Page 84 of A Christmas Wish for the Village Midwife

‘Tell that to my scales when I get on them in January.’

‘There’s an easy fix for that – don’t get on them. Anyway, I don’t know what you’re worrying about, you’re perfect whatever you weigh.’

Zoe laughed. ‘Right answer, well done. But you might change your mind when I look like a bowling ball and you have to roll me down to the village.’

He began to whistle as he turned the bacon over. Zoe watched him with a feeling somewhere between relief and uncertainty. She was glad to see he was in a better mood this morning and wondered if, at some point during the night, he’d come to some sort of acceptance about what lay ahead for them all if Billie decided to leave. That would be good. What was more worrying – and possibly more likely – was that he might have come to the conclusion that Billie had forgotten all she’d said to them, or else considered it too much upheaval, too risky, and that she was far better off staying at Hilltop. That would be wonderful for Alex, but Zoe didn’t think it was likely. And she thought that, even if Billie had come to that conclusion for whatever reason, it wasn’t truly what she wanted and it wasn’t necessarily the best outcome.

As she watched, she realised that as often as he checked what he was doing, his gaze would flit to the kitchen door. Watching for Billie to come down? It seemed the logical answer, and so he had to have been more anxious than it appeared.

Alex and Zoe ate breakfast, the carols still playing on the radio and the snow still poised to fall, and they talked about their plans for the day, and for the next day, and how much they were looking forward to it. Zoe couldn’t decide whether to enjoy the breather or to shake him so he’d focus on the things that really mattered, things that hadn’t yet been resolved. In the end, she didn’t say anything because she was sure that the day would take them in that direction anyway. And she was right – Billie got up, and the atmosphere in the kitchen changed like someone switching over the channel on the TV.

‘Morning,’ Alex said with admirable cheeriness.

Billie rubbed eyes shadowed by a lack of sleep, Louisa balanced on her arm.

‘Yeah, morning.’ Her gaze swept the kitchen. ‘Oh, you’ve had breakfast?’

‘Yes, but I can make you some.’

‘It’s all right. I can⁠—’

‘Sit down.’ Alex went to relight the stove. ‘There’s plenty. Bacon…? Two eggs? What about Louisa? I can make her some porridge or maybe some scrambled egg…’

‘Porridge for Louisa. I’ll have whatever you’re making.’

‘Did you fall asleep last night when you went up to her?’ Zoe asked as Billie took a seat.

‘Yeah,’ Billie said.

Zoe wondered if that was a lie, but it was easier to let it slide.

‘She looks bright as a button this morning, so the lie-in must have done her good. Have you slept OK?’

‘Not too bad,’ Billie said, and the evidence in front of Zoe told her that was another lie. Again, easier to let it slide, and she’d only asked because the alternative was an awkward silence.

They all jumped at a knock on the outside door. Zoe frowned slightly as she got up to answer it and then stepped back with a smile at the sight of Victor on the step.

‘Come in! What brings you over? I’d have thought you’d be helping Corrine with her military-style Christmas preparations…’

‘Oh, I was,’ Victor said. ‘But we found this in our porch.’ He held up a box that filled his arms. ‘The driver mustn’t be local and probably thought there was only one farm around here. It says Daffodil on our gate, and I don’t know how much bigger I can make the sign, but there you are.’ He stepped into the kitchen and put the box on the table. ‘It’s for you, Billie, by the looks of things.’

‘I’m surprised there are deliveries at all this morning,’ Zoe said, peering at the label.

‘Looks like a courier delivery,’ Victor said. ‘Must have cost someone to send it.’

Billie eyed the box but made no move to open it.

‘Do you want a cup of tea?’ Alex called over. ‘Or a bacon sandwich – we’ve got plenty to spare.’

Victor seemed tempted for a moment but then shook his head. ‘Like you said, I’ve got things to be getting on with. I only drove over with this to save you a job.’

‘You didn’t need to do that,’ Alex said. ‘If you’d rung, we could have come to pick it up.’

‘I was on my way up to the field to see to the girls anyway.’

‘Well thanks then,’ Zoe said. ‘It’s good of you. Actually, while you’re here…’ She dashed to collect the gifts she’d wrapped for the residents of Daffodil Farm that morning. ‘These are for you and Corrine. And before you say anything, they’re only little things, just to say thanks for being such good neighbours.’

Victor took them with a smile. ‘Will you be at the service later?’