Page 66 of A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife

‘At least you won’t have to worry about stranger danger,’ Alex said. ‘It might be a good thing that she doesn’t like old men she doesn’t know coming up to her.’

‘That’s true.’ Zoe picked up her tea. Her eyes wandered to her phone, which she’d left out on the table. She’d asked Kat to keep her posted if she could, but there had been no message since they’d bid her goodbye and good luck. Zoe decided no news was good news. Besides, Kat had her own midwife, and so her priority wouldn’t have been messaging Zoe, no matter the bond they’d formed over the course of the afternoon. Knowing this didn’t stop her from wondering, though.

‘It’s a good job you were there today,’ Billie’s voice cut into Zoe’s thoughts.

‘I don’t know about that. I’m sure they must have some sort of plan for these situations on the boat.’

‘Didn’t seem like it. When I went to find the crew, they all looked at me like I’d grown another head. They all looked pretty clueless too. I had to tell them to turn around and take us back because they were just like, what do we do? I don’t even think that captain is a real captain.’

Zoe laughed. ‘I’m sure he is! What makes you say that?’

‘Well, do they even have captains on boats like that? It just floats around on the lake.’

‘I don’t know. Don’t all boats have to have a captain of some sort?’

Billie screwed up her nose. ‘Well, he didn’t look like much of one.’

‘I’ll ask Lavender about it if it’s bothering you.’

‘I didn’t say it was bothering me.’

Zoe’s phone lit up with a message. Billie glanced over. ‘It’s Fern,’ she said, even though Zoe was perfectly capable of reading that for herself. ‘It’s a shame she wasn’t with you today, considering she wants to be a midwife. It would have been a good test for her.’

Zoe reached for the phone and opened the message. Fern had sent her a link to a trainee mentorship group and wanted her opinion. She typed a brief reply, promising to look properly when she got a minute and then locked her phone again.

‘It would have been good for her to go to the hospital with you. She might have been able to see if she liked the look of your job,’ Billie added.

‘Maybe, but there’ll be plenty of opportunities for her to shadow someone, I expect.’

‘Will she be shadowing you?’

‘I don’t know. She hasn’t even signed up for the training yet. She’s got an access course to do first.’

‘Oh…’ Billie went back to her tea. She was silent, but Zoe could tell she had more to say. Whatever it was, though Zoe gave her a moment to air her thoughts, she drained her cup and stood up instead. ‘I could do with a shower. Will you watch Louisa for me?’

Alex watched her go. ‘Just me for food then,’ he said after a moment, turning back to the fridge.

‘Sorry,’ Zoe said. ‘I’ll sit with you for a while, though.’

He took a pack of bacon from the fridge and set it down next to the stove before coming over and kissing her lightly on the head. ‘You never stop amazing me.’

Zoe gave a bemused smile. ‘Really?’

‘Like today, you did all that stuff for that woman, even though it was your day off, like it was nothing. I bet there are plenty who wouldn’t have even mentioned they were a midwife and would have kept out of it.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t know a single midwife who would have done that. Besides, it’s sort of in our professional code. We can’t just walk away from a situation like that.’

‘Professional code or not, you would never have done.’

‘Of course not. It’s nothing amazing; it’s just being a decent person. Would you walk away from someone you could help? I don’t think you would. Billie wouldn’t either. So, you see, it’s not all that special after all, is it?’

‘Maybe we’re all just a family of saints.’ He grinned as he turned to slice open the pack of bacon. ‘I’m going to have a sandwich. Are you sure I can’t make one for you? Because once you smell this cooking, you won’t be able to resist…’

Zoe smiled. ‘Since you put it like that, maybe I’ll have just one. I wouldn’t want to miss out.’

Zoe pulled up outside the double-fronted house. The walls, like so many others in the area, were made of sturdy grey stone and the roof heavy slate. The curtains were all still drawn, despite the fact it was gone two in the afternoon. She grabbed her bag, locked her car and went up the path to knock at the door. She had to wait for a couple of minutes, but she was prepared for that. And then the door opened and a pale face peered out.

‘Oh,’ Rachel said. ‘I forgot you were coming. Sorry…’