Tony Littlejohns: The Hoffmann Plague

Jamie looked down and closed his eyes tight, nodding. ‘I thought you were dead, honey. I thought I’d lost you. I’ve never felt such rage and it all happened in a blur…’

Megan held him tighter. ‘It’s okay, Dad, I understand. I love you.’

‘I love you, too, sweetheart.’

She got her first pheasant two days later when they went out with Max. She came back pleased as punch and showed Jane, who smiled and congratulated her.

By early March the first signs of spring were beginning to appear. Buds were swelling on the trees and the first shoots from some of their perennial herbs were emerging from the soil in the garden. Jane was pleased to see them as she walked around looking at everything. As their thoughts turned to warmer weather ahead and the prospect of al fresco dining, Jamie realised he’d left the chimenea at his flat and hadn’t got around to collecting it and taking it to the bungalow. It would be a nice addition to their patio table and chairs for barbeques and also as a heat source on chillier evenings when they wanted to sit out. One morning at the end of the first week, when Jane and Megan were busy preparing rabbits in the kitchen, he found the keys to his flat and told them he was going to pick it up.

He drove the Toyota into town, parked outside the house and walked down the steps to his flat. It felt weird stepping into the place; he hadn’t been back there since leaving for the bungalow in April and it seemed like an age ago, rather than just eleven months. The flat was cold and musty and he walked into each room in turn, remembering things from over the years.

He went into the lounge and sat on the sofa, looking at the CDs in the racks covered in dust. He remembered his brother coming over one night a couple of years before, and them getting drunk while listening to old music until the early hours. He smiled at first and then the pain of the memory hit him. He started crying as he thought of his family, looking at some of their photos on the walls and shelves.

The flat represented to him not just his old life, but the old world before the plague had come: society, films, TV, music, mortgages, bills, work, and many other things. So much had happened since that he felt like a different person. He had a partner and an adopted daughter now, both of whom he loved deeply, and very soon would have his own daughter; born into the ruins of a decimated country. He, Jane and Megan had had to fight for survival over the last year – literally, on several occasions – and it had changed him. He was tougher and more resilient now, but also far more grateful and appreciative of everything around him and of everything he had. Between them, and with Bill and Emma, Sarah and Georgie and the rest of their friends, they had laid the foundations for their survival in the bleak times that lay ahead.

Back at the farm, Jane was at the kitchen sink when she felt a spasm in her abdomen. She clutched the sink and bent over it, wincing. ‘Ooh, blimey! Are you trying to tell me something, Annie?’ She walked into the lounge clutching her belly and sat down on the sofa.

Megan looked at her. ‘Are you okay, Mum?’

‘Yes, honey, but I think it’s started! I think she’s decided to come earlier than I thought.’

‘Oh my God! And Dad’s not here!’

Jane smiled at her. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ve probably got at least seven or eight hours more of this before anything happens!’

Megan didn’t look particularly relieved by that and sat there fretting. She went and sat beside Jane, putting her arm around her and asking if there was anything she wanted.

‘Well, I’d love a large whisky, but I’d better not have one! A cup of tea would be nice, though, please.’ Megan went into the kitchen to put the kettle on and made them tea when the water had boiled.

Half an hour later Jane had another contraction. ‘Ooh! I’ll tell you what, honey; would you go over to the farmhouse, please, just to let them know that it’s begun?’

Megan nodded and ran off as fast as she could, which made Jane smile, then she lay back on the sofa. Presently, Emma arrived with Megan.

Emma looked at her and smiled. ‘And so it begins…’ she said, sitting down next to Jane and holding her hand. ‘Don’t worry, my love, it’ll be okay. I’ve sent Phil and Sophie to tell Tom and Karen that you’ve gone into labour.’

At his flat, oblivious to things happening back home, Jamie sighed and got up from the sofa, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He went out to the courtyard and carried the chimenea through to the truck, securing it with pieces of wood and old blankets. He went back inside and took down the remaining family photos and also picked up an old family photo album that had got left behind, so he could show Jane and Megan. He took a last look around and then climbed into the truck and drove home. When he got back and parked in the yard, Megan came running out to greet him and tell him the news. He went inside and rushed over to Jane, kissing her and asking if she was okay.

‘Yes, honey, everything’s okay! Don’t worry; we’ve got a long time yet.’

Shortly afterwards, Tom and Karen turned up and Karen took her upstairs for an examination, to see how far dilated she was. They came back down and said everything was going okay. To save her having to climb the stairs again they decided to use Megan’s room behind the lounge and put a waterproof sheet on the bed. Jamie kicked himself for not having thought of that sooner.

Tom said ‘Well, we might as well stay for the duration now we’re here,’ so they started preparing some food for everyone.

Bill went outside with Jamie and passed him a hip flask filled with brandy. ‘Thought you might need this, mate!’

Jamie smiled and took a couple of mouthfuls, thanking him. ‘Bloody Hell, Bill, it’s actually happening!’

‘Don’t worry, mate, everything will be okay.’

Harry and Maria arrived shortly to wish them luck. ‘We won’t stay,’ said Maria, smiling. ‘I’m sure you don’t want a big audience! We’ll come back later, after the birth. Buena suerte! ’ She kissed and hugged Jane, Megan and Jamie, and Harry kissed them and shook Jamie’s hand warmly, then they departed. Over the next few hours Jane’s contractions became stronger and more regular and she walked around as much as possible, puffing and breathing deeply as the pain increased. Phil, Sophie, Peter and Sally came over to give her their love and wish her luck, then departed so as not to crowd her.

Jamie supported her as she walked around the garden over several hours and he massaged her back and neck when they went back inside. They stoked up the stove in the lounge and left the door to Megan’s room open to let the heat in and warm the room more. At one of their scheduled radio communication slots Emma went on air back at the farmhouse to tell their friends the news. Matt and Zoe must have been out as there was no response from them, but she spoke to Sarah and Georgie, who said they’d come over. They turned up half an hour later in the Land Rover and both women hugged Jane and kissed her. They sat with her talking while she gasped and clutched her belly at regular intervals, breathing deeply and sometimes getting up to walk around.

Eventually, at around seven in the evening, things began happening in earnest. Jane’s waters broke and her contractions became much more frequent and stronger, so they went into the bedroom. The others left to go back to the farmhouse, leaving just Jamie, Megan and Emma. Megan’s room was only small, but there was space beside the bed where Jamie could sit and hold Jane’s hand, while Emma sat on the sofa holding Megan’s hand in the lounge. Tom gave Jane a pethidine injection to help with the pain, which she was grateful for.