Second Chance Under the Mistletoe, page 14
‘According to this website, pre-eclampsia can’t be predicted.’
‘She’s been so healthy, I don’t understand it.’
‘Come on. We have to get to the hospital. Clem needs us. We might get some answers there.’
They were at the door and in the lift in seconds. Natalie urged the lift to go down faster. ‘Thank heaven we’re not in Guildford, with at least an hour’s drive to get to the hospital,’ she said.
‘From here, we should be there in less than twenty minutes.’
They ran to where the car was parked. Jon took off with a squeal of tyres. ‘I’ll get us there as fast as I can.’ Mentally, Natalie urged him to go even faster.
Natalie picked up her phone. ‘I should phone Tyler’s parents, Fiona and Gary,’ she said, punching out their number. ‘They’ll want to be there too.’
She spoke to Fiona, who was shocked, and told Natalie she and Gary would be at the hospital as soon as they could.
‘Don’t forget to call your neighbour about Freddie,’ Jon said.
‘I’ll do it now.’ She spoke briefly to her neighbour, who knew Clem well. ‘She said she’s happy to keep Freddie with her as long as I need her to. She sends best wishes to Clem.’
‘Good, at least you don’t have to worry about Freddie,’ Jon said.
Natalie realised she was wringing her hands together on her lap. She answered on a half-sob. ‘Yes, it just leaves my mind free to worry myself sick about my daughter.’
‘I’m worried too. But she’s at the hospital, in good hands. And we’ll be there very soon.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Natalie had the car door open ready to hop out as soon as Jon stopped the car to drop her at the hospital. ‘Meet you there,’ she said as she slammed the car door behind her. Jon drove off to park the car. She had to get to Clem.
She made her way to the maternity unit and was directed to the visitors’ waiting room, where she waited, anxiously tapping her foot. She scarcely noticed where staff had added festive touches even to this pedestrian hospital environment—tinsel festoons, glass bowls of multicoloured baubles, cards. She’d never given it much thought, but assumed they couldn’t decorate the sterile parts of the hospital. And staff would have to be on duty all over the holidays.
She didn’t have to wait long before Clem’s midwife came out and called her name. Natalie jumped to her feet.
‘Can I see Clem? I—’
‘I’m afraid not, Mrs Gibbs. Clementine suffered a seizure not long after I spoke to you. She was sent straight to Theatre and is scheduled for a caesarean section—’
‘A seizure? My daughter had a seizure?’ Natalie felt as though her heart had stopped.
‘Fortunately, while under our observation.’
‘You’re taking the baby out now by C-section? Even though she’s had a seizure? Even though she’s only thirty-four and a half weeks—she’s not ready to—’
‘The only cure for eclampsia is to deliver the baby,’ the midwife said firmly. ‘She’s in very good hands, I assure you.’
‘She wanted a natural birth and—’
‘Our priority is to save the life of both mother and baby.’
The midwife’s words served to sober Natalie out of her worry-induced panic. ‘Of course. And I’m grateful. But the baby will be very premature.’
‘As soon as the baby is born it will be taken to our neonatal intensive care unit. Baby will get the care he or she needs and will stay there until it’s safe to take him or her home.’
‘I’m thankful for that, but I’m so worried about my daughter. She…she’s my only child. She needs me.’
The midwife put a reassuring hand on her arm. ‘I understand. I will be with her. We will keep you in touch with what’s happening.’
At that moment, Jon rushed into the visitors’ room. Natalie introduced him to the midwife as Clementine’s father. Jon started to ask a question, but the midwife interrupted him. ‘I have to go to your daughter. Your wife will fill you in. And we will keep you informed.’
‘Thank you,’ Natalie said. ‘You’ve been very helpful.’
‘What did she say?’ asked Jon.
‘I’ll catch you up,’ said Natalie. ‘Let’s find somewhere to sit.’
She was aware of his concern too. Out of the rows of institutional chairs with padded blue seats and backs, they managed to find two spots that gave them a degree of privacy.
Natalie sat next to Jon, gripping his hand as she told him what the midwife said.
‘She’s having the baby today?’ he said.
‘That’s right.’
‘But she’s not due until the end of January.’
‘The thirtieth, if she’d made it full term.’
‘Let me look that up,’ he said, getting his phone out.
‘Seriously?’ she said. ‘Do you always do this?’
‘It’s better to know than worry over the unknown,’ he said. He scanned his screen for several minutes then looked back up to her. ‘The news is good. I’ve checked several reliable sources. The opinion seems to be that a nearly thirty-five-week-premature baby has an excellent chance of not just surviving but thriving.’
‘That’s a relief,’ she said.
‘Not only that but they’re less likely to have any of the severe problems that can be associated with a very premature baby.’
She squeezed his hand. ‘Thanks to Dr Internet for the reassurance. But I’ll feel happier when I hear it from Clem’s doctor.’
‘We’ll just wait here for as long as we have to. That’s all we can do.’
Natalie twisted in her seat to face him. ‘Thank you for being here with me. I’d hate to be going through this by myself.’
‘I told you, I’m here to help you and Clem wherever I can. Although, where’s Leo? I thought he might be here.’
‘I don’t know. But I appreciate that you’re with me. Clem will too.’ She paused. ‘You know, I’ve thought about this a lot over the last few days. Since…since we got back together. I mean seriously. As a couple. I’ve wondered how we were going to make a relationship work when we live on opposite sides of the world.’
‘We were going to talk about it on the way to your house.’
‘I guess we could talk about it now. Quietly, that is. I don’t want anyone to overhear us.’
‘Understood,’ he said. ‘I suspect we’ll be here for quite a while.’
‘This… Clem…has shaken me.’
‘It’s scary stuff,’ he said. ‘I’m worried too.’
She sighed. ‘If I thought before that my priority was to be here for Clem as she navigated parenthood, I’m even more determined now.’
‘You’ve always put her first, as a mother should.’
‘But to put her first, I have to be here. What if I hadn’t been here today? What if I’d been, say, in Australia when I got that call from the midwife? That seventeen-hour flight home you mentioned would be seventeen hours too long in an emergency.’
‘I can’t argue with that. Australia suffers from the tyranny of distance.’
She thought for a long moment. ‘How important is it for you to live in Perth?’
He didn’t hesitate with his reply. ‘Very important. My business is headquartered there. Some of the mines I have an interest in are in Western Australia. I make my living—one way or the other—from mining, Natalie.’
‘So many people work remotely these days.’
He shook his head. ‘Not possible for me. Not in the long term. Not if I want to keep making the kind of money I make.’
‘Do you need to do that?’
Jon looked at her as if that were a ridiculous question. ‘I’m forty-four. Nowhere near retirement age. Nor do I want to retire.’ He kept his voice low. ‘Those early years scarred me in more ways than one. I couldn’t keep my wife and child because I didn’t have any money.’
‘You were barely out of your teens.’
‘And a husband and father who felt his responsibilities keenly. I couldn’t provide for you and Clem, and I lost you. I put up with so much crap from your parents, and I still lost you. I vowed never to be poor again. Fortunately for me, I landed in an industry where, with enough smarts, hard work and intuition, it was possible to make a lot of money quickly. The more I made, the more I invested. I got a taste for it, making money, I mean. It assuaged the hollow left by the loss of my wife and child. I can’t stop now, Natalie.’
‘You mean you’re addicted to wealth?’
‘If you put it that way.’
‘So that virtually cuts out any chance of us living together,’ she said dully.
‘It shouldn’t have to. That kind of money makes things easier too. I travel a lot. But I can cut down my time in Perth to spend more time in the UK. Ideally, you could come and spend time in Perth. Fly first class. You’d like it there.’
‘But I can’t be that far away from Clem. Ever. What if she needs me? What if things don’t work out with Leo? What if something went wrong with her and the baby and I was a seventeen-hour flight away? And that seventeen hours doesn’t count the travelling time between airport and home. You don’t fly any faster in first class. The truth has hit me fair and square. She’s lost Hugo, lost Tyler, her grandparents aren’t on the scene and this thing with Leo, whatever it is, is brand new. I mean, he’s not even here right now. I can’t leave her. She only has me she can completely rely on.’
‘And me.’
‘Only when you’re in London.’
‘You mean you can’t see a way this can ever work? You and me, I mean.’
‘At the moment, no.’ She paused. ‘Not that I don’t want it to work; I desperately do want it to work.’
‘There must be a way around this.’
‘Can you see it? I can’t,’ she said. ‘All the compromise would be on my side. Again.’
‘What do you mean “again”?’
‘It was me who was left behind while you flew away. I missed you so much I don’t think I could go through that pain again. Then you never came back.’
‘And now we know why,’ he said grimly.
‘It doesn’t take away the pain of all those years without you,’ she countered.
‘Next time, you come with me.’
‘But if I go with you, I’ll worry about Clem being on her own.’
Natalie felt dismayed as she and Jon sank into a grim silence. Why did she have to bring this up now? This was her fault. But she couldn’t see a way to make it work. She had compromised so much in her life—in particular, her marriage to Hugo—but she couldn’t compromise when it came to Clem.
She had awoken this morning so blissfully happy to be back with Jon. It had all seemed perfect yesterday, reunited, a beautiful future with the only man she’d ever loved. But now it seemed almost impossible to have that future. And this emergency with Clem only exacerbated it.
Jon took Natalie’s hand and squeezed it. She squeezed it back. Such a simple thing, holding hands with your man. But could he be her man? Would his need to live in Australia and her need to be with her daughter end this reunion before it had had time to develop?
‘Listen,’ he said. ‘This is such a stressful time for us.’
‘I can only imagine how our darling daughter is feeling.’
‘Yes, but you’re with her all the way and she’ll know you’re here.’
Natalie sniffed. ‘You, too.’
‘Yes, me too. But I can’t pretend to be as important to her at this time as her mum.’
She nodded. ‘Thank you.’
‘I heard everything you said about your commitment to Clem and what that means to us for our future as a couple. How we might not be able to make it work. The mines in Western Australia operate largely on a fly-in-fly-out basis, FIFO they call it. The workers—usually men because of the manual nature of so many of the jobs—are flown onto a remote site with basic accommodation where they work long shifts, twelve hours a day. They work for seven days or fourteen days in a row, then fly back to their families for seven days or fourteen days of leisure, depending on distance.’
‘The wives and families are on their own while hubby is away working?’
‘That’s right.’
‘It sounds disruptive for the families.’
‘It is, but not as disruptive as locating families on far-flung remote mining sites, which are often temporary, with minimal facilities and no provision for children. It’s not ideal but financially the rewards are excellent, and people put up with it because of that. It’s never thought of as long-term.’
She frowned. ‘And you’re telling me this because…?’
‘Maybe we could consider a kind of FIFO arrangement where I fly to Perth and back while you stay in the UK, where you can be available for Clem.’
‘It’s a possibility, I suppose, but I can’t say I like it. Every time you flew to Australia, I’d fear you wouldn’t be coming back.’
‘But I would come back on a specified date. I can’t say I like it either, but we might have to compromise to be together.’
Together for some of the time, that was. Was that what she wanted? Could she bear it? Or was it all or nothing with her and Jon? She wanted the all but couldn’t bear the idea of the nothing. And she still wasn’t sure that being with each other part-time could work.
‘It’s an idea to consider,’ she said reluctantly.
‘Now isn’t the time to be making those decisions, but we could think about it. Or maybe come up with a better idea.’
‘I promise to think about it.’ She turned to him. ‘I really want to make this work for all of us, Clem included.’
Jon kissed her. ‘We don’t have to rush into a decision. Clem is the priority for both of us right now.’
Thoughts of what to do churned through her head. There were no magazines to distract her. Someone had told her they were considered too unhygienic these days to be kept in hospitals and doctors’ waiting rooms. She scrolled through her phone but didn’t want to run the battery down too much, when she hadn’t thought to bring a charger. But one thought prevailed—it was absolutely wonderful having Jon here by her side at such a worrying time.
‘Do you remember the night Clem was born?’ Jon asked, after they’d sat in silence for what seemed an age.
She put down her phone. ‘Only too well, and being here is bringing it all back. You were there with me.’
‘Your mother was furious it was me with you and not her. But the midwife let her know in no uncertain terms that the father had priority.’
She smiled. ‘You were so good, feeding me chipped ice, encouraging me.’
‘You crushed the bones in my hand every time you had a contraction.’
‘You rubbed my back in between. It really helped.’
‘I put up with you screaming at me how much you hated me as you pushed.’
‘You knew I didn’t really mean it.’
‘You actually apologised. Until the next command to push and I was the villain again for getting you into the situation.’
‘Don’t listen to anyone who says childbirth isn’t painful,’ she said ruefully.
‘Then we both shed tears of joy when they put that perfect, tiny, red-faced person on your tummy,’ he said.
‘Together we counted her fingers and toes.’
‘We couldn’t stop looking at her.’
‘She was a miracle. I couldn’t believe I’d grown that precious treasure inside me.’
‘We bonded with her instantly.’
‘And I loved you even more for making her with me,’ she said.
Jon smiled. ‘I didn’t think I could love you any more than I already did but I found another level of love for the mother of my baby.’
‘And it’s that grown-up baby who my life still revolves around,’ Natalie said. ‘Her, and now her baby.’
Love. They spoke so casually about it. Because that was in the past. Could she love Jon again? She silently chastised herself. She already loved him. She’d fallen back in love with him so easily. When? She couldn’t pinpoint it. The love was just there again.
‘The C-section must be quite a different experience,’ said Jon.
‘Not what she wanted, but all that matters is that she and the baby are okay.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘And all we can do is wait.’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Waiting, waiting, waiting. Natalie had no idea whether Clem was still awaiting surgery, was actually in the operating theatre, or was in recovery. And the baby? They’d already been there an hour. Jon had gone to the downstairs café for a coffee and brought her back a magazine that didn’t catch her interest. She hadn’t wanted a coffee. The thought of it made her gag.
There were a number of people in the waiting room, including Tyler’s parents, who’d not long arrived. She’d greeted them briefly, but now they were huddled together, not wanting to talk. She looked around to keep herself distracted. There were some interesting faces. She passed some time thinking about how she might paint their portraits.
Then an altogether different young man swept into the waiting room and caught her eye. Very tall, black-haired, self-assured, extremely good-looking, wearing a superbly cut dark brown wool coat. Italian perhaps? He looked as if he’d stepped off the pages of a European fashion magazine. Where did he belong? Was he a doctor? A consultant? Or an expectant father?
The man exchanged a few words with the midwife behind the desk. She led him away, but a few minutes later he returned. Then, to her surprise, the man walked towards them. Was this Leo?
He stopped in front of her chair, hand outstretched. ‘Jon? Natalie? I’m Leo Constello, Clem’s partner. I’m the man who hopes to marry your daughter. You are Clementine’s mother?’
‘Why, yes,’ she said.
‘I thought as much, you look so like her.’ He turned to Jon. ‘And you must be her father. The same eyes.’
‘That’s right,’ said Jon, obviously a little bemused by this model-gorgeous, charismatic man.
‘It’s wonderful that you managed to get here,’ Natalie said, a little numbly. ‘We wondered where you were.’
