Angie must have sensed something of her thought pattern. She spoke, her voice so quiet that Maggie had to strain to hear her. ‘Thanks, Maggie. I can do it, you know. And I will. This baby is going to have the best I can possibly give her. She is going to grow up happy and safe and secure and loved.’
‘Of course she is,’ said Maggie. ‘Of course she is.’ And despite her doubts over the practicalities, she knew it was true.
25
It was only when Maggie got home that she realised that Leon had not shown up at the hospital. She and Tiger had stayed for the whole of visiting time, each taking turns holding Romany and rocking her gently to sleep. Tiger had regaled them with more stories from his travels and when Angie had napped, her head drooping forwards as her eyes closed, the two of them had sat in silent wonder, awed by what they saw.
Of course, Angie wasn’t the first of them to have a baby – Leon had two already – but somehow, the fact that Angie was a mother held more sway so soon after the birth. Fathers faded into the background, unable to hold a candle to the mother. Yes, Leon had two sons, but he hadn’t pushed them forth into the world and so somehow, as far as their group was concerned at least, Angie’s achievement was so much more astonishing.
No one had mentioned whether Jax was coming or how Angie was going to cope, or what she would do with her business whilst she took some time away with Romany, but none of that seemed to matter next to the birth of a healthy child. They were all practicalities, details to be worked out at a later stage.
Maggie made herself a cup of tea whilst she processed all this. And then she picked up the phone and dialled Leon’s number once more. This time he picked up.
‘We missed you at the hospital,’ she said, once the obligatory questions about his family were out of the way.
There was a pause.
‘What?’ he said. ‘Why were you at the hospital? Are you okay?’
‘Yes. We went to see Angie – she’s had the baby. It’s a girl, Romany Rose. I rang last night to tell you, but you were putting Thomas to bed so I asked Becky to pass the message on. Did she not say?’
‘No,’ replied Leon. He sounded confused as to why this might have happened, although if pushed, Maggie might have suggested that Becky had failed to tell him on purpose. ‘She didn’t say. She must have forgotten. I’m sorry. How was Angie? How are they both?’ Maggie could hear the genuine delight in his voice and felt irritated with Becky for denying him the chance to see Angie and Romany for himself.
‘They are amazing,’ she replied. ‘Romany is so gorgeous. She’s totally perfect. A little gem. And Angie is positively buzzing although she’s exhausted. Tiger was there too. He’s staying at Angie’s for a couple of weeks before he goes away again. It’s such a shame you weren’t there. But maybe the four of us can get together when Angie gets home. I think they’re going to discharge her tomorrow or Monday.’
‘Yes,’ said Leon, ‘that would be great,’ but something about the way he said it told Maggie that it wouldn’t happen.
Angie and Romany were discharged the following Monday and Maggie drove across York to the hospital to pick them up. Angie had said that there was no need to bother and that she would get a taxi, but Maggie wouldn’t have put it past her to save the fare and try to walk with the baby on her shoulder.
Of course, Angie had no car seat, and no need for one as she had no car, and so Maggie, assuming that this might be the first of many such trips, took a detour to Mothercare. After a thorough examination of the very many types of car seat that were available, she decided to buy one that came with a carry cot and pushchair. These items, however, turned out to be extraordinarily complicated and Maggie had to concentrate hard as the shop assistant explained the many working parts and how they all slotted together.
‘It’s a gift,’ Maggie explained when the assistant was clearly confused by the lack of either a bump or a baby. ‘For a friend,’ she added unnecessarily.
‘Lucky friend,’ said the assistant, her eyes flicking to the price tag.
Maggie also bought washable nappies and liners, a bucket to store them in, a bumper box of disposable nappies in case Angie had a change of heart, a changing mat, some tiny vests and babygros, a set of bedding for the carrycot and a little green elephant in plush velvet that was so soft that she had to fight the urge to tickle her lips with it. The total bill was eye-watering, but Maggie didn’t mind. She had enough money, and Angie would have bought nothing in readiness. It would be a pleasure to give her the items and make a useful contribution to the new household.