The Doctors’ Baby Bond

by Abigail Gordon

  Relief because she’d made her feelings about Eamon clear, and annoyance with himself for blundering into such a discussion and maybe making Andrina think he didn’t care who she was attracted to as long as it wasn’t him.

  For the rest of the day there was constraint between them and it only lightened when Marion came round in the evening to babysit Jonathan. She adored him and was proud to be his godmother, and they felt that if there was one person they could safely leave the baby with it was Marion.

  Andrina didn’t have a lot of clothes. In her previous lifestyle there had been little time for socialising or shopping. The black suit she’d worn for the christening had been bought for a colleague’s funeral and the cream straw hat a last-minute purchase months ago when she’d been invited to the wedding of one of the administrators at the hospital.

  However, she did have an attractive dress that was semi-evening wear. She’d worn it at the hospital Christmas party and as she surveyed herself before going down to greet Marion she was hoping that for once Drew might see her as herself, instead of as Jonathan’s aunt or his new colleague at the practice.

  Made from soft, flame-coloured silk, the dress was calf-length and it clung to her hips and breasts like a second skin. She’d chosen to wear gold jewellery with it and high-heeled strappy evening shoes, and the effect was dazzling to say the least.

  As she stood poised at the top of the stairs Drew was in the hallway below giving Marion her instructions about Jonathan’s feeds and suchlike, but his voice trailed away when he saw her.

  She held her breath. Was the transformation going to have the desired effect?

  ‘So you’re ready,’ he said flatly, and turned away.

  Marion made up for his lack of enthusiasm by exclaiming, ‘My! You do look nice.’

  ‘Not nice enough for some, it would appear,’ Andrina said in a low voice as he went out to start the car.

  Marion nodded and whispered. ‘She wore a lot of that colour—that wife of his.’

  Andrina groaned. So Drew had been expecting the moth and instead the butterfly had appeared. She almost ran back upstairs to change and then thought better of it. If Drew was going to let what she was dressed in blind him to the fact that she was nothing like his ex-wife, it was too bad…and when all was said and done, what was this evening about?

  It was merely a gesture on his part. A fitting end to a very special day. Two people with similar outlooks having a quiet meal together. It certainly wasn’t intended as a proper date. And fixing a smile on her face, she went out to join him.

  * * *

  ‘I take it that you think I’m overdressed,’ she said coolly, as they drove along the hill road towards the country club where he’d booked the meal.

  ‘I don’t recall making such a comment,’ he remarked levelly.

  ‘No, but it’s what you’re thinking.’

  ‘Does it matter what I’m thinking?’

  That was a tricky one. If she said yes, he might think she was presuming too much. And if she said no, it could wipe out the rapport that had sprung up between them over recent weeks.

  So she compromised with, ‘It might.’

  He sighed.

  ‘When I saw you at the top of the stairs it was a shock, that’s all. I’m used to seeing you looking…’

  As he paused, searching for words, she had some of her own ready to fill the gap.

  ‘Pale and insignificant?’

  Laughter rumbled deep in his throat.

  ‘Pale maybe, but insignificant…no way! I’ll never forget how your hackles rose when I called at your apartment that first time, and there have been occasions since when you’ve shown great strength of will and determination.’

  ‘And now here I am,’ she said, not quite sure what she meant by it.

  ‘Yes, here you are…and here am I. I’ve no regrets if you haven’t.’

  Her heartbeat was quickening. She glanced across at him, hoping to find in his expression what she wanted to see, but his next words took away the promise of what he’d just said.

  ‘Our domestic set-up is ideal for the moment. By taking each day as it comes, I think we’re coping very well. Obviously Jonathan won’t be a baby for ever, but he’s going to need us for a long time yet.’

  She was becoming more attracted to him by the minute, Andrina thought bleakly, but there didn’t seem to be any response coming from his direction. Could she face years of platonic living with Drew?

  Aggravated by his reasoning, she said snappily, ‘And what do we do if one of us wants to marry at some time in the future? It might all seem very simple now, but what would we do then?’

  He sighed again. It was meant to be a relaxed evening, the two of them alone, unwinding after the day’s events. But instead Andrina was raking up all sorts of things that he didn’t want to think about.

  ‘I suggest that we face that sort of problem if it arises,’ he said, trying to conceal his exasperation. ‘Unless you already have someone in mind.’

  ‘Of course I haven’t!’ she protested angrily. ‘My life is taken up between the house and the surgery. You are the one most likely to put us in that position.’

  ‘Me!’ His irritation was increasing. ‘And what have I done to make you think that? Had the women of the village queuing up for my favours? One-night stands? Nights on the town? In case you haven’t noticed, I spend most of my spare time covered in grime, renovating the farmhouse.’

  This was ridiculous, Andrina thought. They were falling out over hypothetical problems, and it was all because she was wearing the dress. It had set the tone of the evening before it had even begun. She was letting the reception it got get to her, and the last thing she wanted was to quarrel with Drew over something so trivial. It was the harmony between them that had been the most wonderful part of their arrangement.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly. ‘I don’t know what’s got into me. I’m being a pain. I was really looking forward to this evening but we seem to have got off on the wrong foot.’

  The good humour that she so much admired in him came back, and he flashed her a smile as he said, ‘Let’s start again, shall we? Kiss and make up?’

  Pulling up at the side of the road, he leaned across and brushed her cheek with his lips. She could smell tangy aftershave mixed with the smell of freshly showered male, and Andrina closed her eyes.

  ‘What?’ he asked. ‘What’s wrong?’

  When she opened them he was so near their faces were almost touching, and as if her thoughts were mirrored in her wide hazel gaze, he kissed her again, on the mouth this time.

  It was a gentle gesture as before. A mark of affection between friends. But after the first few seconds of contact it changed. He was reaching out for her, hands gripping her shoulders, and as they melted together it was as if their whole world was encompassed in the shadowed interior of the car.

  ‘Whew!’ he breathed when at last they drew apart. ‘I had no intention of letting that happen.’

  Andrina turned away. So he hadn’t meant it. She’d just been taken on a fast trip to the stars and then dropped back to earth like a pricked balloon.

  With what was left of her composure, she said lightly, ‘Yes. It wasn’t a good idea, was it? Our relationship is complicated enough. The last thing we need is to let our animal instincts take over.’

  As he pulled back into the line of traffic Drew’s face was sombre. That was one for him, he thought. It was his animal instincts Andrina had been referring to. She thought he’d just used her for a quick diversion.

  It was true what he’d said, though. He’d had no intention of kissing her like that. Yet once he’d let his feelings take over it had been fantastic. She was the first woman he’d touched since Tania.

  The perfume she was wearing was as fresh as flowers, compared to the heavy musk brands that his ex-wife used. With his mouth on hers she’d felt soft and pliant in his arms during those first few seconds, then it had changed and they’d been on fire.

&n
bsp; Had it been because they were both starved of contact with the opposite sex? Whatever it was, Andrina had just put it into perspective and he had better cool it.

  It was the dratted dress, she was thinking in the seat beside him. It reminded him of her. Because she’d turned out looking like a Tania look-alike it had switched him on. So he must still have some feelings for his ex-wife.

  The restaurant was looming up in front of them and minutes later they were being shown to a table looking out over the starlit moors. Andrina thought wryly that they had the time, the setting and maybe, from what had happened earlier, the inclination, yet the night was spoilt and she felt like weeping.

  But Drew’s dark blue gaze was on her and pride wouldn’t let her crumble in front of him. It had been an emotional day all round. The christening with no parents present. Being asked for a date for the first time in many months. And then tonight the dress…the argument…the kiss. She wished she could just go home and curl up under the covers. But a waiter was offering her a menu, and forcing a smile, she chose a safe subject to discuss—the surgery.

  ‘I’ve been talking to James,’ she said. ‘Did you know that once he’s passed his finals he intends working abroad with one of the relief agencies? I asked him if he had a girlfriend and he said, “No, not a steady one. It wouldn’t be fair to her if I was working abroad. We wouldn’t see anything of each other.” It seems those sentiments lasted until he did a home visit to someone called Suzanne Hamer, and now he’s having second thoughts. Do you know her?’

  ‘Yes. She’s an attractive twenty year old suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis—ME. It started a year ago after a viral infection that didn’t clear up properly. Since then the poor girl has had all the symptoms. First of all there was severe muscle fatigue, followed by nausea, dizziness, pins and needles sensations and panic attacks, just to mention a few.’

  She nodded.

  ‘Yes, that’s the girl. James said that before she’d been a bright, energetic medical student, and in spite of the fact that she’d called him out because she was having a really bad day, when she discovered that he’d taken the same course that she was struggling with she perked up. He offered to lend her some books to help with her course work and has wasted no time in calling round with them.’

  ‘So you think that young James has been bitten by the love bug?’ Drew said as they went into the lounge for coffee after an excellent meal.

  ‘It’s possible,’ she replied. ‘But it wasn’t on the agenda. He wanted to steer clear of anything like that because of his future plans.’

  ‘It’s going to be a case of “Watch this space” then?’

  ‘Something like that. It can bite when one least expects it, can’t it?’

  ‘What can?’

  ‘The love bug.’

  ‘Yes,’ he agreed, and wondered if the pain of its bite was anything to do with the ache inside him.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  DREW had taken Marion home.

  ‘I won’t be long,’ he’d said, and Andrina had known that the moment he was gone she was going to dash upstairs and take off the wretched dress. He was not going to find an exotic flower waiting for him when he got back, and minutes later she was seated at the kitchen table with face scrubbed clean, wrapped in a warm robe and sipping a mug of hot chocolate.

  After the unsettling evening the sensible thing would have been to go straight to bed, but with her thoughts in turmoil she needed to see if Drew had any further comments to make before she tried to get some sleep.

  When he came back and saw her sitting there, he smiled.

  ‘You looked great tonight,’ he said, ‘but now you look more like the woman I know and…’ He’d been going to say ‘love’ and was staggered that the word had come so easily to mind. But after that moment of madness earlier Andrina had made it clear that she wanted no further complications in her life and he supposed he couldn’t blame her. Yet time would tell, and at the moment that was a commodity they had in plenty. Just as long as no third parties turned up out of the blue to spoil things.

  They went up the stairs together and when they reached the landing they both halted before going to their separate rooms. Drew knew from the ache inside him that he wanted to kiss her again and take it from there, but these days he wasn’t the impulsive person he’d been when he’d rushed into marriage to Tania. He’d learned what pain that sort of decision could bring. He could wait, and in any case, as he’d just been reminding himself, Andrina wanted things to stay as they were between them.

  So with the smile that always made her heart beat faster, he said, ‘It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it, Andrina? Shall we have a peep at Jonathan before we turn in?’

  She nodded. Once again Drew had hit just the right note, and as they tiptoed into Jonathan’s room she had that feeling again, as if the missing parents were somewhere in the ether close by, and she wanted to tell Jodie that it was all right…that she would love and care for her child as long as there was breath in her body.

  ‘Do you think they know what we’re doing?’ he asked in a low voice, tuning into her thoughts as he gently lifted a tiny hand and tucked it beneath the covers.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure they do,’ she replied softly. She reached out and touched Drew’s cheek for a fleeting moment. ‘You saved my sanity the day you offered to help me care for him.’

  His eyes had darkened but his voice was easy enough as he told her obliquely, ‘You did the same for me. And with regard to more mundane matters, if we don’t get to bed soon we’ll be late for Monday morning surgery. We saw quite a few patients last week with flu symptoms and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an epidemic on the way. That’ll keep us on our toes.’

  With her hand on the handle of her bedroom door, she said, ‘Thanks for organising the christening and taking me out to dinner. As you said, it’s been quite a day and I won’t forget one moment of it.’

  ‘Good,’ he said with the same easiness, hoping that the time they’d spent in each other’s arms would be high on her list of memories, but he still had his feelings well under control, especially after those precious moments beside the baby’s cot. It had seemed as if the three of them had been wrapped in a warm, close cocoon and he hadn’t wanted to spoil it. Of late, there hadn’t been many of those sorts of moments in his life.

  * * *

  During the week that followed the two doctors had little time to think about what was happening in their private lives as it seemed that the flu bug had indeed arrived, with a waiting room full all the time with pale-faced patients coughing and sneezing.

  ‘October is early for a flu epidemic,’ Drew said on the Monday evening, after a day of handing out flu jabs to those vulnerable people who hadn’t yet had them, and examining those who had succumbed. His glance had been on the baby cooing happily in his cot and there’d been anxiety in it.

  ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Andrina told him. ‘That the surgery is not the ideal place for Jonathan to be at the moment, even if he is kept well away from the patients. But, Drew, I can’t stay at home with him. In a crisis such as this, we’re both needed at the practice.’

  ‘So we find someone to look after him during surgery hours until the outbreak is under control,’ he’d said.

  ‘Yes, but who? We can’t ask Marion. She’s in the same situation as us. She’s needed at the surgery. And I can’t see Eamon giving Jonathan his bottle in the middle of organising MOTs and car repairs. In any case, I wouldn’t want him to.’

  ‘There’s a new day nursery opened in the village,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘Serena Smith has bought the old church hall and had it renovated. I’m sure that she would take him until things quieten down at the surgery. I’ll go and see her after we’ve eaten. She has a flat above the premises.’

  He was smiling when he came back.

  ‘It’s sorted. I’ve arranged that we’ll drop Jonathan off on our way to the practice in the mornings and you will pick him up as soon as afternoon surg
ery is over, leaving James and me to clear up at the end of the day. Serena is well named. She’s middle-aged, is calm and capable and is fully qualified to run such an establishment. She showed me round and the place is immaculate.’

  Andrina felt a mixture of relief and anxiety when he’d explained what he’d arranged and said, ‘I don’t like the idea of Jonathan being away from us but I suppose in this sort of emergency we have to do what is best for him.’

  ‘He’ll be fine,’ Drew had said. ‘I feel the same as you, but it is the wisest arrangement under the circumstances.’

  * * *

  Later that evening, when he’d gone outside to do some work on one of the outhouses at the farm, Andrina sat gazing into the fire, deep in thought. There was no denying that in the early days she’d been extremely reluctant to accept the responsibility for Jodie’s son, but ever since that never-to-be-forgotten night when she’d discovered that her stepsister had given birth to a little boy, Jonathan had never been far away, except for the previous evening when Drew had taken her to the country club.

  Even during her working day at the practice he was close by, and although Drew did more than his share of caring for him when they were at home she was always near, watching over him, loving him so much that she ached with tenderness. And now they were having to hand him over to someone that she didn’t know.

  * * *

  When they arrived at the church hall the next morning it was a scene of great activity. Parents were arriving with babies and toddlers, and two teenage girls in blue uniforms were receiving their small charges for the day.

  ‘Where is Serena?’ Drew asked one of them as he and Andrina hesitated on the fringe of the activity.

  Her concerns were diminishing as she looked around her. The equipment was all new and spotless and the two assistants pleasant and capable-looking girls.

  ‘I’m here,’ a voice said from behind, and as Andrina swung round the woman that Drew had described was standing there, looking the picture of neat efficiency. In contrast, Andrina was feeling anything but organised after a restless night caused by thoughts of letting the baby out of her sight, and on top of that she’d had to dash upstairs to change after Jonathan had brought up all over her when she’d picked him up as they’d been on the point of leaving the farm.