The door creaked open slightly, only perhaps six inches, and Chummy registered it somewhere in the back of her mind as she scoured the records in front of her as she sat at her desk.
It opened a crack more and she cursed the breeze that would run through this building, summer in, winter out but was too engrossed to really determine what had caused it to open up. Dr Turner had been so kind as to organise an electrician and a plumber but this place needed new windows, carpets, curtains, you name it, the building could do with it. Her darling husband had helped where and when he could on his days off and repainted the main sitting room and the hallway, but she couldn't ask him to be her handyman as well as everything else.
Chummy had herself moved the Sister's office to the other room across from where it had been before as this one had a rather lovely outlook across the gardens and she could hear the birds tweeting outside the window every morning. There was so much more light as well against the dark, almost depressive, oak paneling around her and she had made it her own.
All of sudden though as she continued reading, she felt something pull hard at her dark navy uniform skirt. She knew what that was; or rather who that was as she pushed her chair away from her desk to see. He must have sneaked in the door; her thinking he was a little gust of wind.
"Hello" she whispered at the blonde haired little boy who had crawled underneath her desk and was now sitting by her feet. "Have you come to visit your Mumma?"
Freddie crawled out from his hiding place, raising his arms to her, grinning at her as he did. "I don't know what I am going to do about you bally sneaking up on me all the time!" she exclaimed, planting a firm kiss on his temple. "Mumma remembers nearly falling over you all those days ago! One of these days she might just do it and where would we be then?!"
They had been at home, Freddie at the stage where soon enough he would walk on his own without Daddy's hands, Mummy's skirts or the benefit of the settee. She had been pottering around quietly in the kitchen and turned, Freddie standing inches behind her and she almost toppled over him at the unexpected sight, and indeed fright, in seeing him there.
"Peter?" she had asked to where he was sitting in the front room reading the newspaper. "Did you bring Freddie in here?"
Peter had appeared a moment later, shaking his head. "No" he'd replied, seeing Fred standing just by his mother. "Why?"
"Are you sure?" she then asked him suspiciously, narrowing her eyes, to which she had received a firm nod of the head and she had decided to believe him that he had not somehow sneaked in, put Freddie down behind her and run off without her noticing.
"Not guilty Camilla" he'd responded as she leant down to their son to pick him up. "He must have done it on his own!" she had exclaimed. "Did you just walk to your Mumma all the way from Daddy, hey?" All Fred had done was smile at her knowingly as she hugged him.
Back in the present day Chummy placed him on her knee and cuddled up, paperwork forgotten, as she wrapped her arms around her son and he babbled a few discernible words at her. They had only been here a month but young Freddie had made himself at home with the girls quicker than perhaps his parents; his father particularly.
The girls were wary of Peter. He was a single man in a houseful of women, and even though they knew he was the Sister's husband and he seemed nice, Peter realised very quickly that most of these girls were in here due to the male of the species doing them some kind of wrong so he kept his counsel, his mouth shut and his head down. He also kept walking around half dressed to the attic rooms they occupied and the most affection he had ever shown to Chummy in front of the girls was a gentle squeeze of her hand. Perhaps they would get used to a male presence at some point. Well they would have to as he was there whether they liked it or not.
"Your Daddy will be home soon handsome" she whispered as she held onto his hand, kissing his palm. "We've missed your Daddy this week haven't we?"
"Daddy home!" His speech had also come on in bounds these last couple of weeks too; far better than at that nursery, and Freddie had decided that her pronouncement required a round of applause as well as his proclamation of Peter's status. Chummy joined in, laughing with him, when there was a tap on the door interrupting her and Chummy raised her head to find one of the girls standing there.
"Sorry Sister" the girl remarked, running as best as she could at almost eight and a half months pregnant to the office, and slightly embarrassed that she had clearly interrupted a private moment between mother and son. "He's faster on his feet than me!"
Chummy smiled. "That's quite alright Gracie, don't worry. You've helped me an awful lot in looking after him this morning".
"Oh we like it Sister" she replied, stepping into the room. "We don't mind at all! Do you want me to take him back?"
"No, no" Chummy smiled, taking a quick glance at the clock on her desk. "It's nearly his time for his elevenses. He can stay here and I'll do that".
Gracie paused to go, but turned back around. "Sister, can I ask a question?"
"Of course" Chummy replied, but seeing the girl hesitate. "Go on?" Chummy continued, trying to encourage her as Freddie decided he needed to play with the silver fob watch that hung from the pocket of her uniform, failing to yank it away as it was pinned to her. "You know I don't bite".
"We heard there was someone new coming tonight" Gracie said, walking closer to the Sister's desk hands clasped underneath her belly, smiling at Freddie as Chummy removed the watch from her son's mouth as he had decided it was worth chewing. Thankfully he had not mastered safety pins quite yet.
"Almost" she responded, passing him a coaster from her desk to play temporarily with instead. Clearly there had been some talk over a new resident but there was no harm in the girls knowing. "Tomorrow night. I was just looking at her paperwork".
"What's her name?" the young girl asked, curious to find out. She was the first new girl that had come since Gracie herself and she might feel a bit better about being here if there was someone new to 'replace' her in the pecking order.
"Josephine" Chummy replied, glancing quickly at the sheet on her desk. "Josephine Baker so I am told. I wonder, would you and perhaps Katie, help me settle her in? I was going to put her in that other bed in your room between you two. You're all around the same age give or take a month".
"Course we will" Gracie replied, seeing the young boy bouncing up and down on his mother's knee, chewing the coaster as he went along. "Are you sure you don't want me to take Freddie again, Sister? I don't mind. I've got to get my practice in!" Gracie was one of the mothers with more forgiving parents who were to take her child in as their own and she always liked helping out, particularly as Freddie was such a sweet little chap. She wasn't one of those 'bad girls' who got herself into disgrace and Kenny was going to marry her in the Summer. A date had been set already.
Behind her, before she could answer, Chummy heard a car pull up outside on the gravel. "No, don't worry. Thank you Gracie" she said, turning to see Peter getting out of the car. "My husband's here now".
Up in the attic flat, now as the evening was closing in around them, she sat with Freddie fast asleep nestled against her breast, feeling his slow breaths as he snoozed; stomach full and more than ready for bed.
"Did you find anything more out?" Peter asked as he came to sit beside her, changed out of his uniform and the holdall emptied from his week at Nonnatus. The washing machine rattled around the small kitchen to their side and he too was curious about the newcomer; if only because his wife had been sounding him out as to what he thought when she first learned of her a week ago.
Chummy shook her head. "It's all very strange" she began, accepting a kiss on the cheek. "The referral came privately and the details are all very…well..." She couldn't think of the word.
"Scant?" Peter suggested, straightening his son's sock.
"Yes", she replied. "That's it. Scant". She sighed and shifted to get herself more comfortable, her arm under her son tingling with pins and needles. "I know her name, date of birth and when she is due. One normally gets so much more information. Parents names, addresses, what the girls' plans are for the baby when they go home, even sometimes the name of the father if one is lucky…but so little this time".
"Well, maybe you'll learn more tomorrow" Peter suggested. "She's not coming until tomorrow evening after all."
Chummy laughed. "Ever the optimist!"
"And it's not as though you've not asked for more information" he continued. "So whoever it is that has arranged it, does know..."
"Yes that's true" she sighed. "Perhaps there will be more when she comes".
Peter slipped further down into the settee and sighed too, happy to be 'home'. These rooms so reminded him of where he lived before he met her and those first three blissful weeks of marriage, even if they were tripping over each other. He had nearly gone head first down the stairs once already, it so very narrow and almost vertical on its way to the attics. These lodgings really didn't suit a growing family so he was quite glad this was only temporary.
"So have the Sisters been looking after you this week?" she asked. She had been concerned about him being at Nonnatus, even though they had agreed that with nightshifts and a houseful of girls and babies during the day, he would get far more sleep back at Nonnatus than here, but those first couple of days were horrid and she had missed him terribly.
"They have" he replied. He'd kept himself to himself mostly, apart from when they ate as Sister Julienne would not have had it any other way for him not to eat with them but most of the time he had worked himself into the ground and slept, ticking the days away until his night shifts week was over and he could drive up to be with her again.
"We've missed you" she offered quietly not wanting to look him in the eye, resting her hand on her son's chest. "Fred asked for you last night".
"Where Daddy?" It had nearly broken her heart that her almost sixteen month old son had started to notice that Peter wasn't there and she daren't cry in front of the boy; even though, when she slipped under her own bed covers, she had lain there and felt the tears trickle into the pillow. Sometimes she would wonder what was up with herself to react like that!
"Did he?" Peter asked, really quite touched that Freddie was aware enough to notice he wasn't there after a few days. He'd missed being dribbled on and giggled at for no apparent reason other than his existence.
Chummy nodded. "I told him you'd be home soon". She told herself that too.
"It's only one week out of four and I am only a car drive away now if you need me" he took up her hand, gripping tightly, so pleased that they had made the investment of the loan for the car with his new wages. "It won't be like this forever".
"I know" she replied, pulling his chin towards her so she could kiss him awkwardly pinned down by her son so she had to lean twisted. She sighed deeply as he pushed her lips apart, a kiss with an outpouring of affection that she had missed.
"Put your boy to bed" she whispered. "Then come back here. The girls know not to disturb me at night unless someone goes into labour or there's a fight".
Peter paused, Freddie now in his arms and even though he was on a promise, he did have to ask the question. "A fight?!"
"I'll tell you about it in bed".