Page 14 of A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife

Zoe turned to see Louisa with a handful of Billie’s hair, tugging like a pirate on the rigging of a ship.

‘What’s so interesting about my hair?’ Billie hissed, trying to unfurl Louisa’s tight little fist.

‘The fact it was too tantalisingly in reach,’ Zoe said with a grin, despite Billie’s thunderous expression.

‘It’s not funny,’ Billie snapped at her.

‘It is slightly.’

‘It’s your face,’ Maisie added.

‘She’s always doing it – I’ll have no hair left.’

‘Tie it up,’ Fern said mildly, but Billie only scowled because the solution was so obvious that she might well have felt silly for complaining in the first place.

‘Have you delivered any babies this week?’ Maisie asked Zoe.

‘Only one. A home birth, nice and straightforward, and a gorgeous little girl. It’s been a quiet couple of months. I hope Thimblebury’s baby boom hasn’t come to an end, otherwise I’ll be out of a job.’

‘You could work at the camping site, couldn’t you?’

Zoe smiled. ‘I’m sure I could, but I’d rather be looking after mums to be. You’re all far more interesting than a boggy old campsite.’

‘I won’t tell Dad you said that,’ Billie said.

‘Tell him – it’s not like I’ve never said it to his face. It’s a great little business, but I’d be bored to tears running it. I don’t mind helping him out, but that’s about it.’

‘Is it hard?’ Fern asked.

Zoe turned to her. ‘What? Delivering babies?’

‘Yes. Is your job hard work? I mean, I know it’s hard work, but is it too hard for someone to learn?’

‘I learned it.’

‘But you’re clever.’

Zoe studied her for a moment. ‘Did you have someone in particular in mind? Because if it’s someone in this room, I’d say we’re all clever enough.’

Fern blushed. ‘I don’t know, I just thought… well, I was thinking about what job I could do. I don’t have a clue, but maybe I’d like to look after mums and babies like you looked after me.’

‘The training’s tough, and you’d have to qualify first, but I can give you some pointers and plenty of information if you’re serious about it. Maybe you want to mull it over – you’ve got lots of time before you need to think about working. Benji is still only little.’

‘You think I’m silly?’ Fern asked earnestly. She glanced at Billie, who looked more sceptical, and shrank back under her scrutiny.

‘Never,’ Zoe said gently. ‘Every time I hear someone say they’re considering it, that’s brilliant. It’s the best profession – to me at least. There’s always room for another good midwife in the world. Come to me in a few months, and if you’re still keen, I’ll do what I can to help. And if you want to chat in the meantime to get more of a feel for the job, then you know you only have to ask – I could talk about it all day.’

‘She’d be so good at it,’ Maisie said. ‘She’s so calm… not like me. I get stressed about Ezra all the time.’

‘I don’t know,’ Zoe said. ‘You look as if you’re doing all right to me.’

Maisie broke into a bright smile. ‘You think so?’

‘Absolutely. And the way you’ve dealt with Ezra’s diagnosis – let me tell you, I’ve cared for women who haven’t coped with things half as well as you’ve done, even those who are second- or third-time mothers. How’s the sign language going?’

‘OK,’ Maisie said. ‘I can tell you my name, look…’

She made a little series of shapes with her hands, and Zoe smiled.