Chapter 10
There was no need to be nervous, and yet Zoe’s heart was beating through her shirt, her stomach in knots as she drove her mum up to Hilltop Farm.
Whether Cherie liked Alex or not, it wouldn’t make a scrap of difference to Zoe.
The real question was what Alex would make of Zoe’s mum. And Billie, when it came down to it.
The irony was, when they arrived at Hilltop and Alex came from the house to greet them as Zoe parked her car, he was clearly more nervous than she was.
And seeing how obviously keen he was to make a good impression relaxed Zoe.
Everyone was going to try their best – at least it seemed that way.
By everyone she meant herself and Alex – she could only hope her mum would play the game too.
‘Mum…’ Zoe turned to her as she unclipped her seat belt. ‘I know you’re going to be annoyed when I say this but would you mind…? Well, could you try not to mention Ritchie?’
‘I presume Alex doesn’t think you’re a vestal virgin.’
‘Of course not, but… well, I just don’t want to think about him, and I don’t want Alex to have to think about him.’
‘Zoe, I’ve really no intention of mentioning him, so I don’t know why you feel the need to warn me of any such thing.’
‘Sorry, you’re right. I’m panicking, I suppose. It means a lot to me that this goes well. I really like Alex, Mum.’
There was no time to wait for a reply because Alex was at the car, smiling as he waited for them to get out.
‘Hello…’ he greeted as Zoe introduced her mum. ‘I’ve heard loads about you. Did you have a good time at Allan Bank?’
‘It was really interesting, wasn’t it, Mum?’ Zoe prompted. ‘And beautiful. The grounds were lovely, even though it was winter.’
‘Yes, very nice,’ Cherie said, moving out of range of the kiss he’d tried to place on her cheek and offering a hand instead. For a second, Alex seemed wrong-footed, but quickly recovered and shook her hand. ‘Zoe’s been telling me all about you too.’
‘All bad, I hope.’
Cherie looked at him sharply. ‘Why would you hope that?’
This time Alex flushed, and Zoe threw him a look of encouragement. ‘Very funny, Mum,’ she said. ‘Alex hasn’t had time to get used to your unique sense of humour yet, so don’t tease him.’
‘I’m not,’ Cherie said.
‘I hope you’re hungry,’ Alex continued, gesturing towards the house. ‘Billie’s cooked.’
‘I’m starving!’ Zoe allowed her mum to go first and then brought up the rear with Alex, reaching to give his hand a squeeze and catching his eye with the briefest smile of reassurance. ‘The room where you could get your own tea and cake was lovely, but I could still eat a horse.’
‘Didn’t you get lunch?’ Alex asked.
‘Café was too expensive,’ Cherie called behind as she marched to the house.
‘What are we having?’ Zoe asked.
‘Lasagne. You did say your mum eats meat, didn’t you?’
‘Yes. As long as it’s not covered in coriander, she’ll eat a muddy car mat. I hope Billie didn’t go to loads of trouble. I’m sure she doesn’t need to be on her feet for hours on end.’
‘She wanted to do it, and I made sure I was around to help so she didn’t overdo it. On the QT of course. The one thing that’s bound to annoy her is knowing I’m trying to look after her.’
‘You’re not wrong about that.’
Halfway down the path, Grizzle came dashing out of the front door, barking, his tail whirring like a plastic beach windmill.
Cherie stepped back, instantly tense. ‘Does he bite?’
‘God no!’ Zoe said, reaching to fuss him as he leaped up to lick her face. ‘He’s like Prince, isn’t he? The dog we had when I was little.’
‘Your dad’s dog?’
‘Our dog.’
‘It was your dad who wanted him. He never had to clean the hair up, though, did he?’
Grizzle got down and went to follow Cherie. But after a brief sniff at her skirt, he seemed to decide against bothering her and went back to Zoe.
‘You’re a big hairy beast, aren’t you?’ she cooed as she fussed him again. ‘But we don’t mind, do we?’
Cherie hesitated at the doorstep. Alex understood that he needed to go first and dashed over, beckoning them inside and calling for Billie to come.
A moment later, she appeared, cheeks redder than Zoe had ever seen them.
It wasn’t a bad thing – her flush suited her.
But Zoe still asked the question she always asked.
‘How are you feeling? You haven’t been overdoing things, have you?’
‘I’m boiling. I don’t know why I’m so hot, but I’m all right. I suppose it’s the oven.’
‘Your core temperature will be hotter than usual,’ Zoe said. ‘Especially at this stage.’
‘How long do you have to go?’ Cherie asked, giving Billie a kinder smile than she had Alex.
‘About a month.’
‘Do you know what you’re having?’
‘No. I didn’t ask at first because… well, I didn’t see the point in knowing.’
‘And now,’ Zoe cut in before her mum had the chance to ask why Billie hadn’t been interested in the sex of her unborn baby, ‘you’ve come this far without knowing, you might as well hang on for the surprise.’
‘Nobody does it that way now,’ Cherie said. ‘Everyone wants to know – they have these parties with balloons and everything, don’t they?’
‘Stupid if you ask me,’ Billie said, though Zoe wondered if she really thought that.
If the baby’s father, Luis, had been around, would she have felt differently about things like gender-reveal parties?
It struck Zoe that as a couple they might have welcomed their baby in a very different way than Billie was preparing to as a single mum.
‘What would you like?’ Cherie asked. ‘Girl or boy?’
‘Not really bothered.’ Billie rubbed her belly.
‘You must have some preference.’
‘I suppose…’ Billie paused. ‘Well, there’ll be nice things about both, won’t there? Girl or boy, I suppose they’re still my kid.’
Zoe looked to see her mum holding back a sceptical frown. She knew some of Billie’s history, though, and so Zoe couldn’t understand why she’d be surprised to hear Billie talk about her pregnancy that way.
‘It smells amazing in here!’ She gave the air a theatrical sniff in a clumsy bid to change the subject. ‘Your dad says you’ve made lasagne. You really didn’t need to go to all that bother.’
‘We had a box of pasta sheets in and some mince in the freezer – it was no biggie.’
‘Billie’s an amazing cook, Mum,’ Zoe said as Alex led them to the kitchen table and bade them take a seat. ‘Better than I was at her age, that’s for sure.’
‘Anyone would be better than you at that age,’ her mum replied with a faint smile. ‘Pot Noodle sandwiches and reduced cakes – that’s all I ever saw you eat at that student house you shared with Ottilie. How is she, by the way? She still at work?’
‘She’s had the baby!’ Zoe said. ‘She’s well – they both are.’
‘You never said! I would have brought a gift!’
‘I’m sorry, it slipped my mind. A lot going on, you know.’
‘Will we have time to see her?’
‘Maybe when you next come,’ Zoe replied carefully. ‘She’s still recovering… probably better to let her have some peace.’
‘I’m hardly going to run in with the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever and start dancing on her table! I’d only pop my head in to see the baby.’
‘I know, but… well, I haven’t given her any warning, and she’d want to be ready.’
Cherie wore that sceptical look again but said nothing more about it. Instead, she gave a wary sweep of the room. ‘Where’s that dog gone?’
‘I sent him to his basket,’ Billie said.
‘I’m actually amazed he went,’ Alex added from the fridge where he’d just put a jug of water to cool.
‘Prince never did as he was told,’ Cherie said.
‘I remember him being quite good,’ Zoe said.
‘For your dad. Not for me. I think he did it on purpose.’
‘How old were you when you had Prince, Zoe?’ Alex came back to the table with a bowl of salad.
‘God, I was… I think I was about eleven when he died, wasn’t I, Mum?’
Cherie rolled her eyes. ‘What a day that was! Came down in the morning to get ready for school and there he was, dead as a doornail on the kitchen floor. For a while, I thought I might have to take you to counselling – you took weeks to get over it.’
‘To be fair,’ Zoe said, ‘it was quite traumatic.’
‘He was just a dog.’
Billie’s eyes were wide. ‘You found him dead on the floor in the morning?’
Zoe nodded. ‘Unfortunately. And I suppose I did react quite badly.’
‘No wonder! I don’t even know what I’d do if I found…’ Billie’s expression darkened as she turned it to Zoe’s mum. ‘I think anyone who loved their dog would act the same. Who would see that and be OK? It’s not weird.’
‘That’s not what…’ Zoe began, sensing a defence being mounted by Billie that she didn’t want or need. ‘It just took a long time for me to stop feeling sad, that’s all. I was very fond of him.’
‘It’s because you’re a nice person,’ Billie said, sending a black look Cherie’s way again that Zoe hoped desperately her mum wouldn’t recognise.
There was one character trait Billie possessed in spades that Zoe was beginning to get used to: she was loyal to the end.
Once she accepted you as her kin, she looked out for you, and she didn’t care who she offended to do it.
It was lovely that Zoe had finally fallen into that category, but if Billie could hold off offending her mum, at least just for today, it would be very helpful.
‘Bill…’ Alex sent a meaningful look his daughter’s way, as if he could read Zoe’s mind. ‘I think the lasagne is nearly ready. Smells like it. You maybe should check?’
Without a word, she got up and went to the oven. Whether he’d mind-read or not, Zoe was grateful for Alex’s intervention.
‘So how long are you planning to stay?’ he asked Cherie.
Zoe had already told him the plan and so presumed this was another conversational segue. She didn’t think she’d ever loved him more than in that moment. He wasn’t always gifted with the tact of an international diplomat, but he was handling this visit like a pro.
‘I’m going to stay over with Zoe tonight,’ Cherie said. ‘I was going to go back after supper, but I was worried about the last train being cancelled and getting stuck.’