Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Kingscliff
The sheets were mussed, crumpled, and had formed uncomfortable piles around her prone body. Kate wriggled up into a sitting position, her back framed by a mountain of pillows, including one long curved one that was intended to hug her body but had spent the night trying to suffocate her.
Noah lay by her side, head turned towards her, button nose pressed against her arm, and one little hand curled into a fist by his ear.
She gazed down at him, feeling a surge of love and protectiveness.
He’d kept her up most of the night, crying, feeding, and then crying some more.
She rubbed both her eyes with the heels of her hands and yawned so widely, she thought her face might crack in two.
“Good morning,” Alex said in a chipper voice as he bounced from the bathroom into the bedroom, wearing jeans and a buttoned shirt.
He sat on the blanket box to pull on a pair of boots.
“Shhh…” Kate whispered as fear plunged a dagger into her heart. “Don’t wake the baby.” He was adorable sleeping, but she dreaded him waking. His cries still echoed in her ears.
“Whoops! Sorry.” Alex came over to give her kiss on the forehead. “Have a good day.”
“Wait. What? Where are you going? It’s Saturday.”
Alex tucked his shirt into his jeans and looped a belt around his waist. “I’m working at the inn today giving riding lessons to the guests. I told you that. Didn’t I?”
“You did? I’m sure I would’ve recalled you saying that. Although, I didn’t remember to put on pants yesterday, so anything’s possible. I guess I’ll see you around lunchtime, then?”
Alex tipped his head to one side. “Oh… um… I have that school swim team to coach. We’ve got a training session after lunch, so I thought I’d eat in town on my way there.
I won’t really have time to pop home. And then some of the guys want to take me out to celebrate the new baby.
We’re going to the Kingy for some tea and maybe a few drinks.
I didn’t think you’d mind, since you’re pretty well occupied here with the little man. ”
Kate wanted him to enjoy tea with his mates.
He didn’t get to do that very often, and she’d always supported it.
She’d been suggesting he go out with them for months, in fact.
But the timing threw her off. Noah was only five days old.
He wasn’t sleeping much at night. For most of the afternoon, he was cluster feeding and crying until well into the evening.
She was sleep deprived, hormonal, and had spent most of day three either in tears or wanting to cry when her milk came in.
Over the past few days, Alex had been gone a lot of the time—either surfing, getting groceries, checking on things at the inn for her, or running myriad other little errands he liked to get done during the summer holidays.
She knew there wasn’t much he could do given she was feeding the baby, but having him there so she could take a nap or a shower, or even grab something to eat, made all the difference.
Still, she could do this. Surely it wouldn’t be too hard.
She was a capable adult. She could handle one little baby on her own for a day.
“Okay, no worries. Have a lovely time. We’ll be fine here on our own. Won’t we, Noah?” She caressed the side of the baby’s soft face. His rounded cheeks were pink and perfect. His big eyes focused only on her—he didn’t notice anything else going on around them. She was his world.
After Alex left, she fed Noah, then changed him.
When she burped him, she felt a rush of satisfaction in her accomplishment—she was getting the hang of things.
She’d be an expert in no time. Around eleven o’clock, she put him in the bouncer so she could get herself some breakfast, but he didn’t like that and started screaming immediately.
Instead, she fastened him into the baby carrier and wore him on her stomach, leaning out around him to try to make her bowl of porridge with honey, cinnamon and freshly sliced peaches.
Noah was happy in the carrier, and soon fell to sleep with one hand curled into a tight little fist by his face.
His fingernails were tiny and pink, and the top of his head smelled divine.
She inhaled the scent of his hair, then sat on the back deck to eat her porridge, careful not to spill any of the hot meal on him, which meant she had to lean to one side and tip her head at a funny angle.
The day was already hot. Oppressive, humid air enveloped her like she’d stepped into an oven.
Noah was a tiny hot-water bottle attached to the front of her body, and before long, she had sweat dripping down the sides of her face.
It was early. A pair of currawongs perched on the fence, warbling as they eyed her breakfast from their vantage point.
Noisy minors objected from a nearby wattle bush, scolding and chattering as they dive-bombed the two larger birds, who ignored their attacks.
It wouldn’t be long before the world would fall quiet as even the birds sought shelter from the heat, but for now, the chorus of birds that accompanied every sunrise added a melodic soundtrack to the flat suburban landscape.
She scooped the last of her porridge into her mouth, then hurried back inside to switch on the air conditioner and fans.
The kitchen phone rang. and she set down her bowl and tea mug on the bench before answering it.
“Hi, Kate,” Bindi said in a chipper voice. “I thought I might drop in. I made a chicken salad for tea and set aside a bowl of it for you and Alex.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
Bindi and Josh were in Banora Point, so Kate had about fifteen minutes before her sister arrived.
She set Noah in the bouncer, carried him in his seat into the bathroom, and took a shower.
Every now and then she thought she heard him cry, but when she opened the foggy shower door, he was fine, staring at the colourful bobbing toys that were suspended above his face.
He couldn’t reach them yet, but she knew it was only a matter of time.
She dressed in a pair of shorts and a cotton shirt, then carried Noah in his bouncer out to the kitchen and set him on the floor beside her.
With the kettle boiling, she added a deliciously scented floral tea to a pot, placed it on a tray, and prepared two teacups alongside a plate of caramel slice.
She hadn’t craved sweets while she was pregnant, but now that she was breastfeeding, it felt as though she couldn’t get enough.
When Bindi arrived, Kate embraced her as though she hadn’t seen her sister in a decade. She felt emotional about everything, even a visit from Bindi.
“I can’t stay long,” Bindi said as she carried the salad to the kitchen and stowed it in the fridge.
“I’ve got a million things to do today, and I’ve got to be at the inn by noon.
We’re fully booked this weekend, and with you out of action, I’m scheduled on most days.
I don’t think I have a day off for two weeks. ”
“Sorry about that,” Kate said, feeling guilty for leaving her sisters to cope with everything on their own.
“Don’t be sorry. You’ve got a baby to care for. And he is the most adorable baby in the world.” Bindi devolved into baby talk as she tickled Noah’s cheeks. He sucked his lower lip and stared at her, pumping his feet.
“I feel like I’m missing everything.”
“You’re not missing a single thing,” Bindi said. “It’s all the normal stuff. I promise I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens.”
“Okay.” Kate nodded. “Let’s sit and have a cup of tea.”
“I wish I could,” Bindi replied. “Rain check?”
Kate’s heart fell. “Oh… yeah. Okay, that’s fine.”
“At least you’ve got tea sorted,” Bindi replied as she headed for the front door.
Kate traipsed behind her. “Yeah, thanks for that. Very thoughtful of you.”
After Bindi was gone, Noah began to cry.
He wanted to be fed again, so Kate put the TV on and sat down to feed him.
She was yawning widely when there was a knock at the front door.
She stared down the hallway, not wanting to disturb the baby.
Every part of her body hurt, and detaching him now would be painful.
She still wasn’t used to feeding, and she had no desire to stand up and cause him distress and herself more pain.
Whoever it was would have to come back later.
There was another knock. She ignored it and turned up the volume on the TV.
The news came on, and there was some kind of report about a woman called Monica Lewinsky.
She couldn’t follow the story, since the knocking on the door kept distracting her.
Who could it be? A door knocker, someone trying to sell her the latest vacuum cleaner? Or someone she knew?
When the phone rang, she stood with a deep exhale of irritation stared down the hallway.
It could be the insurance company, she’d been missing their calls for days and they really had to make changes to the home policy since the renewal charges were out of control.
Noah began to cry immediately. His tiny newborn wail was adorable and demanded attention.
She held him against her skin as she padded into the kitchen to answer the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Katie. It’s Reeda. I’m standing at your front door. Are you home?”
“Oh, I wondered who it was knocking like that. I’ll be right out.”
She let Reeda in and then wandered back to the lounge room with Reeda behind her. Her bra was still undone, and her shirt hitched up her back. Her hair was a mess. She hadn’t brushed it since her shower, and she was certain there was enough luggage under her eyes to take a trip to London.
“Are you okay?” Reeda asked, barely veiled concern in her voice. As the eldest sister, Kate was used to Reeda’s mothering. She’d basically raised Kate and Bindi since they were in their early teens.
“Fine. Tired.” Kate yawned again and sat down to feed Noah. “He doesn’t stop feeding. Eat, poop, cry. That’s his basic routine.”