Chapter Twenty-Five
Over the rest of the weekend, Lucy’s mind swayed like a pendulum between chubby-cheeked babies and distracting daydreams about Rory. Pondering the potentially imminent prospect of motherhood, now a familiar thought at the forefront of her mind, she noticed that she felt slightly different. Deep within her, in her gut, where the usual sense of anxiety normally nestled, an inner sense of calm resided, as though everything was working out just as it should be. She wondered whether this might have something to do with a certain handsome Irish man – the perfect distraction perhaps. Or maybe she had just got used to the process of trying for a baby; that with her third cycle of treatment under her belt she wasn’t so nervous anymore. She knew that she would have to wait until the following weekend to do the test and find out whether the latest insemination had worked, so she tried to shut out thoughts of pregnancy and focus on work and the menial tasks that filled her days. At night, however, when she had less control of her subconscious, she would dream endlessly of having her own baby, of holding her own tiny son or daughter in her arms. She woke up experiencing such pangs of longing for her imaginary child that she could hardly bear it. She was so ready for this next stage in her life.
Lucy arrived at work on Monday morning to a noticeably quieter office. Lettie, always the first to arrive at their pod and as reliable as clockwork, was nowhere to be seen. Even by the time Simon rocked up, casually as ever, just as the clock struck nine, Lettie still hadn’t made an appearance. As always first thing on a Monday morning, having caught up on the weekend news of her Facebook friends over breakfast, Lucy liked to spend the first half hour of her working week perusing the right-hand column of theDaily Mailwebsite. She was in the middle of scrutinizing some particularly fascinating images of Kim Kardashian’s derrière, trying to decide for herself whether or not she had had butt implants, when Lettie came scurrying over, clutching three cinnamon lattes wobbling precariously on a Starbucks tray. Having not yet seen her colleagues since she returned from an extended Christmas break at home, Lettie was clearly bursting to tell them her news. Lucy helped herself and Simon to a coffee, and instructed Lettie to sit, take a deep breath, and spill the beans. Simon trained his expert eye on her, giving her his full attention, ready to critique the latest hopeless man she was undoubtedly dating.
Both Lucy and Simon had sat through endless stories of Lettie’s first encounters with all sorts of different weird and wonderful men over the years, and they diligently prepared themselves for the usual saga. However, this time, things appeared to be somewhat different.
‘So the elongated lie-in has a male explanation, no doubt?’ asked Simon.
‘How did you guess!’ asked Lettie, blushing a deep red that clashed with her hair.
‘There’s only one reason why you’d look this excited!’ laughed Lucy.
‘You’re right! Oh my goodness, you are so right!’ said Lettie.
‘Go on then, spill the beans…’ said Lucy.
‘You can’t keep us in suspense,’ agreed Simon.
‘I suppose it could have something to do with the fact thatI’ve got a boyfriend!’ blurted Lettie, unable to keep the pride from her voice.
‘Whaaat?!!’ shrieked Lucy and Simon.
‘I know! Can you actually believe it! A real boyfriend!’ said Lettie, ecstatic. ‘He’s called Luke.’
‘Ooh, Luke!’ said Simon.
‘Great name,’ said Lucy.
‘Who is he? How did you meet?’ asked Simon.
‘I met him at a Christmas drinks party back home in Worcester. He’s an old family friend, when I was younger I used to babysit him and his little sister.’
‘No way!’ said Lucy.
‘I hadn’t seen him for years and hardly recognized this handsome stranger when he came over to say hello, but we got chatting and ended up swapping phone numbers, agreeing to meet up in a local pub the next day.’
‘And did you remember him when you realized who he was?’ asked Lucy.
‘Yes, but he was four years younger than me and I wouldn’t have even really noticed him back then to be honest. But it turns out that all the years I was his babysitter he had a massive crush on me!’
‘How cute!’ said Lucy.
‘He clearly had a thing for geeky-looking redheads!’ laughed Lettie. ‘I wassonot a looker!’
‘Don’t be so cruel to your young self,’ admonished Simon. ‘I bet you were gorgeous.’
‘Anyway, he’s actually turned into an extremely attractive guy, despite his receding hairline.’
‘Show us a photo,’ said Lucy.
‘I’ve got loads on my phone, I’ll show you later…’ said Lettie.
‘So did you see each other lots after that?’ asked Simon.
‘We went on that date to the pub, which was amazing, and then we met up quite a few times… we even spent New Year’s Eve together, just the two of us.’
‘How romantic!’ said Lucy.
