‘I’m very well, thank you. It’s good to meet you. How are you?’ If he’d ever planned to have a baby, he’d probably have planned to meet its grandmother well in advance of conception rather than halfway through the pregnancy. Better than not meeting her until the birth, though.
‘Very well, thank you. I’m looking forward to becoming a grandmother. Hannah tells me that you’re a doctor.’ Her manner was brisk but pleasant.
After only five minutes of forced small talk – thank God for private appointments running to time – they were ushered in for the scan.
Hannah raised her top and lowered the waistband of her trousers – both black and very sophisticated, very Hannah – and the sonographer rubbed gel onto her tummy.
Dan felt his heart rate pick up slightly. What if something was wrong with the baby?
Hannah, staring with extreme intensity at the sonographer’s screen, clearly felt the same way.
‘And everything’s fine,’ the sonographer concluded fifteen minutes later. ‘Your daughter looks perfect.’
Hannah, Julia and Dan all beamed at each other and inside his head Dan yelled, again,It’s a girl.
‘Do you both have time for a coffee?’ Julia asked as they left the clinic.
‘I do,’ Dan said quickly. This felt like a good opportunity to make it clear in person that he’d like to be involved in the baby’s life.
Hannah checked what looked like a slim Rolex. ‘Yep, I can do a quick one,’ she said. ‘I have a meeting in an hour but the traffic looks good and I can hop in a cab.’
Julia was one of those women who had a way with waiters, and indeed probably with everyone, Dan suspected. They were at a table in a very nice open-all-day wine bar within only a couple of minutes of leaving the clinic and a waiter was taking their order within only about a minute of them sitting down.
‘Decaf latte,’ Hannah said, rubbing her tummy.
‘The same for me,’ Julia said.
Dan looked at them both and at the menu. He could murder a caffeinated coffee right now. But was it rude to the pregnant mother of your child to drink caffeine when she couldn’t? He really didn’t know and he really didn’t know her well enough to ask her.
‘And the same for me too,’ he said.
‘So I’ve been very pleased to meet you, Dan,’ Julia said. ‘I wondered whether you two thought it would be a good idea to discuss before the baby’s born how much time you each want to spend with her.’ Dan wanted to high five her. Of course it would be a good idea, but Hannah had been busy with work and not available to chat since she’d dropped the pregnancy news bombshell. ‘I don’t want to interfere but, for the sake of my granddaughter, I do think that you should have these conversations sooner rather than later.’ Dan didn’t just want to high five, he wanted to kiss her. Ofcoursethey should discuss things now.
‘Mum!’ Hannah gave her mother the evil eye. ‘I think we’re probably adult enough to work that out for ourselves.’ Although she hadn’t managed to engage with Dan so far.
‘I’d love to be involved and I’d love to hear your thoughts on how much time you thought she might spend with me?’ he said.
Hannah cleared her throat and said, ‘If I stay in London, I’d be very happy for her to spend close to half her time with you, however you’d like to play it, as long as we both think it will work well for her emotional needs.’
‘Great,’ said Dan. That was alotbetter than he’d been expecting. It was fantastic, actually.
‘But there’s a possibility—’ Hannah folded her hands together and looked at Dan’s left ear ‘—there’s a possibility that I – we – will be moving to New York, for work.’
What?
God.God. Not so fantastic.
‘When would that be, darling?’ Julia was frowning.
‘An opportunity’s come up at work recently.’ Hannah was some kind of high-flying investment banker. Corporate finance. Dan wasn’t totally sure what that involved other than apparently insane working hours, almost longer than a junior doctor’s. ‘We’re restructuring our team globally later in the year and I might move to New York with the baby to head up our team there after my maternity leave.’
‘What’s the…’ Dan paused, to give his voice a chance to stop sounding so croaky. What’s the likelihood that you’ll make the move?’
‘I don’t know.’ Hannah was looking at his right ear now. ‘It’s a great opportunity. But of course it might not be the best thing for the baby, and I have to think of her too now.’
Of course it won’t bloody be the best thing for the baby, Dan wanted to yell.How will she spend time with her father if you move to America?‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Well, I would of course very much appreciate an update as soon as you’ve decided.’
‘Of course.’ She took a long sip of her coffee and then looked at her mother rather than back at Dan.
