Chapter 29
29
Archie had dropped Monica at the airbase in time for lunch and she and Nadia made the most of a glorious summer’s day. They had Bella with them in the pushchair they’d borrowed from the childminder who had come to the rescue with Giles the day of Monica’s labour. They walked from the airbase, followed the road almost to the entrance to the airfield where they cut right and found themselves at a clearing with a bench and view of the surrounding countryside.
As they’d walked, Nadia told Monica a bit about Hudson. It had been a little over three weeks since they went out for dinner and Beau babysat Carys, slightly more than that since their first kiss in the bus shelter which, when Nadia thought about it, still sent tingles all over her body.
‘He seems like a lovely man,’ Monica told her as they laid out a picnic rug and put the pushchair’s wheels on one end in case a breeze picked up on this otherwise sunny, still day.
‘He’s wonderful.’
Monica had crossed paths with Hudson a handful of times but it was still early days for Monica and Nadia; they hadn’t yet reached the stage of being able to confide in each other. Nadia hoped that that was something they could work on.
‘Wonderful? That’s an understatement; I can tell you’re smitten.’
It had taken long enough to admit it to herself but the more she did, the more comfortable she was beginning to feel with the strong feelings she’d begun to develop for the new man in her life.
Over sausage rolls, a cheese and spinach quiche and slices of homemade pizza, they talked about regular things as sisters – the places they wanted to visit someday, home improvements Monica wanted to do to add on a playroom for the kids, plans for Bella’s christening, and the relief Monica felt that Giles didn’t seem scarred from what had been quite a dramatic summer for him.
‘He can’t wait to start school,’ said Monica, who finished feeding Bella and passed her to her auntie for a cuddle.
Nadia wanted to squeeze in as much auntie time as possible, while she still could.
They talked some more about Giles and when Bella felt so heavy that Nadia realised she was falling asleep, Nadia settled her into the pushchair and with one hand moved it gently back and forth.
‘You’re a great cook. The quiche is amazing.’ Monica lifted up another slice ready to put on a plate. ‘Let me take over; you enjoy this.’
‘I’m fine; pass it up to me.’ She took the slice of quiche with her free hand. ‘I’m glad you like my cooking. I thought I’d made too much for us.’
‘I’m breastfeeding; it’s making me so hungry, I don’t think there will be much left.’
‘Was it the same with Giles?’
And just like that, they were on to talking about babies, the struggles as well as the triumphs, and Nadia’s sadness didn’t feel quite so overwhelming. Maybe it was because she had these four people in her life now; there’d been a gap before, and she hadn’t realised that there might be more than one way to fill it.
‘When are you next seeing Hudson?’ Monica asked when they’d had enough and had packed everything away, ready to stow in the shopping basket beneath the pushchair for the walk back.
‘I see him all the time.’
‘That’s at work. When are you seeing him properly?’
‘Tonight.’ Nadia closed the mini hamper and put it into the basket beneath the pushchair.
‘Have you…’
Nadia felt her cheeks redden. ‘Not yet.’
‘Sorry, that was personal.’
‘It was, but strangely, I don’t mind.’
A nod of understanding before Monica probed, ‘So tonight is the night?’
Nadia laughed. ‘Not necessarily!’
‘Oh, I bet it is. Didn’t you get your legs waxed yesterday?’
‘I might have done.’
With a giggle, Monica rolled up the blanket and with that beneath the pushchair too, they were ready to go.
‘I want to hear all about it, you know, Nadia. You two are at that exciting early stage where you can’t keep your hands off each other so enjoy every second.’
‘Oh, I intend to.’
Yesterday in Whistlestop River, Hudson had met Nadia in the main street and clutched her hand before pulling her in for a kiss that took her breath away. The day before, they’d been to the Whistlestop River Inn with work colleagues and Monica and Archie had collected Nadia afterwards and caught her and Hudson trying to steal a moment with each other down the side of the pub when they thought they had a good five minutes until Nadia’s sister showed up.
‘I don’t care who knows now,’ he’d told her when they were sprung. ‘I’ve waited long enough to feel this way about someone again. I thought I could be single until the kids were much older but I’m glad I don’t have to be.’
Nadia smiled now as she and her sister started their walk back to the airbase. ‘It’s early days but I’m falling for him in a big way. I’ve known him for years. He’s always been a friend, someone I’ve admired.’
‘And now he’s a whole lot more.’
‘Yes, he is.’
‘Do you think he’d be up for a bit of European travel? Bella’s christening isn’t all that far away.’
Nadia felt her cheeks colour. ‘I’ll have to ask him.’
‘It’d be great if you did. We can go out for dinner too, all of us, together.’
‘I’d really love that.’
They walked the rest of the way talking about Switzerland, the country Nadia had left and never admitted to missing until now.
Archie’s work had been very understanding of his current circumstances. He had been down to take time off following the birth of his second child anyway but instead of spending that month in Switzerland, they’d extended the rental at the Airbnb to spend the time here in Dorset. He’d said it was time for them all to be a family, and that Nadia was a part of that.
Almost at the airbase, they said hello to Bess, who had come off shift and met up with Gio, who had brought their new puppy to meet her by the looks of things.
‘Oh, isn’t he gorgeous?’ Monica wasted no time fussing over the dog which Bess was having no luck making sit. ‘Sorry, I’m overexciting him.’
‘He has to learn,’ said Gio. ‘And so do we. Bess here isn’t strict enough.’
‘I am so!’
Gio shook his head in Nadia’s direction. ‘She’s not. If she had her way, she’d let him on the bed, on the sofas; he’d rule the house.’
Bess grinned smugly as she successfully made the dog sit. ‘Good boy, Zeus. See…’ She looked at Nadia. ‘I’m getting in practice with my disciplining skills.’
‘She’s pregnant,’ said Nadia to her sister. And for the first time, it didn’t hurt quite so much.
Monica smiled. ‘Congratulations. And might I say, you’re brave taking on a puppy and a baby at the same time.’
‘It wasn’t planned,’ said Gio.
‘These things never are.’
They let Bess and Gio go on their way and once inside reception, they sat and waited for Archie.
‘I expect Giles is missing his little friends quite a lot.’ Nadia knew it would soon be time for the family to leave and the thought was hard to get to grips with now that the day had arrived. Small talk seemed the best way to get through it.
‘Are you joking?’ Monica grinned. ‘He seems to make friends just like that – he already has a couple from the local park; I’m sure he’ll be talking about more when they come and pick me up.’
Over the last week, the sisters had spent a lot of time together – they’d talked about their childhood, the good, the bad and the ugly parts, they’d cried over the loss of their mother, something they hadn’t done together before now. But mostly, they’d got to know each other again.
And the realisation that Monica was leaving had been hovering in the air the whole time.
Archie arrived shortly after they got back to the airbase and he successfully transferred Bella into her car seat with a little kiss on the top of her head and a whispered, ‘Goodbye, little one,’ from Nadia.
‘Well, this is it.’ Monica’s voice wobbled as they stood next to the car.
Nadia took a deep breath. ‘This is it.’
‘Are you going to start crying, Mummy?’ Giles frowned.
‘Of course not,’ she said, not convincing anyone given the tremble of her bottom lip.
Nadia hugged her sister tightly and held her for a moment while her own tears came, tears not just about the fact she was leaving but also because she had her sister back in her life.
When they parted, Nadia got down to Giles’s level and gave him a tight hug. ‘I will see you soon, I promise. You look after your mummy for me, okay?’
‘I promise. So you will come and see me?’
‘My visit is less than a month away.’
‘That’s a-ges.’ He accentuated the start of the word to show just how long he thought he was going to be waiting.
‘It’ll go really quickly. And then after that, why don’t we plan when you’re next coming here? Your mummy suggested we do it before Bella starts crawling.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘She’ll be into everything. ’ That had them all laughing and Nadia fought to hold back tears, happy tears but also tears of sadness that they were leaving.
Monica coaxed Giles into the car and Archie hugged Nadia tightly.
‘It’s been so good to see you; I mean that,’ he said.
‘Thank you, Archie, for never giving up on her like?—’
But he stopped her mid-sentence. ‘You did what you had to do. That’s life, and we can’t change it. No regrets, eh?’
‘No regrets.’
With one more hug from Archie and another from Monica, Nadia finally let the family get on their way. She stayed out front of the airbase building until she could no longer see their car, no longer see three hands waving out of the open windows.
She was about to go inside when she felt a pair of arms slip around her waist. She relaxed into them and closed her eyes against the sunshine.
‘You okay?’ Hudson murmured in her ear.
‘I’m okay.’ She turned to face him. ‘How do you feel about a trip to Switzerland in a few weeks’ time for a christening?’
‘I’ll have to clear the days off with my boss; she can be a bit scary.’
‘Well, that’s true… I’ll have a word with her, see if she’ll be willing to work something out.’
He planted a brief kiss on her lips. They were at the workplace, after all, although when he checked around them and realised nobody was about, he took her face in his hands and gave her a kiss she wasn’t likely to forget in a hurry.
A taxi pulled up and they remembered where they were. Hudson straightened his shirt, Nadia adjusted her dress as if the kiss and the clinch had made everything fall into disarray.
A woman emerged from the rear of the taxi. ‘Hello, love birds!’ It was Maud, their nonagenarian supporter, and she looked full of beans.
‘Ah, today is the day.’ Hudson beamed at their guest. He hooked his arm for her to slip hers through. ‘Come this way, Maud; Hilda and Maya are waiting for you.’
Maud had won the flight on board Hilda at the silent auction of the charity fundraiser after her winning bid – with a remarkably generous sum – had sealed the deal. She’d called yesterday to confirm – for the third time – what the arrangements were and knew that should the helicopter be called out on a job then the trip might need to be postponed, and if they got a call while they were in the air then they’d have to divert.
She wasn’t put out at all as Nadia repeated this information when they passed through the doors to the airbase.
‘It all adds to the thrill of it, my dear!’ Maud was having the time of her life. ‘And you know all about thrills with this one.’ She nudged Nadia whilst casting a glance in Hudson’s direction.
‘She’s all yours,’ Hudson told Maya, who came through to greet their guest of honour. There would be safety talks first, lots of information for Maud to absorb, but Nadia had no doubt she’d love every second of it.
Their jobs carried on around the airbase, Bess and Noah returned from a job they’d attended in the rapid response vehicle and then it was all systems go for Maud.
As the helicopter blades started up, their chopping against the air a sound that Nadia would never grow tired of, Nadia finished up her work for the day and so did Hudson.
And when they left hand in hand from the airbase, Nadia had to pinch herself when she realised that maybe, at last, she had everything she needed in her life.