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it was in the family.” She sighs. “No one should have to
suffer like that, especially your own child.”
No think, my hand reaching automatically for my
belly. No, they shouldn’t
“Still, she made the best of it. Typical Trudie. No
point moaning, she’d say, always turning her signs and
symptoms into little jokes.” Laura smiles. “She said it was
the best weight-loss regime ever—she just loved stuffing
her face with chocolate and cakes, flaunting the fact that
she had to eat high-calorie foods to make up for the
weight loss. Rosie and were just relieved that she was
officially ba
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finally had an excuse for being such terrible cook—and
for being so untidy! ‘Don’t blame me!’ she’d sing merrily.
‘It’s the Huntington’s!’ Laura chuckles. “Always making
the best of things
as far as she could, anyway.” Her face
clouds again.
“But the real curse was that the disease didn’t only
affect her. Trudie was so worried she could have passed it
on to her own child. If she’d only known …” She sighs and
hold my breath.
“But you can’t change the past any more than you
can change the future.” She smiles suddenly. “And
knowing Trudie, she would’ve gone ahead anyway—she
was so desperate for
child. And
have to admit she
would probably have been right. don’t think you can live
your life like that, fencing yourself in to be on the safe
side. Worry is like rocking chair—it keeps you busy but
gets you nowhere. wouldn’t have swapped her for the
world, even if I’d known. She was my Trudie, and even if
I’d only had her for
few years, I’d still thank my lucky
stars.”
stare at her, soaking her words up like sponge.
“She felt that way too—was always saying how
lucky she was, even when she was diagnosed. That was
typical Trudie—anyone else would have been cursing the
fates that now she’d finally got child her time was going
to be cut short. But not her. She might only have
few
years left, she said, but how blessed she was to have been
given child, to share them with.”
She gazes wistfully at the photograph.
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“Children are the most important thing in the
world,” she says softly. “Don’t you think?”
bite my lip.
She turns to me, her eyes sparkling. “When’s it
due?”
stare at her, my hand flying to my middle.
“Oh, don’t worry, you’re not showing,” she laughs.
“Just female intuition.”
She smiles, and find myself smiling too.
“When he or she enters this world, when you hold
him or her in your arms for the first time, you’ll
understand. You’ll know. This tiny being waiting to meet
you will turn your life upside down and inside out, and
you won’t remember what it was ever like beforehand.
You’ll never want to.” She beams. “You’ll love them and
take care of them as best you can, and that’s all you can
do. Que sera, sera.”
smile. “Doris Day?”
“Yes!” She laughs. “Oh, love her films!”
“Me too.” smile.
“Really?” she says, surprised. “I didn’t think young
people liked films without gallons of blood and gore in
them these days. Rosie watches Cary Grant with me, bless
her, but don’t think he’s really her thing. Can’t quite see
him out ‘clubbing,’ can you?”
laugh. “No, not really.”
“And your young man?” she asks, her eyes
twinkling. “Is he Cary Grant?”
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“He’s …” My cheeks burn, my heart twisting as
think of Josh—our uncertain future—our baby
She takes my hand, squeezes gently.
“My dear, men come and go.” She smiles. “But you
seem like wonderful young woman.” look up at her as
she strokes my hair behind my ear, her eyes bright. “And
I’m sure you’re going to be
wonderful mother. My
Trudie did just fine on her own.”
look up at the photo again, the love in her eyes.
“True love is marvelous thing.” Laura beams. “But
the love between
parent and
child—that’s the most
magical thing in the world.”
look at her. My nana. So loving, so wise.
squeeze her hand, warm in mine.
Suddenly the sharp ring of the telephone pierces
the silence, making us both jump.
“Oh, goodness—that scared me to death!” she
laughs, moving to pick up the receiver. “Hello? Laura
Fisher’s residence?” She glances at me. “Of course.” She
covers the mouthpiece and hands it to me. “It’s for you.”
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Rosie
“I still can’t believe it!” Jack paces up and down the
car park as Sarah nervously hugs her coat. “You’re Sarah?”
Jack stares at her, his eyes popping from their sockets.
“You’re—You did this?”
She stares at her feet. She looks wrecked, like she
hasn’t slept in days.
“I can’t believe it.” Jack shakes his head
incredulously, hands in his hair. “How can you still work
in a—How can you still be trusted with babies after …” He glares at her, his eyes wild. “How many times? How many
babies have you stolen? How many lives have you
destroyed?”
“I—I’m so sorry.” Sarah crumples before him. “It
was only once—only Rosie …” She glances at me.
“Well, aren’t we the lucky ones!” Jack explodes.
“And how dare you come near my daughter again? How
dare you!”
“I—I didn’t know it was her,” Sarah says helplessly.
“I didn’t know—”
“What have you done to her this time? Given her
MRSA? Taken kidney?”
“Jack!” protest.
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“Holly’s fine,” Sarah assures him. “She’s completely
recovered.”
“No thanks to you—you left her for dead!”
Sarah flinches. Then she takes
deep breath, her
voice shaking.
“Mr. Woods, you have every right to be angry—”
“Damn right!”
“But you have to understand—I didn’t …” She
falters. “I thought was doing the right thing—I had no
idea Holly was going to survive—”
“That’s even worse!”
“Or that anyone was going to come back for her,”
Sarah insists. “I was told she was being put up for
adoption—her mother had abandoned her—I didn’t think
it would hurt anyone.”
“Well, it has— you have—have you any idea what you’ve done to my family? To my daughter?
“Yes.” She nods wretchedly. “Yes, have—it’s all I’ve
thought about since got Holly’s email.” She presses her
eyes closed, her face tortured. “And she’s got every right
to sue me, to tell the police—whatever she wants to do—
whatever you want to do …” She trails off, looking at Jack miserably. “I am so, so sorry.”
“Yes, well!” Jack looks at her, then looks away
agitatedly. He rubs his forehead.
“Look,” she sighs sadly. “We can stand here all day
agreeing that what did was wrong—it was terrible—and
deserve
multitude of punishments for the pain I’ve
caused you all …” She looks from me to Jack, who stares at
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her, his jaw tensing and untensing. “Or we can do that
later—and go and find Holly, make sure she’s okay now.”
Jack looks away, glaring at parking meter. glance
at Sarah, so worried, so drained, then watch as Jack rubs
his hands over and over his face. Finally he looks up.
“You got car?”
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Holly
look at her in surprise. “For me?”