Witnessing each successive blessing made Beth weepy. She didn’t even know Jedda—or any other baby being welcomed—yet her heart was truly happy for them. Happy that they’d grow up with a strong support system around them. That they’d know who they were and where they came from.
Not everyone was honoured with such knowledge.
Once the twenty babies had been formally welcomed, the crowd offered their congratulations, applauding the Little Ones as they were taken back to their loved ones. Smiling proudly, Jacinta and Lenny brought Jedda back to the group and everyone marvelled at how cute she looked, with her tiny headband and cloak.
Beth and Ellie held back, letting those closest to Jacinta and Lenny be the first to offer their well wishes, but the next thing Beth knew, Marge was waving her and Ellie over. She was a proud granny wanting to show off her first grandchild.
‘Isn’t she the cutest?’
At that moment, Jedda yawned in Jacinta’s arms, making Beth grin. She’d never seen a baby this close up before.
‘Aww,’ Ellie gushed, leaning in for a closer look. ‘She’s just divine. Congratulations, everyone!’
Jacinta and Lenny smiled their thanks and Marge beamed proudly.
‘She really is,’ Beth added as she examined Jedda’s features—her button nose, her pouty lips, the lashes that fanned her cheeks. She was tiny and so vulnerable, and deserved all the love and support she was being showered with today. Didn’t every child deserve that? How could any mother look down at their baby and not want to give them the world? To instil in them the confidence that came with being sure of who you were, of knowing that you had a place in the world?
Emotion clogged Beth’s throat and burned her eyes. Why had her mother kept so much from her? Why had she never spoken of Beth’s father or his family? And for god’s sake, why had she lied about where Beth had been born?
Since her meltdown following receipt of that devastating email from South Australia, Beth had given up on her search for answers. The only solution she could come up with was to apply to every state’s registry, one at a time, until she learned the truth, except she wasn’t certain she could bear the emotional toll of such a task. She just had to face the fact that, unlike baby Jedda, she might never know where she came from or where she truly belonged.
Suddenly, it was all too much.
‘I’m sorry. I … I need to go.’ She threw an apologetic look at Marge.
‘You okay, love?’
‘Yeah, I just … need to go.’
‘Beth?’ Ellie called after her, but she was already on the move.
She needed space, needed a moment to think. Because, god, it was horrible, feeling this way about her own mother, the one person she’d always believed she could count on. The one person who should’ve loved and supported her and ensured she knew who she was and where she came from. Instead, Rosie had left her feeling lost and confused and alone. And she’d taken her secrets to the grave, even though she’d had ample time to confess everything.
And, for that, Beth would never forgive her.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
The following week, Beth was in the kitchen with Ellie, helping to prepare dinner. After almost two months, Ellie had finally convinced her that she preferred the company and wasn’t just extending the invitation to be nice, so Beth had given up dining alone in her room each night.
‘Right, now cover it and let it simmer.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Beth placed the glass lid on the pot of bolognese sauce and immediately set about cleaning the kitchen.
Ellie draped fresh pasta noodles over the drying rack that sat on the bench and sighed dramatically. ‘How have I survived this long without a sous chef? Life is so much easier when you have someone to order around.’ She looked at Beth, narrowing her eyes like an evil mastermind. ‘You should quit your job at the cafe and come work for me. I can only offer you a quarter of what Marge pays you, but I guarantee you’ll have more fun.’
‘I’m sure that’s true. I mean, how could I not? At the cafe, I have to work autonomously, which is so depressing. Here, I’m micromanaged to the point that I don’t even need to think for myself. It’s such a hoot!’
Ellie flung a freshly cut noodle across the counter and Beth huffed indignantly.
‘Marge doesn’t throw Italian cuisine at me.’
‘Maybe that’s only because she doesn’t know therealyou yet, the one with the whip-smart tongue who’s not afraid to say how she really feels.’
Beth snorted, though happiness radiated through her, its warmth spreading from her chest to her extremities. Ever since their chat at barefoot bowls, after Ellie had seen the impact that Beth’s anxiety had on her life, Beth had felt more confident and more like herself whenever she was with Ellie. The two of them teased each other in the way that was common among friends.
Her thoughts went to Noah and the way they’d flirted that day at her aunt’s house. Bizarrely, she felt comfortable around him now, too.
