Page 63 of A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife

‘Second labour,’ another chimed in. ‘You’ll be having it on the floor here.’

‘Someone get a mop!’ another shouted. ‘You’ll have people slipping over!’

‘I’ll take you to the hospital, love!’ someone else said. ‘As soon as we get back, we’ll go.’

While Zoe appreciated their concern, she wished they’d leave it to her. ‘I am a qualified midwife,’ she said, louder for those who hadn’t heard the first time. ‘I’ll keep her safe… Sorry, what’s your name?’ she asked the pregnant woman.

‘Katherine… my friends call me Kat.’

‘Can I call you Kat?’

The woman smiled. Zoe was glad to see she didn’t look too worried. In fact, she was a little shellshocked but otherwise seemed in good spirits. ‘We’re definitely friends now, seeing as you’ve come to my rescue. I don’t think the baby is going to come any time soon, you know. I had some pain earlier, but I think it was just a practice contraction. Well, not pain exactly, but it felt tight, you know what I mean? A bit worse than normal, I suppose. But nothing terrible that makes me think the baby is coming now.’

Zoe glanced down at the liquid around her feet. It wasn’t as dramatic as it always was on TV, more a slow trickle and a small pool, and Zoe didn’t think the birth was imminent either, but she didn’t like the fact they were so far away from help and equipment if they needed it.

As she was considering her options, Billie appeared at her side, Louisa in her arms. ‘What do you need me to do?’

‘I don’t…’ Zoe was about to say there was nothing Billie could do, but she realised how negative that sounded and how demoralising it would be for her. And so she smiled gratefully. ‘I don’t suppose you can go and find the captain and explain what’s going on while I stay with Kat? If they ask what we need them to do, ideally we need them to turn back and drop us off so we can get her to the hospital. Obviously, we don’t want to cut short everyone else’s trip, but we also don’t want to have to deliver Kat’s baby out on the lake if we can help it.’

‘Right,’ Billie said, and Zoe swelled with pride to see the purpose in her step as she marched away to find the right person. It was just another moment she wished Alex had been here for, but there was no time to dwell on it.

As she led Kat to a seat, she noticed one of the elves coming over.

‘Is there something wrong?’ he asked.

He was jittery, softly spoken, probably no older than eighteen, and probably hoping something wouldn’t be happening that he couldn’t handle. Zoe wondered if Santa had sent him over – which was a surreal notion in itself when she thought about it for a second – and her hunch seemed to be confirmed as she noticed that the big man, although engaged in conversation with another family, kept on glancing over as if trying to work out what was going on.

‘We have a little situation. This lady is pregnant and her waters have broken. You might want to get someone to clear it up, just so we don’t have anyone slipping on it.’

‘Sorry,’ Kat said, but Zoe only took her hand and squeezed it.

‘You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. I was only trying to be practical. It’s something that comes with the job, and I forget to switch it off sometimes. What I meant,’ she continued, looking up at the elf, ‘is that from your perspective, it might be a health and safety hazard. My stepdaughter has gone to speak to the captain about the situation, so hopefully we’ll have something sorted shortly.’

‘What should we do?’ the elf asked uncertainly.

‘There’s no reason you can’t carry on talking to the children. I’ve got things covered here for the moment.’

‘Right…’ The elf looked as if he didn’t know whether that was enough or not. He swayed on the balls of his feet, as if trying to decide whether to walk away or not, and then finally went back to Santa, pulling him aside for a brief word. Santa nodded, and then seemed far happier to carry on than the elf had done. Zoe was glad to see they’d avoided all-out panic – that was the last thing Kat needed.

Billie came back a couple of minutes later.

‘The crew say they’ll take us back and then take the boat out again when we’ve disembarked,’ she said breathlessly.

‘That’s brilliant.’ Zoe turned to Kat. ‘All right with you?’ Even as Kat nodded, Zoe noticed the boat changing course. The vista that they’d been leaving behind them was now moving to the fore. ‘Thanks, Billie,’ she said.

Billie gave a tentative smile.

‘Are you all right?’ she asked Kat.

‘I am with your lovely… sorry, you said she was your stepdaughter?’ she added to Zoe.

‘Not quite, but the easiest way to describe us,’ Zoe said. ‘This is Billie, my partner’s daughter. We’re not married, so not quite a stepfamily, but I like to think we’re as good as.’

‘Me too,’ Billie said. ‘Zoe’s brilliant – she’ll look after you. She was my midwife. That’s how she met my dad.’

Kat raised an eyebrow, and Zoe blushed.

‘That sounds dodgier than I’d like,’ she said, laughing.