Rising Stars & It Started With… Collections. Кейт Хьюит
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said, when Rita checked again if he wanted the baby moved over. And he did. He checked the little baby’s muscle tone and her palate and listened to her heart for a long time. He told Maria he would perform a more comprehensive examination in a little while. ‘But for now I’ll let you enjoy her.’
There really was a lot to enjoy. She peered up at her mum, her almond-shaped eyes huge and gorgeous; she was very alert, and even though she let out a few little cries, she was easily comforted by Maria.
‘Do you want me to let your family know?’ Rita asked, and Bridgette’s jaw tightened. She could understand the conversation that had been held at Jasmine’s leaving do now. Rita really did try and take over.
‘They’ll want to come in,’ Maria said. ‘I just don’t want…’ She held her baby closely. ‘I want it to be a celebration, the same as it was with my others.’
‘It will be,’ Dominic said. ‘They just haven’t met her yet.’
‘She wants to feed,’ Maria said, as her daughter frantically searched for her breast.
‘Let her.’
‘You said they’d scan her first,’ Maria said, because, though detailed prenatal scans had not shown anything, the nature of the syndrome meant the little girl was at risk of a heart defect and would need to be checked by a paediatric cardiologist soon after birth, but Dominic was clearly happy with his findings.
‘She’s looking great,’ he said, quietly observing, and the baby did latch on, but Bridgette helped with the positioning.
It was one of those births that confirmed her vocation—there was no greater gift than watching a new life come into the world, and today’s so-called difficult birth had been made especially wonderful by the calm presence of Dominic. Again he had surprised her. He wasn’t particularly effusive or gushing, he was so much more than that, and he was everything this little family needed today.
Dominic stayed and wrote up his notes while the little girl fed and Bridgette watched for any signs that the baby was having trouble sucking and swallowing but she was doing very well. ‘Dominic said that breast feeding might be more difficult than with the others…’ Maria looked down at her daughter, who was tiring, so Bridgette suggested she take her off now.
‘She’s doing an awful lot right,’ Bridgette said, checking the babe and then filling in her own notes. ‘She’s cried, pooed, wee’d and fed.’
Dominic came over. ‘You remember I said that I’d take her up to NICU for a little while after she was born,’ he said. ‘I want that scan done. Everything looks good,’ he reassured the parents, ‘but I just want her thoroughly checked. Hopefully she’ll be back down with you soon.’
Maria nodded and then took a deep breath. ‘Can you bring in my family first?’ Her eyes went to her husband’s. ‘If they start, I want you to…’
‘We’ll be here,’ Bridgette said. ‘You won’t have to say a thing. I’m very good at bringing up excuses as to why people have to leave. If you start getting upset, or you’ve just had enough, you just have to let me know.’ They worked out a little code, and she gave Tony a smile as he walked out. Dominic, she noted, instead of heading out to the desk, was sitting on a couch in the corner of the room, finishing his notes—a quiet, unobtrusive presence that was welcome.
Maria and Tony set the tone, but Bridgette’s heart did go out to the family. They were trying to be brave, to not be upset, but there was so much tension, so many questions as they all peered at the newest member of the clan. Then Maria’s three-year-old, Roman, climbed up on the bed and gazed at his sister, kissing her on the forehead, and the old abuela laughed.
Dominic came over and checked the baby briefly again, more for the family’s benefit, or rather Maria’s, Bridgette rightly guessed, because the questions they had been asking Maria were aimed at him now.
‘She’s doing very, very well,’ he said, and answered more of their questions and told them that, yes, the prenatal diagnosis was correct. Yes, shortly there would be further testing, but for now she was doing perfectly. And then Bridgette blinked as he chatted with the abuela in what appeared to be fluid Spanish for a moment. ‘Sí, ella es perfecta…’
‘We’re going to move her up now.’ Kelly from NICU had come down just as all the cameras came out.
‘Photo with el medico,’ the abuela said.
‘We really ought to get moving.’ Dominic was reluctant, but then obliged, and it struck Bridgette that though of course he held babies in the course of examining them, he wasn’t the type to steal a cuddle.
He held the new infant and gave a smile for the camera and then he looked down at her.
‘She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?’ Maria said.
‘Oh, I don’t do the cute-baby thing,’ Dominic answered, ‘but, yes, I think I have to agree in this case. You have a very cute baby. Has she got a name?’
‘Esperanza,’ Maria said.
‘Hope!’ Dominic smiled.
He popped her back in her cot and at the last minute Tony asked if he might be able to stay with the baby during her tests. When Dominic agreed, the family all followed Dominic, Kelly and the porters in a little procession down the hall.
‘He’s lovely, isn’t he?’ Maria said. ‘Dominic, I mean. He sort of tells you like it is.’
‘He’s very good,’ Bridgette said, and gave Maria a wink. ‘Speaks Spanish too.’
‘Abuela was very impressed.’ Maria grinned. ‘Dominic’s mother is Spanish apparently.’ She had to find out about him from a patient! ‘He’s been great. We went to him when we got the amnio back and he told us what to expect. Well, I guess he’d know as his brother has Down’s.’ She must have seen Bridgette’s eyes widen. ‘Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said—it was just that Tony was crying and so was I and it seemed like a disaster when we first found out, but Dominic was terribly patient. He told us what we were feeling was completely normal. We saw him again a couple of weeks ago and we were embarrassed about the scene we’d made, but he said not to give it another thought. It was all very normal, that his mother had been the same.’
They knew nothing about each other, Bridgette realised.
Which had been the point, she remembered.
She really was lousy at one-night stands.
Still, she didn’t have time to dwell on it. L and D was busy and she was soon looking after another birth, a first-time mum called Jessica, who was very nervous, as well as keeping an eye on Maria.
Esperanza was gone for about an hour, and her heart test was clear, which was brilliant news, and by the time she was back, Bridgette had just transferred Maria to the ward. Having checked on her next patient, Bridgette was more than ready for lunch.
‘What’s all this?’ Bridgette tried not to care that Dominic was sitting in the staffroom. After all, if he didn’t care, why should she? Anyway, Rita was there too and there were other distractions this lunchtime. Instead of plain biscuits the table was heaving with fruit platters, small filled rolls and a spread of cheese.
‘Leftovers from the obstetricians’ meeting.’ Rita gave a wry smile. ‘I rescued some for the workers. Enjoy.’
Bridgette selected a roll and a few slivers of fruit. She glanced at the cheese—even though that would usually be her first option, even if it seemed stupid, with Dominic there she chose to give it a miss.
‘How’s Harry?’ Rita asked.
‘Better,’ Bridgette answered. ‘He was just having a bit of a tantrum. He’s not in the best of moods today. I’m sorry I had to dash off.’
As annoying and inflexible as she could be, Rita could, Bridgette conceded, also be very nice. ‘No problem.