by Lisa Young
Lottie raised an eyebrow. “I feel like this is building up to something.”
Alice smiled tremulously.
Clearing her throat, she spoke quietly. “So, Mrs. Grant-Blair, bit of a curveball I suppose, but I wondered if you’d just consider something for me?”
Waiting patiently, Lottie nodded for her to continue. “I want a baby. I want to have our baby.”
Lottie froze.
“Seriously?” she questioned.
Surprisingly, she did not feel as shocked as she thought she might have been at such an unexpected request.
Alice leaned forward and breathed against her lips. “Really,” she affirmed.
“I didn’t expect this. I mean how? Who? Oh God. I’m forty!”
Alice placed a finger gently against her lips. “Let’s not talk about it again for a while, I just wanted to plant the idea and let it sit. See how we both feel.”
Lottie smiled and lay her cheek against Alice’s. “Well, you certainly know how to take a girl by surprise!” she said, chuckling.
Alice fell silent as they turned towards the sea to watch the sun set meet the horizon.
The noise of merriment from the hall drifted out into the evening, and Lottie was left with her internal dialogue. A baby, I mean, God. A baby!
Their peace was shattered by the dulcet tones of Pru, accompanied by Mim who seemed to be struggling with a cat carrier with a single Congratulations balloon trailing pitifully behind it.
As Pru loomed into view she bellowed out. “Darlings, darlings. Oh, have I got a gift for you!”
Alice turned, taking in the cat carrier, and shot a glance at Lottie who was frozen to the spot.
Ignoring the silence, Pru snatched the carrier from Mim and thrust it forcefully in the direction of Lottie, who had no choice but to reluctantly accept it.
Alice raised an eyebrow at Pru, and seemed about to decline the gift, but Pru launched into a rambled explanation.
“Darlings, now I know that you didn’t want gifts, but I simply couldn’t bear to leave such a fabulous occasion unmarked. Sappho has been pining terribly for your moggy. She’s clearly distraught and refusing to eat! Since you have a vet in the family now, it would only seem right that I put aside my own feelings to ensure she is back where she belongs!”
Signalling the finality of the arrangement, she firmly crossed her arms, ignoring Alice, and challenging Lottie with a stern gaze.
Lottie wilted under the intense scrutiny. “Thank you”, she said, simultaneously being elbowed sharply in the ribs by Alice.
“Right. That’s settled then!” Pru boomed enthusiastically.
Behind her, Mim gave an apologetic shrug before ambling in the direction of the hall, no doubt to seek solace in the free alcohol.
Pru followed in hot pursuit, and Lottie heard her smug comment. “See, Miriam dear, I told you it was the best solution. I can’t have the responsibility of an animal when I have such pressing business demands.”
As if in agreement, Lottie heard Sappho purring with pleasure from deep inside the carrier. Turning to Alice she grinned. “Our family seems to have grown already. Maybe it’s a sign.”
Alice chuckled. “It certainly looks like it.”
Pulling Lottie closer, Alice kissed her lovingly.
About the Author
Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, Lisa Young now lives near Sherwood Forest in England. She has always been a keen observer of human nature and personal relationships. With a witty and mischievous sense of humour, Lisa generally sees the funny side of life. She loves to travel and can often be found planning her next adventure. She also likes nothing more than jumping into her campervan with her wife, sons and miniature dachshund and heading off on a road trip.
After a traditional marriage and two children, Lisa entered her thirties as a more authentic version of herself. She accepted her sexuality as a lesbian and embarked upon a new and exciting stage of her life which eventually led her to meet her wife, Lucy. As an out and proud lesbian, she met many extraordinary people and experienced both the joys and the complexities of dating as a single gay parent. Her experiences led her to create a hilarious fictional world of lesbian dating in her first novel Out and Proud. While her human characters are fictional, the names of the animal characters have been changed to protect their identities. Lisa was inspired to write her first book by her wife who told her, ‘You’ve lived it, now you just need to write it,’ and Lisa is currently writing the sequel novel.
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and Young Adult Books.
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