23. Molly
Chapter 23
Molly
M olly stands outside the gates and reads the words on the button pad. It’s a school, but there are separate buttons for the children’s centre and a sports hall too, all on the same site.
She rechecks her appointment letter and presses for the children’s centre.
‘Hello, can I help you?’ a disembodied voice asks.
‘Molly Doherty. I’m here for an antenatal class.’
‘Come in.’ There’s a buzz, and the gate makes a small clicking sound as the catch releases.
As she swings it open and walks through, she hears footsteps charging up behind her and an arm reaches out to catch the gate before it closes.
‘Ooh, just in time. Saves having to buzz again.’ The woman is wearing a bright-red coat and pushing a double buggy that only just fits through the gap. She’s puffing a bit from her speed spurt and Molly holds the gate back against the wall until she and the buggy are safely through. ‘Sorry about that. I don’t want to hold you up.’
‘It’s fine. I’m a bit early anyway.’
‘I’ve not seen you here before. First time?’
‘Yes. Can you tell?’
‘That you’re pregnant, no. Nervous, yes! You’re not expecting twins, are you?’
‘Oh, God, no. One’s enough.’ Molly immediately realises her mistake and feels herself redden. ‘Oh, sorry. Not that having two isn’t wonderful, but…’
‘But not what you’d choose, right?’ The woman laughs. ‘I didn’t have a lot of say in the matter. We get what we’re given, don’t we? But I wouldn’t give them back now I’ve got them, believe me! No, I just wondered if you might be coming to TTC, that’s all. The twins and triplets club. We haven’t had any new members for a while.’
‘Sorry, no. Antenatal class. In the children’s centre.’
‘Ah, yes, I remember those. Lots of exercises and breathing. A few gory videos. They’ll have you practising bathing and nappies later too, with a doll, which I can promise you is nothing at all like the real thing, weeing and wriggling all over the place. You’ll be in the room next door to us. Might see you after. A few of us tend to gather for a coffee and cake at the café over the road, if you fancy it?’
They reached the building at the end of the path and went in, each of them signing the register at the reception desk.
The woman turned as she was about to disappear into a room to the side. ‘I’m late, as usual, so can’t stop. But, what do you think? Want to join us for coffee and a chat when we’re done?’
‘Yes. Sounds good. I don’t know any other mums yet.’
‘Brilliant. You soon will. Bring some of them with you if you like, although from what I remember from my time in the class most are still working and have to get back there after. Oh, and I’m Rosie, by the way.’
‘Molly.’
‘See you later then, Molly. The Sunshine Café. You can’t miss it. Nab a couple of tables in the window if you get there first.’
As it turns out, they are there before her. A group of five women, so surrounded by bags and buggies, and all holding babies from newborn to toddler and at various stages of feeding, sleeping and crying, that they are spread over three tables and still don’t seem to have room.
‘Hello, Molly.’ Rosie spots her as she opens the door, the delicious smell of good coffee and freshly baked cake instantly drawing her in. ‘Come on over and find a seat.’
Rosie makes the introductions and Molly answers questions about her plastered wrist and how her accident happened. ‘It should be healed pretty soon. Then this can come off. To be honest, I’ve sort of got used to it. I forget it’s there sometimes, and it’s surprising how you adapt and start doing things with the other hand, or gripping things differently.’
There is laughter and she realises that probably came across as a bit smutty. It all helps to break the ice though and, although she can feel her face reddening, she laughs too.
Molly has a look at the menu, and a waitress bustles over with a notepad and pen. The others have ordered and some are eating already.
‘Just a latte, please. And a lemon cupcake.’
‘Coming right up.’
‘They do fantastic cakes here,’ Rosie whispers. ‘A bit pricey, but worth every penny.’
The others, Molly notices, already have coffees and various cakes and pastries in front of them, and are tucking in as they chat. If she is looking for her first customers, this is probably a pretty good place to start – with young mums so clearly fond of cake, and not afraid to pay well for it if the occasion warrants.
‘First baby?’ a blonde woman she thinks is called Jo asks, leaning across the table and blowing on the surface of her coffee.
Molly nods.
‘Husband not with you today then?’ She glances at Molly’s left hand as if checking she hasn’t slipped up. ‘Only, I know they usually want couples at those antenatal classes. Not that mine ever came with me, the lazy so-and-so.’ She laughs and rolls her eyes as she undoes a couple of buttons on her dress and eases a baby onto her breast in full view of the window.
‘He’s at work. And they said he wasn’t really needed until later on, when we practise the breathing and talk about how he can support me at the birth.’
‘Ha! The birth!’ Jo laughs. ‘That’s the bit most men want to avoid like the plague! But, seriously though, Molly, classes are all well and good but anything else you need to know, just ask one of us. We’ve all been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Not much we can’t tell you about or help you with. We’ve had all the scans, gallons of gas and air, epidurals, forceps, episiotomies, two Caesareans, and…’ she looks around, as if counting in her head, ‘thirteen babies between us. Ten of them twins. Not much we don’t know!’
‘Thanks. I haven’t lived here long so I don’t really have anyone else to talk to about any of this stuff.’
‘No mum?’
‘Oh, yes, but she’s miles away, so it will have to be just phone calls for now.’
‘Not quite the same, is it? I don’t know how I’d cope without my mum.’ Jo shakes her head and switches her attention to trying to eat her cake over the baby snuffling at her chest, carefully flicking away a few crumbs as they land on top of his head.
‘So, Molly, what do you do?’ Rosie asks. ‘I bet you can’t wait for maternity leave and a chance to put your feet up, eh?’
Here’s her chance. She swallows. She may be a brilliant baker but she’s no saleswoman and she’s not quite sure how to broach the subject. ‘Like I said, we haven’t lived here long, and I don’t work at the moment. Well, I don’t go out to work, I should say. I’m working from home, trying to build my own business.’
‘Oh, that sounds interesting. What is it you do?’
‘I bake cakes.’
Suddenly, it feels as if the room has gone strangely quiet. They are all listening, as they probably have been all along.
‘Wonderful. We like cakes, don’t we, girls?’ They all laugh as Miranda, a small brunette who hasn’t said a lot up until now, licks her lips seductively and makes what can only be described as a Harry Met Sally orgasm sound.
‘Lemon cupcake,’ the waitress announces as she plonks a plate down in front of Molly and backs away, clearly unsure of what everyone is finding so funny.
‘Tart,’ Jo says, and everybody laughs again, looking at a shocked Miranda, before Jo quickly adds, ‘I meant the lemon. I’ve had it before. It can be a bit tart.’
Once the noise has subsided and everyone is either dealing with a troublesome child or enjoying a few moments of peace and quiet before their own wakes up again, Molly pulls out a small pile of the business cards she has made on the computer at home and printed off onto sheets of white card. They look a bit on the amateur side, especially as she hasn’t cut them all as evenly as she should, but they will do for now.
‘If anyone’s interested…’ she says, hesitantly. ‘I can do most things. Kids’ birthday cakes, wedding cakes, christenings, although I don’t have a very big kitchen so I’m keeping it small for now. And the new project I’m just starting up is gender reveals. Little cupcakes with coloured sponge or hidden middles. Blue or pink, or maybe both if it’s one-of-each twins. A bit late for all of you, but maybe some of the pregnant women in the antenatal class might…’
‘They’d love it!’ Jo says, reaching for a card. ‘Honestly, Molly, mums are always in need of cake. You should have asked them. Do it at the next session. You’ll be surprised. I bet you get lots of takers. Actually, you couldn’t manage something shaped like a rocket, could you? My eldest is five in a couple of weeks and mad about space. I couldn’t find anything in Sainsbury’s, and there’s no way I have time to make one myself. If I even knew how!’
‘And my sister’s eighteen weeks preggers,’ says Miranda, all signs of fake ecstasy now completely gone, a grizzly toddler draped on her shoulder and kicking at her arm. ‘She’ll find out the sex in a fortnight, and she’s bound to want to do something a bit different to let us all know. And film it for Facebook. She loves all the attention, does Hannah. Can I give her one of your cards?’
‘In fact…’ Rosie says, slipping a small diary out of one of the pockets in her highly organised changing bag. ‘We’re thinking of having a party soon, at mine. We’re not exactly what you’d call religious types so we haven’t had a proper christening, but we’ve just found out that my husband’s parents and brother are coming over from Australia soon and they’ve not seen these two yet. How would you feel about making us a sort of non-christening, welcome-to-England, meet-the-babies cake? We’ve pencilled in…’ She flicks through the pages of the diary and settles on the page she wants. ‘Yes, here, the middle of October. Probably the Sunday, starting in the afternoon and into the evening. Does that give you enough time? We’ll be inviting the world and his wife, I expect, so it would have to be a pretty big cake! And, now you’ve put the idea in my head, let’s have it half pink and half blue, shall we? Or a rainbow of colours. I don’t fancy the traditional plain white churchy-type thing at all.’
Molly nods. She is overwhelmed at the response, from all of them. ‘I’d love that. Give me your number and we can talk about it. The design, the size, the price, and when and where to deliver it…’
Rosie taps her number into the phone Molly passes to her and hands it back, taking one of the business cards with Molly’s number on it. ‘I’ll stick it in my phone contacts later, but I’ve always preferred having things on paper. It’s the teacher in me! I’m on maternity leave, from this school actually.’ She waves her hand towards the school site across the road that they’ve all just come from. ‘Glutton for punishment, coming all the way back over here every fortnight, but there are no twins clubs nearer to home. Luckily, none of the kids have spotted me so far, although it being the summer holidays the last few times has helped. Be warned though, I’ll probably be marking your cakes out of ten when I get to taste them!’ She smiles. ‘Oh, I’m not serious, Molly. Don’t look so worried. I’m sure your baking is delicious.’
‘I’ll bring a few samples next time, shall I? I’d feel a bit of a fraud without letting you taste them before you order anything.’ Molly stops, embarrassed. She hardly knows these women but she is already assuming there will be a next time.
‘That would be lovely.’ Miranda’s eyes have glazed over again at the thought of treats to come. ‘We’d better not eat them in here though. It wouldn’t go down too well, I don’t think. Maybe we could meet in the park round the corner after the next TTC meeting, if the weather’s good? I think your antenatal class should be on the same day, Molly. It usually is. Bring a rug and a few sandwiches. And we can always get our coffees to take away.’
‘Sounds like a plan!’ Rosie says. ‘And I was hoping you might all come to the party as well. Kids too, of course. If we’ve got my husband’s friends and family there, it’s only right I should invite some of mine. Bring partners, if you want, although I’m sure some of them might not fancy a room full of strangers and screaming babies! The more the merrier though. I’ll bring proper invitations next time we meet. And, Molly, maybe you can come a bit early and bring the cake with you on the party day. What do you think?’
Molly thinks that all sounds just perfect. Cakes to make, new friends who have included her so instantly in their group, a picnic in the park to look forward to, and a baby helpline on tap. She really has had quite a wonderful morning.