For the next two weeks, Darcy rang the shop every day, and every day Lynn hung up on him. He even showed up again one day, but James was outside installing a new doorway light and he turned the car around and left. Lynn said that if James had stared any harder, he would have seared the paint off Darcy’s car, such was the Superman-style laser beam being emitted from his eyes. James had blushed and said he hadn’t really got a look at the driver. Maria once again found herself grateful that her shop had the electrics of the Harry Potter Wand Shop. The job was nearly done now, but James had stayed on to finish the plastering, and Maria found she was glad of the company too. He was funny, and he made Lynn act like an awkward teenager, which was hilarious in itself. Cassie had even met him, having come to the shop at the weekend to look for a dress for her next date with Tucker. The woman could afford designer labels, but Maria appreciated her friend giving her some sorely needed business.
She was hanging on by a thread. She had been able to pay James and keep the shop afloat, but with the papers in overdrive about Darcy and his mystery woman, she just knew no wedding bookings were coming her way anytime soon. It was a miracle that the press had stayed away from her shop. Perhaps Agatha, matriarch of the village, had more clout than even the villagers gave her credit for. She ran Westfield like her own kingdom, and Maria was pretty sure she’d pulled up the drawbridge around her villagers. Hopefully it would last. They hadn’t completely left her alone, though. The shop phone had been busy with nosy reporters, all despatched with a flea in their ear, and Maria had shut down all her social media, turning off the comments section of her website to avoid her business being deluged. Lynn was dealing with the shop’s email, and since she hadn’t passed any orders her way, she was pretty sure the shop was as dead as ever. Her inbox was no doubt filled with nosy reporters and supposed best friends wanting to check on her, or feed on her misery to make themselves feel better about their own situations. She would be the name on their lips when they uttered the words ‘at least it’s not as bad as…’
Once again it was Saturday, supposedly one of the busiest days of the week, and she was sitting in an empty shop, head in her hands. The shop phone and her mobile had been ringing every half hour since seven that morning, all the calls being from Darcy’s mobile number. The man was insane. The irony of the fact that when they’d been together she could barely get hold of him wasn’t lost on her either, and made every time he called feel like another knife in her heart.
The doorbell went and Maria looked up through her fingers in terror. James was standing there, toolbox in hand, and she sighed with relief. He went to open the door, and Maria ran to unlock it.
‘You okay?’ he asked as she practically dragged him into the shop and slammed the door shut behind him.
‘I’m fine,’ she said, clicking the lock back into place and rolling her eyes. ‘Why does everyone keep asking me that? Cassie was the same this morning. I’m fine! I just didn’t sleep well, and since every lowlife journalist seems to want to talk to me every minute of every day, I don’t think I’ll be sleeping any time soon.’
James stood staring at her, his face creased with concern. ‘I mean it, you look really pale. You’ve lost weight too.’
Maria’s jaw dropped. ‘Since when is that a bad thing? I needed to lose a bit anyway. Since… well… since the thing, I’ve been spending too much time eating ice cream. I’m fine, I told you.’
He held his hands up in surrender. ‘Okay, but you don’t look well at all. I really think you need to go to the doctor’s.’
She glared at him, and he raised his eyebrows at her, clenching his jaw.
‘I mean it. It’s not my business, but I consider you a friend now. You have to take care of yourself.’
Maria wanted to be mad, to tell him off, but she couldn’t bring herself to be that way with him. The truth was, it was nice to have a friend. He had been there for her, and she had to at least admit to herself a little that it was nice to have people in her corner. She had been so used to it being her, Mum, Cassie and Lynn growing up. Losing Darcy had made her realise just how alone she was.
She reached up and chucked him under the chin with a loose fist.
‘You are the most annoying friend on the planet, you know that?’
He snorted. ‘I’ve met Cassie, so I highly doubt that.’
The shop phone rang, and Maria froze. James held up a finger and picked up the shop phone.
‘Good morning, Happy Ever After?’
Maria sat down heavily at her desk. She really did feel sick. She hadn’t even eaten that morning but she felt like she could vomit. She’d gone to make a coffee at Cassie’s but the smell had turned her stomach. Which was odd, since Cassie’s normally disgusting kitchen was now looking like a set design from IKEA. In case Tucker came around, she guessed, even though Cassie hadn’t brought him home since. What was going on there was anyone’s guess. Cassie was acting weird, though.
‘No, she’s not here.’ James’s tone had changed, and Maria mouthed ‘who is it?’ at him. He held up a finger and turned away from her. ‘For you? Never. It doesn’t matter who I am. All you need to know is she doesn’t want you. Stop calling.’
Maria stood to get his attention but he moved further into the back of the shop. There was a sudden hammering at the door, and when she turned around a flashbulb went off in her face.
‘What the he—’
Photographers were standing in front of the door to the shop, snapping away, tapping at the glass. So much for the Agatha bubble. It looked like it had just popped.
‘Maria, Maria!’ they were shouting through the glass. ‘Do you have any comment about the rumours of Darcy Burgess getting engaged? Maria, talk to us!’
The cameras snapped again, a Mexican wave of light flashing across the windows. James was shouting down the phone, and Maria ran past him into the back office.
She slumped down to the floor, listening to James shouting at the photographers now to go away, threatening to call the police. She could still hear a voice shouting down the phone line, a tinny noise, like a bumble bee. Her stomach roiled and she got up and ran to the sink, heaving up the small glass of water she’d managed when she got up that morning. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she ran a washcloth over her face to cool herself down.
Engaged. He’s engaged, already. She leant over the sink, suddenly wishing she had eaten something that morning.
‘Are you okay?’ James said, suddenly behind her.
She looked up at him and her head swam. ‘No.’ She started to cry, and fell to the floor. The banging still kept on. It sounded like they were going to come through the glass. James stooped to help her up, and she collapsed into his arms.
‘Whoa, I got you, Maria.’ He took her into his arms, pulling her tight to him. ‘Put your arms around me, we need to get to the hospital. You don’t look good.’
Maria tried to object, but her whole body felt like it was shaking violently. James strode to the back door and began fumbling with the key.
‘James,’ she said feebly, and he stopped to look at her, his eyes clouded with concern. ‘Why is he doing this?’
She never heard his answer or felt him carry her out of the back of the shop. She had already passed out and couldn’t hear anyone. Sweet oblivion met her, and she welcomed it.
Cassie was mumbling angrily, and Maria winced at the pain it produced in her head.
‘Cass,’ she murmured. ‘Sshh.’ The noise continued. It sounded like she was arguing with the telly again. Probably shouting at one of the actors on that soap she denied watching religiously.
Maria went to cover her ears, but something pulled on her arm, giving her a sharp pain.
‘Darling, don’t try to move, okay?’
The voice was silky, familiar. Mum? No, of course not. She felt the jolt of recognition and loss all at once.
‘Lynn?’ she croaked, peeling her eyes open. Lynn was sitting in front of her, smiling. She looked tired, drawn. ‘What’s wrong? Are you okay?’ She tried to get up, but her head whirled again, making her dizzy.
‘I’m fine, sit back in bed.’ She settled Maria back down, tucking the covers around her gently. It was then that Maria clocked the fact that she was lying in a hospital bed, and Cassie was still shouting in hushed tones outside the door.
‘What happened?’ Maria asked. ‘Where are we? Did they get in?’
Lynn shook her head. ‘No, dear, you passed out, and James brought you straight here. To the hospital. He called me and Cass from your phone.’
She looked around the side room she appeared to be in, but there was no sign of James.
‘Why is he arguing with Cassie? Tell them to stop fighting. Why are they fighting?’
Lynn frowned. ‘He isn’t, honey. He went back to the shop to cover for us, get rid of the stragglers. He’s going to call in later on.’
‘So who?’
Lynn didn’t get a chance to answer, because the door banged open and Darcy barrelled through with Cassie on his back, punching him in the arms.
‘I said get out, dipshit! Don’t make me sue your ass!’
Darcy was hunched down like a turtle, trying to escape the blows and shrug her off. They were both still screaming at each other when the doctor walked in. He took one look at the scene and ordered them both to wait outside.
Lynn was furious by now and, patting Maria, she stomped off to sort out the ‘quarrelling children’. Maria flashed the doctor an apologetic grin and sank back against the pillows.
‘Sorry, Doctor, we have a bit of a situation.’
He nodded kindly. ‘We’ve sent the reporters away; security are dealing with them. Mr Burgess and your friends can stay, if they behave. I just wanted to see how you were feeling. You gave us a bit of a scare, Miss Mallory. You’ll have to stay in for the weekend, and we’ve put you on a drip for fluids. You need to eat something too; your recent weight loss has apparently been caused by stress, and you’re a little dehydrated. Your blood sugar was very low, and we discovered you’re anaemic too.’
Maria nodded along. She did feel rough, so it wasn’t a surprise.
The door opened and then slammed shut again, and Maria could hear muted voices from behind it. It sounded like Lynn was playing bouncer. Maria sighed heavily, wishing she was still unconscious and not getting told off for being stressed while her life imploded around her.
‘Of course, we can start you on vitamins and iron tablets, and you’ll need to ring your doctor’s surgery next week. This is a wake-up call, to take better care of yourself.’
She nodded along numbly. It was time to start looking after herself. Lynn wouldn’t let her do any different anyway, especially after this. The door banged again, and she heard Lynn shout ‘no!’ as though she was telling off a stubborn toddler. Which, in Darcy’s case, wasn’t far from the truth.
The doctor stepped in front of the door, closer to her field of vision.
‘Maria,’ he said. ‘I need you to listen. I have to tell you that you’re pregnant.’
There was another commotion at the door, and Maria stared at the doctor. The voices started shouting again outside, and they could hear other voices joining in now. The door was shuddering with the effect of being pushed and pulled. The doctor’s beeper went off and he looked positively relieved.
‘I have to go now,’ he said with a look of such fake disappointment that Maria wanted to laugh hysterically. ‘I’ll come back later, after visiting hours, so we can discuss it better.’ He motioned to the door. ‘It will be quieter then. I’m sorry to drop all this information on you and run. You need to be aware, though, that with your current exhaustion, lack of eating and stress, your body won’t be able to cope with the demands of pregnancy. You have to put things aside, if you can, and focus on your own wellbeing.’
Maria nodded at him dumbly, trying to process what he’d said. He had obviously got it wrong, the poor man. She knew they knocked the NHS these days, but he was obviously so overworked and stressed by the baggage she had brought with her that he had got it all turned around. He went to open the door, peering cautiously around it.
‘Doctor?’ she asked. She just wanted to explain to him, as kindly as she could, his error. ‘You know my name is Maria, right? Maria Mallory? I came in today, a tall man brought me in? Probably wearing a tool belt?’
He smiled at her. ‘I know who you are, Maria, and my diagnosis is correct. You had listed the lady outside, Lynn, as your next of kin, and we gained permission to do a blood workup. I’ll be back later to discuss your options. The important thing now is to rest, let the fluids do their job.’
He slipped through the door then, and Maria was left alone. She shook her head. Dear Lord, that dude was going to be red-faced later. Granted, her life was a mess, but the worst thing she did was faint, not misdiagnose pregnancies. She turned on her side, away from the door, away from the noise, and closed her eyes. She just needed to sleep, and then she could go home and get back to work. Once the hospital realised their error, they would let her go. They would probably discharge her immediately, to avoid looking like idiots.
‘Pregnant,’ she said out loud. ‘As if.’
Cassie came in, shouting ‘bugger off, Burgess!’ as she put a chair behind the door handle. The voices outside subsided. Maria faced away again, not wanting to talk. Cassie pulled a chair up to the bed and looked at her wide-eyed.
‘What the hell happened? I had a garbled call from the handyman guy, telling me you were here. Did you not eat all day? I told you to take better care of yourself. You can’t let him win.’
She jabbed in the direction of the door with her finger.
‘I told him to leave, but he’s refusing. He keeps saying he’s going to talk to the press if we make him leave, make a scene. He wants to talk to you. He says he didn’t say anything to the press yet, so that’s a blessing.’
Maria shook her head, and Cassie patted her arm.
‘Don’t worry, I told him to drop dead. I’m just waiting for karma to strike him down, the big ponce.’
‘Don’t let him talk to the doctor, for God’s sake. He thinks I’m pregnant.’
Cassie’s jaw dropped. ‘He what? He never said!’
‘Not him, the doctor. What a joke, eh? I nearly told him, you have to have sex to get pregnant. Darcy and I didn’t… before. I thought it was just us being busy, but obviously now I know different. Cold feet, icicle penis.’
Cassie shook her head. ‘This is not a joke, Mar. You’re pregnant? Really?’
‘No, you’re not listening! Darcy and I didn’t have sex!’
‘No,’ Cassie said, moving in closer and flicking her gaze at the door. ‘You and Darcy didn’t, but you did have sex, remember?’
Maria had a flashback of a man, a tequila shot, a nightclub kiss. Oh God. Mark.
‘Oh no,’ she gabbled. ‘Oh God, no.’
Cassie went to the door and pulled the chair away. Lynn was standing there, holding a bottle of orange squash.
‘He’s gone. The doctor threatened to call security. Is she okay?’ she asked, bustling in. Maria started to cry then, and Lynn ran to her side.
‘Oh baby, what’s the matter? What did the doctor say?’
Cassie opened the window a crack and pulled the curtains open.
‘It’s okay, we can sort it. Don’t worry. We’ll all help. We’re all here.’
Lynn started to cry too then. ‘Please, honey, tell me what’s wrong. Is it what your mum had? Is it—’
‘I’m pregnant!’ Maria blurted out. As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it was true. She had been feeling really tired lately, and emotional. Which was what a jilted bride was, but also a pregnant person. She was late with her period, and in the chaos she hadn’t even realised, so maybe the doctor wasn’t as puddled as she’d first thought. ‘The doctor just told me.’
Lynn’s face lit up. ‘Pregnant! Well, that’s wonderful!’ She looked at Maria’s pale face. ‘Isn’t it?’
Cassie was scrolling through her phone, and she slapped Lynn on the arm.
‘Good? Are you high? How is this good? She’s having a baby!’
‘I’m having a baby. OhmigodohmigodohmigodCassIcan’thaveababy!’
Cassie was pacing up and down, scrolling, scrolling.
‘It’s fine, we can do it. Don’t worry, we just have to get you out of here, before the press get wind of the pregnancy.’
There was a knock at the door and a nurse popped her head round.
‘Sorry, everyone, but visiting time is over for today, and the doctor has issued strict orders to keep the patient on bed rest till Monday.’
Cassie and Lynn looked at each other, nodding, and gave Maria a kiss.
‘Don’t worry, Mar, we’ll sort this out. For now just rest, and don’t speak to anyone, okay?’ Cass said, her training kicking in.
Lynn squeezed her hand. ‘We’re all here for you, Maria darling, don’t forget that. No matter what, you are not alone. Never alone.’ Her eyes were bright with unshed tears, and Maria resisted the urge to burst into tears again herself.
They both left, and Maria could hear Cassie demanding that security keep Darcy and any photographers away. By the way she spoke, threatening legal action and using big legal words, and the way security simpered back at her, Maria guessed the rest of her stay would be somewhat quieter.
She looked around her room, taking in the stark surroundings. She missed her shop. She longed to be back there, where she felt some semblance of control. Where she could lose herself in her work, chat to the villagers, go back to normal. Pre-Darcy. Have a coffee with James, who was fast becoming one of her favourite people. The poor guy. She felt odd at the thought of him finding out she was pregnant. Like it would change them somehow. She couldn’t bear that. The list of people she cared about was short, obviously, but still… God knew what he would think of her now. The man would probably run a mile rather than take another job from her.
Which was fine, because she was getting pretty used to the men in her life leaving. She lay on her back, looking up at the ceiling. The peace of the hospital had finally descended, the odd shuffle and bleep outside the closed door as people milled around.
She laid a hand on her stomach, trying to picture the baby that was apparently residing in there. A baby conceived in tequila. The poor thing was probably pickled. It would probably come out like George Best, clutching a bottle to its breast and asking where its father was. Which was a whole other problem. She thought of Lynn and her excitement. If she didn’t keep the baby, what would happen then? Cassie would understand, but Lynn? Perhaps not. Thinking about Lynn’s goodbye, something clicked. You are not alone.
It was true. What had this baby done, to warrant being evicted from its home? Fair enough, perhaps its conception was a rather shady story, to be airbrushed into a rose-tinted version later, but who was born in perfect circumstances? Out there in the world, there were many walking, talking products of too much drink, a sad event, a moment of passionate abandon, a weakening of rubber. Did that mean they meant any less, that they weren’t as worthy as those born into love, heralded by perfect planning? It was 2018, for Christ’s sake. There were sex robots. Actual sex robots. Not to mention bacon jam. Orange people in power, like the revenge of the Oompa Loompas. Another single mother wouldn’t break society. She thought of her own mother, who had raised her single-handed after her father’s death. Did they struggle sometimes? Yes, sure. The struggles she didn’t remember so much, though; what she remembered was the love. She’d never felt truly alone till her mother died, and what Lynn said was true: with this baby, she would never be alone again. And really, what was she waiting for? She was single, with no prospects on the horizon or inclination to date again. Her business was struggling, but she was still fighting. Maybe she could do it. The thought of not doing this was just not for her. She was pro-choice, and this was her, making her choice.
She rubbed her hand in small circles along her flat stomach.
‘I’m here, baby. It’s not perfect, but we’re together. We’ll work it out. Just you and me.’
She thought of her mother, looking down on her in approval. She would say, ‘You can do this, my girl.’ And she would. They would see. She just had to get rid of Darcy before he found out. National coverage of the contents of her uterus was the last thing she needed. She didn’t even know why he was sniffing around again. Hadn’t he got a floozy to bed? Sunburn to soothe? He could just jog on. The last person she needed to see was him. She didn’t want to have to explain herself to him. He would judge her, and she was the injured party here. Getting knocked up on a boozy night out wasn’t the brightest move, but she didn’t need to be told that by the lowlife who had deemed it acceptable to leave her at the altar in front of their friends and family, and hotfoot it away on their honeymoon, which she had paid for, with another woman. And tank her business in the process, which, let’s face it, dealt in happy endings and eternal love. People never wanted to hear about jiltings and broken dreams; it didn’t go down well with the cake tastings and flower arrangements.
But now, maybe it hadn’t all been for nothing. Maybe this colossal nightmare of the last few weeks had been meant to happen. Maybe this was the plan from the big man upstairs. She looked up at the ceiling, resting both hands on her tummy as she went to sleep. Maybe this was just what she needed to pull herself out of her funk.
Hope.