Chapter 18
Beth
Beth had never felt so nervous before. She kept telling herself off for being ridiculous. All she was doing was mixing with other parents. Nothing new considering her job. So why on earth was she feeling so worried? It wasn’t as if they knew about her doorstep incident. At least, she hoped not.
A young woman greeted her at the doorway to the church hall, not giving her the time to turn on her heels and run away. Oh well, she was there now. Might as well check it out. Besides, she really wanted to talk baby banks with anyone who would listen.
The hall held a light scent of Archie’s baby lotion, which had Beth raise her nose to the high ceiling for a second sniff.
‘Just park your pram over there, please,’ said the woman who seemed to be the host.
Beth turned to the small windows lining one wall and pressed on the brake. Archie was staring up at her, eyes wide and alert. She picked him up, letting his blanket slide down to the mattress.
‘Morning,’ said a man around her age. ‘Lovely day today.’
‘Yes, nice and mild.’ She watched him lift a baby dressed in a blue tracksuit from his own pram.
‘I’m Edward.’ He turned his child to face her. ‘And this little chap is Lester. First day?’
Beth nodded as she smiled at his baby. ‘Yes. I’m Beth, and this is my son, Archie.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Archie,’ said Edward, waggling a teething ring in his face.
‘So what exactly do we do here?’ she asked quietly.
‘Different things each week.’ He gestured to the host laying colourful soft playmats over the hard floor. ‘Shelby has us sing songs, do baby yoga, talk about how we’re coping, baby troubleshooting.’ He snorted as he laughed.
‘Hey, guys,’ said a woman around Beth’s age. ‘I hope we’re not doing stretching today. My back’s gone again.’
Edward introduced Lola to Beth, then two more mums who came along.
Soon enough, Beth found herself sitting in a circle, introducing herself and Archie, as they were the only newbies in the group.
The parents were friendly and quite pleased she was a teacher, thinking she should know more than them, even after she told them she normally worked with six-year-olds.
Shelby was quick to warm up her group, having them sing something upbeat while clapping their babies’ hands.
Archie appeared to be the youngest, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He broke out his smile a few times, burped twice during the song, and stretched an arm, which made Beth laugh, as it looked as though he was about to dance.
‘As Lola’s back is hurting,’ said Shelby, ‘why don’t we spend some time talking about how we can adjust our posture to reduce injury.’
Lola chuckled. ‘All I need adjusting is the lift in my block of flats. If I didn’t have to lug that big thing up and down ten flights, I might not have a bad back.’ She motioned towards her pram.
Beth listened as another mum spoke of sleeping a lot in a rocking chair, as it was the only time her baby got a good sleep. Someone else said their baby would sleep well if it wasn’t for her other two kids screaming the house down every night because they refused to go to bed.
The stories continued, and it was surprising to hear so many complaints. Edward said he felt lonely on the days he didn’t have the energy to get out, which gained him lots of sympathy smiles. Beth wondered where his partner was but didn’t like to ask. No one had asked her, so she figured it wasn’t a topic unless the person brought it up.
Shelby turned to Beth. ‘Would you like to talk about anything? Everything goes here.’
It would appear, seeing how a lady called Moira spoke of her haemorrhoids that hadn’t gone down since giving birth over six months ago.
Beth didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to go over her hospital story. It was hard enough talking about it to Jan, Pearl, and Spencer. She just wanted it gone from her mind. ‘Erm, I’m not sure.’
Lola placed her daughter on the mat in front of her as she glanced at Beth. ‘Aww, bad birth story, babe? There has been a couple in here the last few months.’
Beth wondered just how much her expression had given away for Lola to say that. Was trauma written all over her face? ‘It wasn’t what I expected,’ was all she cared to add.
Moira chuckled. ‘Never is, love.’
The woman who had three kids chimed in. ‘My first was a bloody nightmare. Second, no problem, but this one—’ she pointed at the eleven-month-old trying to crawl away — ‘everything went wrong at the hospital. Don’t know if it was the midwife’s first day or what, but she didn’t have a clue. Mind, she was on her own and looked dead on her feet.’ She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing. ‘Little man got distressed. I ended up being rushed off for a caesarean, my old man was in bits.’
‘It happens,’ said Lola. ‘It’s not all storks with neatly wrapped packages.’
Beth shook her head. ‘No, definitely not. Although, my birth was okay. I just had problems leading up to that day.’ She stopped herself, not wanting to continue. They seemed a nice enough bunch, and she was sure they would understand, but the story was exhausting, so she left it at that and hoped nobody probed.
Another woman started talking about her birth story while she sat breastfeeding, and she went on for quite some time, which seemed to bore Lola, judging by her dramatic yawn, but Beth found the birthing pool information quite interesting. Not that she would ever use one. She wouldn’t be using any labour wards or tranquil birthing rooms. Just the thought of falling pregnant again brought about a cold sweat.
Just as Shelby went to change the subject to vitamin drops, Beth raised her free arm.
‘Oh, you can just pop to the loo,’ said Shelby, gesturing to the end of the room over by the small stage. ‘You don’t need to ask.’
Beth shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that. I just wondered if I could pick your brains while you’re here.’ She looked at each person in turn. ‘I’m doing some voluntary work at the Happy to Help Hub. I’m sure you’ve all heard of it.’
They nodded, and Lola mentioned she used the food bank one time.
‘Well,’ added Beth, ‘I want the food bank to also be a baby bank. It won’t be huge or anything, as there isn’t the room, but if I can get people to donate some nappies, perhaps old clothes, blankets, small bits and bobs. That sort of thing. What do you think?’
Moira raised her finger. ‘I can donate to the baby bank. I’m not having any morekids, so any baby bits I no longer need can go to the Hub.’
‘I can buy some nappies,’ said Edward. ‘I have some brand-new babygrows as well that Lester never got around to wearing.’
Lola widened her eyes at him. ‘I told you before about wasting money, Ed. Doesn’t matter if you’re loaded. You don’t have to buy everything you see.’
He bobbed his head at Beth. ‘It’s true. I buy far more than what’s needed. Lester has a whole stack of bath robes he’s never used. You can have those too.’
‘You want to see if you can get anyone to donate baby milk,’ said Moira. ‘Costs a small fortune.’
Everyone murmured their agreement on that.
Beth felt so pleased she’d drummed up support on her first day, and that she felt relaxed at last. It was good hearing all the different birth stories, how tired everyone was, and the reassurance the group gave to each other whenever someone spoke of getting things wrong. She no longer felt alone, and after hearing Edward and Lola say they had no partner to help, she felt blessed she had Spencer.
‘You could hire help,’ Lola told Edward.
He wrinkled his nose. ‘It would make me feel as though I’d failed.’
Moira scoffed. ‘Don’t be daft. If I could afford a nanny, I’d hire one straight away.’ She leaned back on her hands. ‘Oh, how lovely it would be to let someone else take over. My other half doesn’t know one end of a baby bottle from the other. He thinks going out to work every day is hard. He should try stopping home.’
As much as Beth wanted to say something wonderful about Spencer, she held back. He wasn’t her partner, so she wasn’t quite sure how to explain their living arrangements. Perhaps she should talk to him, seeing how she’d been there a couple of weeks. It was nice in his flat, and she was sure if he wanted her to move out, he would say.
The rest of the morning was enjoyable. Beth even stayed for the free cup of tea and biscuits on offer. It was nice to make new friends, especially ones in a similar boat to her.
After tucking Archie up in his pram, she headed for the shops. Her son had a birthday card to buy for his father, thanks to Lottie letting her know. She needed to think of a suitable present for someone she hardly knew.
As soon as she saw the Dad coffee mug in the card shop, it was a done deal. Pleased with her purchase, she headed to Berry Blooms to see the man who she was growing attached to more and more each day.
Spencer beamed as she entered the shop, rushing forward to help with the door. ‘How did it go?’
‘Really well. I’m definitely going back. The group was so nice, and Archie had fun. We’re doing baby yoga next week.’
Spencer lifted him from the pram. ‘Oh, is that right?’
Archie grumbled.
‘He’s due a bottle.’
‘I’ll sort that,’ said Spencer, grabbing the baby bag and heading for the back room.
‘Have you had any lunch yet?’
‘No. I’m still waiting for Lottie to come to work.’
‘I can get us something from the café if you like.’
Spencer glanced over his shoulder at his coat. ‘My wallet’s in there.’
‘No need. My treat.’ And before he could argue, she left.
Seagulls cried above, gaining attention, and Beth watched them swoop low to the tips of the calm sea. She stopped outside Harbour Light Café, gazing at the scenery. Was it fate that brought her to Port Berry? She didn’t care. All she knew was ever since meeting Jan and Spencer, life had eased.
‘Gets you like that,’ said Jed, appearing at her side.
Beth snapped out of her trance with the harbour. ‘Oh. Yes, I guess it does.’
‘Magical place,’ he said, grinning.
‘Magical?’
‘Sure. She knows things does Port Berry.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like who is meant to be here.’
Beth giggled. ‘What if they’re not? Do they get swept out to sea?’
‘Nah, they just leave.’ He raised a finger before she could speak. ‘However, they think that was their choice, but it was Port Berry at work. See, magical.’ He tapped the side of his nose, then went over to the café door, holding it open for her.
Beth entered the nautical-themed eatery, smiling at the trawler net above her head.
‘Don’t you worry about Port Berry chucking you overboard, my girl. You’re one of us. She knows it, and so do I.’
Beth went to say something, but the elderly man started singing a sea shanty, gaining the customers’ attention, and she could do no more but smile. It was a nice feeling being part of the community. Even better feeling her smile reaching her heart.