Chapter 23 #3
Esther stared at her wide-eyed for a moment, her mouth silently moving a few times, until the words finally came out. ‘I’ve got a couple of tests in my bag. I’ve been carrying them everywhere for months on end. I could do one now… if you think I should?’
This time Hope didn’t hesitate. ‘I do.’
Having spotted the door marked WC, just behind the desk where the mechanic had been sitting, Hope didn’t bother to go and ask his permission. Ushering Esther straight towards the door, she wanted to wish her luck, but instead she said something far less loaded.
‘I hope it’s not too grim in there.’
‘Me too,’ Esther replied, pausing to squeeze Hope’s hand before disappearing behind the door.
The most important words had remained unsaid, but they didn’t need to utter them out loud to understand the significance of this moment.
An unspoken bond was forming between them.
Less than two minutes later, Esther reappeared.
‘It can take up to three minutes to get the result, but it might be less if it’s positive. Either way, I can’t look. I just left it on the side of the sink in there.’
‘Do you want me to have a look?’
‘Would you do that?’ Esther’s voice was shaking and, as Hope nodded, before walking towards the sink, she realised her hands were shaking too.
The first time she’d ever heard about Esther and Joe’s struggles to fall pregnant, she’d been hiding in the toilets in St Piran’s, and it had changed everything.
She wanted this moment to change everything too, but she was terrified that all she’d done was to pile on more hurt by giving Esther false hope.
Picking up the test, she forced herself to focus on the digital window, the message that appeared there blurring as tears started to stream down her face. Turning around, she charged back out of the door, on legs that felt as if they might turn to jelly at any moment.
‘It’s negative, isn’t it?’ Esther’s eyes were glassy and Hope shook her head.
‘No, it isn’t. You’re pregnant.’ Hope grasped her by the hand, but she didn’t seem to react at first. So she repeated the words again, much louder this time. ‘You’re pregnant, Esther. The test says you’re pregnant.’
‘I’m pregnant.’ Her words sounded otherworldly, they were so filled with wonder, and suddenly Hope realised that Joe was standing in the workshop too.
‘You’re pregnant?’ He was shaking his head, looking more terrified than any other emotion, but then he smiled. ‘You’re pregnant.’
‘I am.’
Joe crossed the space between them in a couple of strides, wrapping his arms around Esther. ‘I love you so much.’
‘I love you too.’ Esther was crying and laughing. Hope wasn’t sure if she should leave them. This was their moment, something they’d been longing for and, although part of her was desperate to stay, she also wanted to give them time to process this life-changing news.
‘I can’t believe this is actually happening.
’ Esther’s voice was filled with a mixture of shock and delight, as Joe continued to hold her close.
Hope didn’t hear what he said in response, because she slipped out of the building.
She wasn’t going to run anywhere this time, or get back on the road.
She was longing to tell Esther and Joe how happy she was for them, but the last thing she wanted to do was to put herself in the middle of a moment that was theirs alone.
It was enough that Esther had been forced to come to terms with the fact that Joe already had a child, she deserved to have him all to herself while they got used to the idea that they were having a baby.
Hope could wait as long as they needed before she became a part of it, a slow smile spreading over her face at the realisation that she was going to become a big sister for the second time.
‘Hope!’ It was Esther’s voice that rang out first, calling her name just moments after Hope had attempted to give them some space. ‘Oh, thank God, I thought you might have driven off again.’
‘Of course not.’ Hope turned to her and smiled. ‘I just wanted to give you both a moment to celebrate the news.’
‘Thank you,’ Joe said, his eyes filled with warmth as he looked at her. He understood why she’d done what she had without her needing to explain, and she could see in his expression that it had been the right thing to do.
‘It still feels almost unreal, despite all the symptoms.’ Esther gave her a rueful grin. ‘I was just saying that it seems so right that you were here to give me the news and find out with us. We’ve wanted a family for so long and it’s finally happening. Not just the baby, but you too.’
‘It really does feel like perfect timing.’ Joe wrapped an arm around Hope as he spoke, his other arm still around Esther, and suddenly Hope knew she’d found another place she could call home.
It didn’t matter that it was on a garage forecourt miles from either Tenby or Port Agnes, because it was family that made somewhere feel like home and she felt incredibly blessed to have more than one.