Page 3 of A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife

Zoe turned back to the flowers, reminded of her recent thoughts. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘She’s got us, but…’

‘I thought…’ he said into the gap Zoe’s unfinished sentence had left. ‘I mean, I half wondered whether I might get a phone call from her to say she wanted to stay in Spain.’ He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long breath. ‘I suppose that’s why I feel so jittery. I was scared she wouldn’t want to come home.’

‘Were you? What made you think that?’

‘She loved living in Spain. I know there was a lot of tragedy there for us, but before that, she loved it. She keeps herself to herself now, but she wasn’t like that before. She had loads of friends, and she loved the sun and the lifestyle. And sometimes I think – she doesn’t say anything, of course – but I wonder if Hilltop is too quiet and lonely for her. She needs people her own age.’

‘She’s got Maisie… and Fern now too.’

‘But they don’t live close by, do they? Not now they have their council house. They’re closer to Ambleside than Thimblebury. And really, they’re only all friends because they all have babies. I’m no expert, but even I know that’s not much of a basis for a friendship that means something.’

‘It can be. My mum was friends with the woman in the bed next to her when she had me for years. I used to go and play with her kids all the time.’

‘Are they friends now?’

Zoe blinked and then realised that her mum hadn’t mentioned that particular friend since… well, she couldn’t remember the last time her mum had mentioned that friend, but certainly not since Zoe had gone off to train as a midwife.

‘There she is!’ Alex’s hand slipped from Zoe’s as he stepped forward, waving for Billie’s attention.

Zoe remarked inwardly at how well Alex’s daughter looked. She’d always been willowy, but the accompanying paleness had gone, and while not exactly bronzed, her skin was sun-kissed, and she looked healthier than any time Zoe could remember. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a bun, and she wore cute gold hoops in her ears. Zoe couldn’t member ever seeing her wear earrings either.

As Billie noticed him, she grinned, and he rushed to grab the suitcase she was trying to pull along at the same time as pushing Louisa in her buggy. ‘Let me get that.’

‘Thanks, Dad.’

‘Good flight?’ He kissed her lightly on the cheek before bending to kiss Louisa, who shrieked with pleasure at the sight of him. ‘Hello, cheeky! Look at your hair! How has it got so long in a week? And I do believe it’s getting curly!’

Zoe smiled as she watched them. She and Alex had enjoyed a lovely week, but it was clear where his true affections lay, and that was OK. She’d always felt Billie and Louisa came first, and she’d accepted that fact when she’d agreed to move in with them.

Billie smiled as she saw Zoe, who held out the flowers.

‘Oh… thank you,’ Billie said, taking them and then stowing them in the folded hood of the buggy.

‘How was your holiday?’

‘The same as when I spoke to you yesterday on the phone,’ Billie said with a light laugh. ‘Good.’

‘You’ve got a tan,’ Alex said as the three of them walked towards the exit. ‘I didn’t expect you to get a tan – it’s almost winter.’

‘They had a mini heatwave. I took Louisa to the beach – she loved it. I mean, after she’d finished freaking out about the sand when I first put her on it, she decided she liked it after all. I took her in the sea and everything.’

‘The sea?’ Alex yelped. ‘It would have been freezing!’

‘Only to dip her toes,’ Billie said. ‘Don’t look so stressed about it! I’m not stupid – I wasn’t going to kit her out for scuba diving.’

‘You both look really well,’ Zoe said. ‘You look as if you’ve had a great time. How were Luis’s parents?’

‘Oh my God, they were made up to meet Louisa!’ Billie gushed. Alex pushed open the door and allowed her and Zoe through before following. ‘They spoiled her so much, and Beatriz was crying when we left. I felt really bad about that.’

Billie was silent for a moment, and Zoe guessed that her thoughts might have turned to Luis, the boyfriend she’d lost before she’d even known she was carrying his baby.

‘I took Louisa to see his grave,’ she added finally. ‘She doesn’t understand, and I suppose she won’t for a long time, but I felt like I ought to. Every time I go over, I’m going to take her to visit him, and then one day she’ll get it.’

Neither Alex nor Zoe replied. Zoe didn’t know what to say, and she guessed Alex was the same. If anything, it was harder for him because he’d had to support Billie through that dark time, alone, still struggling with the loss of his wife – Billie’s mum – only a year or so before that. They’d both been damaged when Zoe had first met them, both very different from the people they were now.

Zoe dashed to hold the lift down to the car park, giving a brief smile of thanks for the patience of the others waiting to use it. Alex smiled as he and Billie joined her, the anxiety of only moments earlier gone, his face lit with pleasure despite the gravity of the things they’d just said. His family was home, and if Zoe had learned one thing about him in their time together, it was that family meant everything.

‘Did you catch up with any of your old friends?’ Zoe asked as the lift took them down. It opened up within a minute, and everyone spilled out to make their way over to the car park.