EPILOGUE

      BRIDGETTE never got tired of watching a new life come into the world. It had been a glorious morning and had been a wonderful straightforward birth. Kate was watching from the bed, and Michael, the father, was standing over Bridgette as she finished up the weights and measurements, popped on a hat, wrapped up their son and handed him over—the perfect miracle, really.

      ‘We’re going to move you back to your room soon,’ Bridgette told the new parents. ‘I’ll come and check on you later, but Jasmine is going to take over from me for a little while.’

      ‘That’s right.’ Kate looked up from her baby. ‘You’ve got your scan this morning. I’m glad he arrived in time and you didn’t have to dash off.’

      ‘I wouldn’t have left you,’ Bridgette said. ‘I’d already rung down and told them I might not be able to leave.’ She looked at the little pink squashed face and smiled. ‘You have a very considerate baby.’

      ‘You’ll have one of your own soon.’

      ‘Not that soon.’ Bridgette gave an impatient sigh, because she really couldn’t wait. ‘I’m only nineteen weeks.’ And then she checked herself, because she sounded just like any impatient first-time mum, and then she laughed because that was exactly what she was. She gave a small wink. ‘Nineteen weeks and counting!’

      She would breathe when she got to twenty-four weeks, she decided, no, twenty-five, she corrected, thinking of the difference those extra few days had made to Francesca. Francesca had been discharged the day Dominic had started his new job—home on oxygen but doing brilliantly. It had been a nice way to start, Dominic had said.

      As she walked down to the canteen where she was meeting Dominic, she wondered if he’d be able to get away. She really didn’t mind if he couldn’t. It was a routine scan, after all, and he’d end up asking the sonographer way too many questions. Still, even if she would be fine without him, she smiled when she saw him sitting at the far end of the canteen, sharing lunch with Harry, and she realised he was going to make the appointment—it was better with him there.

      ‘Hi, Harry.’ She received a lovely kiss that tasted of bananas, and asked about his busy morning, because along with building bricks he’d done a painting or two, or was it three? He really had come on in leaps and bounds. ‘Any news from Courtney?’ Bridgette asked Dominic.

      ‘I was about to ask you the same,’ Dominic said. ‘She seems to be taking ages. I thought it started at eleven.’

      Courtney had an interview this morning at the hospital. She was attending college, and now that she had been clean for well over a year, she was applying for a job on the drug and alcohol unit. But as much as Bridgette wanted her sister to get the job and to do well, she was a little bit torn, not quite sure that Courtney was ready for such a demanding role. Courtney lived in Bridgette’s old flat, paid a minimal rent and had been working hard in every area of her life. Although Bridgette was unsure about this job, she was also worried how Courtney would take it if she was turned down when she had such high hopes.

      ‘We’re about to find out,’ Dominic said, and she looked up as Courtney made her way over.

      ‘How did you go?’ Bridgette asked.

      ‘I didn’t get it,’ Courtney said, which seemed contrary to her smile as she kissed her little boy. ‘They don’t think I’m quite ready to work with addicts yet. I need more time sorting out myself and they said that there was another course I should think about, but—’ she gave a very wide smile ‘—they were very impressed with me. Apparently there is a position as a domestic. The patients do a lot of the cleaning work, but I would be in charge of the kitchen, sort of overseeing things.’ She pulled a face. ‘And I have to do the toilets and bathrooms. It’s three days a week for now and some weekends, but they’ll also pay me to do the course.’ She gave a nervous swallow. ‘Really, it’s like a full-time job.’

      ‘Oh, my!’ Bridgette beamed. ‘It sounds perfect.’ Then laughed. ‘Except I can’t really imagine you keeping things clean.’

      ‘She’s such a bossy landlady, isn’t she, Harry?’ Courtney said, and Bridgette admitted that, yes, maybe at times she was. ‘I have to go to the uniform room and then down to HR. I’d better get him back.’

      ‘We’ll take Harry back to daycare,’ Dominic said, rather than offered, because Harry was still eating. ‘That way he can finish his lunch.’

      He was very firm with Courtney, didn’t play games with her, didn’t bend to any to her whims, and he didn’t let Bridgette bend too far either.

      Courtney breezed off and Dominic rolled his eyes. ‘She’s doing great and everything, but she’s still the most self-absorbed person that I’ve ever met.’ He let out a wry laugh. ‘She didn’t even wish you luck for your scan.’

      ‘That’s Courtney.’

      With Harry’s lunch finished, they headed back to daycare but at the last minute, as he handed Harry over to Mary, it was Dominic who changed his mind. ‘Should we bring him?’

      ‘To the ultrasound?’ Bridgette frowned at Mary. ‘Won’t it upset him?’

      ‘It might be a wonderful way to get him used to the idea,’ Mary said. ‘After all he’s going to be like a big brother.’

      ‘I guess,’ Bridgette said, because Harry was going to be a brother to this baby, even if not in the conventional way…And that just about summed them up entirely. It was as if Harry had three parents. Even if Courtney was doing brilliantly, it hadn’t been the smoothest of rides, and it was an ongoing journey. As Dominic had once pointed out, Harry deserved the extra ration of love and he got it, over and over—from his mum, from his aunt and her husband, from his grandparents too, who made a far more regular fuss of him.

      So as Dominic held Harry, Bridgette lay on the bed and the ultrasound started. ‘Are we going to find out?’ She still couldn’t decide if she wanted to know the sex or wanted the surprise.

      ‘I am,’ Dominic said, studying the screen closely, and she felt sorry for the sonographer with this brusque paediatrician in the room. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t let on.’ He wouldn’t; Bridgette knew that much. He was the best in the world at keeping it all in. It had taken ages to work him out and she was still doing it, would be doing it for the rest of her life no doubt—but it was the most pleasurable job in the world.

      She heard the clicks and the measurements being taken and felt the probe moving over her stomach. She looked over to where Dominic and Harry were closely observing the screen and then she laughed because there he was doing somersaults, a little cousin for Harry, and a nephew for Chris, who would be the most devoted uncle in the world.

      ‘Everything looks normal.’ The sonographer smiled and then she spoke to Dominic. ‘Did you want to have a look?’

      She saw him hover, could almost hear the ten million questions whizzing around that brilliant brain, knew he wanted to take the probe and check and check again that everything was perfect, that everything was just so, but with supreme effort Dominic gave a small shake of his head.

      ‘“Normal” sounds pretty good,’ he said, ‘and it’s not as if we’ll be sending it back.’

      Already their family was perfect.

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