Faith Bleasdale - The Ticket to Happiness

‘And after the service we’ll be happy to do a special morris dance for Toby,’ John finished.

‘Oh, how lovely. A christening and morris dancing. Of course, I’ll make the quiches,’ Hilary offered. ‘I should go and find Gwen so we can discuss the menu.’

As Pippa watched Connor shrug helplessly and Harriet’s eyes fill with panic, she wondered if she should intervene.

‘I think I heard Toby crying,’ Harriet said. ‘John, it all sounds lovely, thank you.’ And grabbing Pippa’s hand, she thrust the baby monitor into Connor’s hands then pulled her sister with her before she was coerced into anything else.

‘For God’s sake, we’ll need to get Toby other godparents – you know, those who might even outlive his parents,’ Harriet whispered when they were in her old bedroom.

Toby was in a Moses basket sleeping soundly, silent but for the occasional snuffling noise.

‘Think of the pictures!’ Pippa laughed. ‘Oh, but Gerry’s so sweet, though, and so’s Edie. It’ll mean so much to them, too. They love little Toby.’

‘I know that,’ Harriet hissed, ‘but I’m not sure it’s the best thing for Toby. I mean, aren’t the parents meant to choose godparents, not the other way round?’

‘I wonder what Edie’ll wear?’ Pippa felt uncontrollable laughter bubbling up. They loved Edie and she certainly lent colour to Meadowbrook.

‘I dread to think, Edie in her finest. I adore her but tonight she was definitely channelling Madonna circa 1988.’

‘But she was delighted with her ra-ra skirt; she got it when Gemma took her to the charity shops in Bath.’

‘At least Toby’ll be oblivious to it all, so that’s one good thing—’

The door burst open and Connor ran in, brandishing the other baby monitor.

‘Oh no!’ Harriet cringed.

‘What did they hear?’ Pippa said, her heart falling.

‘Thankfully, as soon as I heard Harriet blaspheme, I ran out of the room. I think John heard you take the Lord’s name in vain, but I definitely saved you from the worst.’

‘Oh, Con, how can I ever thank you?’ Harriet giggled, throwing her arms around him.

‘You could always ask Edie if you could borrow her ra-ra skirt,’ he winked.

Pippa was woken by a quiet knock on her bedroom door. She slowly sat up, acknowledging that hungover, sleepy feeling as her memory seeped back. She was in her childhood bedroom, not her normal room. Of course, the bedroom now belonged to the hotel now. It had a four-poster bed and was one of the more romantic rooms, she often felt.

‘Come in.’ She stretched her arms above her head.

Harriet walked in clutching Toby and a baby’s bottle.

‘What time is it?’ Pippa asked.

‘Half six, but your nephew needs feeding and Connor’s snoring, which makes me want to stab him. How can he sleep through a baby crying? It’s ridiculous!’ Harriet hiccupped. ‘Pip, I think I might still be drunk and I’m not sure I should be allowed to be in charge of my baby. Gwen offered to have him sleep at hers but I’ve never spent a night away from him and …’

‘Hand him over.’

Pippa took Toby, cradled him in her arms and planted a kiss on his head. She loved babies. She loved this baby. When Harriet was first pregnant, Pippa didn’t like to admit it but she was jealous, or maybe that was envious, because she was so happy for Harriet and Connor at the same time. When she was married to Mark, she’d been so desperate for a child and now she was single, it wasn’t looking likely to happen anytime soon. She loved being an aunt, although she needed to persuade Harriet to let her spend more time with Toby. It would do them both good.

She took the bottle and looked into Toby’s eyes as he began to suck contentedly, his eyes flickering as he drank. Harriet collapsed in a heap next to them on the bed.

‘Why don’t you go back to bed and leave Toby with me for a couple of hours? I’m only going to be pottering this morning. The clearing up can wait and I’ve got help coming in later anyway.’

‘I couldn’t—’ Harriet started.

‘Don’t be silly, Harry, you’re in no fit state and if you have a few more hours’ sleep you’ll feel much better; you might even be sober. He’s safe with me and I’m not leaving the house, so if I need you, I promise I’ll come and get you straight away.’ Pippa tried to sound stern.

‘I love you, Pip. Hey, why don’t you join Edie as Toby’s other godmother?’

‘You asked me a hundred times last night and I’m his aunt. If anything happens to you and Connor I fully expect to get him anyway. But if you really want me to be—’

‘I do. Then if anything happens to Connor and me you’ll have a better case to argue with Edie. Godmother and aunt, she won’t stand a chance. You’ll trump her!’

‘I know nothing’ll happen to you, by the way, Harry, but you know, those alpacas are a bit evil. Not to mention the no-longer-gay bull.’

Pippa was referring to some of the animals at the sanctuary that were part of Meadowbrook. The two alpacas, Samantha and Sebastian, had perfected being rude to everyone they encountered.

‘Now I’m never going to sleep again. Except I will right now, actually. I’ll put the nappy bag outside your door and if you need me, then you know where I am. If he sounds upset or anything, please let me know.’

‘We’ll be fine, Harry. Now go.’

As Harriet staggered off, Pippa giggled – Harry was definitely still drunk.

Pippa finished feeding Toby, burped him and then laid him across her as they relaxed in bed. She fancied a coffee but then she wanted to keep cuddling her nephew for a bit longer. He really was the most divine child and he had the Singer look about him with her father’s nose, or the beginning of it. He was beginning to look like a perfect mix of both of his parents, actually.

Pippa’s phone rang, interrupting her doting, and she looked at the screen. It was Hector. Why was he calling so early?

‘Hector, it’s practically the middle of the night,’ she said, snatching the phone.

Hector Barber was a long-time friend of Meadowbrook, having been introduced by Freddie as a ‘celebrity’ at their summer fête. In truth he was a reality TV star, having appeared on a show called Singles Holiday , though he’d been kicked off for having sex with most of the women on there. From there, he’d gone on to feature on most ‘celebrity’ reality TV shows going and was a huge national heartthrob. But he’d become firm friends with the Singers and over time, he’d become like part of the extended family. Just before they opened the hotel, he’d announced he was writing a novel and after they’d all managed to get past the shock, he’d been the hotel’s first official guest, moving into the hotel to write his first book.

And despite all the cynics, Hector’s book had been a huge bestseller and all of a sudden, he was being taken seriously both as a person and a writer. He’d dedicated his first book to the Singers and Meadowbrook.

‘I know,’ he’d said in response, ‘but I’m at the airport in New York and I couldn’t remember the time difference. Oh, and Happy New Year. I’m so sorry I missed the party, but having to promote my book here meant I really couldn’t get away.’

Hector had spent Christmas in America because of an extensive book tour.

‘I know, you told us and it’s fine. We missed you but there’ll always be another party.’

Pippa thought about how much everyone loved Hector, especially the gardening club ladies. She surprised herself by thinking that even she missed him.

‘Right, well, that’s why I’m calling. I’m getting on a flight in a minute and I’m on deadline, so I wondered if I could book into the hotel.’