Page 15 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

Abbey was Pia’s oldest and closest friend from school and they’d seen each other through so many good and bad times over the years; Abbey losing her mum, Pia giving up her place at uni to look after her poorly parents, taking on the role of carer for several years, followed by the sad loss of them both. Then Abbey being stuck in a miserable relationship for far too long before finding out that her fiancé, who she was soon to marry, had been cheating behind her back. Pia shook her head as she drove, hardly believing everything they’d been through together. Within weeks of breaking up with her ex, Abbey had met Sam and they quickly fell in love and moved in together, and Pia, forced to move out of the family home following the death of her mother, had found a job and a happiness at PrimroseHall that she could never have anticipated. Life had improved immeasurably for them both since those earlier dark days. Now with Abbey and Sam’s baby about to make her entrance into the world, this had to be the most exciting and special event they would share together, a new stage in their lives, and Pia simply couldn’t wait.

She’d been delighted when Abbey had asked her to be godmother to her unborn daughter, and then only recently, with the big day approaching, Abbey had confided how nervous she was about giving birth, and asked if Pia wouldn’t mind being there, if they needed her, along with Sam. Pia had agreed immediately, without hesitation, not really believing they would call on her, but now they had and she was battling so many conflicting emotions. She would do anything for Abbey, but she could never admit to her friend that the prospect of attending the birth filled her with trepidation. She had no idea what to expect or how she would react being in that situation. She’d never been very good at the sight of blood, but she couldn’t let her fears get the better of her. She would be there in the capacity of deputy hand-holder and support-giver. With her hands gripping onto the steering wheel, she smiled. This had all the makings of a very good day. Even the driving rain had stopped and the sun had broken through the clouds.

Pulling into the car park, she managed to snag a place near to the payment machine and hurried across to the maternity wing, her entire body filled with excitement and nerves. Getting past the receptionist and through the various security doors took far too long, but finally Pia found the delivery room. She knocked tentatively on the door and was relieved to hear Sam’s familiar voice beckoning her inside.

‘Pia!’ Abbey’s face lit up at seeing her and Sam’s relief was almost palpable, although Abbey’s smile was quickly replaced byan anguished flinch across her features as a wave of pain clearly overcame her.

‘We’ve been waiting for you to arrive before we properly got going,’ said Sam, with a grin. ‘I think we can get this party started now, don’t you reckon, Abbey?’

‘What do you think I’ve been doing all this time?’ she grumbled to Sam. ‘The pains started in the early hours of the morning, and we held off coming into hospital as long as we could, but when my waters broke we were told to come in.’ Abbey wiped the hair back from her face and gritted her teeth as another pain racked her body.

‘I’m so pleased to see you,’ sighed Abbey, with a weary smile when she caught her breath. ‘Honestly, I was about to murder Sam. Tell me, what has he got to be so cheerful about? When it’s his fault that I’m going through all this pain! Come here,’ she said, reaching out a hand to Pia and clutching her fingers so tightly that there could be no escape, not that Pia had any intention of going anywhere. Sam though looked as though he could do with some fresh air and, when Pia suggested that he go and fetch some coffees, he jumped at the chance to escape the emotional intensity within that hospital room.

‘Thanks so much for being here, Pia,’ said Abbey once Sam had left. ‘I’m not sure I could get through this without you.’

It was Pia’s privilege and those long hours spent in the delivery room with Abbey and Sam, sharing those intensely private and intimate moments, would be imprinted in her memories forever. When little Willow Elizabeth Finnegan finally made her entrance into the world with a hearty cry and a head of black hair, all the struggle, pain and hard work was forgotten in an instant, replaced with tears of joy and an overwhelming love and happiness that permeated the entire room.

With another round of hugs and kisses, Pia wiped away her tears and said her goodbyes, wanting to give the new parents thisspecial time alone together to get to know their daughter. She promised to pop in just as soon as they got home. Bill, Abbey’s father, was on his way to meet his new grandchild along with Lizzie, his partner and good friend to Abbey and Sam.

Walking outside the doors of the hospital, Pia took a deep breath, almost unable to believe that the world was still turning as normal. She’d almost expected the traffic to have stopped, for there to be a fanfare, a moment of recognition of the amazing event she’d just witnessed. People went about their business as usual, and Pia felt that she wanted to tell everyone that she came across what had just happened in her world, how it had moved her and how everything that she knew had been shifted inexorably. She suspected she had a permanent grin on her face, judging by some of the strange looks she was receiving, but she didn’t care, she wanted to spread the joy she was feeling. In something of a daze, she headed toward the car park, pulling out her mobile phone to check her messages, jumping back to avoid an ambulance, with its blue lights flashing and its siren wailing, watching as it turned into the accident and emergency department. A reminder that not everyone was having such a good day.

In the car, she quickly sent a flurry of texts and she looked at the text received from Jackson much earlier in the day.

Hey, that’s exciting! Send Abbey and Sam my love and good luck. I should be home about 5.00ish. Much love, Jxx

Seeing Jackson’s name in her inbox always made her heart lift, but especially so today. She pressed on the button to call him, but it went straight to voicemail so she dashed off a text.

Little Willow Elizabeth arrived at 4.06p.m. weighing 3.5kg! She’s beautiful *heart emoji* Both mum and baby are doing brilliantly, and Sam is a very proud dad! Can’t wait to see you. Lovexxx

Pia glanced at her watch, noticing that it was almost 6p.m. The day had disappeared and she’d given barely any thought to what had been going on outside the walls of the hospital. The stables would be closed by now and she wondered how busy it had been. She would speak to Tom later for an update. Jackson would be home by now and she was looking forward to catching up over a glass of wine and some supper. The thought made her realise just how hungry she was and her appetite stirred even more knowing that Jackson would be in the kitchen, having poured himself a beer, and would be making a start on the dinner. There were a couple of steaks in the fridge and some salmon fillets. What would he plump for, she wondered, although either of those choices would be fine by her. She was just grateful knowing that she was going home to Jackson who would be in his element, in his pinny, pottering about the kitchen, cooking up something delicious.Home!A smile spread across her lips. Would she ever get used to the fact that Primrose Hall, the gorgeous manor house, was actually her home now? She couldn’t imagine a time when she would. It still took her breath away every time she drove through the gates to the hall and along the long driveway, seeing the magnificence of the house coming into view.

Parking the car in her usual spot, Pia went running round to the kitchen door, barely able to wait to see Jackson again to tell him all the news, but disappointment caught in her chest as soon as she fell through the door. The kitchen was an oasis of peace and calm. There was no evidence of Jackson having been there recently or any warm cooking smells to welcome her home.Bertie and Teddy were waiting with their usual effusive greeting, their tails wagging furiously as they danced around her legs in their demands for attention. Half-heartedly she bent down to give them each a friendly rub, but she couldn’t ignore the swirl of irritation that ran around her body. Where was Jackson? Perhaps he’d headed straight for the office to make some calls or to deal with an urgent email, but it seemed unlikely on a Sunday.

‘Where’s your daddy?’ she asked the dogs, and she was rewarded with some cute head tilts as they padded along after her towards the office, but as she suspected there was no sign of Jackson there either. She peered out of the window over at the garage block, wondering if he was tinkering with his bike, but all the doors were closed tight.

‘Oh, Jackson!’ she sighed. There was so much she wanted to tell him, so many photos she wanted to show him, but most of all her arms felt empty where she wanted to hug him. It had been such an emotionally intense day and she really needed a cuddle from Jackson.Where the hell was he?

She pulled out her phone and called him, but like before, it went straight to his answering service. An odd sensation trickled along her spine, irritation mingled with fear. She was just considering what she might do next when she heard a movement from the kitchen.

‘Thank goodness!’ she said aloud, her heart lifting in relief as she went dashing back along the corridor to see him, the dogs following her every move, picking up on her excited anticipation.

‘There you are!’ No sooner had the words left her mouth than she realised her mistake when she ran straight into Mateo.

‘Oh!’ She couldn’t hide her disappointment. ‘I thought you were Jackson. Have you seen him at all?’

‘No, he has not been back.’ Mateo shook his head. ‘I not see him this afternoon.’

Pia forced a smile for Mateo’s benefit, but inside her stomach folded. She’d been brimming with excitement and couldn’t wait to see Jackson so that she could share with him the wonder of everything she had witnessed and experienced earlier. People had babies every day, yet it was something Pia had never really given much thought to before, and now she couldn’t get out of her head just what a miracle it was to bring a new life into the world.

‘I wonder where he is then?’ she said, mainly for her own benefit.

‘I don’t know.’ Mateo shrugged, lifting his hands to the air, as if it was one of life’s eternal mysteries, which at that particular moment it seemed to be. ‘You must ring him.’

‘I have done. Several times now, but he’s not picking up.’ She sighed heavily, going across to pick up the kettle and filling it with water at the sink. She pulled out two mugs and popped a teabag in each before turning sharply to face Mateo.

‘Do you think he’s all right?’ Pia was unable to hide her fear now and she looked to Mateo for reassurance. ‘He should have been home ages ago and he’s out on that stupid bike of his. The rain was torrential earlier, the roads are probably treacherous.’

‘It is okay. It no rain no more. Jackson will be home soon.’

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