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Back to my schedule. I looked down at the pump. Not quite enough milk yet. I’d give it a few more minutes. Whilst I was waiting, I switched on my laptop and pulled up the YouTube page so that I was ready to start my workout as soon as I finished.
I tried to exercise every afternoon. Well, noteveryafternoon. Occasionally I gave myself Sundays off. It wasn’t fun, but with the weight I’d gained since having Leo and moving here and indulging in lots of delicious food, courtesy of Lorenzo, it was the only way I stood any chance of getting back in shape.
I switched off the pump, put it down on the side, pulled on my bra and T-shirt, rolled my exercise mat on the floor, then pressed play. I watched this postpartum workout video on YouTube so often I knew it off by heart.
I lay on my back with my arms along my sides, bent my knees, keeping my feet on the floor, then lifted my head and shoulders. Then it was curl-ups, followed by criss-cross abdominal exercises. This was hard. But no pain, no gain, right? These torturous moves were all supposed to tone my stomach and burn calories. So far, I’d seen no evidence that they helped with either. But I had to persevere.
I was just about to do the leg raises to help firm my bum and thighs when the phone rang. Video call from Mum?That’s advanced for her. Normally my brother Harrison would set it up or I’d have to call and sit patiently whilst she figured out that FaceTiming tended to work best when you didn’t hold the phone to your ear or up at the ceiling. Technology was not my mother’s friend.
‘Hey, Aunty!’
‘Jasmine? Hi!’ I said, as her cute face and curly hair filled the screen. Wasn’t expecting my niece to appear. ‘Good to see you! What are you doing there?’
‘I just came round to see nana on my way to uni and she asked me to FaceTime you, ’cos she couldn’t remember how to do it.’
‘Makes sense,’ I laughed. ‘I have shown her a million times, though.’
‘Notquitea million.’ Mum’s face suddenly appeared on the screen. Well, I say her face, but she had the phone resting on her lap, so I had a bird’s-eye view of her nostrils.Nice.
‘Hold the phone up, Mum. That’s not a flattering angle. Hold it with the phone pointing towards your face…’
‘Yes, yes, darling,’ she said, bringing it up so close that her face now filled the screen. ‘Say bye-bye to Jasmine. She has to go now.’
‘Laters, Aunty,’ she said, pulling my mum’s hand back so it was at a more appropriate distance, ducking in front of the screen and waving.
‘Bye, niecey. Talk soon and say hello to Marilyn for me. Promise to call you both soon.’ Note to self: to call my sister and niece tomorrow.Hopefully. Just needed to find a spare half an hour…
‘You look tired.’
‘Thanks, Mum. Hello to you too. In case you’ve forgotten, I have a five-month-old baby. Bags and dark circles are standard.’
Mum looked lovely as usual, her brown hair tied back neatly and her skin glowing like she’d just had a facial. Despite being in her mid-sixties, she barely had any wrinkles. I hoped I looked as good at her age.
‘I do have three children of my own, you know. Yes, it’s tiring, but that’s why it’s important that you take naps when Leo does.’
Chance would be a fine thing.
‘I can’t. I use that time to get house stuff done, exercise and work. There’s a lot going on with the business and—’
‘Darling, I know the business has always been a big part of your life, but don’t you think it’s time to sell up and move on? You’re a mother now. You have bigger priorities.’
‘I don’t have to sell the business just because I’m a mum.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Women manage a career and having children all the time. I’m fine.’
My mother was so old-school. Although she’d worked when we were younger, it was just a means to an end. A way to pay the bills. It was never her passion. Her focus was always firmly on family. She didn’t get the whole career thing. Unlike her, I believed that womencouldhave it all. We shouldn’t have to choose. I knew single mothers who worked full-timeandraised a child. And I had the support of Lorenzo, so there really was no excuse. I just needed to improve my routine.
‘But you’re not. You’re doing too much. Harrison said you had some really good offers to buy the company. I’m sure it’s not too late to accept them.’
‘It’s not that simple, Mum. I told you. They either wanted to offer me peanuts or tie me in to work for them for two years.Two years!’
‘Well, that is a long time. Leo will be almost ready for school by then.’
‘Slight exaggeration, but yeah. They said they’d need me to drive the company in a new direction first before they brought in my replacement. I’d just be a puppet, slogging my guts out for them with no real control.’ I shuddered at the thought of some strangers ordering me around in a company I’d built from scratch. ‘No, thank you.’
‘But surely there’s another way. Couldn’t you have compromised?’
I’d been over this with her a hundred times before.
‘No. I tried. And they were against me working from Italy. They said after my maternity leave—which, by the way, they wanted me to reduce to just two months—they’d expect me to be in the office for at least four days a week. And because I wanted to be at home with Leo for at least six months and would only consider coming back to London once a month at most, it was never going to work.’
