Chapter 8
Alex was pacing the kitchen in tight circles as he rammed a slice of toast into his mouth and chewed rapidly. Zoe caught another two as they popped up from the toaster and took them to the table.
‘You’re making me giddy. Sit down – walking up and down won’t make you eat any faster.’
‘Too much to do,’ he mumbled through a mouthful of pulpy bread.
‘There’s nothing to do – you’re ready. The guests aren’t coming until two – that’s six hours away.’
‘Need to go down to the field to make sure the pathways are clear.’
‘They will be.’
‘It rained last night.’
‘Hardly at all.’ Zoe buttered another slice and held it out to him. ‘Sit down, please. Your stress is catching, and I’d rather not start the day stressed.’
He went to the table and took the toast from her. His backside hit the chair for a second, and then he got up again. ‘It’s no good. I’ll take Grizzle over; he needs a walk anyway, and I won’t be able to take him that way much from now on. Griz! Here, boy!’
Their shaggy dog bounded in from another room and leaped at Alex.
‘Walkies?’
Griz dashed over to the peg where they kept his lead and pawed at the wall as if he could reach it down.
‘All right, I’m coming…’
Stuffing the last of his toast into his mouth, Alex reached for the lead and clipped it to Grizzle’s collar. He turned to Zoe. ‘Want to come with me?’
‘Sorry, haven’t got time this morning. I said I’d call on Maisie before I start work to help her go through some forms so she can apply for child benefit.’
‘We ought to do ours,’ he said. ‘We haven’t yet claimed for Louisa.’
‘If you recall, we said it was Billie’s job and we shouldn’t interfere – that’s why we haven’t done it. She’s feeling much better now; I expect she’ll sort it when she gets a minute.’
‘Oh, yeah…’ Leading Grizzle, he stamped his feet into a pair of wellies that were waiting at the back door. ‘Now I remember. It’s not like she’s cost us loads of money anyway.’
‘Not yet.’
‘So you’ll be gone when I get back?’
‘Yes.’ Zoe got up and planted a kiss on his lips. ‘Stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine, and you’re going to be brilliant. Good luck – let me know when they’ve arrived and checked in, and if you need anything…’
‘I won’t call you,’ he said with a smile. ‘You’ve got enough to do.’
‘Don’t stress it. If you really need something, then I’ll have my phone to hand. I can’t say I’ll be able to sort it straight away, but I can at least try to help you come up with a solution. But you won’t need me because you’ve got this all in hand. I have faith in you.’
Billie came into the kitchen with Louisa. ‘Shall I go back upstairs so you two can be loved up for a bit longer?’
Alex grinned. ‘Cheeky little madam. It doesn’t matter how old you get, that doesn’t change.’
‘Wait until we have it in stereo,’ Zoe said. ‘It won’t be long before Louisa will be cheeking you back too.’
‘If I train her right, yeah.’ Billie took a seat at the table. ‘You’re taking Griz now? I would have come with you if you’d waited.’
‘I think your dad has some nervous energy he needs to work off.’ Zoe went back to her toast.
‘He’ll want another walk later,’ Alex said. ‘You can take him then, if you don’t mind, while I get things ready for the guests.’
‘I thought everything was ready,’ Billie said.
Zoe rolled her eyes. ‘It is. Only your dad is convinced there’s more to be done.’
Billie shrugged as she settled Louisa on her lap. ‘Well, if you need help later with the imaginary things you have to do, Dad, I don’t mind.’
‘You’ve got your hands full… Yes, I’m coming…’ He glanced down at Grizzle, who’d started to scratch at the door. ‘I’d better go. I’ll see you both later.’
He flung the door open and, after following Grizzle out, let it slam shut again, startling Louisa, who began to cry. Billie frowned as she soothed her.
Zoe got up to put some more bread in the toaster. ‘Is it only me who thinks your dad might be a tad nervous today?’
‘He was never like this when he was expecting guests at the villa in Spain. I suppose I was younger then, though, so maybe I don’t remember it the same.’
‘If he was like this every time, he wouldn’t have survived. I would imagine your mum did a lot for him back then. She was his business partner as well, wasn’t she?’
‘Yeah, I suppose that’s the difference. This time he’s doing it all himself.’
‘Not quite – he only has to ask.’
‘We both know that, but I don’t think he likes to. You’ve got another job, and I’ve got Louisa – it’s not the same as it was with Mum. I mean, she had me, but I wasn’t a baby.’
‘Hopefully it will settle as soon as we’ve had the first few guests.’
‘Probably,’ Billie agreed. ‘What time are you going to work?’
‘In about fifteen minutes, why?’
‘I wondered if I could get a lift to the village. Actually, never mind, I don’t think I’ll be ready by then.’
‘I can wait five minutes or so.’
Billie shook her head. ‘I’ll see if Victor can take me later on. I was going to get Dad something.’
‘Like what?’ Zoe offered some fresh toast to Billie, who nodded. ‘Is there some occasion I ought to know about?’
‘No, I only thought… Well, I don’t always tell him how much I appreciate what he does for me.
I mean,’ she added quickly, ‘what you both do for me. I don’t know why, but it’s easier to say it to you, and we do go out and stuff.
But with Dad, I don’t know how to say it, and we don’t do things together like we used to.
I didn’t want him to think I’m ungrateful, and he’s been so stressed the past few weeks I’d hate to think I’ve made it worse.
So I thought I’d buy him something… I don’t know, like some wine or something.
The guys at the shop will know which he likes, won’t they? ’
‘I could tell you that, but I can also tell you he doesn’t feel taken for granted one bit.
He’d do anything for you and Louisa, and he wouldn’t ever ask for a thing in return.
But if you want to do something nice for him, then how about I put a bottle that I know he likes behind the counter for you when I go to get the biscuits on my way to work? ’
‘It doesn’t feel like I’m doing much like that. I ought to go down and choose it – maybe you could tell Magnus and Geoff what sort I should look at so they can show me when I get there?’
‘I can do that.’
Billie settled Louisa into her swing chair and then buttered her toast.
‘She looks very happy in there,’ Zoe said, angling her head at Billie’s baby.
‘She loves it – it was the best present. You shouldn’t keep buying things for us, though.’
‘Why not?’
‘You might need the money one day.’
‘I’m all right for money,’ Zoe said with a smile. ‘It’s not like I do much, so I don’t need a ton. I doubt I’ll even go on holiday this year, not with your dad so busy at the field.’
‘You could still go – he wouldn’t expect you to stay home just because he can’t go with you.’
‘It’s not the same on your own.’
‘Don’t you have a mate who would go?’
‘Not really. Not one who’s got the time right now.
It’s all right, I’m not bothered. I mean, we live in the Lakes, so it’s not as if it’s a hardship to staycation, is it?
I don’t mind being here over the summer if we get some nice weather; I’ll just make the most of the area. There’s lots of it I haven’t seen yet.’
‘Maybe we can take Louisa out together.’
‘I’d love that.’ Zoe watched Billie as she fussed over her daughter, wiping drool from her lip and sitting her a little straighter. From nowhere, she was suddenly beset by a wave of emotion. She sniffed so hard to swallow it back that Billie turned sharply to look.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing… I expect my period’s coming and I’m all mopey. It’s about due. Overdue, actually.’
Billie raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re not—?’
‘No!’ Zoe cut in. ‘Don’t panic, I’m not.’
‘I wasn’t going to panic. It would be cool…’
‘It would be madness right now.’
‘I suppose there’s already a lot going on, but Dad would be made up.’
‘Would he?’ Zoe sipped at her tea. ‘Like you said, he’s got a lot going on, and Louisa is already livening up the house. I’m not sure another baby would be ideal.’
‘He wouldn’t care about that; he’d love it.’
Zoe wished this conversation hadn’t started.
She was certain she wasn’t pregnant – not only was it unlikely because she and Alex were careful, but the test was the first thing she’d done when she’d noticed her cycle wasn’t right.
But still, there was a tiny grain of doubt that confused her more than ever.
She wasn’t sure what she wanted the truth to be, but she was sure this wasn’t the time to think about it.
It felt as though for the last few days she’d done nothing but fret about it until her brain was tied up in knots.
She got up. ‘I should be getting to work.’
‘Are you annoyed?’ Billie asked. ‘That I asked about… you know… that you might be pregnant. Sorry, I didn’t mean—’
‘Of course I’m not annoyed. It’s a reasonable question to ask.’
‘If you did, it would be nice for Louisa. So I don’t want you to feel I wouldn’t approve, because I’d be OK with it. I mean, it would be weird in a way… when you think about it, because it would be like your dad and Chantal having a baby, wouldn’t it? But it would be nice.’
‘A bit, I suppose.’ Zoe shook her head. ‘If you think about it too much, it all starts to get complicated. So, on that note, it’s time I left you to it.’
She went to Louisa and booped her gently on the nose. ‘Be good for your mummy and I’ll see you both later.’
She nodded at Billie as she headed for the door. ‘Hopefully your dad’s nerves won’t be entirely shredded by then, and your first guests will be settled in at the pods.’