Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
After a final few days spent with Danny in London, Juliette had been glad to come back to Mapleton.
They’d dined in their favourite restaurants and drank wine in their usual haunts.
She’d caught up with friends and seen a few ex-colleagues for a meal.
Danny had taken two afternoons off and, for once, they’d done the touristy thing.
They’d visited Borough Market, walked along the South Bank to the London Eye, stopped for a drink in a bar off Haymarket and mooched around Covent Garden.
Yet on the train back to Stoke, she’d felt an enormous sense of excitement.
It had been delightful. It was meant to be that they would stay here now.
And with Danny getting the job, he’d be here for good in six weeks.
Juliette had surprised herself by thinking about home all the time.
Home in the Midlands. She had settled into Mapleton a lot quicker than she had anticipated, and she couldn’t wait to sleep in her bed, when the night was so quiet and the atmosphere peaceful and calm.
She couldn’t believe how quickly she had grown to love the house and its surroundings.
It was now Thursday morning and she felt awful from the minute she awoke. She roused herself enough to eat a little breakfast and seemed better for it. Then she busied herself doing some work until it was time for the call from her doctor.
Kate Sharlow was a woman in her forties. She, Danny and Emily had been her patients for quite some time. She’d been a huge comfort to Juliette when Emily had been taken ill. It was her quick actions that meant even though Emily hadn’t survived, she didn’t suffer as much as she could have done.
After they’d said their greetings, Kate got right to business.
‘It was lovely to see you during our last appointment,’ she said.
‘More so because I hope you’ve been checking out the schools in your new area catchment too.
You’ll be needing one in the future.’ Kate paused.
‘Congratulations, Juliette, you’re pregnant. ’
Juliette’s mouth dropped open for a moment before turning into the largest smile she’d had in months.
‘Really? Ohmigod, that’s fantastic news! How far gone am I?’
‘Eight weeks.’
‘I had no idea it would be that long. Although it might explain a few things.’ Juliette had told Kate what had been happening recently. She missed off the part where her neighbour alleged that she’d been found in their woods with her pyjamas on.
‘It’s possible they could be linked to the pregnancy, but I can’t be one hundred per cent certain,’ Kate told her. ‘However, all the other tests I ran on you have come back fine, so if you’re perhaps a little stressed, maybe that brought it on.’
‘I don’t feel stressed.’
‘Says the woman who moved house a few weeks ago. And you had a lot to deal with last year.’
Juliette nodded. ‘I suppose.’
They chatted some more about what she needed to do next. Resting was one of the most important things, especially until she was further along. There was nothing strenuous that she was doing, so it could be okay.
She lay a hand on her stomach and smiled. ‘Hello, little one. I’m hoping to welcome you to our world pretty soon. Let me tell you that you will be loved so much. So get big and healthy in there. And I’ll eat for two, obviously, which gives me an excuse to celebrate with ice cream.’
As she rummaged in the freezer for a carton, she imagined Danny’s reaction when she told him.
She wanted to pick up the phone right now and call him, but he’d be home tomorrow and she thought it might be nicer to do it in person.
She’d cook something special and give him a hint.
Perhaps get a card with a cryptic message.
This was the new beginning they needed. She gazed at the photo of Emily that sat proud on her work desk. ‘I’ll never forget you, my little miss. I hope you’ll be happy to see your little brother or sister.’
The words she spoke aloud made her cry. Hormones. They’d be all over the place. No wonder she had been feeling weird. That explained everything, thank goodness.
Juliette could hardly stop herself from bouncing as she drove Danny back from the station. She was bursting to tell him her news, but she had to wait a few minutes longer. At last they were home.
‘Are we in or out this evening?’ Danny asked her as he followed her through to the kitchen.
‘I thought we could eat in.’ She reached for a beer for him from the fridge. ‘I’ve been a little tired this week.’
‘You work too hard,’ he said. ‘You’re not drinking?’
She shook her head. ‘Sit down, I have something for you.’
He pulled a stool out and sat at the breakfast bar, his hands reaching for the TV remote. She slapped them away playfully and gave him a box wrapped in a white ribbon.
‘What’s this?’ he asked, a smile of curiosity on his face.
She said nothing as he undid the bow and took the lid off. Inside, wrapped in tissue paper was a pair of baby bootees.
He looked up at her, then down at it again, before gasping. ‘Does this mean?’
She nodded, welling up when she saw his eyes glistening. ‘I’m pregnant.’
He almost fell off the stool in his haste to hug her. She clung to him as he cried out in happiness.
‘I’m eight weeks gone.’
‘We’d better get a holiday or two in beforehand then.’ He laughed. ‘I can’t believe it.’ Then he sighed. ‘Is it wrong we feel so happy after losing Emily?’
‘No. We lost a large part of what made us when she died. Bringing another life into the world will be good. She wouldn’t want us to be stuck in no-man’s land, not getting over the grief of losing her. I think I’ll always refer to her in the present. We will always have two children.’
‘Or three maybe, if we’re quick.’
‘Speak for yourself! You don’t have to bear them.’
‘No, but I am the one that starts everything off.’ He laughed and hugged her again, kissing the top of her head. ‘I am so happy.’
‘Me too.’
‘It’s going to be hard keeping it quiet for another month.’
‘I know. But it can be our little secret until then. Just you, me and the bump.’
He pressed his hand to her stomach. ‘Hello, little one. I’m going to be your dad.’
‘Oh, don’t get all soppy on me or else you’ll have me crying too. Let’s get started on the food.’
‘Ever getting your priorities right, I see.’
‘I’m eating for two now, whether you like it or not.’
‘Oh, I like it,’ he replied. ‘I like it a lot.’