The New Woman by Charity Norman Read Free Book Online

months gone.
    ‘How’re you feeling?’ he asked, lying beside her, on top of the duvet.
    ‘Like I’ve got an elephant in here.’
    ‘No!’ He patted her stomach through the bedding. ‘Just a walrus.’
    She sat up, sticking out her tongue at him. ‘Did you call your parents? Are we still going all the way to Oxfordshire tomorrow, just to plant a tree?’
    ‘I left a message, but I’d guess it will be on. The weather forecast is improving.’
    ‘Hmm.’ She sipped her tea. ‘Everyone will be solemn and serious, because they have to remember your grandfather. Eilish and Luke will be busy looking after everyone. It will be no fun for my poor Nico. I bet your aunt Wendy will be there . . . oh, dear. And Kate?’
    ‘I don’t know if she’s back from Israel yet, but—whoa, Nico! Three biscuits is enough. Put those other ones back.’
    Carmela wrinkled her nose. ‘Your sister disapproves of me.’
    ‘No, no.’
    ‘Yes, yes. I have sold the sisterhood down the river because I wear heels higher than an inch, and lipstick, and stopped working when Nico arrived. Oh, yes—I am also a capitalist pig, because I worked for a multinational company.’
    ‘A capitalist sow.’
    Pulling the dark mass of her hair over one shoulder, Carmela began to plait it. Even now, wearing a maternity tent, she looked spectacular.
    ‘Don’t you worry about Kate,’ said Simon. ‘She’s just my scrawny little sister.’
    ‘She could be pretty, if she didn’t work so hard to look plain.’
    Nico was kneeling on the pillow, gaping at Carmela’s hands as she plaited. ‘Can I have a go?’ he asked.
    ‘Watch me first . . . over here, and under there. Careful not to pull. Oh, my goodness!’ Smiling at Simon, she took his hand and guided it onto her stomach.
    ‘Kicking?’ he said.
    ‘Mighty kicks!’
    Simon felt a small earthquake under his fingers. It always seemed like a miracle. ‘The kid’s a karate expert,’ he said.
    ‘Who is this, do you suppose?’ asked Carmela. ‘Who is this new person that we do not yet know?’ They sat with their heads close together, contemplating the already-loved stranger in their midst.
    His parents’ distraction was driving Nico wild with jealousy. He’d given up plaiting and was driving his Jeep up and down Carmela’s hair. ‘It’s the baby!’ he yelled.
    ‘Yes, the baby,’ said Carmela. ‘But who is it really? Who is he or she, in his or her heart? Does she already have a soul? Who are you, little one?’
    Nico clearly had no interest in the soul of someone he couldn’t yet see. He yanked at the Jeep, which made Carmela clutch her head.
    ‘Ouch!’ she cried. ‘What’s going on?’
    Simon took a closer look at the Jeep, and wanted to laugh. ‘It’s stuck in your hair.’
    ‘Can’t you free it?’
    ‘Um . . . Your hair’s completely tangled around the mechanism. Hang on, hold still . . .’ Gently, he tried to unravel the knots. It was hopeless. ‘No, I’m sorry. Might have to cut it out.’
    Nico giggled. ‘You’ll just have to be a mummy with a car on her head.’
    ‘A car on my head, and soon there will be baby vomit down my back,’ lamented Carmela. ‘How are the mighty fallen.’

Six
    Luke
    Broken guttering. I needed to fix that. I slumped sightless at the table, battered by the staccato drumming of water.
    Why had I allowed a stranger on a train to change my mind? Why? I’d known what was right. I’d seen the honourable course. Eilish would have been a widow by now, respectable and dignified and financially set for life. The last instalments of the mortgages had been paid on both this house and Thurso Lane. There was a pension. She would have mourned, and then she would have coped. She would still love me.
    The phone on the kitchen wall was ringing.
    Rain and darkness. I was back outside the flat. The key turned, and the door opened. Peace waited for me, just a few steps away; but Eilish was standing among the roses, and I didn’t want to leave her.
    Then