“Is Ted very serious about the sport?” I asked, helping her into the car.
“I think so. I mean he’s all Cadel Evans this and Egan Bernal that. I had to look up who they were but it turns out they’re quite good at it. Do you know what I did learn, though?”
Quite a lot apparently.
“Those little Lycra pants they wear don’t leave a lot to the imagination.”
Since purchasing her outfit a few days ago, Grandma had done quite a lot of research. By the time I pulled into the carpark of Café by the River I knew more than I would ever need to know about the sport of cycling. Don’t get me wrong, it seemed like a great sport, but not exactly one for me. Still, I might just tune into the next Tour De France for a bit of a looksie as those Lycra pants intrigued me.
The sound of grinding coffee beans mingled with the chatter and laughter of the patrons at the coffee shop. The sun beat down on the umbrella’s shading the tables, and the air conditioning blew the scent of the coffee towards me.
I inhaled deeply and wished I could stay there all day. Until I saw Ted racing towards Grandma, the cleats on his shoes tapping his approach.
“Mabel! So glad you could make it.” His dentures glistened in the late morning light as he opened his arms to greet her.
She glowed with happiness and made her way towards him, her back straighter than I’d seen it in years.
“It’s my pleasure,” she cooed, as he took her arm and placed a light kiss on her cheek.
“Come and take a seat with us. The regular group is here today but we always love new members.”
As he led her towards his group seated just inside the shop, I made my way towards the counter ready to order a coffee. The café was buzzing for mid-morning on a Monday and I had to side step a group of teenagers slurping frappes, three business men embroiled in a very animated discussion about the pros and cons of investing in Australian coal, and a group of mothers jiggling the handle of their prams attempting to quieten their babies.
As I watched them my stomach started to tie itself in knots. Lara had moved my due date now we knew I was having twins, so in twenty-nine weeks and five days this would be me and I was having a hard time reconciling the facts facing me.
I hoped I could cope when the time came. I hoped I could feel half as confident as these women looked as they balanced their macchiatos in one hand, and their babies in the other.
Lara had given me two photos from the ultrasound, and I fiddled with them in the pocket of my denim overalls, knowing they had irreversibly changed my life. As my fingers slid over the shiny paper it soothed my worries and the knot in my belly started to unravel.
Tom saw me and stepped out from behind the coffee machine, his smile outshining even Ted’s.
“Well you just made my day,” he sang.
Turning my attention away from the prams, I spun to face him as he leaned across the counter.
“Don’t worry about them,” he said, his voice low so only I could hear it.
“They make it look so effortless,” I admitted.
“I’ve seen them when they’re juggling being cool with being a mother. Believe me, they struggle just like the rest of the world.”
This was good to know.
“I see Mabel has joined the cycle gang,” Tom commented, nodding towards her new group of friends.
“She’s pretty excited about it.”
“They’re a good group. I’d like to be just like them when I reach their age.”
“Me too. Only probably not the cycling. I can’t say I’m a fan of the footwear.”
Tom laughed. “Not even if Jimmy Choo designs them?”
“Maybe then I would,” I added, reconsidering the sport.
A small cough sounded behind me and I checked over my shoulder to see a woman in a business suit impatiently waiting her turn.
“Sorry,” I called to her before rattling off my order to Tom. He didn’t seem fazed by her attitude as he took grandma’s order of a hot chocolate and then added a decaf cappuccino for me.
“Take a seat and I’ll bring them over to you,” he finished.
I stepped towards a table pushed against the wall and allowed my gaze to roam the room.
Grandma seemed to have fitted in with the crowd already, and it seemed she was right when she said Ted would love her in her new outfit. His eyes were glued to her as she recounted a tale, making everyone laugh.
One of the babies startled at their noise and immediately started to cry. The mother (who looked super cool in her active wear by the way) hurriedly picked the baby up and nursed it to her chest, gently rocking until it settled.
I smiled at her look of pure adoration as she stared at her baby. Now this was an emotion I could already understand.
Movement at the back of the café caught my attention and I turned to see a woman tuck her blonde grey ponytail under her cap, her bracelet tinkling. She then stood, collected her oversized bag and made her way between the tables.
My heart missed a whole beat as I recognized her as the woman who broke into Matt’s when Danny and I hid in the cupboard.
Not wanting to lose her, I hurriedly fell into step with her, searching the bottom of my bag for my car keys as we went. As I walked past the counter Tom lifted two cups in the air and handed them to me.
“Oh. Thanks Tom,” I called, grabbing them, giving him a quick smile, and running towards grandma.
“Call me when you want to be picked up,” I said, setting her cup on the table in front of her.
She nodded her acknowledgement but continued to stare dreamy eyed at Ted.
By the time I caught up to the woman she had gotten behind the wheel of a green station wagon and was already reversing out of the car park.
She was the driver of this vehicle? Well, this was interesting. I was sure the driver would be the woman in the photos I’d received. Yet that woman had long auburn hair very unlike this one.
Running to my SUV, I got in and reversed from the carpark. I hurried to catch up with her, intrigued now more than ever. I had no idea what I was going to do if I caught her, but I was interested to see where she went and this time, I wasn’t giving up.
I stayed a few cars behind as we crossed town. I did lose her once when she made a green light, and I got stuck on the red. Luck was on my side though, as the next intersection she too got the red one.
I impatiently tapped the steering wheel as the lights changed and we accelerated through the intersection. Ten minutes later she pulled into the carpark of Doctor Lara Jensen.
Perplexed, I parked on the opposite side of the carpark and killed the motor. I needed an excuse to follow her into the doctor’s office. Luckily my urine sample had rolled out from under my car seat, giving me what I needed.
Grateful today’s choice of footwear was flat, I silently jogged across the cement path and entered the building behind her. However, once inside she was gone.
Spinning my head from side to side, I searched every face in the waiting room.
“Hello Molly,” called Adele, stepping out of a side room. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Ummm, yes. I have my ummm, my urine sample I forgot this morning. Well, not actually forgot. I knew I had put it in my bag, but it must have rolled under my seat. Anyway, here it is,” I pronounced, my attention drawn to the sign marked ladies. Had the woman gone in there?