Midwife's Baby Bump

by Susanne Hampton

  ‘I’m sure you two would have lots to talk about. It might be good for both of you.’

  Sophia and Flick said goodbye to Phoebe after making an appointment for the next visit in four weeks. They were both satisfied that she was in good physical health and managing her grief very well, and agreed that giving birth in hospital was a sensible decision.

  ‘I hope that Ryan can help Phoebe, particularly if he was close to her husband. Something positive could come of it for both of them,’ commented Sophia as they got into the car. ‘They could probably both do with a friend at this time. It’s hard to be alone in this world. Ryan’s a lovely man. Who knows, he might even help to fill a void in the baby’s life left by Joshua.’

  Flick agreed as they headed off to the next home visit. ‘I have some news about my baby’s father.’

  Sophia looked at Flick from the corner of her eye. ‘What sort of news?’

  ‘He’s asked me to move in with him, for the sake of the baby. Nothing romantic,’ Flick said, to temper the reaction she thought Sophia might have to her announcement. ‘I was hesitating up until today and visiting Phoebe. But now I’m convinced that I should make the move. I don’t want to rob my baby of being with Tristan. It’s not about me any more. Phoebe’s baby will never have the opportunity to meet his or her father and that is a tragedy caused by the war. I don’t want to be a barrier to my child experiencing the love of a father. I never knew my father and it hurt as I grew up, not knowing what it felt like to have a family with a mother and father. There was always something missing. I won’t let my child feel that way.’

  ‘I can see where you’re coming from but if you move in with him then you better watch out the sparks don’t start flying again,’ Sophia said, as she glanced from the road to Flick.

  ‘It’s not the way it looks. We’re having a baby, he wants to help out. I can continue working and qualify on time. Besides, my place is too small and the stairs would be impossible as I get closer to my due date, and how would I get a pram up there?’

  ‘It sounds as if he already convinced you.’

  ‘No, this visit did. He just planted the seed. We can live together in a purely platonic sense. I’m not about to go looking for anything more. I don’t want to get hurt again, so I will be setting some boundaries.’

  ‘I think we need to talk this through. You’re swimming in a dangerous pool right now and I don’t want to see you heartbroken if it doesn’t work out. You have to think about what is best for you too,’ she said, pulling up out the front of a little café in Brunswick. ‘Let’s talk over something to eat. We’re early for the next antenatal visit so perhaps we could stop for twenty minutes.’

  ‘With my appetite, you don’t need to ask twice.’

  The two made their way inside and found an empty table. They ordered and sat back sipping the complementary water the waiter had given them.

  ‘I can see the prospect of being there makes you happy,’ Sophia said with a smile. ‘As long as you can keep it in perspective and keep him at arm’s length.’

  ‘I’m not sure happy is the word. It’s just the right thing to do for the baby and for Tristan…’

  ‘What about you? Is it the right thing for you?’

  ‘Yes, it is. It shows that he wants to be in the baby’s life, even at the birth, and that’s all I can ask of him. To be in our child’s life is more than I had thought would happen a few weeks ago.’

  Sophia looked over the menu and ordered a chicken wrap and sparkling water and Flick ordered the same. The waiter took the menus with him as he left to drop the order into the kitchen.

  ‘It will be good to have Tristan, Megan and you there to coach me through the birth.’

  ‘About that,’ Sophia started, and unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap in anticipation of her meal arriving. ‘I didn’t want to say anything to upset you but now you seem settled and you’re over the angst with Tristan for the moment so I need to tell you that I’ll only be able to be your primary care midwife for about another six weeks.’

  Flick looked at her with a puzzled expression. ‘I’m not following you. What’s happening?’

  ‘I have something wonderful to tell you, but I didn’t feel right with what was happening in your life,’ Sophia began, with her voice lowered.

  Flick was intrigued by the sudden soft announcement and dropped her voice to a similar soft level. ‘What is it? I’m excited for you already.’ Flick was suddenly seeing life through a different lens. Meeting Phoebe made her want to cast her disappointment from the window and appreciate what she did have. It wouldn’t be the diamond ring, the church or the picket fence, but it was something that resembled a family unit for her child.

  ‘That’s so sweet of you. With everything you’re going through, you’re excited for me.’

  ‘My life isn’t so bad. I have a baby on the way, and the father is now committed to the child and us all living together. It’s not the way I saw it all happening but at least the child will grow up having a loving father. So I’m okay. Now, tell me what’s your exciting news?’

  ‘Aiden asked me to marry him.’

  ‘Oh, my God,’ Flick squealed, and attracted the attention of the patrons at the next table.

  Sophia looked a little embarrassed.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Flick answered in not much more than a whisper as she smiled meekly at their neighbours. ‘I’m just so thrilled for you. Aiden is the most wonderful man, and I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He adores you.’

  ‘And I adore him.’

  Flick was so happy for her friend. ‘Of course he would want to marry you. He’s lucky to have you as his wife and you two will have a wonderful life together.’

  ‘I know we will,’ Sophia answered, knowing she was to marry a man she loved more than life itself. ‘Now we just have to find you a new community midwife because I’ll be going on honeymoon.’

  ‘That makes me so happy. And one fairy-tale ending out of two is still great. Besides, at least being friends with Tristan is a vast improvement on a few weeks ago.’

  ‘I’m not saying anything but I’m worried it won’t stay that way. There’s way too much chemistry between you two. However much self-control he professes, I don’t think he’ll be able to keep his distance for too long. And there’s every chance he won’t get a say in it.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Your second-trimester sex drive surge.’

  Flick seriously doubted what Sophia was telling her. ‘I’m only just starting to feel human now. I can’t imagine wanting to suddenly jump into bed with Tristan just because we’re sharing a house. I haven’t tried to seduce him over the last three months, he’s been safe to wander the corridors of the Victoria. It doesn’t sound even close to reasonable. He hasn’t hinted at wanting to repeat that night and I am not about to force the man to make love to me. In fact, I’ve told him the opposite. My ground rules are not negotiable. I’m there for the baby not for a romantic relationship.’

  ‘Reasoning won’t come into it. The hormone increase of the first trimester left you tired and even if you’d had a partner back then, you’d probably be disinterested in sex. But the second-trimester hormones will make you more affectionate and increase your need for intimacy and you will have your old energy level back. You and Tristan under one roof with your raging hormones and, more importantly, the feelings you are both trying to suppress, I’m just telling you, it’s a dangerous combination, Flick.’

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  AS FLICK PACKED the last of her belongings, Sophia’s prediction of her one-night romance with Tristan being reignited was making her worry. She didn’t want to be hurt or bring the child into a situation that was unstable. If they kept to the rules, and played it out as friends, they would be providing a solid home. Not strictly conventional but loving in its own way. She wanted the arrangement to last for their baby’s sake, even though she doubted she was being practical.

  A removalist had collected the l
arge household items an hour earlier and taken them to a storage facility just out of town. Her clothes and personal things were in two suitcases and half a dozen small boxes. Not knowing exactly how she was feeling, she looked around her sunny apartment and thought how one night had changed her life for ever.

  Then, looking back down at her tiny bump, she smiled to herself. ‘We’re in this together, you and I … and no matter what the future holds, you will be loved every day of your life.’

  There was a knock at the door and Flick could see Tristan’s broad outline through the glass pane. Her heart began to race and her stomach turned a few somersaults as she made her way to him with a suitcase in her hand to open the door.

  This was the beginning of a new life. And she was more scared than she had ever been before.

  ‘Hello, Tristan.’

  ‘Hi, Flick,’ he replied, and then quickly reached and took the bag from her. ‘Let me get that. It’s too heavy and you’re not climbing downstairs carrying anything heavier than your handbag.’

  ‘I’m pregnant, not an invalid.’

  He lifted his very dark eyes to meet hers. They were twinkling in the sun. ‘It’s my protective side, you’ll have to pull me up now and then but only after the baby’s born.’

  ‘I will, you can count on that,’ she said, trying to reclaim the bag.

  He refused to release it to her as he held it tightly. ‘I said you can pull me up after the baby arrives, so you can forget putting yourself or our child at risk by trying to climb down a few hundred steps while dragging a suitcase behind you. Not happening on my watch.’

  Flick gave up. ‘It’s not even forty steps, but I’m not going to argue with you. But before we go, we need to talk.’

  ‘What is it?’

  Sophia’s words were ringing in Flick’s head. Not a delicate ring, it was more deafening alarm bells. ‘I need you to know that what happened to us in this house won’t be happening in yours. My agreeing to be there is strictly about the baby.’

  A frown formed on his brow and his long fingers rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘I told you that I wanted you there to take care of you. I’m not just looking for a living arrangement with benefits, if that’s what you’re thinking. I respect you, Flick, and you’re going to be the mother of my child because of what happened here that night, but that’s not why I want you with me. I just want to make sure you and the baby are well taken care of.’ As he spoke he had doubts. Not of his promise to take care of Flick and the baby but his reassurance to her that there were no residual feelings. He knew that he wanted more but only time would tell if she would want the same.

  ‘Great, that’s sorted.’

  She bit her lip and berated herself silently for being suspicious. Perhaps it wasn’t him she worried about. Maybe it was her emotions and needs that had to stay in check. She didn’t want to fall for him or become overly dependent.

  And if she heard him walking around the house while she was lying in her bed in her room, feeling lonely, she would have to pull up the warm covers and block out the sounds. They weren’t playing house, just housemates. Flick would never risk her child witnessing heartbreak and the demise of an adult relationship, the way she and Megan had time and time again.

  ‘I’ll see you downstairs,’ she told him, her chin raised as she walked away. She was practising her friendly but cool demeanour.

  ‘Watch your step, I’ll be right behind you.’

  He was being gallant and chivalrous and it was nice. The last thing she wanted to do was topple over on the uneven, white-painted steps or fall in love with Tristan so she would definitely be watching her step.

  ‘I need to drop the keys back to Mr Papadothomakos. He’s on the ground floor so I’ll wait down there by his door for you,’ she told him, but then, spying her stack of belongings, she felt a pang of guilt for turning Tristan into a removalist. ‘There’s quite a few boxes and both suitcases. I really am happy to help.’

  ‘I don’t doubt that you are but I’ve got it. Go and say your goodbyes while I handle this.’

  Flick shrugged and left him to it. She found that her landlord was out so she waited for Tristan to load the car and lock her apartment before she dropped her key in his letterbox. Her emotions were mixed. The second-floor apartment had been home for three years and her landlords were like family to her. And she was now moving in with the father of her child, and with the arrival of her baby they would become her family. Perhaps not in the way she would have liked but, nonetheless, a real family.

  The drive to her new home took less than twenty minutes. They chatted about the hospital and her studies and Flick became anxious about how easy it was, being with him. As much as it was fun and relaxing, it also worried her as she thought how easy it would be to fall in love with him. Despite what they had been through, the unexpected pregnancy and his intense scrutiny of all things medical, she couldn’t ignore the chemistry. He was everything she was looking for and more. He was caring and chivalrous, intelligent and fun, and he made her skin tingle and her stomach jump in a good way whenever he came close.

  But she knew better than to think he felt the same way. He was being kind and almost eighteenth-century noble by asking her to move in so he could take care of her. She wanted more. She needed more and she told herself that she would stay until the baby was born and then she would work out what was best for all of them. Whether she would stay indefinitely was undecided and a long way off. She wasn’t looking for anyone else, and a part of her knew after being with Tristan for only one night that she would probably never find a man who came close to him. She was angry that she had allowed him to sweep her off her feet, to take a piece of her heart and ruin her for anyone else. She doubted that even if one day she met a man who wanted to return the love she was capable of giving he would be enough for her.

  Tristan pulled the car into the driveway of the elegant two-storey home in a picturesque tree-lined street in Toorak. It was designed with simple understated elegance, Flick thought as she stepped from the car and looked up at the mansion that her baby would call home. Tristan unlocked the front door and she stepped into a huge white marble entrance. She looked up and saw the ceiling was two stories above them, with a large winding staircase with an intricate black iron balustrade leading to the upper-floor landing. It was breath-taking.

  ‘Your room is on the ground floor,’ he said, pointing down a hallway ‘First door on the left. I’ll get your things.’

  Flick walked down the long hallway, admiring the stunning artwork on the walls, until she found her room. It was gorgeous. And huge compared to her tiny apartment. A four-poster queen-sized bed was almost lost in the spacious room, which had a bay window looking out across the picturesque garden. The windows were open enough that the scent of jasmine had subtly filled the room. Each side were drapes made of the softest mint-coloured heavy silk. There were two large dark wooden doors to the right and, driven by curiosity, she soon found that one opened to an en suite bathroom with an ivory and jade colour scheme. There was a luxurious bath, double shower and vanity and a vertical wooden rack filled with plush white towels. It was like her very own personal day spa.

  Wondering what was behind the other door, she stepped from the marble tiles back into her cream-carpeted bedroom and opened the second door. A light automatically turned on, illuminating what she quickly ascertained was the world’s largest walk-in wardrobe. There was enough room for dozens of shoes. Hanging space that would rival a department store, and drawers that she couldn’t hope to fill in two lifetimes.

  ‘The previous owner was a buyer for a national department store chain, or so I was told.’

  Flick turned to find Tristan standing in the doorway, carrying her two small suitcases.

  She looked at the size of the bags in his hands and back at the space around her.

  ‘It shows. I think they could fit an entire season for a store in here,’ she replied. ‘I think my belongings will fill less than two per cent of this space
.’

  ‘I’ve got a similar walk-in wardrobe in my room,’ he told her. ‘My things looked a little lost when I first moved in but I think we become a little like goldfish and our belongings grow to fit the space. Large storage space breeds hoarders because you don’t have to throw anything away.’

  Flick closed the door, thinking about Tristan’s theory, but wondered if she would be there long enough to accumulate more clothes. Only time would tell if the arrangement would work. He was being gracious and she wanted Tristan to be in their child’s life for ever. However, living together might be good on paper but in practice much more difficult. She was terrified she might fall in love. And if she fell in love with the father of her child, she was setting herself up for heartbreak. He had already told her that he wasn’t the marrying kind. Not even the dating kind. It was left to be seen if he was father material but he was at least trying.

  ‘What if I leave your bags over there and make us some lunch?’ he asked, and Flick swallowed hard as he approached her and carefully dropped her bags by her feet. The scent of his cologne suddenly made her feel light-headed and sparked a torrent of memories. She remembered the same scent so close to her when he’d taken her to bed and made love to her all night long. And how it had lingered on her skin when she’d woken.

  But she couldn’t let those memories consume her. She had to pack them away neatly where they belonged and build on the very sensible, friendly arrangement they were creating for the sake of their child.

  Passion was not the foundation of a practical relationship.

  She needed to remain level-headed.

  ‘That would be lovely,’ she muttered, feeling very self-conscious. ‘I just need to freshen up and I can find the kitchen in a few minutes and help you.’ She wanted him to leave.

  ‘No need to hurry,’ he said, with his face only inches from hers. ‘I’m a damn fine sandwich maker. So settle in, take your time and head out when you’re ready.’