by S L Lewis
‘I honestly don’t know, but even if it is, I will not tell you as I don’t want you in our lives. Make it easy on yourself and leave us alone,’ I determined before I walked out the door and left him in a daze of astonishment.
Maternity leave would have been perfect if I could just relax and concentrate on changing the flat from a bachelorette pad to a perfect baby haven, but my family had other plans.
Although Amelia had moved into her own apartment just a few streets away and Gabrielle had moved into John’s semi detached house on the outskirts of North London, I still had to contend with seeing my overbearing mother every day, giving me her ‘thoughts’ on what I needed for each stage of the baby’s development.
‘Neets, how about this breast pump?’ she eagerly asked as she shoved the catalogue under my nose as I assessed my dad’s handy work with trying to put the cot together and blaming the tools on why it wasn’t coming together.
The only break I got from the overbearing ‘Mary Poppins’ and the not so ‘Handy Andy’ was when Renesh would come round to give regular updates on his situation and for me to check that he wasn’t going into a deep depression.
It was difficult for us all to know how to treat Renesh after the engagement party.
Of course, we wanted to support him through this hard time, as he was our brother who we loved dearly but then I remembered that he caused so much pain to his pregnant, and now estranged wife and my mum and dad.
After the engagement party, Renesh fell into a deep depression and started to drink a lot. Shilpa left him and although he was no longer thinking in a sane manner, he was still able to reject the constant bombardment of phone calls and texts and attempts to visit him from Manisha and Shampa.
Mum and dad were a great support but it still couldn’t erase the memories and after a stint in rehab, he moved back in with them for his own safety. ‘Hey bro, you’re looking a lot better today,’ I complimented him as he came through the door.
Dressed in a crumpled black hooded top and off white jogging bottoms, he was unrecognisable from the man I knew a few months ago.
The stench of whisky filled the air, and it was left to mum to confront him.
‘Can I smell alcohol on your breath? I thought you were going to sober up for the babies, if not for yourself,’ my mother preached as my father emerged from the baby’s bedroom with a face like thunder.
Renesh threw himself on the sofa and held his head in his hands. ‘She said she is divorcing me and there’s nothing I can do about it,’ he responded as he passed his mobile phone to me to prove the request with a text by Shilpa visible on the screen.
We always knew it was a long shot for Shilpa to give him another chance but we all hoped and prayed that for the sake of the baby she was carrying, she would but this was the final scene and she was adamant that she was over him when she arranged for her cousins to go to their flat and remove all of her items three weeks later.
With Gabrielle enjoying martial bliss with John and trying to get his family to understand we are not an insane family, Amelia’s career going from strength to strength and accepting a promotion which would have her leading their department in Paris and Anya re-designing every aspect of Dolph’s apartment, things were going well for everyone. It wasn’t only until Anya screamed at me, ‘you’ve pissed on my designer rug,’ that we knew baby Patel was on his or her way.
Amelia grabbed my phone and called Yatin, Gabrielle called mum and dad and after Anya tried to scrub the stain out of her rug, she managed to think about the pain I was going through and helped me down the stairs with the others
‘Breathe Neets, breathe,’ Gabrielle shouted as she tried to demonstrate what I should be doing, based on all the films she had watched about childbirth (all of which were Hollywood movies).
After everyone laughed at her, including the taxi driver, who found it funny until he saw a little more of my predicament than he wanted to; he never looked back after that moment, he sped through traffic like driver possessed. We were at the hospital in 10 minutes.
Checking in was the trickiest part, as the nurse didn’t feel I needed to be seen as I was only 6cm dilated.
‘She needs to continue the breathing exercises and a doctor will be with her shortly,’ she demanded as Amelia began to lose patience with her.
Pacing around for 5 minutes, with Gabrielle rubbing my back and Amelia feeding me ice chips, Yatin came racing in with my parents. ‘How are my babies doing?’ he gasped as he tried to regain his breath. Amelia gave him an update on how angry she was at the treatment we were receiving and Gabrielle went outside with Anya to phone their partners.
Pregnant ladies came into the hospital and were wheeled out of the waiting area by the minute and my patience was wearing thin.
‘I need to see someone now,’ I screamed at the nurse, who had just started her shift. She ran away to find a doctor.
Gabrielle and Anya seemed to be gone for a long time, so Amelia was sent to investigate the situation. ‘What are you two doing? We need you in there?’ Amelia commanded as she regarded Gabrielle still on the phone with John and looked over at Anya speaking to a doctor.
‘Who is he?’ Amelia asked Gabrielle as her attention was now diverted.
Gabrielle promised she would keep John updated and hung up.
‘One of her old client’s I think,’ she said coolly as they approached the flirting pair.
Neither looked fazed as the two girls joined them.
‘This is Martin. We are old friends,’ Anya purred with her hand on his arm.
They all knew what that meant but wondered why Anya was wasting time flirting when her friend was about to give life. The question was answered as though she was reading there minds.
‘Martin is going to deliver Neets baby now. He’s the only man I would trust to do it,’ she purred as she escorted him inside.
Dr. Bremmer worked in the hospital, in the private practice section, so not only was I seen by a private doctor but Anya managed to arrange that I had my own suite at the other side of the building.
‘You’re velcome daaarling,’ she smiled as I was wheeled away into the room, leaving the other nurses green with envy.
I would love to say that childbirth was a dream and it was all harps and happiness but it was far from it.
Along with the pain and a long labour, every thought came back to hoping that the baby was Yatin’s.
The screams came and went, energy was depleting and silence filled the room as the doctor whispered, ‘we need to take her to theatre’ to Yatin as he tried to reassure me everything was fine, it was just a precaution, but the tears in his eyes didn’t lie.
I wasted all the months praying that Angus wasn’t the father of my precious baby when I should have been praying that my baby was just happy and healthy.
It was all based on the next few hours which felt like seconds, as I came round from the anaesthetic to see Yatin holding this small bundle of joy.
The room was like a hotel suite and I was amazed to see Amelia, Anya and Gabrielle on the sofa facing my bed and mum and dad cooing over the baby with Yatin not wanting to let her go.
‘It’s a girl,’ Yatin announced as he slowly walked over to my bed for me to finally hold my daughter.
She was beautiful.
Dark brown hair, fair skin and wrapped in a pink blanket, she was the most precious thing on this earth to me and all stress and strains of the previous months disappeared.
Flashes from cameras engulfed the room; family members came and went, to see the new addition and big bouquets of exotic flowers and teddy bears were placed in every inch of available space.
‘Ooooh Sarah has splashed the cash hasn’t she?’ Gabrielle said as she admired the extravagant coat she bought for the baby.
Amelia and Anya continued to help open the presents for me, as the crowds of well-wishers dispersed and mum, dad, Gabrielle and Yatin went to admire the baby in the nursery.
As they opened present after pres
ent, they came across a large card inscribed, ‘to a lovely new mother’.
Anya was only interested in the presents to unwrap, so Amelia did the honours and opened the card.
Big, pink and overloaded in glitter, it looked like it should have been on a float at the GAY Pride parade.
‘Who is it from?’ I enquired as Amelia showed the inside to Anya and they began to look uncomfortable.
‘Well?’ I pressed as they began to quickly clear away the wrapping paper and put the gifts into order on the table.
‘It’s from Angus,’ Amelia said under her breath.
Anya didn’t look up and continued to find something to divert her attention and I demanded to see the card, it read, ‘To a beautiful mummy, I wish you all the best and hope to see the little girl very soon as I have another present for you both. Yours A x.’
I ripped up the card and threw it on the floor.
‘Don’t get angry Neets, please,’ Amelia pleaded as she came to hug me but I still wondered why Anya was not joining in with my rage?
She was always the first to say something about Angus, so why is she so quiet now? I probed her attitude.
‘Why are you not commenting?’ I questioned as I tried to catch her eye.
There was nothing she could do as there was no more paper to clean up.
‘You may as well tell her,’ Amelia suggested as my mind was beginning to get overloaded with thoughts of what they could say next.
Looking around to make sure no one else was in ear shot; Anya moved next to my bed and confessed. ‘He came to the flat a few days ago but you weren’t home. I told him to leave but he wouldn’t until I agreed to give you a message.’
Anya looked at Amelia for support and it was the first time I saw her hard exterior slip.
With the support given, Amelia concluded, ‘he said he wants a DNA test and if it’s his he will fight for access.’
Without time to absorb the news that could destroy my perfect life with Yatin, as I still hadn’t told him that there is a 50% chance he was not the father of this beautiful little girl, who he already dotes on, Renesh walked in with the others.
He was wearing similar scrubs that Yatin was wearing when I was giving birth.
He came over to my bed and gave me a hug.
‘Why are you wearing scrubs?’ I asked with a puzzled look on my face which distracted me from my own problems for the moment. He looked at mum and she nodded as though giving him permission to speak, he took a deep breath and stated, ‘Manisha has just had a baby boy.’
No one knew what to say until Anya broke the silence.
‘Congratulations,’ she said nervously and gave him a hug.
Not knowing what to do or say the others followed Anya’s train of thought and started coming up with baby name ideas and comments on who they think my baby looks like.
Whilst dad comforted Renesh and tried to give him words of wisdom on the sofa, I tried to smile with all the happy conversations around me, and did my best not think about the revelation from Anya earlier but it was too much to handle and a tear fell from my eye.
Knowing that I was no longer overwhelmed by the hours of pain or lack of energy, Amelia and Anya held my hands for support and I made it my priority to look after myself, my daughter and Yatin by moving away from London as soon as I left hospital, so that Angus could not get the chance to destroy my new life with my new fiancé and our baby.
227
Table of Contents
Start