there, unable to move. I knew that I couldn’t come here until I had figured everything out. I needed to tell you that yes, I’d stay or no, I couldn’t, once and for all. Anything else wouldn’t have been fair.’

  Lucy listened and nodded, saying ‘It’s okay. I understand,’ as he spoke, holding his hands tightly in hers, her eyes brimming with tears. Her heart sank as she realised that he had come to explain himself, to justify his decision to leave her. It was all too much for him. He couldn’t accept what she had done.

  ‘When you sent me that photo of the scan, everything changed. I looked at that baby and I saw you. I felt such a strong pang of love for that little thing, that I knew, instantly, that I could love it, even if it turns out not to be mine, because it is you.’ Tears streamed down Lucy’s cheeks as she realised she was hearing the words she had so desperately hoped she would hear. ‘It is yours. And I love you, Lucy, so much that it hurts. I can’t bear the thought of life without you. I don’t want to live another second without you. I am in. I am here. If you’ll have me, I am yours. Forever. I have already lost love once before, and I am not… I will not, lose you. Please forgive me.’ He looked at her nervously, waiting for her response, and she could see how much he meant every word that he had said, every beautiful, miraculous word.

  ‘Of course I will, Rory. I love you more than anything,’ she whispered, tears once again falling freely, this time of happiness, and they held each other and kissed through their smiles and laughter.

  Then Rory placed his hands on either side of her waist, he planted several kisses on her tummy and gently stroked it, saying, ‘Hello little baby, I can’t wait to meet you. I promise I’m going to take good care of you and your mummy.’ He sat back up and kissed Lucy again and at that moment she knew that they would make it, the three of them, their very own little family.

 
Chapter Thirty-Six

  The following weekend Lucy moved into Thurloe Crescent. Rory was certainly determined to make up for his recent absence. She was sure that their time apart had forced them both to re-evaluate their relationship. They were both completely and utterly besotted with each other. It was as if they were in the first throws of young love once again. They spent all their time together. Rory took great care of her, empathizing with the miseries of morning sickness and the overwhelming tiredness she was experiencing. They created space for Lucy’s paintings and furniture in the house and soon she felt completely at home. She had always loved Rory’s house but now that it was full of her belongings it had started to feel like her home too. Simon had given Lucy a little flipchart which she had positioned on Rory’s bedside table. It was supposed to chart the progress of your baby’s growth throughout the course of the pregnancy, however instead of the usual fruit-sized comparisons, it was a ‘dad-friendly’ version. The baby had already passed through ‘day-old stubble’, ‘chocolate drop’ and ‘cufflink’ to become the size of a ‘golf ball’.

  As her bump passed through ‘baseball’, ‘BlackBerry’ and ‘loo roll’, Lucy decided it was high time she stopped her usual running regime. Instead they took gentle walks around the park with Rufus tearing off at his usual pace, terrorizing the wildlife. Rory tried his best to make life as easy as possible for her. He took on full responsibility for the housework and cooking and generally declared himself at her disposal for whatever she needed, be it foot rubs or endless cups of herbal tea. Rory was so excited about the prospect of fatherhood that he read almost every parenting book going. He made sure that Lucy was taking care of herself, sleeping and eating well and giving the baby everything it could possibly need.

  Every night he would crawl under the covers and wriggle down the bed. He would say goodnight to the baby using whatever term of endearment the calendar happened to define the baby’s size that week. ‘Night night little Benjy,’ was a particular favourite for week eighteen, a tub of Ben and Jerrie’s ice cream. Or, a few weeks later, ‘Sleep well Whoopee. Don’t you wriggle too much and keep your mummy awake now.’ One night a tiny little fist pummelled the taut skin of her stomach as he was doing so. ‘Lucy! Uke gave me a high five!’ he squealed in disbelief at the little imprint that he had seen appear for a split second before disappearing just as quickly. The baby was apparently the size of a ukulele now, a thought that somewhat disturbed Lucy.

  ‘I certainly felt that one!’ laughed Lucy, reaching around to the spot where the baby had kicked her.

  ‘What does it feel like?’ asked Rory. He had been intrigued by every stage of her pregnancy, his fascination increasing all the more as her bump continued to swell.

  ‘Honestly? It feels like an alien is wriggling around inside me,’ said Lucy.

  ‘That doesn’t sound very pleasant!’ said Rory.

  ‘It’s not unpleasant exactly, more uncomfortable. But you do get used to it!’

  Lucy had loved being pregnant and had never lost the feeling of wonder and gratitude, of awe, at what was happening to her. She knew some women weren’t lucky enough to experience it and that it truly was a miracle: a blessing and not a right.

  They had decided to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex. For Rory it had been love at first sight; he had been utterly enamoured with the baby at the twenty-week scan. The sight of its tiny curving forehead with its little button nose, its fist curling up towards its face, coupled with the miraculous sound of the heartbeat echoing through the room had moved them both to tears.

  ‘Not long now little one,’ he said, planting a kiss on her belly. ‘Not long now! You sleep tight.’ He crawled back up to the top of the bed as Lucy rolled over; resting her bump on the crescent shape pillow Rory had bought her for extra support. He stroked her hair and kissed her gently.

  ‘I love you Luce,’ he said as her eyes began to close.

  ‘I love you too,’ she said. She truly meant it. He was absolutely everything to her. She had never felt such peace and contentment, and such hope and excitement for the future.

  The next day she was going to meet Claudia for lunch in order to celebrate the first day of her maternity leave. It was a month until her due date; she had decided to give herself plenty of time between finishing up at work and the baby’s arrival. She had some last-minute baby-related shopping to do, in particular a tube of nipple cream that Tor swore was a lifesaver. Oh how her life had changed!

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Rory’s phone vibrated in his pocket as he walked out of the meeting. ‘Clauds?’ he said, surprised to see her name flash up on his iPhone.

  ‘Rory! I’m so glad you answered!’ she said, her voice sounding strangely high-pitched.

  ‘To what do I owe this pleasure?’

  ‘Without wishing to alarm you, I’m in a taxi with Lucy and we’re on the way to the hospital. Her waters broke while we were out shopping and she appears to be having contractions!’

  ‘Oh my god! Is she there? Can you put her on?’ His heart rate had skyrocketed at this announcement. ‘Luce? Are you all right?’

  ‘Hi Rory,’ she said. ‘I’m okay, don’t worry but I’m afraid the baby might be coming rather early.’

  ‘Have you spoken to the midwife?’

  ‘Yes I’ve just called the hospital. They think I am in labour. It should be okay, the baby should be fine. Will you come as soon as you can?’

  ‘I’ll jump in a cab right now. See you there, oh and keep your phone on you,’ he said as he hung up the phone. He flagged the very next black cab he saw and instructed the driver to head straight to the hospital. Unfortunately, just as the driver rounded the corner, they entered an enormous tailback. There had clearly been an accident up ahead. After several minutes they were still sitting stationary as the lights ahead turned from green to orange and back to red without a single car moving. Rory began to tap the keys on his phone to try and find a travel alert. It seemed that the whole area was totally gridlocked. He scanned the map on his screen but there were no tubes or trains nearby. He tried to figure out his best bet. Should he stay in the car or get out and run? He felt sick with nervous anticipation as he willed the traffic to clear. It was an infuriatingly slow process. His knuckles were white as he drummed his fingers on the seat next to him. He wanted to shout in frustration. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the traffic began to get moving. Slowly but surely, they crawled past the accident. Two cars had collided with each other at a set of lights. Unsurprisingly as soon as they passed the incident the roads began to clear. Rory asked the driver to step on it as he picked up his phone to call Claudia and give her an update as to his whereabouts.

  When he finally arrived at the hospital, Rory raced through the corridors, asking the first nurse he saw where he could find the labour ward. He held his phone up to his ear as he ran, listening to Claudia telling Lucy to breathe as she groaned in pain. Things seemed to be moving ridiculously quickly with Lucy’s labour. ‘Tell her I’m almost there!’ he shouted into the receiver, pressing the button for the lift frantically, willing it to arrive quickly and for the baby to stay put for a few moments longer.

  Arriving on floor five, he hurtled down the labour ward, getting directions from Claudia as he ran. He pushed open the door to room 137 and saw Lucy lying on the bed. A midwife was by her side; things were clearly progressing fast. ‘Lucy!’ he called as he ran over to her bed. ‘I’m here! It’s okay, it’s okay.’

  Claudia let go of Lucy’s hand gratefully and stepped back from the bed as Rory bent down to kiss her forehead. It was clammy with sweat and her cheeks were flushed.

  ‘Rory!’ Lucy paused mid-pant. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I was so worried you might miss it.’

  ‘Me too!’ said Claudia. ‘You put the frighteners on us, I can tell you. I’m not quite sure how much of a birthing partner I am cut out to be! And this looks like it’s going to be the world’s shortest labour!’

  ‘You’ve been wo
nderful, Clauds…’ Lucy tailed off and gripped onto Rory’s hand.

  He thought his bones might break from the strength of her grip as another contraction swept through her. It was awful to see her in so much pain. She was using the breathing technique they had been taught in their antenatal classes. Short, sharp bursts of breath.

  ‘Good, you’re doing your breathing,’ he said, joining in for moral support with the rhythmic breaths. After a minute or so the contraction stopped and Lucy’s body relaxed once more.

  Turning to face Claudia, Rory said, ‘Clauds, how can I thank you? You’ve been amazing taking care of her so well. You are a true legend.’ He was eternally grateful to her for stepping into the breach. He knew it must have been difficult for her with her fear of hospitals.

  ‘I’m just so glad you’re here now, before the gory action really starts!’ laughed Claudia.

  ‘Thanks Clauds,’ said Lucy. ‘I really mean it; you truly are the best friend a girl could ask for!’

  ‘Right, I think my work here is done! I shall leave you soon-to-be-parents to it and see you when you are a little family!’ she said. She gathered her belongings and bent to kiss Lucy on the cheek. ‘See you when you are out my little future godbaby,’ she said, leaning down to kiss the bump.

  ‘Yes,’ said Lucy, addressing her bump, ‘the sooner the better please!’ With that, another huge groan reverberated around the room as she was swept up in yet another wave of pain. Lucy’s body tensed and her cheeks reddened as she gritted her teeth and waited for the contraction to pass.

  ‘Luce, I’m so sorry it took me so long, the bloody traffic was awful…’ he said, taking hold of her hand and pushing her fringe away from her eyes.