Melanie Golding - Little Darlings

‘Let me see the card,’ she said, and he sighed with annoyance as he got it down again. The card also had a rat motif, but this was a photograph of the inside of a nest of baby rats. They were wrinkled and downy, just opening their eyes, cupping their tiny noses with pink paws. Inside, no message, just a name.

‘Who’s Natasha?’ said Lauren.

Patrick frowned, as he thought about it. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘she’s a new girl at work. Only been there a few weeks. I suppose she must think we like mice.’

‘Rats,’ said Lauren. ‘I think they’re meant to be rats, Patrick. I think she’s a big fan of rats, looking at this.’ Lauren laughed nervously, but Patrick didn’t seem to find it very funny. ‘I wonder why she didn’t knock, though?’

‘She’s shy, I guess. And sort of weird, actually.’

‘I can see that.’

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Lauren put the model on the countertop and went to answer it, expecting to see the shy weird girl from Patrick’s office, but finding instead Cindy and Rosa, two of the other mums from their antenatal class. Both Cindy and Rosa were still pregnant – hugely so. Their due dates were imminent. She invited them in for a cup of tea, and to her slight dismay, they accepted. Patrick swept away a pile of papers and washing from the couch so that they could sit. He then made tea for them all and said he was going for a lie down, ‘to let you ladies catch up’.

‘Before you do,’ said Cindy, ‘could you look outside and see if I’ve left the presents somewhere? I was holding a gift bag when I got out of the car but I must have put it down.’

Patrick opened the front door. On the step, to the side, was a green foil gift bag.

‘That’s the one,’ said Cindy. ‘I’m so forgetful these days. It’s only a small thing, something for each of them. And a little thing for you, too.’ Patrick handed the bag to Lauren, then disappeared upstairs, firmly closing the bedroom door. Inside the bag were two wrapped gifts, and tucked in next to them, what looked like an old book, the pages edged in gold.

‘You didn’t have to bring a present,’ said Lauren. ‘Thanks so much.’

She put her hand in the bag but Cindy said, ‘Don’t open them now. It’s really only a couple of small things. Embarrassing, really.’

‘Don’t be silly, it’s so kind of you to give anything at all. I’ll open them later, when Patrick comes down.’

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