Kate Hardy - A Forever Family - Their Christmas Delivery

‘She’s drunk a bit more than usual, this morning,’ Josh said. ‘That’s a good sign. Maybe we can take her out this morning.’

Amy went over to the window and peeked through the curtain. ‘The sun’s shining.’

‘How about we go for lunch in the park?’ he suggested.

‘And we can try out Alison’s sister’s pram. Great idea.’ She paused. ‘How often are you supposed to weigh babies?’

‘I don’t know.’ He smiled. ‘Time for the baking tray again?’

‘Hey. It was being inventive,’ she protested, laughing. ‘And it worked, didn’t it?’

Once they’d showered and dressed, Amy changed Hope’s nappy and they weighed her. ‘Five pounds, twelve ounces.’

‘We need to write that in her book,’ Josh said, and did so while Amy got the baby dressed. Between them, they got her into the snowsuit.

‘It dwarfs her,’ he said ruefully.

‘Better too big than too small,’ Amy said.

‘I guess.’ Josh tucked the baby into the pram underneath a blanket, and then put the apron on the pram. ‘Just in case it’s a bit breezy out there,’ he said.

‘Good idea,’ Amy agreed.

Once they’d got their own coats on, they negotiated the pram out of the flat.

‘This is where I’m really glad we’re on the ground floor,’ Amy said.

‘Me, too,’ Josh said. ‘Even though this pram’s really light, it wouldn’t be much fun carrying it up or down a flight of stairs—especially if you’re doing it on your own.’

They exchanged a glance, and Amy knew that he too was thinking of Hope’s mum. If she was given a flat in a high-rise block, it could be tough for her to cope.

‘Let’s go to the park,’ she said firmly. ‘This is your first official trip out, Hope.’

‘We ought to commemorate that for Hope’s book,’ Josh said. ‘Time for a selfie.’

‘In the lobby?’

‘With the pram. You bet.’ He looked at her. ‘Ready?’

They crouched either side of the pram, and Josh angled his phone so he could take the snap of the three of them together.

Hope slept all the way to the park. Meanwhile Josh slid his arm round Amy’s shoulders, and they both had one hand on the handle of the pram, pushing it together.

This felt like being part of the family Amy had always wanted. She knew it was just a fantasy, and if the police couldn’t find Hope’s mother then the baby would go formally into care, but for now she was going to enjoy feeling this way.

* * *

The sun seemed to have brought out all the other new parents, Josh thought. People happily strolling along the paths, pushing prams, sometimes with a toddler in tow as well. Slightly older children were playing on the swings, slides and climbing frames in the park, while their parents chatted and kept an eye on them from benches placed around the perimeter of the play area.

Just for a moment he could imagine the three of them here in three years’ time: himself pushing Hope on the swings as she laughed and begged to be pushed higher, while Amy stood watching them, her face radiant and her belly swollen with their new baby.

Except there were no guarantees that the IVF treatment would work, and the chances of them actually being able to keep Hope were minimal.

He knew he was being ridiculous. Right from the start, this had been a temporary arrangement; the baby was theirs only for a week, and that was simply because they were the neighbours who’d found her abandoned on their doorstep on a day where none of the official services were able to help. They couldn’t be a family with Hope.

But maybe they could help another child, through fostering or adoption.

And he knew without doubt that Amy was the one he wanted to share that family with. Thanks to Hope, he’d found that he was finally ready to move on from the wreckage of his marriage to Kelly; and because he’d been cooped up with Amy for several days he’d had the chance to get to know her properly. He could actually be himself with Amy, and it was a long time since he’d felt that.

When they stopped for a coffee and a toasted sandwich in the café in the park, the pictures were still in his head, and he found himself sketching the scene on the back of a napkin.

If only this wasn’t temporary.

But for now he was going to enjoy the Christmas break he’d expected to hate.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Amy was in the middle of feeding Hope when her intercom buzzed.

‘Would you mind getting that?’ she asked Josh.

‘Sure.’ He picked up the handset. ‘Hello?’

‘Is that Josh? It’s Jane Richards.’

‘Come in,’ he said, and buzzed her in. ‘It’s Jane,’ he said to Amy as he replaced the handset. ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’

Had Jane talked to Freya? And was their theory right? Or was Jane just checking up on them in their role as temporary foster parents?

Josh answered the door when Jane knocked. ‘The kettle’s just about to boil. Tea or coffee?’

‘Tea would be wonderful, thanks,’ she said.

‘How do you like your tea?’

‘Reasonably strong, with a dash of milk and no sugar, please.’ And then Jane did a double take as she saw the pram in the corner of the living room. ‘Have you two been shopping or something?’

‘No—it’s a loan from the sister of one of my colleagues,’ he said. ‘She lent us a snowsuit as well, so we took Hope for a walk in the park across the road today. I think she enjoyed her first trip out.’

‘And her temperature’s normal again?’ Jane asked.

‘Yes. We wouldn’t have taken her out if we’d been in the slightest bit worried about her—that’s why we left it until today,’ Amy said. ‘She’s doing fine. We weighed her this morning and she’s put on two ounces.’

‘You’ve borrowed baby scales?’ Jane asked.

‘Not exactly.’ Josh and Amy shared a glance and grinned.

‘What am I missing?’ Jane asked.

‘We improvised,’ Josh said. ‘It involved Amy’s kitchen scales, a towel and a baking tray.’

Jane laughed. ‘Well, clearly it worked. And you both look very comfortable with her.’

‘We’ve had our moments,’ Josh said wryly. ‘She really hates having baths. You have to sing her through them.’

‘But I can show you her sleep and feed charts,’ Amy said. ‘And we’re doing a book of her first days, either for her mum or for Hope herself. We’re including photos and what have you, so Hope—and her mum—don’t feel they’ve missed anything in the future.’

‘That’s really sweet of you,’ Jane said, accepting the mug of tea gratefully from Josh.

‘Do you have any news for us?’ Josh asked.

‘About Freya?’ She grimaced. ‘I’m telling you this unofficially, because strictly speaking this should all be confidential, but I need some help—and, because it’s your theory, I think you’re the best ones to give me advice.’

‘Why do you need help?’ Amy asked, confused.

‘I went to the house, but Freya’s mum refused to let me in,’ Jane said. ‘She was quite difficult with me, so my gut feeling tells me that she has something to hide. If Freya definitely hadn’t had a baby, all she had to do was call the girl down and let me see her, and I could’ve ticked whatever box on a form and gone away again.’

‘Unless she didn’t actually know that Freya had had the baby. Amy, you said she was wearing baggy clothes at school?’ Josh asked.

Amy nodded.

‘So she might have done the same at home. Freya could have hidden the pregnancy from her mum, had the baby—well, wherever—then gone straight home again after she’d left the baby on our doorstep. If she told her mum that she was having a really bad period, that would explain why she was bleeding so much after the birth. She’s at the age where periods are still all over the place, and some girls get quite severe period pains,’ Josh said thoughtfully.