The next few weeks were a blur. Moving day was fairly simple since I had very little, and Megan, Sam, and Kate insisted on being there to help, though Kate’s version of helping was to bring some of the builders who worked for Carl along.
‘Free eye candy.’ She’d winked as the burly, vest-clad men spilt from a white van on the morning of moving day. ‘Sit, sit!’ she’d ordered us all. ‘They’ll sort it out; we’ll drink tea.’
So we drank tea until the van was filled and ready to go. ‘Is there anything you want to pick up from your old house?’ Kate asked.
I thought about it; I’d collected most of my personal items. There was furniture that I supposed I was entitled to and other bits and bobs, but I wanted a clean slate. The cottage didn’t have the grandeur of the house, and the things from there would just look silly and oversized.
‘No, I’ve got everything I need.’
We beat the van to the cottage, and as I pulled up outside, leaving the driveway free, I stared up at my new home. It was just as pretty as I remembered. Some of the plants had died and the odd pot had vanished, but all that was superficial.
‘I know I’d joked about it being small when I saw the brochure, but my shed is actually bigger. How will you live here?’ Kate said, climbing out.
‘I think it’s perfect,’ Megan said.
‘I’ll get you some new plants,’ Sam added, running a droopy leaf through his fingers.
I stood at the door, flanked by the other three. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the key in the lock and shoved the door, which swung open revealing a clean but empty shell. I could tell, as I could on the open day, that it was exactly what I needed. ‘In we go.’
Once the deliverymen had taken all the boxes upstairs, us ladies sat on the floor in the bedroom whilst Sam was downstairs assembling a bookshelf. I had no bed, no sofa or table, but the happy endorphins were dancing – so much so my eyes teared up when I tried to tell the others how happy I was.
Megan rubbed my back. ‘It will all be okay.’
‘I’m not worried, I’m . . . I’m happy.’ A sob escaped me.
‘And so you should be,’ Megan said. ‘You’ve so much to look forward to.’
‘I just worry about doing it on my own.’
‘I’ve already told you – you have us! Don’t ever think you’re on your own. Right, Kate?’
‘Of course. I’m good with fashion, sex ed, and boyfriend advice.’ She winked.
‘Have you got a birthing plan?’ Megan asked, ignoring her.
I nodded. ‘There isn’t much to it other than I’d like a water birth if possible.’
‘What about a birthing partner?’ she asked.
I shook my head. ‘I hadn’t thought about it. The midwife asked but I told her I wasn’t interested.’
‘Nonsense, you should have one – she should, shouldn’t she, Kate?’
‘Yes but please, Charlotte, for the love of God, pick Megan. Seeing a human squeeze out of your hoo-ha could seriously affect our friendship,’ Kate said. I chuckled but Megan glared at her.
‘I’d be more than happy to be your birthing partner, if you want me too that is, and I promise I won’t go anywhere near your hoo-ha,’ Megan said.
‘Thank you. I’m nervous about the whole “squeezing a human out” thing. I’m contemplating booking an antenatal class at the birthing centre, just to gain some insight into what to expect.’
‘Do it, I’ll come with you,’ Megan said. I was so happy to have her around that happy tears pressed at my eyes.
‘We should go out for dinner,’ Kate said, slapping her hands on her thighs. ‘To cheer you up and also because you’ve bugger all by way of food, pans, utensils, or plates!’
I gave a watery smile. ‘Well, I might not bother getting any if the punishment is eating out.’
‘How about that new gastropub behind the high street?’ Megan suggested.
‘If they have salt and vinegar crisps, I’ll be a real advocate for that suggestion,’ I said, earning a sideways glance from Kate. ‘Cravings!’ I added.
A few hours later we were sitting in the pub, me with almost a full beer-battered cod in front of me.
‘Aren’t you going to finish that?’ Kate said.
‘I can’t. The baby seems to be taking up most of the space in my abdomen. My poor stomach is squished up like a sponge,’ I said, rubbing my hand across it.
‘So, have you heard from the teacher?’ Megan had her head resting on her hands and was staring wistfully in my direction.
‘Actually, we’re in touch, as friends, but we’re starting to become quite good ones at that.’
‘Charlotte. This is the most frustrating love story of all time. More frustrating than Bridget Jones!’ Kate said, causing Megan to gasp.
‘You didn’t like Bridget Jones?’ She was visibly shocked.
‘Oh, come on – you want the guy, you throw yourself at the guy. It’s simple. You don’t bumble your words and flash your arse on TV and feel like shit for God knows how long only to finally get the guy and then lose him again.’
‘You don’t,’ Megan said. ‘The rest of us feel exactly like Bridget.’
‘Well that’s just sad,’ Kate said, sipping the last of her wine.
‘Kate!’ I said, laughing. ‘You must have scared men to death when you were single. I bet you never got a second date.’
‘No, but I always got what I wanted on the first date.’ She flashed a wicked smile and raised a glass.
We laughed. I admired her confidence but imagined Andrew, or most men for that matter, would run for cover if she ever happened to take a shine to them.
‘Well I’ve got what I wanted too. Andrew is my friend. I was serious when I said I don’t need a man. I’m hugely pregnant and I’m only getting bigger. Now is definitely not the time to start thinking about romance and for the first time in ages, I actually feel . . . complete.’ I didn’t tell them about the chest flutters and stomach flips I got every time I saw him, because in my heart of hearts, I knew his friendship was what I wanted most, and okay, maybe I fantasised about being wrapped in his burly arms a little but I was sure pregnancy hormones played a huge part in that.
‘You’re probably right about that,’ Kate said. ‘I’ve actually got an announcement to make.’
‘Oh?’ I asked. There was no way Kate was pregnant, and she was smiling so it wasn’t another divorce. Probably.
‘I’ve been hard on Carl. Demanding his attention and behaving like a spoilt brat when I didn’t get it.’ She paused to point at Sam. ‘You can drop those eyebrows right away, mister! Anyway, I’ve come to realise, I was just bored. What else did I have to do but shop and make sure I always looked fabulous?’ We all nodded in agreement but still had no idea where she was going with her speech. ‘After drafting up those marketing posters, I realised that my self-worth shouldn’t come from Carl, it should come from myself.’
Sam interrupted with an overdramatic fake yawn, which resulted in a few muffled giggles from Megan and me. Kate cocked her head to the side. ‘When you’re quite finished, I wanted to say, I’ve decided to set up a marketing company for small businesses.’
‘Wow, Kate, that’s amazing,’ I said, genuinely surprised. The others made murmurs of agreement.
‘Thank you, Charlotte – I think so, and Carl does too. I’ll design adverts, flyers, brochures, and so on.’
‘You could sell snow to the Inuit,’ Megan said.
‘You have a customer right here – I could do with some updated leaflets,’ Sam added.
‘Perfect.’
‘Me too, I could always do with new clients,’ Megan said.
The conversation turned to the Maldives, as Kate listened intently to the stories Sam and Megan told. Kate mentioned wanting to book something there and wanted tips. It wasn’t all that long ago I’d have been the same, but it just seemed so trivial. I was having a baby and I had to do everything I could to provide for her. I was more interested in making sure I had the right type of bottles and the best type of baby bath. I gathered my things and stood up. ‘I’m going to go.’ Everyone stopped speaking to look at me.
‘Is everything okay?’ Megan asked.
‘I’m fine, just tired – it’s a pregnancy thing. You stay and have dessert and I’ll meet you back at the house later.’ With that, I left and went straight back to Megan’s house. I couldn’t bring a baby into the world without knowing what I was doing with my life. I needed a plan, and Kate’s talk of setting up a business was exactly the kind of thing I needed to do.