Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde Read Free Book Online Page B

added, falsely bright - but not before
Grace had glimpsed a look of extreme sadness.
    It was ironic, Grace realised. Here was Ellie,
pregnant when she didn't want to be, with
no space to live in, and here was she, Grace, who so wanted a baby, with
too much space.
    ‘I'm sure you'll find something,' said Grace.
'I mean, you're very resourceful and your
paintings are lovely. I'm sure you'll have no trouble selling them, and
you could carry on doing it when you've got the baby.’
    Ellie nodded. 'Yes, I
know. And there are other things I could do, too.'
    ‘So it will be all right.' Grace put her hand
on Ellie's wrist. She was not accustomed to this sort of closeness, but she
found it came very naturally. 'I'm sure it will. You're a great girl, Ellie.’
    Ellie was touched. After Rick's casual attitude
to the baby and her parents' fond
indifference, it was nice to be with someone who had faith in her, and
who cared.
    ‘Thank you, Grace. You're a great girl, too.’
    Grace
laughed. 'More mineral water? The Ladies here is quite nice.’
      Ellie drove home
feeling much more positive. She would start ringing accommodation agencies:
there must be people willing to share with a
baby somewhere where she could afford. She was resourceful, she knew,
but it was nice that Grace spotted it and
reinforced it. She was definitely
going to finish the picture now, even if she hadn't had time to go and
look at the house again.
    After supper, which was a
meal you bought in kit form, and cooked in minutes in the wok,
Ellie plucked up the courage to tell her parents she was pregnant. She had done the same last night, too, and the night before,
when they had been at a restaurant.
But tonight, as before, she failed to do it.
    One evening a couple of
days later, when Ellie had been there a little
over a week, her mother said, 'Well, darling, it's been lovely having you, but
don't you think it's about time you moved on?’
    Ellie knew she couldn't
stay any longer - didn't want to - but it was
still a bit of a shock to hear her mother say it.
'Er . . . yes.'
    ‘ You've got
somewhere to stay while you're flat- hunting?'
    ‘ Yeah!'
There was sure to be a floor she could crash on somewhere.
    ‘ So you don't think we're throwing you out?’
    ‘No, but,
Mum . . . there's just—'
    ‘ And I know it's been proving difficult to find anything
in your price bracket, but if you find somewhere a bit more expensive than you can afford, tell us, and we'll pay your deposit and your first month's rent for
you, as I said. You may be quite old
enough to stand on your own feet, but we're always here for you.’
    Ellie regarded her
mother, so elegant it was difficult to imagine
she had ever been pregnant, or given birth, or even had sex. Her hair was blonde with the subtlest highlights, cut
every six weeks at a London salon. Her clothes were superb. 'It's
important I look my best,' she had explained
to Ellie years ago. 'Who would have their house made over by someone who
couldn't dress properly?'
    ‘That's really kind,' said Ellie. 'I'll let you
know how I get on. I'll go tomorrow morning, if that's OK.'
    ‘I'll take you to fill up your car,' said her
mother, sounding relieved. 'I'm playing golf tomorrow afternoon. They don't
usually let women play at the weekends, but we've forced them to acknowledge
that women work too!'
    ‘ Good for
you, Mum,' said Ellie. 'Now, if you don't mind, I'll go to bed. I'm
awfully tired, for some reason.’
    In the morning, while her mother was plying her
with orange juice, and other perfectly ordinary breakfast food that made Ellie
sick, she finally managed to say what she'd been trying to say for days.
    ‘Mum, Dad, I don't want to worry you, but I
think I should tell you I'm pregnant.’
    There was only the
tiniest pause. 'Oh, darling!' said her mother.
'You can't possibly have it here! I don't want to seem unwelcoming, but you can see how impossible it is!' Her
mother's speech seemed to come out very well prepared.
    ‘Did you