Chapter Fifteen
Felicity rubbed her wet hair with a towel before beginning to brush out the knots. Lisa made her a tea and asked Fred if he’d like some milk. Too engrossed in playing with his soft toys and the vet kit Lisa had bought him – her not so subtle way to teach him about appropriate animal care – Fred declined.
‘So, how was the run?’ Lisa placed Flick’s mug of tea down in frontof her.
Now Felicity’s cheeks were turning a paler shade of crimson, she was showered and out of her new running gear, Lisa wanted to hear how she was progressing.
‘Not too bad. I’m preferring the spring weather and I am attempting to stick to a schedule I found online, to help me prepare for the Easter 5K. Thanks so much for watching Fred. I think with you, Sue and Pete helping me getout regularly, I should be ready.’
‘If anyone can do it, you can!’ Lisa paused. ‘Obviously I would have put aside my dislike of running and put my name down too, to support you, but there’s the small matter of—’
‘Being twenty weeks pregnant, I know.’ Felicity laughed.
‘Oh, have I mentioned that?’ Lisa rubbed her hand over her stomach.
Felicity threw the towel she had used for herhair in Lisa’s direction. ‘And you know I couldn’t be happier for you. But if you’re going to update me daily on your pregnancy progress, I may have to—’
‘Fine, I’ll stop the daily count, so long as I can still—’
‘Phone me first thing in the morning to ask why your boobs have more veins than before, or text me in the middle of the night to check the brown line snaking up your stomach isn’tcaused by the baby trying to escape because you and Nathan—’
‘Lalala, little ears!’ Lisa put her hands over Fred’s ears as her cheeks turned pink.
Fred squirmed free, putting his plastic stethoscope in his ears in protest.
‘Of course you can. That’s what friends are for.’
‘Talking of friends, did you know Pete has been texting Nathan lately?’ Lisa fetched herself a glass of water.
‘No. Really?’
‘Yes. I think it’s nice. Nathan has his workmates and some friends from the surf school he runs in the summer, but him and Pete being friends would be great for us too, wouldn’t it? I mean proper friends, not just getting on because we threw them together.’
‘Yes. It will make things like our trip to France easier.’ Felicity took Fred’s stethoscope and put it on, listeningto his teddy’s heart and confirming he needed medicine before continuing. ‘Talking of friends, I saw on Facebook Nathan’s still in touch with Brett Austin.’
Lisa thought about the pictures she had seen of Nathan and Brett together when she had snooped on his Facebook page after her return to Littlehampton. They had been best friends at school and had obviously seen each other in the yearssince. ‘Yes, but he hasn’t mentioned him to me, so I guess they’re not as close as they used to be.’ With all that had happened since Lisa had been back with Nathan, it hadn’t occurred to her to ask about Brett. She recalled the various sights and scenes of his pictures. ‘I think he travels a lot; maybe he’s away.’
‘Ah, OK. So what has Pete been texting Nathan about?’
‘He …’ Lisa realisedPete might not want Felicity to know he had been asking about fitness watches, as it might be for a surprise for her, ‘he seems pleased for us about the baby.’ Sitting down opposite Fred, she decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. ‘Do you think Pete would have liked another baby?’
Felicity picked up a toy thermometer Fred had dropped. ‘No, not really. Don’t get me wrong;he would have been great if I’d been pregnant, I know that. But I think he was more interested in calling a baby Thor than the idea of actually having a baby.’
‘Thor? Why?’ Lisa spluttered, attempting to swallow the sip of water she had just taken.
Felicity laughed. ‘Don’t ask. How about you? Thought of any names yet?’
Lisa put her glass down, wishing she had thought to bring the blackcurrantsquash Nathan had gone out to get her along with the Maltesers she had fancied, the night before. ‘No. Not yet.’
‘What about a bump name?’
‘No, no bump name.’
‘Each of mine had a bump name: Bump – a bit obvious that one; Jellybean – I had a craving; Pumpkin – choose wisely, it could stick.’
Lisa thought about Callum’s mop of red hair and smiled.
‘And Flump.’
