The Other Child by Lucy Atkins Read Free Book Online

sex.’ He sounds sad.
    ‘But I don’t want to find out – do you?’
    He widens his eyes, then nods. ‘Actually, you know what, I’d probably rather not know the sex yet either. I just assumed you’d want to. But a surprise would be much better.’
    She wonders whether his reason for not wanting to know the sex is quite the same as hers. He takes her hands. ‘Listen, I was thinking, how about we fix up a weekend away, just me and you, when things have settled down a little? I’d like to take you up the coast; it’s beautiful up there in the fall. We could do it one weekend in November when David has Joe.’
    ‘OK,’ she nods. ‘Which one?’
    ‘How about Thanksgiving weekend? Late November – that’s not so far away, really. You could ask David if he can do that weekend.’
    Time has slowed down, she realizes, because right now even a week feels like a huge stretch to wait. But for Greg a month or two will pass in a blink.
    ‘You working on the book today?’ he says. ‘How’s that going?’
    ‘Well, it’s been harder than I thought, actually, to select and balance everything, to make all the images work together.’
    ‘It’s a very valuable thing you’re doing, you know that, right?’
    ‘I know. I’ve been enjoying it. I’m glad you heard about it; it’s turned out to be a great project for me, with the move and everything.’
    ‘I knew it would be. They’re lucky to get you.’
    Sometimes it’s like being married to two people: the godlike surgeon, fearsome and focused, decisive, uncommunicative, ruthless – and then this warm and beautiful man, full of love, rooting for her, respecting her work, supporting her.
    ‘You know you can take a break, don’t you?’ he says. ‘When you finish the book, when the baby’s born, you could just stop for a bit – if you wanted to. We can afford it, if that’s what you want to do.’
    She leans against the door frame. This is the first time he has engaged in the reality of this baby and it feels like progress. She has always worked, she can’t imagine not taking pictures, but maybe this time she won’t try to take commissions with a newborn. It would be good not to have to rely on unreliable sitters, rush jobs, worry all the time, produce shoddy work. And the truth is that it is unrealistic to think that she will be able to build up a whole new set of contacts whilst caring for Joe and a new baby. When Joe was tiny she’d had no choice but to work – and it had been an ordeal. There was one particularly painful shoot when a babysitter didn’t show up and she had to take Joe, aged about three months, to the Holland Park home of a Tory politician. Joe wouldn’t stop wailing, and the politician, rigid in his salmon-pink shirt, lost patience and stalked off to his gazebo, like a sulking flamingo.
    She wants to talk about her work with Greg – how she will manage her career and the baby – but it’s almost eight now and she has to get Joe going. ‘Can we talk about this tonight?’
    ‘I’m going to Chicago tonight,’ he says. ‘The big event tomorrow? Remember?’
    ‘Oh my God, your prize!’ She feels something deflate inside her but tries not to show it, smiling wildly. ‘Shit! You’ve barely mentioned it, Greg. We have to celebrate ourselves, when you get back.’
    ‘Sure.’
    ‘Aren’t you excited?’
    ‘Of course, I’m glad of it, it’s great to be noticed. And it’s going to help enormously with research funding.’
    ‘I should be coming with you.’
    ‘Don’t be silly, we talked about this – you can’t leave Joe, and you certainly can’t bring him. Anyway, it’s not a family thing. You can watch it online if you want to though.’
    ‘Will there be lots of doctors there?’
    He nods. ‘Several hundred probably – my speech is going to be streamed live.’
    ‘Brilliant, I’ll watch it then.’ She reaches up and kisses him. ‘You are a genius.’
    She goes to the bottom of the stairs, then, with one hand on her