by Suzie Twine
“Lucky you called in on them Lois! Now, if you can stay with them for a while, I’ll organise an ambulance. We’ll get them into the community hospital for a few days, I’m pretty sure there are a couple of beds available, that should do it.”
“But Bert’s gone quite mad Richard! It’ll take longer than a few days to sort him out surely?”
“Well maybe, but the likelihood is he’s got an infection, chest or urine most likely. A few days of antibiotics’ll probably put him right.”
“Oh. Well that would be great. Okay, so I’ll stay here. How long do you think it’ll take?”
“No more than an hour, with luck, otherwise I’ll call you.”
When, a remarkably short time later, Lois saw the ambulance pull up outside, she went downstairs to find Bert and Betty sitting, holding hands over rancid cups of tea. Bert got up immediately and said that he must go and take over the watch. “Don’t worry Bert,” said Lois, “I’ll go back up in a minute.” Lois had spent her time upstairs carefully planning what to say to Bert, to encourage him to accept the hospital admission. “Bert, I hope you don’t mind, but I rang Doctor Richard to tell him about the little people.” To Lois’s relief, Bert nodded with interest. “He said there’s a special chemical that can be used to fumigate the house. Apparently it works very well on little people.” Bert gave a hint of a smile. “He suggested a short stay in the community hospital for you both, probably no more than a few days, while the house is fumigated. Bert seemed surprisingly happy with this explanation and when the ambulance crew arrived at the back door, was quite happy to potter off with them. Betty called Lois over, “Thank you Lois, you are a dear. What does the doctor think’s wrong, why’s ‘e gone la-la?”
“He thinks the likelihood is that Bert’s got an infection and with a few days on antibiotics, hopefully he’ll be back to his old self. Now shall I pack a few things for you both?”
“Tha’d be grand pet. And the cat Lois, can you take the back door key and feed ‘im for us while we’re gone?”
“Of course.”
Lois went up and found a very old, dusty suitcase on the top of the wardrobe, into which she packed a few essentials for Bert and Betty. She didn’t like rummaging through their draws, worried about invading their privacy, but also, everything seemed so grimy, she quite expected a mouse to run up her arm! The place really did need a good scrubbing. The carpets were almost black and the most enormous cobwebs hung from the ceiling. And dust, Lois had never seen anything like it, there must have been half an inch on some surfaces. Just as she was about to leave the bedroom Lois heard a scratching noise from above her head. Glis glis in the loft, a sound that would no doubt be enough to encourage Bert’s hallucinations along a treat!
Lois took the case down to the ambulance and waved Bert and Betty off. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and walked back to lock up the house. As she made her way home Lois was surprised to see a car drawing up outside Honeysuckle. As she got closer she could see a vaguely familiar face. “Oh shit, it’s the bloody midwife!” she mumbled under her breath. “Monday, eleven o’clock. I really must start writing things down, my memory is shot to pieces!” The house was a mess, she hadn’t read the book….but then Lois realised, she did have a good excuse, she’d been saving her elderly neighbours from the jaws of death! It took Lois a few seconds to remember Hattie’s name, but it came to her just as she reached the car and Hattie got out. They greeted each other and Lois led the way into the cottage, which it has to be said, was really not looking its best.
Lois felt quite flustered as she offered Hattie a seat and a coffee. Whilst waiting for the kettle to boil she was able to nip to the outside loo and do the specimen that she had also forgotten about.
When Hattie left an hour later, Lois was feeling very positive about the idea of a home delivery. She’d been instilled with confidence that she had the ability to successfully have a natural birth. “Being at home means you’ll be more relaxed and being relaxed means you are less likely to need any intervention. Of course your choices are limited and it is possible that you may have to be rushed to hospital in the advanced stages of labour,” Hattie said earnestly, “but that’s very unlikely.”
When Hattie had gone, Lois went on line and checked the distances to the hospitals. Three maternity units, all about half an hour away. Not ideal, but no doubt the John Radcliffe in Oxford could be reached quicker if one blatted down the motorway fast enough. And then there was the air ambulance… Lois was decided; a home birth was what appealed. That decision made she booked a birthing pool to be delivered to the house two weeks before her due date.
Lois felt so invigorated by her decision to aim for a home birth that, having ordered the pool; she went out for a run. This was something Lois had never done before and was more of a walk than a run. Jog ten steps, walk twenty. But, nonetheless, it was a step in the right direction. As she passed Chaz and Margaret’s house, she wondered how Margaret’s weight loss program was progressing and whether Sicily was still involved.
Lois made her way to Willow Farm and wandered around the stable yard to see if there was any sign of Sicily. The place was deserted. She decided to call in at the house. It was a hot day and her attempt at exercise, meagre though it was, had made her thirsty and she hadn’t had the sense or experience to take a bottle of water with her. And of course, having not seen Sicily for a while, she fancied having a catch-up. As she sauntered along the driveway that led from the yard to the house, she heard a loud rustling in the huge fir hedge, which surrounded the garden. Her brain was just starting to process the fact that she had forgotten all about the guard dog, when it flew around the far end of the hedge, hackles on end and teeth bared! Lois froze. Her heart was pounding in her chest. There was no time to run, there was no time to do anything….except, “SIT!” she shouted, in the most commanding voice she could muster. Lois was astonished, she’d expected to be lying on her back fighting the monster of a dog off within seconds, but instead it was suddenly lying down wagging its tail like a cuddly lap dog. Lois put her hand to her chest and took some deep breaths. She was just contemplating whether it would be safe to move, when a voice behind her made her jump.
“What did I tell you about coming to visit?” Lois spun round to see Sicily standing just behind her. “Lucky I was ‘ere, ‘e’d of ‘ad you!”
“Oh, I was thinking I’d made him sit.”
“No Lo, ‘fraid not, that was me gesticulating from behind you.”
Lois, overwhelmed by shock and relief, felt quite faint. Sicily saw that the colour had drained from her, grabbed her by the arm and guided her to the house.
Lois recovered quickly with the aid of tea and cake. She certainly would not come to Willow Farm again without contacting Sicily first. They spent a very pleasant half hour catching up on each other’s news. Much to Lois’s surprise, Sicily reckoned Maggie had lost twenty pounds since she had taken up her post of personal trainer. However, Lois did wonder whether Sicily was stretching the truth a little.
Lois walked home at a much more sedate pace, exhausted by her burst of exercise and the Alsatian incident. She stopped in at Bert and Betty’s to feed the cat, which was very pleased to see her. Made a fuss of it for five minutes or so, then made her way home and fell fast asleep on the sofa. She was woken within the hour by her mobile ringing. It was Tom. His brother’s wife had just given birth to a girl, Izzy. She was apparently born by emergency caesarian and weighed in at ten pounds.
“Ten pounds! Bloody hell!” squeaked Lois, “That’s huge! Did they realise it was going to be as big as that before Chloe went into labour?” Lois’s mind was conjuring up a very disturbing image of being at home, trying unsuccessfully to give birth to a giant of a baby. The thought made her feel quite sick.
“I’ve no idea. Anyway, shall we go and see them tonight if I can get home early?”
“Won’t she be resting?”
“Joe said it would be fine. He’s so excited. He Sounds like he’s desperate to sh
ow the baby off to someone.”
It was agreed that, provided Tom was home by five, they would drive around the M25 to St Albans and make a brief visit to congratulate Joe and Chloe and welcome Izzy to the family.
Lois felt very unsettled for the rest of the afternoon. Here she was planning a home delivery, my God she’d even ordered a birthing pool. What had she been thinking? She had an image stuck in her brain of being told by the midwife she was going to have to go into hospital, as the baby was too big to deliver at home. She imagined herself having to walk from the house to the car with the baby’s head almost out.
Tom arrived home at four thirty and away they went. Tom had had his plaster removed from his wrist that morning and kept itching his arm and picking loose bits of skin from the back of his hand as he drove, which Lois found particularly irritating. They called into a superstore and bought a card, a little pale green dress and matching cardigan for Izzy and a rather extravagant bunch of flowers for Chloe. She said nothing to Tom about her latest anxieties; she felt she wanted to be the one to decide where to have their baby. Not that he would necessarily take the decision away from her, but just in case.
The nurse at the front desk of the ward directed them to Chloe’s bed. She was sleeping. She looked very pale, accentuated by the fact that they had never seen her without makeup before. The baby was nowhere in sight and they didn’t know quite what to do. They were beginning to wonder whether their trip had been a waste of time when Joe walked into the room carrying the baby.
Lois and Tom peered at the tiny bundle in Joe’s arms. She may have been a whopper of a baby as far as giving birth was concerned, but she looked minute to Lois as she put her finger into Izzy’s tiny grasp. Lois and Tom stood speechless for a while, both processing the thought that before very long, they would have a little bundle like this of their own.
“She’s beautiful Joe!” Lois eventually managed to whisper.
“Would you like to hold her?” Joe lifted the baby in a gesture to pass her to Lois.
“Oh, I d-don’t know,” Lois stammered, “I’ve never held a baby before.”
“Probably a good idea to have a go then?” said Tom smiling. He gently took the baby from his brother, being careful to support her head. Izzy’s dark eyes opened and she squinted up at him and yawned. He gently rocked her in his arms, totally mesmerised.
“Hi,” came a weak voice from behind them.
“Hi, how are you feeling?” Lois walked across and gave Chloe a gentle peck on the cheek.
“Like I’ve been trampled by a heard of wildebeest. But I don’t suppose you need to know that do you?” Chloe paused. Lois thought she could see tears welling up in her eyes. “Anyway, she was worth it. Isn’t she beautiful?” Chloe reached out towards Tom, who walked to the bed and gently laid Izzy in her arms.
Lois handed the present and card to Joe. She felt odd. Not quite faint, but a little wobbly on her feet. Dazed. Shocked perhaps. She glanced at her watch. “Tom we’d better get going and let Chloe get some rest.” She tugged at his sleeve. Tom and Lois said their goodbyes. Tom could hardly take his eyes off little Izzy and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
As they drove away from St Albans they both sat quietly. Their introduction to Izzy had affected them in such different ways. A feeling of awe dazed Tom. He felt that he had never seen anything so wonderful, so miraculous, in all his life. He reached over to Lois and gently rested his hand on her tummy. Pumpkin gave some fluttering movements in response.
Conversely, Lois was feeling petrified. She was silently questioning what in heaven’s name had led her to think that having a baby would be a good idea. She had spent almost the entire pregnancy not really connecting with it. When she’d first taken the pregnancy test, she’d sat on the loo for ages, in shock, until Tom had come to see if she was okay. She’d never imagined it would happen so quickly. But after those initial few weeks Lois had just been ‘living the pregnancy’, not really connecting with the huge changes that were about to happen. Meeting Izzy had brought the massive adjustments they were going to have to make, crashing into her mind.
26
Lois spent much of the following week walking. She discovered quickly the many benefits that walking, in this stage of the pregnancy, had to offer. There was the fitness aspect of course and she was trying to walk briskly and incorporate at least one decent hill each time. Very occasionally breaking out of a walk into a pace resembling more of a shuffle than a jog. Then there was the protected thinking time. She realised, as she lay in bed unable to sleep on the night of their trip to St Albans, that the reason for her not being in touch with her pregnancy was lack of thinking time. With work, the move, the renovations, the puppy, the wedding, the neighbours and so on, life had been directing her thoughts elsewhere and what she needed now was time to focus on Pumpkin and his, or her impending arrival. Yes it was only three weeks until the wedding, but this was more important. So, twice a day Lois walked, for between thirty minutes and an hour. She took her phone with her but had it switched off in her pocket.
Tom was worried about Lois at the beginning of the week. It wasn’t like her to be thoughtful. In fact he hadn’t noticed her being this thoughtful for the entirety of their relationship. She just got on with whatever life threw at her. Except perhaps her parents, she did have a bit of a hang-up with them. Tom’s response to Lois’s withdrawn mood was to spend money. Not vast sums, but he bought lots of little things. Cuddly toys, outfits, socks, shoes, hats, for the baby. Essential oils, scented candles, flowers and chocolates for Lois.
On the Wednesday, as Lois went for her morning walk, she bumped into Debbie, who was, as she put it, taking time out of the madness, that was her home life. They decided to walk together, half an hour around the short wood walk.
Lois was grateful for the opportunity to talk through her newly exacerbated concerns with somebody as experienced in childbirth as Debbie. She told her how Chloe’s ordeal had made her feel extremely dubious about the whole home-birth thing.
“Have you read the book I gave you yet?” asked Debbie.
“Um, no, not yet,” said Lois, tingeing red with embarrassment.
“Well, I suggest you read that first. I am sure you will find it helps you make your decision. And look, you are not carrying a ten pound baby,” Debbie stopped Lois in her tracks, turned to face her and ran her hand over Lois’s bump, tilting her head to the side as she assessed the size of the baby. “You’ve only got five weeks to go haven’t you?” Lois nodded, “Well, unless it has a massive growth spurt, I recon that’ll be a seven pound baby, no more. Has the midwife said any different?”
“No.” Lois still sounded dubious.
“Look Lois, the decision to aim for a home-birth is a major thing and it is YOUR decision and nobody else’s. If you don’t feel comfortable with it, then there’s no point. You need to be comfortable with whatever decision you make. Okay?”
Lois thanked Debbie for her advice.
They had a lovely walk. The weather was warm, but not too warm. The view towards Berkshire was clear. Lois felt very much more positive by the time they arrived back in the lane. As they parted company Debbie called to Lois, “Oh Lois, I forgot to tell you. Richard went to the hospital yesterday. Bert’s got a urine infection apparently. Same time tomorrow?”
“Great!” said Lois, as she thought, ‘Yes Tom, she is a bit scatty, but I like her.’
After the walk Lois went home and read the book that Debbie had given her, straight through, twice! It was fascinating. Enlightening. Reassuring. The message that came across predominantly was the need to be as relaxed as possible during the labour. The more relaxed, the less the likelihood of intervention. As she finished the book for the second time, the sun was shining through the open French doors at the back of the living room. Birds were singing in the back garden and that was all she could hear. Mmm, not too difficult to work out whether the hospital environment would me more or less relaxing than that.
By the end of
the week Lois was feeling much more positive again. She was having long chats to Pumpkin when she thought they were alone. She had even put some serious, deep thought into the actual birthing process. She was becoming more and more confident that it was a home-birth that she wanted. Tom was greatly relieved that Lois was back to her old self and thought that all the little gifts he had bought must have done the job.
The following two weeks flew by for Lois. Mel spent a couple of days in ‘The Park’ during the first week, splitting her time between Adam and Lois. They made a trip to Oxford on the first day. There they found an exquisite dress for Mel, which made her very happy. They then bought shoes and accessories. Finding some sexy underwear to fit Lois proved to be a challenge, but they managed to eventually.
Once all the wedding gear was acquired they dumped it in the back of the estate car, covered it with the boot cover and drove to The Perch for a leisurely lunch. They then drove to the retail park and managed to spend several hundred pounds in the baby/toy megastore, on baby essentials.
“Gosh, good job I bought such a big car Mel!” said Lois as they squeezed the last of the purchases in.
“So when are you going to pick up the cot from your mum’s?” asked Mel.
“Tom’s fetching it tomorrow.” Lois was trying to sound positive about the old cot, which she felt she really couldn’t turn down without causing offence to her mother. “Lick of paint, it’ll look great.” They’d just bought the latest, most researched cot mattress to put in it, and some pretty stick-on animals to put on either end. ‘It’ll look great!’ Lois repeated in her mind. “It’s a good job I didn’t need to buy a cot as well, this baby’s costing us a fortune!
“Of course Pumpkin won’t need the cot for a while. Debbie has said she’ll lend me her Victorian crib for the first few months, while he or she is in our room. In fact, perhaps we could go and collect that today. Would you mind giving me a hand?”