Epilogue
GOLDENWYCH, TWO YEARS LATER
‘Would you wait a moment, please,’ said the nurse as she guided the scanner over Caitlin’s swollen stomach. ‘I’m going to fetch a colleague. There’s nothing to worry about.’
She smiled reassuringly and left the room.
Caitlin and Lee stared at each other in surprise. Caitlin’s pregnancy had been progressing smoothly so far.
‘Have a look while she’s out of the room,’ Caitlin whispered.
‘No,’ Lee replied.
‘You’re a doctor,’ she said, her voice tense. ‘You’ll be able to tell if there’s something wrong.’
‘I probably could tell, but this isn’t my area of expertise,’ he replied.
Caitlin lay back and waited. Ever since the triumph of Cordelia’s Tale, life had taken on a magical quality and she had been convinced this was thanks to the breaking of the curse.
‘The curse that probably didn’t ever exist,’ Rachel had laughed one day when Caitlin had mentioned this theory.
Gillian’s pregnancy had gone without a hitch, delivering a multiple birth of three girls. Both she and Alan had been overwhelmed but delighted.
Rachel’s divorce from Pete, while not friendly, had not hit anything other than the usual snags and Larry had insisted on paying Pete a lump sum if it would ensure Rachel, Emelia and Porcelain were protected.
Pete had recently moved to Spain with his new girlfriend, but he spoke to his daughters twice a week.
Edward had been true to his word and as soon as Rachel’s divorce was final, he had proposed.
They had opted for a quiet register office wedding and been blissfully happy ever since.
Sindy, Rosie and Vicki had been absorbed seamlessly into the King family and there were days when Caitlin forgot it had not always been this way.
Caitlin and Lee’s marriage had taken place in Goldenwych Church with a reception in the theatre afterwards.
Larry had walked her down the aisle and had managed to make a speech at the wedding breakfast afterwards.
His condition had continued to deteriorate, but at a slower pace, thanks to the drugs.
Caitlin hoped he would be able to understand and enjoy the birth of her and Lee’s first child.
‘Why do you need to find out the gender?’ Rachel had said with a laugh when Caitlin and Lee had set off for the scan. ‘It’ll be a girl. It’s always a girl. We only have girls.’
‘It’ll be good to have it confirmed,’ Caitlin had replied.
The door opened and another nurse entered. She smiled at Caitlin.
Caitlin gripped Lee’s hand as the nurse examined the screen.
‘Perfect,’ she said. ‘My colleague was correct, but it’s always good to confirm these things.’
‘There’s nothing wrong, is there?’ asked Lee.
‘Absolutely not,’ said the nurse. ‘Two happy and healthy babies, twins.’
‘Twins?’ said Caitlin in surprise.
‘Do you want to know? Boy or girl?’
‘Yes,’ said Lee.
‘Congratulations, it’s one of each, a baby boy and a baby girl.’
Outside the window, a rook cawed, before disappearing off into the brilliant summer sky and the Everywhen.