"Hello Grandma, how are you?" I asked as Grandma she walked into the back room, Peter carrying her suitcase behind her.
"A stór, you are glowing darling." She said as she hugged me. "And Peter tells me you know what you're having?"
"I said you knew but I haven't told her Orla." Peter said over Grandma's shoulder as she pulled away.
"Yeah, I do know, had my 20-week scan at the end of last week. How does a great granddaughter sound Grandma?" I asked.
"Oh, perfect darling." She said, pulling me back into hug her. "A great granddaughter raised by my granddaughter is simply perfect." Grandma pulled away as Michelle came into the back room from upstairs with Raffy on her back. The kids all enjoyed saying hello to her while I headed off to the bakery to get some work done.
"A piece of that carrot cake and a chat with the owner, please." I heard an Irish accent say as I sat in the office in the bakery. I got up from my desk and walked to the doorway to find Grandma stood on the other side of the counter. "Hello Orla, I thought I'd come and see what Make & Bake is all about from the owner herself." She continued as I walked towards her, and she put her arm around my waist. "It's beautiful a stór, just like you." Faye handed her a piece of carrot cake and I took her into the office, letting her sit down on the sofa, as I sat on the chair opposite her, resting my hands on my bump.
"How's your cake?" I asked her.
"Your cakes have always been good. Those summers baking at my house in Ireland, you've always had a talent. This, Orla, you should be so proud of this place." She said.
"I am, I'm really proud of it. It's the future, for me, for this one." I told her as I lightly rubbed my bump with my thumb.
"Is that the photo I gave you?" she asked, pointing to the photo of Dad and I in the old office of the factory which was stuck to the pin board behind my desk.
"Yeah, I like it there. To remind me who I'm trying to make proud." I said.
"He isn't the only one you're making proud darling." She said, smiling. "And to think, your Daddy would have been in here every day for his croissant and his coffee in the morning. Partly because that was his favourite, but because he'd want to check on his little girl too, make sure you were alright." Grandma said.
"I wouldn't have this place if it weren't for him. The money he left for me to have on my 18th birthday. I needed that money otherwise this place wouldn't exist, and this little one, she wouldn't have a future." I told her.
"Hey, you know Orla that isn't true. She would always have a future as your daughter." Grandma told me before taking her last mouthful of cake. "That really is the best carrot cake I've ever had. I'll have to take some home to your Grandad."
"How is Grandad?" I asked.
"He's alright. You know he's not really been the same since Johnny died." She told me.
"I don't think Kate has either. Mum is getting there; I think the girls keep her distracted. But Kate's struggling and she won't come home, she says there's too many memories of Aidan and Gramps here." I told her.
"Poor girl, all the way out in Bali with none of her family around her." Grandma said.
"I would go and see her, but I can't now, can I?" As I spoke a felt an uncomfortable twinge in my side. I winced in pain. Grandma leaned over and held onto my hand.
"You alright Orla?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, just a little bit of pain. It'll be indigestion from all these cakes." I said as the pain subsided.
"Are you sure Orla?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I assured her.
Grandma stayed for a while longer before I had to go and meet a new supplier in town. I walked Grandma back over to the pub and then got in the car to drive into town. The meeting went well and I'd finally managed a deal for some better dry ingredients for the bakery after having lots of issues with them over the past few weeks.
It was only when I parked my car outside the pub back at home that I thought something didn't feel right with the baby. I kept having this pain and I hadn't felt her move for a little while. I sat in the darkness of my car, pressing against my stomach to try and get her to kick, but nothing.
I went inside, where I assumed the kids would all be in bed, but they were all sat on the sofa in the back room watching a film, with Grandma. They tended to have a movie night on a Friday and the days recently had been so busy, I'd forgotten it was the weekend tomorrow. Peter over at street cars and Michelle was stood in the doorway of the back room.
"Where's Mum, Chelle?" I asked her quietly, so I didn't disturb the kids' film.
"She's out at that dinner with new client in town." She said. "You alright?" she asked. She knew something was wrong, I barely even needed to speak. "Come through here." She said pulling me through the back room and into the kitchen, shutting the door behind us. "You alright?" she asked again.
"No," I said quietly, shaking my head. "I can't feel the baby move and I keep having these pains Chelle, all down here." I said as I showed her my left-hand side.
"Ok, ok, that's alright. Have you tried pushing on your stomach a bit? That was making her kick the other day." I nodded. "Ok, what about a cold drink of water? I used to find that always woke Raffy up when I was pregnant with him."
"No, no, I haven't tried that." I said. Michelle went into the kitchen cupboard and got a glass out. She put some ice in it from the freezer and then filled the glass with water and handed it to me. While I drank it, she lightly pressed on my bump in an attempt to get the baby to kick back.
"Anything?" she asked once I'd finished the water.
"No." I said, putting the glass down on the kitchen counter. "Chelle, will you come with me to the hospital? I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight if I don't have a scan." I asked.
"Of course, I will." She said as tears fell down my face and she pulled me into hug her. "Come on, let's go, who knows how long we'll be waiting." Michelle pulled away from me. I wiped my face and then the two of us went through the back room and into the back hallway. Grandma followed us and Michelle briefly explained the situation before we left out the back door and went out to my car. Michelle drove us to the hospital and the drive felt long. I sat in the passenger seat, still pressing on my bump in a bid to get the baby to move until Michelle put her hand on mine.
"Hey, just calm down. She's strong like her Mumma." She said quietly as we stopped at a traffic light. I squeezed her hand tightly as the pain washed through my body again. "Good girl, we're nearly there."
Once we had checked in the maternity ward, it felt like we waited an eternity. Michelle tried desperately to get hold of Mum, but she wasn't answering. We thought her phone must have died. Grandma had called to say the kids were all in bed and she'd send Mum straight here as soon as she got home.
"Hi Orabella Connor?" The midwife asked as she popped her head around the curtain.
"Hi." I replied, nervously, holding tightly onto Michelle's hand.
"Hello, my name is Claire. Now, I've brought the ultrasound machine with me, and we'll just do a little check on you and the baby, ok?" she told me as she wheeled the machine in and shut the curtain behind her. She took my temperature and blood pressure and had a feel around of my stomach, right as one of the pains came again, before she started to scan me.
"There we go look." She said, turning the screen so Michelle and I could see it. The echo of the heartbeat spread across the room "Sounds like a strong and healthy heartbeat to me. Someone was probably just having a little sleep in there. And the pain in your side is something called round ligament pain, it's very normal, it's just where your body is stretching to accommodate the growing baby. Lots of rest will be good and will help the pain to ease." She said as she removed the doplar from my stomach and gave me some tissue to wipe the gel off. Once she'd packed up, she told us we were free to go. Michelle and I thanked her before leaving the hospital to go back out to the car.
We were driving out of the hospital car park when my phone rang. It was Mum.
"Hello, Helen's told me what's happened. I'm just going to leave now. Are you ok?" she said, her voice panicked as I listened on the other end.
"Mum, Mum. The baby's fine. Chelle and I are just leaving the hospital. Stay there we'll be home soon." I told her.
"And you, are you alright?" she asked, her voice calmer than it was before.
"Yeah, a little bit shaken, but my girl is ok, so I am." I told her.
"Ok my girl, I'll see you soon. Love you." She said.
"Love you." I replied before hanging up the phone.
"Hey, my girl, come here Orlie." Mum said as she practically leaped up from the table in the back room when Michelle and I got home. Michelle hugged Grandma. I knew that being there at the hospital was hard for her after losing Ruari and I thanked her a great deal on the way home for staying with me. Mum hugged me tight, almost squeezing me a little too hard. The pain in my side was still there and I did wince slightly. "Sorry, you alright?" she asked pulling away, gently rubbing my side.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. I've got round ligament pain, the midwife said. But more importantly, this little one is fine. She's been kicking on the way home. Midwife said she's got a strong and healthy heartbeat." I told her.
"But she needs lots of rest, so the pain goes, which means a few days in bed for you." Michelle said from across the room. I nodded.
"Come on then, let's get you up to bed." Mum said, putting her arm around me and taking me upstairs to my room.
