After a while, Aaron came over to speak to her. “Sorry, I have to go,” he said, looking at his Rolex. “It’s been great catching up with your family.”
“They seem to enjoy your company.”
“Well, they’re only human,” he teased. He kissed her on the cheek and placed his hand on the small of her back just a couple inches too low. “If things don’t work out with you and Tom, you know where I am.”
“France? England? Canada?” she asked him, subtly wriggling away from his touch.
Aaron smiled. “Mainly England, with a few trips to Paris. Not too far away at all. I know some lovely properties if ever you’re looking to move. Diego’s been telling me his elderly parents own a few properties in Spain they might want to sell.”
Carla stared at him. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
“Absolutely not.” He laughed. “I’ll say a quick goodbye to Jess before I go.”
Carla watched as he dipped back into the room and bowed to kiss Jess on the back of her hand.
Some things never change, she thought with a shake of her head.
Thirty-Six
Lucky
It was the date of Carla’s first scan, and she tried not to lose herself in a flashback, recalling the hush of the dark room, the image frozen on-screen and the whispers of the medical professionals as they discussed her upsetting situation. She tried not to picture her ex-husband’s eyes glistening with tears and how his lips had quivered when they’d received the bad news.
Carla turned the radio up and toured the hospital grounds looking for somewhere to park her car. All the spaces were full, adding to her heightened stress levels, and she thought she might have to drive somewhere else instead. The clock on her dashboard told her she had twenty minutes until her appointment. If she had to park somewhere off-site and then walk back to the hospital, she’d be cutting it close. She circled the parking lot once more and gripped her steering wheel, when she saw someone pulling out of a space.
A stroke of good luck, she told herself.
She deftly parked before anyone else spotted it. As she pulled on the hand brake, Carla noticed that “Lucky, Lucky Me” by Marvyn Gaye was playing on the radio.
Two. That’s two good omens so far.
“Good parking,” Diego, who was sitting beside her in the passenger seat, observed. He’d offered to accompany Carla to the hospital, and they’d left Babs, Lucinda and Jess in the bungalow bonding over fresh concepts for Logical Love. “Are you feeling okay? Would you like me to come inside with you?”
Carla tried not to hyperventilate and drank water from a bottle. The hospital had given her instructions to drink four cups before the ultrasound, to give a clearer view of the baby. “I said I’d meet Tom in the reception area. Are you sure you don’t mind waiting for me?”
“This is what fathers are for. I hope everything goes well.” Diego leaned over and gave her a hug.
It was something that still felt unusual, but also made her warm inside. “Thanks...Dad,” Carla said, trying the word on for size.
Diego closed his eyes and beamed.
Carla took a deep breath and got out of the car. She waved to Diego and headed toward the hospital. Her stomach was bloated with water and she was desperate for the washroom.
Tom was already waiting for her inside the building.
He still looked tired and drawn, but his stubble was now gone. His hair was longer than he usually wore it and color had returned to his cheeks.
Carla wanted to hold him, like she used to, but his shoulders and jaw were stiff. It was like there was a sheet of glass between them that neither of them knew how to break.
As they both sat down, she tried to make a joke about their lack of physical contact. “I’ve drunk so much water, it’s a good thing you didn’t squeeze me just then.” She jiggled a leg, trying to keep her thoughts off her bladder. “There could have been an accident.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’m wearing new shoes,” Tom said with the slightest smile.
Carla looked down. “They’re very nice shoes.”
“Thanks. I wore them to the funeral.”
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t notice.”
“We both had a lot on our minds.”
“Yes, yes, we did.”
Carla was glad they were conversing, even if it was awkward.
They didn’t speak for a while and her eyes swept over the posters on the wall—tips for breastfeeding, weaning and how to put on a diaper. Information for when everything went right, not for when it went wrong.
Tom broke their silence. “I arrived early and sat in the car listening to the radio for a while. ‘Lucky Man’ by The Verve came on. It’s one of my favorite songs.”
“I didn’t know you liked that one. I like it, too.”
A third good omen? she thought.
“I hope the title refers to me,” Tom added.
Carla pricked up her ears. “I didn’t think you believed in things like that.”
“I’m trying to be more open-minded.”
