Chapter 14:
Carla
I feel my heart beat faster, my breath catches in my throat and I sink down the side of the bath, onto the floor, clenching the test in my hand. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry. I sit there for a moment, processing the result, before shakily unlocking the bathroom door.
"Ok, so it was either this, or stale buffet food that's been sitting out all night." Nick's cheerful voice suddenly comes into earshot and I can see him in the kitchen, picking up two plates of freshly cooked pie and coming towards me to place them down on the coffee table. He hands me a glass of red wine, which I accept but hold at arms length for a few seconds, as his expression switches from happiness to sincerity. "Carla? You look white as a sheet? Are you still not feeling well?" He takes the glass from me, placing it on the side table and holding me as if I could fall at any second, which I wouldn't be surprised if I did. "Carla? Talk to me, please? You're scaring me." I move my gaze slowly to look at him, and he is staring at me with such a caring expression, it gives me the confidence to release the words out of my mouth.
"I'm pregnant." I murmur, hardly loud enough for me to hear and I feel him tense up, not knowing whether he heard me correctly.
"What?" He stammers, trying not to get his hopes up and I lift the hand which the test is in, feeling myself return to reality. I swallow, moving closer to him.
"I'm pregnant." I confess, louder and he stares at me in shock for a few seconds. I begin to panic, thinking he's changed his mind or realising when it actually comes down to it, he doesn't want a child with me after all. I see him exhale, breathing heavily as the corners of his mouth turn up and I begin to relax. He takes the test from me, daring himself to look at it and his eyes immediately mist over, as he balances it between his shaking fingers, trying to work out if this was reality or not. I can't stop myself from laughing, a scarily nervous, excited, shocked laugh that comes out more of an overwhelmed bleat and I can feel tears rolling down my cheeks, watching as they do the same on his.
"Oh... What..." He stammers, looking back at me finally, shock written into his expression which is slowly being taken over by sheer happiness.
"Is that... a good thing?" I stupidly ask, my voice wavering so much I have to gulp half way through the sentence. "I don't... Know what to do." My breathing is so rapid I struggle to calm myself down and his eyes relax, staring back at me with such love and such meaning, it makes me cry more. This is all he's ever wanted, this is what he's been waiting for and I could actually give that to him. I could actually make his life complete.
He takes my hand, before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in gently. I can feel how fast his heart is beating and it mirrors mine, as I gulp, trying to swallow my anxiety as he cradles me back and forth, both crying into each other. He eventually pulls back, tipping his forehead against mine and breathing into my skin for a moment.
"How do you feel?" He whispers, his voice still quivering and he wipes the tears from my cheeks.
"...Pregnant." I try to summarise and he laughs, nervously, happily, in disbelief. I begin to laugh too, and he hesitates before leading me over to the sofa to sit down.
"Did you just find out?" He questions and I nod, unable to speak. "I was going to ask why your hair wasn't wet from the shower."
"I thought it was going to be negative." I tell him. "I literally convinced myself it would be, I think that's why I'm so shocked."
"Any idea how far along?" He asks, I knew he had so many questions but didn't know how to ask them.
"No." I gulp. "I might buy one of those tests that tell you that. I just got the first one I could find from Dev's. I've been thinking I might be for a few days, because I missed my period again but tried to put it out of my head because I didn't want to get my hopes up. But then I felt to nauseous today, I had to, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"Hey, don't apologise for anything." He assures me, softly grazing his thumb up and down my arm. "You've just made me the happiest man alive, you've got nothing to be sorry for... So that's why you offered to drive to the wedding? And why you didn't want prosecco?"
"And why I didn't want salt and vinegar crisps." I add and recognition flashes across his face. "The smell made me want to heave... Oh God... And I love salt and vinegar crisps... It's gonna be like this for nine months?"
"You're gonna do amazing." He reassures me, before pulling me into a hug. "I promise you, I'm going to do everything possible to keep you and this baby safe." He pulls away, hesitating before placing his hand on my tummy, for the first time and my eyes glaze over. I feel a rush of butterflies at the sensation of his touch, the touch I longed for so badly when I was pregnant with Lauren. The touch that made me feel safe and made it feel real. "Our baby is in there?"
"I guess so." I nod, not caring for a second that I was showing so much weakness at this point in time. He made me feel so safe, so happy, he made me feel like I could do this all over again when it was the most scary feeling in the world.
Nick
I can't stop the smile on my face as I heat up our dinner in the microwave. I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind and feel Carla's chin on my shoulder, the smell of her perfume still lingering, despite her changing into a sweatshirt and leggings.
"What are you smiling at?" She whispers against my skin, sending shivers down my spine.
"Have a guess." I turn around, wrapping my arms around her as she looks up at me, contently. We stare into each other's eyes for a moment before the microwave beeps, making her jump and I laugh softly, scooping her hair back out of her face. I let her go, opening the microwave and taking one plate out, popping the other one in, before pouring her glass of wine down the sink.
"Uhh..." Carla shudders. "That is a sight I did not want to see... Guess I need to get used to it."
"I'll buy you that non-alcoholic stuff." I offer, laughing at her reaction.
"Not quite the same though is it?" She groans, as I empty my glass into the sink. "Why are you chucking yours away?"
"Because if you can't drink, I don't want to drink." I tell her and her face softens. "I prefer orange juice anyway."
"Yeah right." She scoffs, opening the fridge and putting a bottle of orange juice down on the kitchen surface. She grabs two glasses from the cupboard and pours it before handing it to me.
"Here, you have this one." I hand her the plate that's already been heated. "You're probably hungry."
"Why because I'm eating for two?" She teases me, a look of realisation flashing across her face. "Or three... Oh..."
"Sunk in yet?" I question, taking my plate out of the microwave and following her over to the dining table.
"No." She replies. "But it probably will have done in nine months time... With any luck."
"It will have done when you're screaming at me in that delivery room." I comment and I see her face fall, briefly, her eyes momentarily drifting to the pot in the corner. "Everything is gonna be okay, you know?"
"I hope so." She sighs, trailing her fork around her plate. "I couldn't go through it again, Nick..."
"Hey, hey look at me." I lower my voice and she raises her head, staring at me sullenly across the dinner table. "Nothing's gonna go wrong."
"You've said that before." She reminds me and I smile at her recollection.
"You've got me this time, for the long haul." I promise her and she blushes slightly, looking down and letting the hair fall across her face. "I'm going to look after you. Both of you."
"I love you." She whispers, meeting my gaze. "Thank you."
Carla
"Wow, what's going on here?" I ask Sean, entering the Rovers and observing the festivity going on around me. "It's only just half way through November, what's with the tinsel?"
"Ah yes but Christmas is getting earlier every year." Sean winks at me. "Ooh, I love the festive spirit, I do."
"Where is everybody?" I ask, approaching the bar hesitantly and taking note that the pub was dead.
"Katy's funeral." He reminds me and I pull a face.
"Oh of course." I wince, immediately regretting asking.
"Didn't Nick go?" Sean asks me, leaving the decorations to tend to the bar. "I thought I saw him outside by the hearse earlier on."
"Yeah, probably my head is all over the place today." I explain. "I slept in this morning, he went out at eight, that would make sense."
"Having a lie in Mrs T?" Sean scolds me, excitedly. "Get you. Glass of red is it?"
"Oh no, just an orange juice." I tell him and he pours it obediently, a surprised look on his face. "I might go and get some work done at the factory."
"Working on a Sunday?" He looks impressed. "You do put in the hours, don't you? Even if you do stay in bed until late."
"Yes well that stays between us." I warn him, sipping my drink as the door opens and I turn to see Michelle.
"Sean, are Toyah or Peter in?" Michelle asks, a sense of urgency in her tone..
"Uh, hello to you too." I nudge her and she finally acknowledges me, running a hand down my back.
"Hi sweetheart." She quickly greets me, before turning back to Sean. "So, Toyah? Peter?"
"Oh, they've gone to meet that surrogate woman." He tells her and she sighs, exasperatedly.
"Why what's up?" I try to calm her down.
"There's been a mix up with deliveries." Michelle groans, pulling a note pad out of her pocket. "We've had three dozen scotch eggs and two hundred packets of nuts, I didn't know whether they were supposed to be yours."
"Hey, sell them off yourself? Make the most of it." I suggest and she gives me a stressed out look. "Have a drink with me?"
"I don't think Nick would be too pleased if we started selling scotch eggs, do you?" She raises her eyebrows. "And anyway, I can't, I'm working."
"I'm bored." I whine, feeling lost without anyone or anything to do.
"Well come over to the Bistro then." She shrugs.
"Is it as dead as in here?" I scan the pub, before cringing. "Sorry, poor choice of words."
"Come on, you can help me sort through this delivery." She links her arm with mine as I drain my glass and she pulls me out of the pub.
"No thanks." I pull a face, as we get out on to the street, heading towards the Bistro. "But I'll sit and drink your profits while I watch you do it."
"Aren't you kind?" She says, sarcastically, holding the door open for me. "Red wine?"
"Nah, I'm gonna go over to the factory in a bit." I lie, which she seems to luckily fall for. "I'll stick to orange juice."
"Fair enough." She responds, walking around the bar as I sit myself on one of the stools.
"So got any gossip?" I pick out a straw, putting it in my mouth as I always do and chewing the end of it, as Michelle hands me my drink.
"Well, your husband has left me in the lurch." She stresses, tying her hair back and piling up boxes in the corner of the bar. "And Robert is doing my head in."
"Hey? How come?" I frown, immediately interested. "What's he done?"
"Oh he's just so snappy all the time." She huffs, grabbing a stack of glasses and laying them out on the counter. "And now Daniel has gone awhile, so I've got to organise this wake by myself."
"Oh the wake is here?" I bite my lip, worrying for her. "Right, what do you want me to do then?" I take my jacket off, hanging it over the stool.
"I thought you said you just wanted to 'sit and drink the profits'." She sasses me.
"Do you want my help or not, sarcy cow?" I retort and she nods, a desperate expression on her face.
"Yes, please." She begs me and I reluctantly head around to her side of the bar, picking up a box, which is heavier than I was expecting.
"What's in here?" I question, chucking it onto the pile.
"God knows." She sighs, as I pick up another box. "Probably knicker elastic; we'll have your deliveries at this rate as well."
"Um what are you doing?" I spin around at the sound of a familiar voice and see Nick approaching us from the doorway, his eyes fixated on the box I was carrying. "Put that down."
"Ok Nick, she's not a dog." Michelle scoffs. "She's only helping me out."
"Yeah I'm only helping her out." I repeat, lowering the box, compliantly.
"Yes, well." He mutters, awkwardly. "It's her day off, she should be relaxing."
"Sorry." I apologise and he gives me a concerned look when Michelle isn't looking.
"I thought you said you weren't going to run any risks?" He hisses, as I sit back down and he places a hand on my back.
"I didn't think! I'm not used to relaxing!" I exclaim, quietly, deciding to divert the subject to get me out of trouble. "How was the funeral?"
"Harrowing." He sighs, looking wiped out and I raise my hand to his head, massaging his scalp comfortingly. "You were spark out this morning when I left.."
"I know I was tired!" I yawn at the thought. "Sorry I should have woken up."
"No, no." He smiles. "I'm glad you got some rest."
"Nick, a hand?" Michelle frets, impatiently. "If you won't let your wife do it."
"Duty calls." Nick groans, kissing me briefly before heading behind the bar.
"So when is everyone gonna be arriving?" I ask, wondering when to dampen my mood to match the atmosphere, because I was in surprisingly high spirits today.
"I don't know, I headed straight back here after the service." Nick tells me, shifting the rest of the boxes and checking the label. "Scotch eggs and nuts?"
"Yes, exactly!" Michelle rolls her eyes. "I've tried to clear it with the Rovers but only Sean's in and he's got no clue."
"I could murder a scotch egg, if you've got one going?" I shrug and Michelle gives me a look.
"A scotch egg?" She frowns. "What has gotten into you?"
"You may as well." Nick takes one out of the box, handing it to me and winking discreetly.
"Ah could you put it on a plate darling?" I ask and he rolls his eyes. "I'm not quite resorting to finger food yet."
"Would you like a knife and fork with that as well?" He sarcastically muses and I actually contemplate the idea.
"Yeah, if you've got some to hand." I respond, and he chuckles slightly before handing a pair over to me.
"Did you uh... Manage to do that quiz?" He coughs, aware of Michelle's presence and I narrow my eyes in confusion. "You know... That test thing, that came in the post?"
"What quiz?" Michelle questions. "Should I have got one and all?"
"Oh!" I catch on, realising what he was referring to. "No I meant to uh... Pick it up from the... Post office. I still haven't got round to it."
"Ey?" Michelle frowns, wrapping cling film over a tray of sandwiches, as Nick goes to tend to a table.
"This survey thing." I lie, chewing on my food to prolong thinking of an excuse. "Norris is doing this neighbourhood watch survey and it got undelivered to our address..."
"And you're bothered about that, why?" She coaxes, continuing to look puzzled.
"...I like to do my bit for the community." I muster as Nick approaches us again, luckily causing her to forget about the subject at hand.
"I'm trying to move that table on." Nick hisses to Michelle under his breath.. "How long have they been here?"
"Almost two hours." She informs him. "I thought they'd be done ages ago, that's why I booked them in. They're gonna have to go before the wake though."
"Yeah which should be ready now." Nick checks his watch, panicking. "People will start arriving in a minute."
"Well we can hardly tell them to leave, can we?" Michelle frets and they both stare over at them, searching for ideas.
"Ugh..." I groan, standing up and strutting over to the break glass sensor by the door, not hesitating before taking my shoe off and smashing the heel into it. The room immediately erupts in noise and the table full of reluctant to leave guests suddenly get up, looking around, panicked. "Sorry, I thought I saw a fire." I mutter, as the customers begin to file out and I turn to stare at Nick, who is looking at me as if I was mad, which perhaps I was.
"Carla, they hadn't paid!" Michelle exclaims and I quickly stop a bloke on his way out.
"Contactless?" I grab the card machine and he nods, bewildered as he pulls his card out of his wallet, tapping it on the sensor. "Have a great day."
"Well you never fail to amaze me." Nick shakes his head, looking in the direction that the door was now closing behind the customers. He leaves the bar, heading out the back and eventually the bell stops ringing when he has managed to turn it off. "And now I need to get that repaired."
"At least you can sort the wake out now." I shrug, sitting back down on my stool and finishing off my scotch egg, watching Michelle stare at me in shock as Nick reappears. "Hey that doesn't automatically call the fire brigade, does it?"
"Luckily not." Nick sighs, trying to prevent the look of amusement passing over his face.
"How come there's a group of people outside saying there's a fire?" Kevin and Tyrone enter, as if prepared to take action.
"Who knows?" Nick shrugs, raising his eyebrows at me. "Uh anyway, come in, we'll have the food ready in just a sec."
"Brilliant." Kevin relaxes, going to sit down in a booth as more people flood in, most of which I'm sure never even knew Katy and were probably just here for the food.
"You're welcome." I whisper to Nick, as he comes to stand next to me, looking down at me fondly.
"Have I ever told you; that I love you, Carla Tilsley?" He asks, meaningfully and I bite my lip to stop my smile broadening.
"Yes, but you can say it as much as you like." I assure him and he leans down to kiss me.
"Right I'd better go and clean that glass up then." He mumbles and I give him an apologetic look, which he just smiles at.
"I literally cannot get hold of Robert." Michelle stresses, slamming her phone down on the bar top, aggressively, once Nick has walked off.
"Okay." I try to reason with her, calmness in my tone. "Well where would he usually be on a Saturday afternoon, on his day off?"
"Well that's exactly it, he's not supposed to be off." She huffs. "He was supposed to making the food for this wake, I've had to get Daniel to knock up some sandwiches. I'm hoping they're edible."
"Right so... Have you tried the flat?" I suggest, before reluctantly adding; "...or the casino?"
"If he's there I'll flamin' well kill him." She curses and I pull a face.
"Well I'm glad I wasn't in a relationship with you two years ago." I dare to insert and she gives me a death stare. "Hey just chill out, have a drink. The hard work is over now, you can relax."
"I'm working." She reminds me.
"Yeah but, these are our friends." I point out. "They're not gonna mind if you have one drink."
"I suppose." She ponders, glancing around the room before giving in and grabbing two wine glasses, pouring the all too familiar red liquid in to them.
"Oh, no thank you." I reply, as she hands me a glass.
"Oh come on, you're not realistically gonna go to the factory now." She protests, taking a long swig from her glass. "You've been wanting to have a drink with me, so there you go."
"...Ok." I murmur, drumming my fingers on the base of the wine glass and glancing over at Nick for help. He finishes sweeping the glass up and turns around, noticing the glass of red wine in front of me, before clocking on to my expression.
"Ah Carla?" Nick calls, coming over to me. "Before you start drinking, you've got to drive me to the bank later, remember?"
"The bank?" Michelle frowns. "It's a Sunday."
"Yes... But I mean the cash point." He bluffs, failing to make up an excuse.
"Well can't you just take cash from the till?" She persists and I groan under my breath, why was she so good at catching us out?
"No." He replies, bluntly. "Hey, why don't you put some of those scotch eggs out?"
"Because they might be Toyah and Peter's." She reminds him.
"So? Their loss." Nick shrugs, heading past me with the brush and dustpan to dispose of the broken glass.
"Shame that." I push the glass away, internally cheering at our teamwork. "I guess you'll have to have two."
"Looks that way." She agrees, staring off into space before beginning to load a tray with scotch eggs.
Nick
"Hi." I cautiously approach Izzy, and Anna as they enter, their expressions mournful. "Uh, I just wanted to offer my condolences and say, take as long as you like... I've closed the Bistro off privately for the night".
"Thank you Nick." Anna smiles, appreciatively. "Means a lot."
"Chesney and Owen not coming?" I ask, gently, knowing Owen had made the trip back for the funeral.
"Dad's just taking a few minutes." Izzy tells me. "And Ches has gone to settle Joseph for a bit at home, he'll be over soon."
"No worries." I reply, hesitating before going back over to the bar, where Carla was looking on at them. "Must be tough."
"Izzy?" Carla calls and Izzy makes her way over to us. "I'm really sorry, you know? And, take tomorrow off if you need. Tell Sinead she can too."
"Thanks Mrs Tilsley." Izzy nods gratefully.
"Oh no, it's Carla, for today." She corrects her gently, causing Izzy to smile before heading off to where Sarah and Gary are sitting.
"How can you always put a smile on someone's face?" I whisper to her, and she looks up at me from where she is sat on the stool.
"I don't!" She retorts, fidgeting with the bracelet I'd bought her months ago that she was wearing on her wrist. "It's usually a frown."
"Want me to get you any food?" I offer, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head.
"I'm alright." She shakes her head. "You could get me another orange juice though. I'm already bored of it."
"We've got pineapple juice?" I suggest and she contemplates it for a few seconds.
"I can see how I go." She shrugs and I laugh slightly, pouring her a glass.
"How are you feeling today?" I ask, handing her the drink and leaning with my arms folded on the bar, opposite her.
"Really good, yeah." She says, brightly with an element of surprise in her tone. "No sickness as of yet."
"Start as you mean to go on." I tease and she raises her eyebrows.
"We can dream." She scoffs, taking a sip of her drink and I narrow my eyes in anticipation. "Pineapple juice, check."
"Good." I smile, moving my fingers forward to intwine them with hers and lowering my voice. "So you still don't know how far along then?"
"Five weeks." She responds and I'm surprised for a moment. "I just didn't know how to say in front of Michelle."
"Really?" I exclaim, a smile creeping over my face. "Oh that's brilliant, so it's all definite then."
"I guess so." She shrugs and I pause before coming around to her side of the bar, wrapping her in a hug and pulling away to see her expression full of happiness.
"Five weeks?" I murmur. "Don't you think it's mad how we've had no idea?"
"Yes but it's still early days, isn't it?" She prompts me. "So let's just keep it under wraps for a bit."
"Of course." I assure her, squeezing her hand. "We can take as long as you like, I promise."
"Maybe until after the first scan?" She suggests and I nod. "That is if Michelle doesn't guess... Could be a detective that one."
"You could say you're on antibiotics?" I advise.
"She'd know." Carla groans. "If anything that'd just put her on the right trail."
"Well then we'll just try to keep it from her, and if she guesses, just tell her to keep it to herself?" I shrug and she ponders the thought.
"I guess it's worth a shot." She replies and I look up to where the door has opened and Owen, Chesney and Joseph are entering. "Are you going to go and say your piece?"
"What is there to say, really?" I murmur, letting go of her hand. "I can't make it any easier for them, can I?"
"I suppose not." She sighs. "I remember when everybody kept coming up to me at Hayley's funeral, all saying the same thing... But it just seems like empty words, even if they are full of meaning... Just, nothing matters."
"Hayley would be so proud of you." I paint a smile on my face, lifting her chin gently with my finger.
"Hmm I doubt it." She mumbles and I give her an insistent look. "That reminds me actually, I need to go and see Roy at some point. I haven't been over there in weeks... Oh..."
"It's alright, you've had a lot on your mind." I assure her, kissing her on the lips and causing her to let out a satisfied mumble. "I tell you what, I'll take you for breakfast before work tomorrow, you'll have a chance to see him then."
"That sounds like a good plan." She agrees, kissing me again and I smile into the kiss as I feel her pull me closer, reluctant to let go.
Carla
"Katy was such a lovely girl..." Michelle slurs, and I turn to look at her, tearing my gaze away from where the Armstrong and Windass family were sitting in a large circle, around a table. She was leant up against the bar, a freshly poured glass of wine in her hand. "So young... You know she lived with us for a while, when her and Ryan got together?"
"Chelle maybe you should stop drinking?" I suggest, gently. I wasn't used to the tables being turned; usually it was her giving me the mature advice whilst I was smashed off my face.
"No." She frowns, as if confused that I even suggested the idea. "It's a celebration, we need to drink at a celebration."
"Michelle, it's-" I hiss, trying to quieten her and glancing over at the table. "It's not a celebration."
"Yeah." She corrects me, waving her glass around. "A celebration of a life."
"Hi Michelle." Fiz approaches the bar. "Could we have another bottle of white wine?"
"Yep, coming up." Michelle tries to act sober, looking under the bar and banging her head in the process. "Here you go."
"Chelle that's red." I prompt her, flashing an awkward smile at Fiz and searching the Bistro for any sign of Nick.
"Is it?" She squints at the label and I roll my eyes, getting up and walking behind the bar. "Hey, only staff are allowed back here, thank you."
"Yes well, I'm sleeping with the boss." I respond, grabbing a bottle of white wine from the fridge and handing it to Fiz.
"Well so am I?" Michelle argues. "If he ever returns."
"Do you need any glasses?" I ignore Michelle and Fiz shakes her head, as if in shock that her boss was now serving her drinks .
"We'll be alright, thanks Carla." She replies. "How much is that?"
"Oh just take it." I tell her, waving my hand. "Don't worry about that."
"Oh, well thank you." Fiz looks surprised, nodding before heading back towards Tyrone, Luke and Alya.
"Where's Nick?" I sigh, exasperatedly, reaching over and grabbing my phone from the other side of the bar. I dial his mobile number, listening to it ring out.
"Hi you've reached Nick, leave me a message and I'll-" I cut the voicemail off, groaning before searching for Kate in my phone.
"Carla?" Kate picks up and her voice is music to my ears.
"Kate hi, what are you doing now?" I ask, desperately and there is a short silence.
"Um... Nothing." She replies. "Why do I feel like you're gonna ask me to work?"
"Would you mind?" I beg, glancing at Michelle. "Chelle's drunk, Nick's disappeared, Robert's God knows where and it's Katy's wake... I'll get Nick to pay you double?"
"Fine, I'll be over in five." She reluctantly agrees.
"Yes, thank you sweetheart." I cheer down the phone. "I'll buy you a drink later, ok?"
"Deal, see you in a sec." She hangs up the phone and I grab Michelle by the shoulders, steering her towards one of the stools at the other side of the bar.
"Right, Kate is coming to help out." I tell her, sitting her down and she takes another sip of her wine.
"Ah I like Kate." She babbles. "But I tell you what; I could get Nick to tell you off for giving away free booze."
"And I could get Nick to sack you for drinking free booze." I remind her and she gives me a look. "On shift."
"Oi!" She cries, attracting the attention of a few people and I hiss at her to quieten. "You told me to have a drink!"
Yes, a drink." I emphasise. "One. Not the whole flamin' wine bar."
"Oh I've had two glasses..." She trails off, thinking for a moment. "Or four... Three..."
"You summoned me?" Kate taps me on the back and I spin around, hugging her gratefully.
"Hi." I smile. "I'm so sorry about this."
"What if he's in trouble?" Michelle worries, swaying her glass from side to side.
"Who?" Kate frowns, taking her coat off and heading behind the bar.
"Robert." I tell her, before diverting my attention back to Michelle. "And he won't have, worst case scenario; he's having an affair." I joke, but she immediately looks panicked. "I'm joking! You'll get home tonight and he'll have made you dinner to apologise for getting held up somewhere."
"Can I get you a drink of water?" Kate offers.
"I think that's a good idea." I nod, watching as she hands one to Michelle, who eyes it up and down distastefully.
"Uh, Carla?" I hear Sarah's voice and turn my head to look at her. "Do you know where Nick is?"
"No clue." I reply. "I thought you might have an idea."
"I was going to ask a favour..." She trails off. "You don't have to say yes."
"Well I need to know what the favour is first." I point out, a queasy feeling in my tummy, this could never be good.
"I was going to see if the pair of you could babysit Harry tomorrow night?" She asks. "Gary's got us tickets for this gig and I've just realised mum is out with gran as well. We'd ask Anna but with everything that's happened today..."
"Can't you ask David?" I remind her, the idea not appealing to me.
"Well we're not on great terms at the moment." She answers honestly. "I mean, if you don't want to do it I'll get Bethany to, but she's been through quite a bit recently and I didn't know whether you'd be interested? You seem really good with him, I didn't know if you'd like to spend some more time together. But if not-"
"No." I stop her, quickly contemplating the idea. "No, that would be nice."
"Really?" She looks surprised, and I nod before I can change my mind.
"Yeah, I mean, can't be that hard can it?" I respond, knowing it would be useful to get some practice in.
"Ah that's brilliant." She beams, producing a piece of paper from her pocket.. "Well here you go; if you get to ours at five, his bedtime is at seven. Spare nappies and wipes are all in his box that I'll leave out for you, make sure you apply cream if he soils because he can get sore. Oh, and if you cut some banana up he really likes that at the moment, just be careful with acidic fruits like oranges because they tend to give him a rash, it's harmless but I'm sure you could do without it. I'll leave a note of what you can do if that happens though, and he likes to have three teddies at bed time, I'll make sure they're ready in his cot, just check he doesn't suck on the ear of the blue one because it's a bit of a choking hazard... Ah and keep note that now he's walking around a lot, he can fall and bang his head, so just steer clear of the coffee table or that unit that the television is on because he bumped his head on that once and the bump was raised for weeks, I was debating taking him to the doctors."
"...Right." I swallow, completely frazzled by what had just been thrown at me, taking the sheet from her reluctantly. "So not much to remember then?"
"Well that's just the basics, I'll leave you a notepad with anything else you need to know in." She tells me, matter-of-factly and I already feel stressed out thinking about it. "Thank you so much for doing this though, he's gonna love having you two babysit."
"Brilliant." I grimace, forcing a smile as she practically skips off, back over to Gary.
"You're gonna babysit?" Michelle slurs, overhearing the conversation. "You? Babysitting?"
"I can babysit!" I retort, hearing the door swing open behind me. "It'll be easy, you know; changing nappies... Yay."
"Who's changing nappies?" I hear Nick's voice and spin around.
"Oh, hello." I suddenly blurt out, putting the notes down on the bar top, and he lowers his head to read it. "Uh... Sarah's asked if we'd babysit Harry tomorrow night."
"What?" He practically splutters, amused and I glare at him. "And you agreed?"
"And she's really excited!" Michelle exclaims sarcastically, sloshing her water around and Nick studies her for a second.
"Are you drunk?" He accuses.
"Ah, yeah, where have you been?" I ask, putting a hand on his arm. "I've had to call in Kate to cover."
"She said you'd pay me double." Kate announces, before carrying a tray off to a table.
"Yeah, we were kind of desperate." I tell him. "Sorry."
"Ugh..." He groans, meeting my gaze tiredly. "No it's not your fault, sorry, I got held up at mum's, her boiler had broken."
"Oh, did you get it working again?" I try to distract him from being annoyed at Michelle.
"Yeah it's all sorted." He nods. "See, I'm a man of many talents."
"I know that." I lower my voice, seductively and he smirks slightly for a second, before turning back to Michelle.
"So, what's your excuse?" He walks around me, taking her wine glass and moving it to the other end of the bar.
"She doesn't know where Robert is." I inform him and he rolls his eyes.
"Michelle, go home." He offers, his voice softer than I expected and I notice the door open, watching as Robert walks in.
"She might not need to." I point out and both Nick and Michelle look in the same direction I was, to see Robert's guilty expression staring back at us.
"Where do you think you've been?" Nick approaches him, annoyed. "Look it doesn't matter, just take her home."
"I've been trying to call you!" Michelle raises her voice and I take note of the sea of faces that stare over at us.
"Chelle, not here babe." I whisper, guiding her over to Robert. "Go home, yeah?" She acknowledges the surroundings, nodding in agreement and I move my gaze to look at Robert. "Good luck."
"Thanks." He mutters, taking Michelle from me and holding her up as he practically carries her out of the Bistro. I watch them go, turning back to Nick.
"Honestly I leave for thirty minutes and it's chaos." Nick sighs exasperatedly.
"Just shows." I point out, weariness wavering in my tone. "This place would fall apart without you."
"You sound tired." He wraps his arms around me, picking up on it. "Why don't you go and get your head down?"
"I slept in this morning, I don't know why I'm so shattered." I yawn, resting my head in his chest.
"Hmm I might have a few ideas." He reminds me and I look up at him, as he places a kiss on my forehead. "Go on, I won't be long now."
"Are you sure?" I check, picking up my bag and jacket.
"Of course." He nods lovingly. "See you in a bit."
"I love you." I tell him, kissing him on the cheek before heading over to the door and hearing him returning the words back to me as I leave.
Nick
"It's a good job you called Kate." I announce, as I open the front door, before noticing Carla isn't in the living room. I frown, scanning the kitchen before heading upstairs and into the bedroom. I immediately stop, relaxing when I see her lying, flat out in bed, hair falling across her face. She has one of my t-shirts on to cover herself up, and has wrapped the duvet around herself, a hand resting on her tummy. I quietly sit down on the edge of the bed, smiling down at her and gently moving the hair out of her face, wrapping it behind her ear. I can hear her soft breathing, eyelashes resting on top of one another. I lean down, planting a kiss on the side of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair and placing a hand on top of hers. Knowing that my baby was growing inside of her and realising that I would never stop feeling grateful for finding her again.