‘Thank you, Maddy,’ she says at one point, between contractions. ‘Really. Thank you.’
‘No problem. Hey, here’s Harry!’
I must say, I’m relieved to see him. He rushes in and Jaz stares at him, over-joyed, as if she’s about to burst into tears. Then she sniffs and wipes the back of her hand across her nose in a very unladylike way and yells, ‘Where the hell have you been? I’m in bloody agony here!’
One of the paramedics notices my shocked expression and smiles. ‘Perfectly normal behaviour outside a labour ward,’ she murmurs reassuringly.
‘I’m going now, Jaz.’ I rush over to say my goodbyes before she disappears into the hospital. ‘You’re in safe hands with Harry.’ I grin at him. His normally laid-back, jokey demeanour has completely vanished. He looks white-faced and terrified.
‘Thanks, Maddy. You’re a star,’ he mutters, without taking his eyes off Jaz.
‘Glad I could help. Hope it goes well.’
Jaz doesn’t even notice I’m there. She’s too busy having another fierce contraction and grabbing onto Harry.
They vanish into the building with a nurse and I slip away.
A bus draws up at the hospital entrance and I hop on it, riding back to Sunnybrook. Sitting at the back of the bus, staring out of the window, I think about Jaz, hoping she gets the epidural she was desperate for. I’m glad I was there to help, but Jack is sure to have gone home by now. A tiny flame of hope still burns within, though, and I gnash my teeth the entire journey, wishing the bus would go faster…
*****
I get off the bus and race through the fairground towards the Little Duck Pond Café, where I was supposed to meet Jack nearly two hours ago.
Ellie is just closing up the café when I arrive. In between my gasps for breath, I tell her about Jaz going into labour on the ghost train, and she’s all agog.
‘Oh, my God. Is she all right? Do you think she’ll have the baby tonight? Will Harry let us know?’
‘I’m sure he will. She looked terrified, poor lamb. Actually, so did he.’
‘Jack was here, by the way. But I didn’t know where you’d got to.’
My heart lurches. ‘Did he stay long?’
‘He did, actually. He bought a take-away coffee and a couple of toffee apple cakes, and he sat on the wall over there for ages, staring over at the fair.’
‘Oh.’ There’s a heaviness inside. ‘Well, he’s not there now. I might as well go home.’
Ellie flashes me a look of sympathy. ‘Can’t you phone him? Tell him what happened? I’m sure he’ll understand.’
‘I will.’ I sigh, suddenly overcome with exhaustion and misery. ‘You know, for ages I’ve been telling myself that Jack and I belong together. But maybe we don’t. Maybe it’s time I accepted that Jack and I are just never going to happen…’
‘Rubbish! What sort of an attitude is that?’
I shrug sadly. ‘I’ll phone you if I get news about Jaz and the baby.’
‘Yes, please. And Maddy?’
I look back at the door.
‘Take care.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I feel utterly deflated, walking back across the fairground, heading for home. I was so excited when I got Jack’s message earlier. I couldn’t believe he wanted to meet me. It must mean that he still cared…
But all my hopes and dreams have turned to dust once more…
‘Maddy?’
I spin round at the sound of my name. It’s Fen.
‘I’ve been trying to phone you,’ she says. ‘I heard about Jaz going into labour. Any news yet?’
‘No, not yet. You’ve been trying to phone?’
‘Yes. Loads of times.’
Puzzled, I scrabble in my bag for my phone. And that’s when I realise I switched it to silent in the hospital, and I forgot to switch it back. Plus, I’ve got a number of text messages, several from Fen. And one from Jack.
‘Have you seen him yet?’ she asks.
‘Who?’
‘Jack. He said he’s got a surprise for you. I told him he could wait in the van until you showed up.’
I open the text and my brow clears. Hi Maddy. Heard about you and Jaz and the ghost train. Hope mum and baby are fine. I’m waiting in Fen’s van for you, in the hope you’ll make it back here tonight.
I look at Fen in alarm. ‘Is he still there?’
She smiles. ‘Probably. He seemed very keen to see you. He said something about wanting to show you a virtual reality project he’s been working on? Does that mean anything to you?’
‘Oh.’ My excitement subsides a little. ‘It does, actually.’
‘Is it something exciting?’
‘Erm, well, I suppose so. He’s been designing a virtual reality computer game at work.’
‘Oh.’ Fen looks a bit non-plussed. ‘Well, he definitely seemed keen for you to see it.’
‘Right. I’d better head over there, then.’
‘Good luck!’ she calls as I walk off, and I turn with a slightly sheepish smile. I know I told Jack that I’d like to see the project when it was finished, but there’s a time and a place, surely? I was hoping we might talk about us tonight, not watch a computer game! Still, being with him is all that matters…
The van is parked round the side of the café and as I crunch across the gravel, I can see Jack sitting in the passenger seat with his head phones on, his eyes closed. My heart starts to beat like crazy at the sight of him.
I’ll watch any number of virtual reality computer games, if it means I can spend time in that gorgeous man’s company!
I knock on the window and he opens his eyes, startled.
He opens the door and hops out. ‘Hey, how is she?’
‘I haven’t heard anything yet. But Harry’s with her.’
‘You’re scared of ghost trains.’ He smiles. ‘That must have been tough for you.’
I laugh. ‘I didn’t have a lot of time to think about the ghost of Ivy Moxon. Not with Jaz bellowing in my ear…and trying to keep her calm.’
He smiles, and my heart flips at the warm affection in his eyes. ‘You did a good thing, Maddy.’
‘I can’t believe you waited for me.’
‘I knew it must be something serious to stop you meeting me. So I hung around. And then Fen told me where you were and said I should sit in the van and wait.’
‘I thought you’d just leave when I didn’t turn up…that you’d think I was being cool with you again.’
‘That didn’t cross my mind.’
I frown, thinking about this. ‘So…hold on…does that mean you finally believe me? That I’m a changed person and you can trust me not to muck you about like I did before?’
He smiles. ‘I guess it does.’
‘Well, hallelujah! Miracles can happen.’
His sheepish smile melts my heart. ‘We’ve all got baggage. After Lucy, I probably had more than most. Sorry.’
I gaze into his eyes, hope springing up inside me. He’s so close, yet still so far. But I’d only have to take one step towards him and I’d be in his arms.