‘I want to push,’ exclaimed Isla.
‘We need to get you comfy and out of these clothes,’ said Felicity, sounding calmer than she actually felt. She helped Isla wriggle out of her maternity jeans.
‘Have you got a loose-fitting nightie?’
‘In that bag.’ Isla pointed towards her overnight bag in the corner of the room that she’d packed ready for the hospital.
Felicity quickly rummaged through it and pulled out a white cotton nightie. ‘Not the best colour of clothing for giving birth,’ she smiled, trying to make a joke before handing it to Isla. ‘You slip that on, while I wash my hands.’
Drew returned to the room and placed the towels on the bed and the bowl of water on the dressing table.
‘What’s next?’ he asked sitting on the edge of the bed.
‘You need to hold your wife’s hand and take all the abuse she’s about to throw at you.’
Drew smiled. ‘That’s no change from normal then,’ he joked placing a kiss to Isla’s cheek.
‘It’s coming again,’ said Isla, gritting her teeth. She felt pressure to her back and heard a loud pop, followed by a gush of fluid that soaked into the sheets.
‘My waters have broken.’
Drew jumped up and grabbed a towel. ‘Can you lift yourself up so I can slide a clean towel underneath you?’
Isla couldn’t speak. She was scrunching her eyes shut as she grabbed Drew’s arm. She tried her best to concentrate on her breathing but the pain was becoming unbearable. Drew mopped her brow with a sponge to soothe her.
‘Breathe through it, it will soon stop,’ said Felicity, breathing in and out in an exaggerated way, hoping Isla would copy her.
‘I don’t feel well,’ Isla cried out in pain.
‘You’re doing brilliantly, honestly I’m so proud of you,’ encouraged Drew.
‘It feels like it’s all going too fast, this is so much quicker than having Finn,’ she panted.
‘They say second babies are always quicker than the first,’ said Drew, once again mopping her brow as the contraction came to an end.
‘Are you comfy?’ asked Felicity.
‘As comfy as I can be. But I’ve got the urge to push.’
Drew shot up from the edge of the bed and stood up by the side of his wife.
‘Can you take a look?’ he asked Felicity.
‘Do you mind?’ Felicity turned towards Isla.
‘There’s no point me being modest now, is there?’
Isla brought up her knees and Felicity took a swift look. The next contraction came, though it seemed like only a matter of seconds since the last one.
Isla cried out, ‘It’s coming!’
‘Take short breaths,’ ordered Felicity. ‘You are doing really, really well.’
‘I can feel the head,’ panted Isla.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes,’ she screamed.
Felicity took another look under her nightie. ‘I can see the head, it’s crowning.’ Felicity’s heart was beating nineteen to the dozen.
‘I need to push again.’
‘This baby is nearly here.’ Felicity glanced over at Drew; the colour had drained from his cheeks.
‘This baby isn’t hanging about. With the next contraction, push down,’ ordered Felicity, encouraging Isla to push hard. ‘You can do this.’
Despite the pain and giving it everything she’d got, Isla pushed with all her might. The perspiration was running down her forehead as she clutched Drew’s hand so tightly he thought he may pass out.
Isla let out an almighty scream just as a beautiful slithering bundle of life slid right into Felicity’s hands and Drew let out a joyful cry. ‘He’s here!’
Drew quickly wiped the mucus from the baby’s mouth and nose. Joyful tears were cascading down Felicity’s cheeks, the emotion surged through her body as the baby let out a cry and the relief was instant. Immediately Felicity placed the baby on to Isla’s chest.
‘He’s beautiful. Welcome to the world, baby Angus.’ Tears of relief were streaming down Isla’s cheeks as Drew wrapped his arms around his wife and baby son.
‘I’ll leave you to it and congratulations to you both,’ Felicity stood up, and quickly hugged both Isla and Drew.
‘Hello, can I come in?’ Hearing a knock on the bedroom door, and recognising Dr Taylor’s voice, Felicity opened the door.
‘Angus has arrived,’ exclaimed a delighted Felicity who stepped out of the way to let Dr Taylor into the room.
Both the proud parents beamed towards him.
‘How’s mother doing?’ asked Dr Taylor placing his bag on the floor then looking directly towards Isla.
‘She’s doing just fine,’ answered an exhausted Isla.
‘Can I just check over the little fellow?’ he asked stretching his arms out and taking hold of Angus.
Isla looked towards Dr Taylor.
‘All is good with this little man, I suggest we get you both cleaned up and this little one dressed.’
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ said Felicity, ‘but shall I let Finn know the good news?’
‘You tell him and I’ll come and fetch him as soon as we have Isla and Angus ready,’ beamed a proud Drew.
Felicity excitedly bounded down the stairs and opened the door to the living room to find six pairs of eyes staring back at her.
‘When did you lot sneak in?’ asked Felicity, amazed that Jessica, Rory and Fergus had now joined Allie, Esme and Finn.
‘Never mind that,’ said Allie, flapping her hand towards Felicity. ‘Any news?’
Felicity couldn’t contain the excitement any longer and perched on the arm of the chair next to Finn.
‘I’m over the moon to announce you have a brand new baby brother called Angus, who is absolutely perfect!’
The whole living room erupted in cheers and Finn jumped to his feet. ‘Can I go and see him?’
Felicity was just about to answer when Drew appeared in the doorway. ‘You sure can!’
Finn squealed as his father was met with a barrage of congratulations and everyone jumped to their feet. Finn launched into his dad’s arms who hugged him tight.
‘Are you ready to meet your new baby brother?’
The huge beam across Finn’s face said it all as he clutched his dad’s hand.
As a proud Finn disappeared up the stairs to meet his new brother everyone else began reaching for their coats.
Allie blew out a breath. ‘Are you thinking of changing careers to midwifery?’ she joked, looking at Felicity.
‘I noticed you took the easy option,’ Felicity replied, as she rolled her eyes at Allie.
‘I’m not good with all that squeamish stuff,’ Allie said, hugging Felicity.
‘Congratulations to you,’ said Fergus, standing up. For a moment Felicity thought he was actually going to hug her but he touched her arm tentatively. ‘That’s a huge thing you’ve just done,’ he exclaimed, leaving Felicity beaming with pride.
‘It’s just an average day in Heartcross … bridges collapsing, babies being delivered,’ joked Felicity, suddenly remembering the chaos of the morning which had passed her by for the last hour.
‘The press have been in touch,’ said Rory, slipping his coat on. ‘They want to interview you, this afternoon.’
‘We’ve given the reporter your number,’ chipped in Allie. ‘They just want to talk to you about how the village is feeling and what’s the plan from here.’
Felicity didn’t know how she felt about this even though she knew she’d agreed to be the spokesperson for the village. All she wanted to do was return to the cottage and grab a cup of tea. ‘I’ll await the call then. I’d best get back to Mum, see what’s going on. What’s the plan for you lot now?’ asked Felicity.
‘We’ll be off. We can nip back and see the baby once they’ve had some time to themselves,’ answered Allie.
Not wanting to crash their family time the gang shouted up the stairs to Isla and Drew with the promise they’d
visit soon.
As everyone got ready to leave, Felicity sank into the chair in front of the fire. She actually felt quite emotional and drained. As she’d been helping to deliver the baby she’d felt scared, even though she’d tried her best not to show it. What if something had gone wrong? But luckily for everyone, Dr Taylor had arrived just at the right time and baby Angus was more than perfect.
‘Penny for them?’ Rory looked over towards Felicity. ‘You look exhausted.’
‘I feel it to be honest,’ she replied, tucking her feet underneath her.
‘Are you coming?’
Felicity shook her head. ‘I’m going to stay here and gather myself,’ she said. ‘In fact, I’m in need of a drink. It’s not every day you deliver a baby.’
‘Do you want me to stay with you?’ asked Allie.
‘No, you get off, I’ll catch up with you later, and we have that meeting at six o’clock in the teashop.’
‘You’ve been amazing today.’ Allie said, giving her a quick hug, and Felicity felt a warmth run through her body at being congratulated by her friends. Maybe this was the start of her feeling less of an outsider?
As she sat on the chair a lonely tear slipped down her cheek. Of course, she was over the moon for her friend; it would be selfish for her not to be happy for Isla and Drew, but she was deeply saddened knowing she would never give birth, never have her own child that she’d love with all her might, that no one was ever going to call her Mum. And try as she might to imagine her future without children, the pain never went away. Fergus’s words still echoed around her head, words from the past. ‘I love you, only you, instead of thinking what we should have or could have been, let’s focus on what is and what can be.’
Felicity pushed herself up from the chair, feeling emotional, and poured herself a stiff drink from the decanter on the sideboard. Swirling the amber liquid around she immediately drained the glass feeling the whisky burn the back of her throat. The memories from the past whirled around in her head as the tears cascaded down her cheeks.
Delivering Angus had brought back painful memories, and even after all this time, she still yearned to be a mother.
She stood and watched her friends walking away from Foxglove Farm, her gaze fixed on Jessica and Esme. Rory and Allie were in front holding hands, and she noticed Fergus stop and say something to Jessica who nodded then carried on walking clutching Esme’s hand. Fergus turned and began to walk back towards the farmhouse. Felicity’s heart jumped. Why was he coming back?
Quickly, she wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and moved away from the window. She heard the click of the door, and Fergus appeared in the doorway of the living room.
‘Did you forget something?’ asked Felicity, her heart hammering against her chest as he walked back into the room. Her eyes shifted towards the floor as she didn’t want him to notice her bleary eyes.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked tentatively. ‘I kind of got the feeling…’
Before Fergus had even finished his sentence, Felicity couldn’t hold the emotion back and the tears cascaded down her face.
She locked eyes with him and for a moment they stood in an awkward silence until he opened his arms and did what felt the most natural thing in the world. He hugged her.
Felicity buried her face into his shoulder taking in the spicy aroma of his aftershave, a closeness she had missed so much.
‘I know how difficult it must have been for you delivering a baby … after everything.’ Fergus pulled away gently and perched on the arm of the chair.
‘You have no idea…’ Her voice faltered. ‘But we both know…’
Fergus could see Felicity was upset and still very much trying to come to terms with the past. ‘Flick, there are other options available and when you meet someone…’
‘No, Fergus,’ interrupted Felicity. The thought of having another man’s baby when all she’d longed for was his too much. ‘A baby of my own is all I’ve ever wanted. It’s all right for you.’ She knew as soon as the words left her mouth that they seemed unkind. ‘I’m sorry … I didn’t mean…’
‘I know you didn’t … I lived through it too, remember,’ he said tenderly. ‘I know exactly how you feel.’
‘But you have your family now, you’ve moved on. I’ll never have that.’ She knew her emotions were running away with her, but she couldn’t help it. It wasn’t his fault she’d left for London, in fact he had been the one begging her to stay.
‘That doesn’t mean to say I will ever forget the past or not care,’ said Fergus, his voice soft.
Felicity looked up through her fringe and slowly sat down on the settee. ‘Care about the past or care about me?’
The question hung in the air.
Fergus didn’t answer it.
‘I’m just making sure you are okay.’
‘And if I said I wasn’t?’ Felicity felt saddened and vulnerable as she thought about her lost chance at being a mother. She remembered her own childhood, how she’d splashed in puddles in her bright red wellington boots, how she’d danced a jig every time her grandmother had pulled the gingerbread men from the oven and how her mum would curl up with her every night and read her a bedtime story. Those moments were precious and were ones she’d wanted to share with her own children. With her and Fergus’s children.
Their eyes fixed intently on each other for a moment before Fergus spoke. ‘Then I’d walk you back to the cottage and deliver you into the safe hands of Rona.’
Felicity was hoping for more; she was hoping he’d say that he would sit with her until she was feeling better, as long as it took, but she knew that would be difficult for him too.
She nodded, shaking herself from her painful memories. ‘Honestly, I’m okay … you go and catch up Jessica and Esme.’
He hesitated before standing up, then raked his hand through his hair. Her stomach slumped and she felt shattered as Fergus moved towards the door.
‘You take care of yourself.’
As she watched him walk out of the farmhouse and stride up the long driveway she swallowed down a lump in her throat.
Upstairs she could still hear the joyful chatter from Finn, who was absolutely made up with the arrival of his new baby brother. Felicity knew that even though she’d never have her own child, she was going to embrace baby Angus and make sure that she helped Isla at every possible opportunity. She’d decided she was going to be chief babysitter. She couldn’t turn back time but Fergus coming back to see she was okay gave her a glimmer of hope for a friendship that she’d thought was unfixable. She’d worried about how he was going to react to her homecoming, but now believed that they had a real chance at being friends, which would only make it easier for her to fit back in with the community. They still had a long way to go, and Felicity wasn’t sure she would ever get over what happened between them, but Fergus had shown he still cared and she felt happy about that.
Chapter 14
‘Felicity, it’s the phone for you,’ Rona shouted up the stairs towards the locked door of the bathroom.
After Felicity left the farm, she’d wandered up to the village shop where Hamish had already organised a bundle of food to deliver to the teashop. He told Felicity that the mood in the village was one of worry which was understandable. The whole village was shrouded in uncertainty. No one knew what was going to happen or how soon the bridge could be repaired or when any further supplies would get through. The impact on the village was huge and only time would tell how everyone would be affected.
Hamish told Felicity that Meredith and Fraser had already transported huge aluminium pots to the teashop to make it easier to prepare the food in huge quantities. Meredith, of course, had offered to help Rona. In fact, it was going to be all hands on deck feeding the masses in the coming days, maybe weeks.
And now Felicity was soaking in the bath with bubbles up to her neck thinking about the village and how everyone was going to cope. She knew things wouldn’t be that different for the first few days bu
t once the food began to dwindle, people would be pushed to their limit and tempers could fray.
‘Who is it?’ she shouted, as she swirled the warm water around her body.
‘Aidy Redfern, reporter from the BBC,’ her mum bellowed back as Felicity quickly slipped out of the bath, towelled herself down and pulled her bathrobe tightly around her body before hurrying downstairs. Rona handed her the receiver as she sat down on the bottom stair.
‘Hello, Felicity Simons here,’ she answered in a posh telephone voice which made her mum smile as she disappeared towards the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. She could hear Felicity chatting away and as soon as she hung up she shouted to her mum, ‘Switch on the TV. Apparently, I’m on the news in a moment.’
Rona thrust a mug of coffee into Felicity’s hand before immediately switching on the TV.
They watched and waited patiently until they saw the collapsed bridge flash before their eyes with newsreader Aidy Redfern poised with his microphone, ready to start talking.
‘I’m still standing near the flooded banks of the River Heart where earlier this morning the bridge collapsed, isolating the village of Heartcross. Severe weather warnings remain in place with further rainfall forecast for later on this afternoon making homes and businesses still very vulnerable and at the mercy of the next storm. The army and RAF are currently dropping sandbags to limit any further damage to the area, but normality will take a long time to return. We have managed to speak to local resident Felicity Simons who is the dedicated spokesperson for the village of Heartcross. What’s the general feeling in Heartcross at this moment in time, Felicity?’
‘One of shock,’ Felicity heard herself say.
‘Eww, my voice sounds weird. I don’t sound like that.’ She grimaced at the TV screen.
‘That’s exactly how you sound,’ chuckled Rona, still staring at the TV. ‘And look, there’s your name in the banner across the bottom! Felicity Simons … spokeswoman for Heartcross Village,’ said Rona with importance.
Love Heart Lane Page 14
