A Sister’s Gift (14 page)

‘I’ve got very good reasons for doing this, Hollie.’ In an effort to recover her composure she’s gone quite cold and distant. She doesn’t need to be like this with me though, she really doesn’t. ‘I’ve got the best reasons in the world for doing it so there’s no need to look at me so apologetically.’

‘I know you’re doing it for the best reasons,’ I begin but she doesn’t let me finish.

‘And anyway, there’s a favour that I need to ask of you too. A big one. A
huge
one.’ Her eyes are glinting. ‘There’s something you can do for me that’s very important for me too,’ she promises and then, before I get a chance to say anything else, she disappears into her bedroom with the syringe and the vial, and the door shuts firmly behind her with a resounding
click
.

‘OMG. You’re having your sister’s husband’s baby, you say? Omigod!’ Lucy sounds scandalised. ‘How? When? Does Hollie know about this?’

‘Of course she knows. She was in the house with me when I…’

‘Bloody hell, Scarlett.’

‘What?’ I ease the phone a bit nearer to my ear.

‘This is a little bit risky, even for you,’ she breathes down the phone. ‘With Hol in the house! And…you’ve barely been back a few weeks. When did you do it?’

‘We did it just now.’ I’ve been sitting here with my pelvis leaning up against the headboard for the last five minutes to let gravity take its natural effect, but I’m not sure how long I’m meant to stay here for. I’m starting to feel a bit dizzy. ‘Your sister’s had three babies, hasn’t she? I thought maybe you’d be able to give me a bit of advice.’

‘Bloody Nora, the girl’s so casual about it. Sorry – did you say you did it
just now?’
I can feel her almost frowning down the line. ‘How on earth can you know if you’re pregnant then? It takes a few weeks before you find that out.’

‘I know that, you wally!’

‘You mean you’re…just hoping?’

‘I certainly do.’

‘I’m…I’m totally freaked out about how casual you’re being
about it, that’s all. Richard’s a hunk, I grant you. I used to have a crush on him myself once upon a time…’

‘On Richard? You did? Hang on a minute, I need to shift.’

‘But being with him while Hollie’s actually in the house…’ she gasps. ‘Never mind the actual ethical considerations of…Scarlett, I have understood you right, haven’t I?’ The penny is beginning to drop.

‘She is the one who asked me to become a surrogate for her in the first place. Richard wasn’t even here.’

‘Oh. A surrogate…’ There’s a pause while Lucy realises her mistake. ‘So you did it using a…’

‘Well, naturally.’ I gasp with laughter. ‘What do you take me for?’

‘Sorry, honey. My imagination ran away with me there for a bit.’ God, this is uncomfortable. I hear her giggle before I put down the phone and shuffle my legs a bit higher up the headboard. I look at my watch.
How much longer…?

‘Richard is a hunk, though, you’ve got to admit,’ she says when I get back to her. ‘He’s just as good looking now as he was when we were fourteen, even better in fact.’

‘A hunk who happens to be married to my sister,’ I say quickly to shut her up.

‘Come on. You used to have a thing for him too,’ she remonstrates. ‘We both did. We’d wait for him to come round the corner by the newsagents after work and then “bump into him by accident,’ remember?’

Man, this girl has a good memory. I had forgotten all about that.

‘I never had a crush on him. And we only did that “bumping into Rich by accident” the one time. That was because you insisted. We came round the corner so fast you fell over and he had to help to pick you up.’

That’s embarrassed her enough to put a lid on it. When she continues, she’s changed tack. ‘Anyway, surrogacy. Wow. Your
boyfriend with the funny name in Brazil – what does he say about it?’

‘It’s not a funny name. It’s South American for William, pronounced Gij-yer-mo.’

‘Gij-yer-mo
then. Is he cool with it? I thought some of these South American dudes could be a bit possessive about their women.’

‘I’m not
his woman!’
I baulk. ‘And Gui doesn’t know anything about it yet. I’ve been debating how to put it to him.’

‘So…’ Lucy’s voice has gone low and confidential again, ‘how did you actually – er, I mean, what was it like?’

‘Cold and plastic. Shaped like a turkey baster.’

‘Yuck! Poor Scarlett. You get all the backaches and the stretch marks and your sister gets all the fun.’ This was precisely what I rung Lucy up to have a moan about but as soon as I hear the words coming out of her mouth I just want to tell her to shut up.

‘I don’t intend to get any stretch marks,’ I tell her airily, ‘and, as for Guillermo, we’re potentially an item – if he plays his cards right – but I’m not his property and he knows that.’

‘I’m just saying…’

‘Well, stop saying. It’s annoying…’

My back is aching. Enough of this gravity lark. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and sit up.

‘It may be annoying to you, but once you’re in a committed relationship you have to learn to take the other person into account a little more. Can you imagine,’ she runs on, ‘what might happen if you didn’t?’

Ever since Lucy got married a year ago she isn’t so much fun, I realise. Lucy and I go way back – as far as primary school. She’s the girl who used to laugh so hard she’d wet her pants then spend the rest of the day walking around without any on. But now she’s all prim and proper I suppose she’s forgotten about stuff like that.

‘I don’t worry too much about consequences,’ I remind her. She knows me of old. She should know this. I’m lying here now, picking the fluff off my flannelette pillow and it suddenly occurs to me I still need to reply to Guillermo’s text from this morning. Should I tell him about what I’ve just done? Maybe I should…

‘If you’re planning on getting pregnant I imagine all that’ll change pretty quickly.’

‘I can’t see how,’ I tell Lucy. ‘I have no intention of letting this pregnancy get in the way of my normal life, honey.’

I hear Lucy give a snort at her end. She’s an auntie three times over so she reckons she knows everything there is to know about babies but her knowledge is entirely second-hand.

‘It does slow you up, Scarlett,’ she insists. ‘You’ll get all sorts. Varicose veins, constipation, heartburn, exhaustion…’ she tells me enthusiastically. ‘You won’t be able to carry on in the jungle just like it’s nothing.’

‘Of course I will!’ I stand up on the bed so I can open that ruddy window that Hollie always closes. She’s got this thing about heating and everything always being closed. It gets so stifling in here. There’s a stiff snow-laden breeze blowing off the Medway this morning and a few icy particles land on my fingers. I put them in my mouth and let the flakes melt on my tongue.

‘I shall carry on working right up till the end, just like…like all the actresses and other people you hear about do. I don’t suppose I’ll get too much heartburn and all that stuff – I’m pretty healthy, you know.’

‘And morning sickness.’ Clearly she’s been thinking of other things that could go wrong while she was quiet. ‘You’ll get that for sure. My sister had three months of throwing up,
constantly!

‘Your sister doesn’t have to work,’ I put in uncharitably. ‘I do. I can’t afford to languish. I’m going back to Brazil the minute the pregnancy’s confirmed,’ I carry on over her prophecies of doom. ‘Then I’ll come back once it’s time to have the baby and hand it over. Mission accomplished.’

‘In all that sweat and heat out there, are you sure? And you’ll be heavy as an elephant, ankles swollen, hardly able to move…’

‘People do have plenty of babies out there,’ I tell her stiffly. I only phoned her because I didn’t want to go straight out and face Hollie just yet. I thought she would be supportive. We used to have so much fun together. I thought she’d be well impressed at how much I’ve changed. It shows how much I’ve matured, doesn’t it? ‘Besides,’ I tell her virtuously, ‘I’m doing this for an unselfish reason, so don’t try to put me off it. I’m doing this for Hollie and Rich. And I’m doing it for my tribespeople too.’

‘Oh, yes?’

‘Well…’ I hesitate, wondering whether to fill her in on the most important part of my plan and then I go for it. In for a penny…’As soon as Hollie’s expecting she’ll realise this place is too small so they’ll sell up. The minute that happens, it unlocks my share of the funds from this place so I can use it for PlanetLove.’

‘That’s very decent of you.’ Now Lucy does sound impressed. ‘What you’re doing is all so worthwhile, isn’t it? I wish
I
could do something worthwhile,’ she sighs.

‘Well,’ I console, ‘I’m sure all the customers at Interbank Divisions appreciate the sterling job you do. I thought you loved it there anyway?’

‘It’s Interbank-Eurobank now,’ she reminds me. ‘And yes, it did used to be great – before all the consolidation measures and chopping and changing about of our roles. It’s all a real bummer here. No time for fun any more.’

‘Shame.’ The thought suddenly inserts itself that I still need to get hold of Professor Klausmann; I need him to sign my papers for South America and I really should be making a move.

‘My new boss is a
total
bitch,’ she adds venomously. ‘In fact I’m even thinking of…’ She’s been playing with something on her desk at work, like a penholder or somesuch, because it suddenly all comes crashing down and she gets all flustered. I
can hear her, picking it all up. ‘Dave and I are trying for a baby too, as it happens.’ Her voice has lowered a notch.

God, the whole world’s at it, aren’t they? She’s kept that pretty quiet. That must be how she knew all about the side effects of pregnancy – she’s been reading up on it.

‘Hey! We can be pregnant together then.’

‘Except you’ll be in the jungle,’ she reminds me.
‘If
you actually get pregnant, of course.’

‘Why ever wouldn’t I?’ My nose is getting cold, standing by the open window. ‘Where has all this snow come from so suddenly? What’s it like in Snodland? It’s coming down thick and fast over here,’ I tell her.

‘They’re expecting over six inches in the Medway later on,’ she informs me. ‘Trains back home from London tonight will be totally buggered as usual so Dave’s called in sick.’

‘Crap. I was planning on going up to town in a minute.’

‘Don’t bother,’ she warns. ‘I’d leave it till tomorrow if I were you.’

‘Anyway,’ I suddenly remember her previous comment. ‘What d’you mean
if
I get pregnant? It’s automatic, isn’t it? The body does it all by itself.’ From here I can spy the edge of a viburnum bush; I planted that eighteen years ago. It leads into the winter-flowering jasmine that climbs over the trelliswork on the fence. It has flourished and grown beautiful, just like everything I have planted. Just like the baby will. I really should end this conversation and go out and catch that train.

‘It wasn’t like that for your sister,’ she reminds me.

‘Well, it will be for me.’ I’m certain of it. I’ve never failed at anything I’ve turned my hand to yet. I’ve never even had to try that hard, come to think of it. ‘I’ve got to go, Luce. I bet you I get pregnant before you do,’ I tease.

‘At least I’m going to have a lot more fun trying,’ she coos before she hangs up. Trust her to have the last word on it.

The snow is turning sleety now. Little puddles of melting ice
are collecting on the window ledge. My fingers are red and frozen. If I get ready quickly I should still have time to go up to get my papers sorted. I
should
go, but I don’t feel like it any more. Suddenly I feel…let down and disappointed. I feel as if my day has somehow been hijacked. I really wanted to get my papers signed today, not waste any more time.

‘Who’d have thought it?’ I freeze at the sound of Hollie’s voice beneath my window ledge.

‘Oh yes. The retaining wall this time. Front of building next time.’

What’s she doing out there with the Bridge Trust’s gardener in this weather? I never heard the front doorbell go.

‘At least it’s only the wall that’s got cracks in it.’

‘That’s the problem with these listed buildings. Can’t touch much, and when you do you wish you didn’t have to. That’s why a lot of folks sell up. Specially young folks. Got no choice, do they?’

He’s right, I muse, she should listen to him.

‘Come now, it’s in the family, isn’t it, Gaffer? Can’t put a price on that.’ That’s our next-door neighbour Bea’s voice I can hear now. What are they doing out there? Whatever it is, I hope they’re not hanging about too long. I was about to go out there and fill Hollie in on her end of the deal and I don’t mean learning how to swim. I might as well let her know what I’m expecting, it’s only fair. She’s far too attached to this place and she’s going to need time to adjust to the idea of letting it go.

‘Anyhow, I expect you’ll be able to sort it before May without too much trouble?’

What’s happening in May?

Enough eavesdropping. Time for me to go out and tell her that I’ve done the deed. That’ll cheer Hollie up. With these latest test kits (she’s got three in the bathroom) she won’t have to wait too long to find out if it’s worked, either.

‘I’m so glad you agreed to do this, dear.’ That’s Beatrice’s soft
voice now. ‘Flo would have been delighted to know you’re renewing one of the old Florence Cottage traditions. The garden parties she used to hold here every year were one of the highlights of our calendar.’

I hold my breath for a minute so I can hear a little better. What
are
this lot up to?

‘The Bishop of Rochester has agreed to open it for us,’ Beatrice’s saying proudly. ‘And the mayor’s put it in his diary too. It’s going to be quite a charity event. For the rainforest people of the Amazon, you say?’

Oh no; the penny drops. They’re trying to raise funds, aren’t they? For me. I feel a lump in my throat and sink down off my tiptoes where I’ve been standing so uncomfortably in order to hear what they’ve been saying a little better.

A charity event. Oh Hol. That’s so thoughtful of you. But the amount of money you’d raise by doing this is titchy compared to the amount that’s in my mind.