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“It did feel good to eat properly last night,” Lucy said.

“Let me cook again for you tonight then,” said Dylan. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and I manage to cook you something you can stomach two nights in a row.” Seeing the uncertainty on Lucy’s face, he added. “Let me. You’re exhausted and I’m cooking for myself anyway, and we should celebrate seeing our baby for the first time tonight.”

“We should,” Lucy agreed. “OK, it would be good to have dinner together.”

“Let’s pick up some food on the way home,” Dylan said. “I’ll cook at yours so I don’t make a mess of Mary’s pristine kitchen again.”

Lucy laughed.

“If there was anything in the whole world you felt like eating this evening, what do you think it would be?” he asked.

Lucy contemplated for a moment.

“Steak,” she concluded, surprising herself with her choice. “A big, fat juicy steak with mashed potato and gravy.”

“Any vegetables with that?” Dylan asked with a little shake of the head.

“Potato is a vegetable,” Lucy said firmly.

“It is . . . but do you think you could stomach some spinach as well, for the iron?”

“Fine,” said Lucy.

“And we’ll get some orange juice for you to have with it, to help you absorb all that iron.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said, sincerely.

* * *

They got back with their shopping as the coffee shop was closing. Lucy thanked Ellen and Jo, and said she’d finish up for them. Of course, they had to be shown the scan photos and made all the appropriate noises.

When they left, along with the last customer, Dylan turned to Lucy. “I can sort out down here. I’ve had full training,” he said. “Why don’t you go and call your parents and tell them about today? They’ll be dying to know how it went.”

“Thanks, that’s a nice idea.”

“And then,” Dylan said, “we’ll go for a walk before I head out to the gym.”

“Surely you don’t need to go for a walk before the gym?” Lucy asked, “It’s dark and cold.”

“The fresh air will do me good,” Dylan said, easily. “And we did agree—”

“Fine,” said Lucy with an exaggerated sigh. She knew he was right, it was important that she got exercise every day, and she had agreed to it during her post-delicious-protein-bar euphoria. She really should have waited to make a decision until after that high had passed.

* * *

By the time Lucy had finished talking with her parents, who loved seeing the scan photos she sent them on WhatsApp, Dylan was all finished in the coffee shop.

“Not bad, not bad,” said Lucy, when she came downstairs and looked around.

“Thanks, boss,” Dylan said, with a grin. “Are you ready to go on that walk?”

“Sure,” said Lucy resigned to her fate, “I’ll just get my coat.”

Their walk passed quickly as they talked about the coffee shop. Takeaway food orders were currently packed up in brown paper bags. Dylan thought it might be worth having them printed up with the coffee shop’s logo. Lucy had always thought this would be an unnecessary expense, but it wasn’t as pricey as she thought, and she could see his point about it being advertising for the coffee shop when people were walking around town with the bags.

It was nice to have someone to talk with about this stuff, which Lucy understood most people would find boring.

“That wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be,” admitted Lucy when they arrived back.