Chapter 41
Nina had just fed the baby, had a shower, and washed her hair. Considering she had a newborn and half the time felt as if she had no clue what she was doing, she felt remarkably together. After putting on real clothes and fluffing on some Orgasm blusher and a bit of mascara, she looked in the mirror and smiled. She was almost human again. Winning at life.
She tucked the baby in the pram, put her handbag in the basket underneath, popped on her trainers and bumped the pram out the back door. A few minutes later, she was walking around the harbour whilst wiggling the pram handle from side to side. She smiled as she watched Faye’s eyes get heavier and heavier as she dropped off to sleep snug as a bug. Oh, how content.
Feeling ridiculously happy that Faye had settled and that the sun was shining she checked the time on her phone and decided on a nice, long stroll around Lovely Bay to blow away the cobwebs. Since coming home with Faye, she’d slowly but surely got into a routine. Despite what she’d read here and there and followed on various social media tags and apps, Sophie had told her the best way was to ignore everyone else and simply find the baby’s groove. Nina had taken the advice and run with it and it hadn’t taken long for Nina and Robby to work out that for all of them to be content if Faye was fed by routine, she was happy.
Everything else slotted quite nicely around that. Time would tell.
As she pushed a sleeping Faye, it felt nice to be out and about in Lovely again. Crossing over St. Lovely green she stopped to say hello to Clive from the boat, bumped into her neighbour Jeffrey with his dog and, as she got to the lighthouse, smiled to herself as she looked up. The tall, whitewashed lighthouse had become quite significant in her life. She’d been proposed to at the top of it and given birth there, too. She laughed to herself at what might come next.
About ten minutes later, she walked down the High Street on her way to the chocolate shop. Alice from the deli was winding the awning over the front as Nina strolled past.
‘Ooh, morning! How are you?’ Alice asked with a beam.
Nina smiled as Alice stopped what she was doing, turned around and peeked in the pram. ‘Good, thanks.’
‘Little Faye. What a sweetheart. Out for some fresh air?’
‘Yep. It feels nice to be out and about.’
Alice nodded. ‘I know how that feels when you’ve just had a baby! How are you getting on with everything?’
‘Good. Yeah, not too bad.’
‘How is she sleeping? What’s it like at night?’
Nina thought about the night feeds and how strange it had been that as she’d sat in the dead of night feeding and thinking, she felt as if Andrew had been with her a lot of the time. She wasn’t going to mention that to Alice, though. No need to frighten the locals. ‘She’s really only up once, so I can cope with that.’
‘Wow, that’s good.’
‘We wait up and feed her just before we go to bed and then she wakes about three-ish and then sleeps until the morning. Can’t complain.’
Alice nodded, clearly impressed. ‘That”s really good going. You”re lucky to have such a settled routine already. I bet there’s no luck involved, though, if I know you. You’re very organised.’
Nina shrugged. ‘I guess we’re lucky. Sophie has helped a lot with some great advice, such as the bath routine before bed and a dark room at night. It’s still early days, but so far, so good.’
Alice leaned in closer, peering at Faye. ‘She”s absolutely beautiful, Nina. You must be over the moon.’
‘I am. It still feels surreal sometimes, but she”s here, and she”s perfect. Really perfect.’
Alice straightened up and nodded. ‘She is for sure. Enjoy every minute. They grow up so fast. Before you know it, she”ll be running around causing mischief.’
Nina laughed. ‘I can”t wait for that, actually, but for now, I’m loving the baby days.’
‘I hope it stays that way. If you need anything, you know where I am.’
‘Ahh, thank you.’
‘You know how it is around here. It takes a village. We’re all here to help in Lovely Bay.’
Nina nodded. As many other times since she’d moved to Lovely, she felt exponentially grateful for the close-knit community around her. ‘It’s nice to have the support.’
‘Yep. Part of living in Lovely, eh? We have our downsides, too.’ Alice chuckled and gestured to the deli. ‘Anyway, I’d better get on, or you know who will have my guts for garters.’
Nina raised her eyebrows. ‘I’d better leave you to it, then. We wouldn’t want that. See you later.’
‘See you. Hopefully, next time I bump into you, she’ll be awake and I can have a cuddle.’
As Nina strolled, a few more locals passed, stopping to admire Faye and have a chat. Nina felt a lump in her throat that Lovelies were not only taking the time to talk to her but more that they seemed genuinely interested and offered support. She continued along the street until she reached the alleyway leading to the back entrance of the chemist, where she was meeting Birdie for a cup of tea. She pushed the pram over the cobbles towards the back, fiddled with the lock for a bit to get the gate open, and squeezed the pram in the narrow gap. The sound of the Shipping Forecast filled her ears as she opened the back door to the chemist and rolled the pram in. North-west by west five. Nine miles. Cromarty, Forties, Forth, Tyne, Dogger.
On hearing the door go, Cally, who helped out in the shop, popped her head around from the storage room where she normally sorted out the deliveries.
‘I thought that might be you! Hello! How are you? Congratulations!’
‘I’m well, yes, good thanks. Really good.’
‘That’s amazing to hear. Ooh, you look well for it! How are you feeling?’
‘Great.’
‘I’ve heard about what happened at the lighthouse after we left. What a turn-up for the books. You sure know how to cause a bit of Lovely drama! What a way for her to arrive, eh?’
‘Yes, I know,’ Nina laughed.
‘A first for Lovely Bay, I think—a birth in the lighthouse.’
‘Yes, I think so.’
‘Alright, let me have a little look at her.’ Cally peeked in the pam. ‘Oh my! How gorgeous is she?’
‘I know. Thank you.’
Cally leaned over the pram, making cooing noises as she admired the baby. ‘She”s absolutely beautiful, Nina. Looks just like you. That beautiful newborn skin, eh? So sweet.’
Nina smiled proudly. ‘Thanks, Cally. It”s been a whirlwind.’
Cally straightened up. ‘Aww, yeah. Must be a whole new world for you. How’s our Robby handling the new dad duties?’
‘He’s been fantastic. He adores her. It”s lovely to see.’
‘That”s wonderful to hear. And how about you? Managing to get out much?’
‘A bit here and there. Just trying to make the most of these early days. It’s not easy to plan anything too ambitious with a newborn.’
Cally nodded. ‘True. They grow up so fast, too.’
‘Yeah, everyone keeps telling me that,’ Nina chuckled as she adjusted Faye”s blanket.
Birdie came through from the shop. ‘Ahh, I thought that was you. How are you?’
‘Great. I was just telling Cally.’
Birdie leaned over and looked in the pram. ‘Aww, she’s better than the last time I saw her. So pretty.’
‘She seems to be changing by the day to me.’
Birdie nodded. ‘Yeah, it feels like that. She still looks so tiny to me. Her little eyelashes…’
‘Yep.’
‘Ready for a nice sit down and a cup of tea?’
‘Thought you’d never ask.’