Nathan embracedher. Lisa felt a strange flutter, a bubbling, no, tumbling motion in her stomach.
Her tears stopped as she gasped. ‘The baby! Did you feel it? I think it moved.’
‘What? No.’ Nathan stepped back, putting his hand to her stomach. Lisa slid it to where she felt the movement.
‘There, do you feel it?’
‘No … wait, yes. Yes! Is that it?’
Lisa nodded.
‘I can feel it.’ Nathan grinnedat her and then looked back down at his hand resting on her stomach.
Lisa tried to keep still, willing it to move again. ‘I think it’s stopped.’
A buzz at the door interrupted the moment.
Nathan kept his hand on her stomach, but looked towards the bedroom door. ‘That will be my parents.’
‘You should go and let them in.’
‘I’ll go down to the door, give you a bit more time.’
While Nathan went to let his parents in, Lisa sent a text to Felicity, thanking her for the amazing gift and saying that she would call her later. She couldn’t wait to thank her properly or tell her that she had felt the baby move. But right now she had the more pressing matter of sorting out her tear-stained panda eyes before Nathan’s parents made it up the stairs. As Lisa moved, the sightof the pip on her bracelet in the mirror meant she was fighting back more tears. When she felt ready, she headed out into the lounge, feeling a little nauseous. Uno raised his head to look at her before resting it back down on his paws. Lisa could hear voices in the hallway and went to see what was keeping everyone. As she leaned over the banister, she was surprised to hear Nathan’s parents talkingto Sam.
Lisa moved down a couple of stairs, trying to stay out of sight. Sam was laughing. The entire conversation sounded light, but also as if they were all familiar with each other. It wasn’t chit-chat between strangers. Lisa felt a prick of jealousy and another wave of nausea. She heard them ask Alex how he was, confirming the boy was Sam’s son. Nathan’s dad said it had been too long sincethey had seen him. Lisa didn’t know what to make of it all. She and Nathan barely spoke about Sam. She was there, of course, an entity in the building. But they’d had so much else going on, she wasn’t a priority in their conversations. Listening to Nathan’s family talk to her and her son so easily made Lisa wonder what their connection actually was. Not wanting to be caught or to feel like theoutsider in this conversation, Lisa slipped back upstairs and went to sit with Uno. Stroking his soft fur gave her comfort. ‘What’s going on here, Uno? Do you know?’
‘Lisa, how lovely to see you.’
Nathan’s mum walked across the room, her perfume reaching Lisa before she did. Lisa tried not to inhale, unsure if the nauseous feeling of moments before might return with a vengeance. She hadn’tactually been sick for a while. Winnie – who had repeatedly told Lisa how overjoyed she was to hear her pregnancy news – had prescribed ginger nut biscuits for when she couldn’t face food. That helped, but smells could still turn her stomach.
‘Mrs Baker—’
‘Valerie, please. We’ve all met before.’ Valerie held out her hands and embraced Lisa.
‘Yes, of course.’ Lisa leaned in, going fora kiss to Valerie’s cheek as the older woman merely touched cheeks.Oh, fail!
‘And Uno, the rescue cat.’ Nathan’s mum stroked Uno’s head.
‘It’s amazing, isn’t it, how Nathan saved him?’ Lisa smiled, remembering that Valerie always enjoyed talking about Nathan’s successes – sporting, academic, it didn’t matter – her son was her pride and joy.
‘Yes, of course, but I really meant howUno saved Nathan.’
What?Lisa felt wrong-footed for the second time since the door had buzzed. She didn’t know what Valerie was referring to. Thankfully she didn’t have to respond, as, before she could speak, Nathan’s dad was greeting her with a hug, and a kiss to each cheek. Lisa attempted to smile while her mind tried to catch up. Was there so much she didn’t know about Nathan? They hadbeen a part a long time. But she was carrying his baby; didn’t she need to know everything? Trying to rein her emotions in, Lisa took coats and offered drinks, before they all settled in the lounge making conversation.
Eventually excusing herself to check on the food, Lisa went to the kitchen. The grand lasagne al forno was bubbling away in the oven, filling the flat with a delicious smell.She and Nathan had opted for a Cook Shop meal after Lisa had reasoned it was more refined than a takeaway or a ready meal, but safer than home cooking after her previous culinary disasters. Lisa knew it was too much for the four of them to eat, but Nathan had pointed out having plenty meant they only had to do a simple salad to accompany it; Lisa conceded it was a good plan.
Pouring herselfa glass of squash, Lisa took a moment to breathe before going back to the lounge. Valerie was being polite and making chit-chat, but Lisa felt the slight reservation in her tone belied the “why did you reject my son’s proposal at the prom?” and “why are you back?” questions so clearly on her mind. Nathan’s dad was as friendly as he had ever been, asking Lisa about her business and seeming genuinelyinterested as she chatted about taking on new clients and bringing Felicity on board.
‘Everything all right?’
Lisa turned, hearing Nathan’s voice at the kitchen door.
‘Yes, thank you.’ She spoke in a hushed tone. ‘I think your mum might need time to accept I’m not going to hurt you again, but your dad—’
‘Don’t let them get to you.’
‘I was going to say your dad’s as lovely asever. You know, you’re a lot like him. I didn’t see it before.’ Lisa smiled.
