She. HC Warner

the invitation to visit came, she had almost given up hope. She was at home one evening, staring unseeingly at a drama on the television that she was only vaguely following, when her mobile rang. She glanced at the screen and did a double-take as his home number flashed up. Once upon a time it was a mundane, sometimes even unwelcome sight. Now, it was as if she had won the lottery. Almost not daring to believe it, she answered the call. Hearing his voice after so long brought instant tears to her eyes, especially as he sounded so normal, as if everything was just as it ever was.

      And now here they were, on their way to visit them for the very first time since Elodie was born. Jo ran her hands over her jeans, hoping they wouldn’t still be sweating when she held her. It was so daft, to worry about how to hold a baby when she had managed to bring up two children of her own quite happily. But she knew her every move would be under scrutiny and she couldn’t afford to make any more slip-ups.

      They pulled up outside the red brick Victorian block that housed Ben’s flat. Peter turned off the ignition and turned towards Jo. ‘Well, here goes …’

      Jo nodded, not trusting herself to speak, reassured that Peter was obviously as nervous as she was. She gathered the flowers and presents from the boot before making their way to the front door. Just as Peter was about to ring the bell, the door swung open and Ben was in front of them.

      ‘Hi, Mum, hi, Dad.’ He hesitated before reaching out to give Peter a hug. ‘You’ve lost weight, Dad, are you OK?’

      Peter smiled, although it didn’t reach his eyes, and nodded. ‘I am now.’

      It always made Jo feel emotional when she saw her husband and son embrace and today even more so, as it seemed to hold so much more meaning. ‘Hello, darling, these are for Bella – and Elodie.’ Jo thrust the bag of presents and flowers towards Ben, feeling awkward and shy.

      Ben grinned. ‘Thanks, Mum, come on in!’

      They followed him into the flat, nervously looking around for Bella. ‘Bella’s just put Elodie down for her lunchtime nap,’ Ben said, pre-empting the question. ‘She’ll be out in a minute.’

      Jo exhaled as she sat down gingerly on the soft taupe sofa. Peter joined her. ‘So … cup of tea?’ Ben offered. They both nodded gratefully.

      As he retreated to the kitchen, Jo looked up at Peter questioningly. He threw his hands in the air with a ‘don’t ask me’ expression. She didn’t dare speak, in case Bella overheard her. Eventually, Ben returned with two mugs of tea and placed them on the coffee table, before sitting down in the armchair. ‘So … how have you been?’ His voice was slightly higher than usual.

      ‘Fine …’ Jo began, but Peter interrupted her.

      ‘Not great – we’ve been wondering when we’d finally get to meet Elodie.’ His words came out in a torrent, as if he had been waiting a long time for them to spill out.

      ‘Peter …’ Jo reached out and touched his leg but he silenced her with his hand.

      ‘No, Jo.’ He fixed Ben with his steely gaze. ‘I want to know why you haven’t been in touch. Have you any idea how upset your mother’s been? How upset I’ve been, for that matter?’ His voice caught as he finished speaking and for a horrible moment, Jo thought he might actually cry. She had never seen him like this before, almost shaking with pent-up emotion.

      Ben’s face reddened and he swallowed hard. ‘I’m sorry.’ He looked down as he composed himself. ‘We’ve been so busy with the baby. Time ran away from me.’

      ‘Rubbish!’ Peter spat. ‘You forget that we’ve had two children ourselves and yes, it’s hard work, but it’s also possible to find time to make a bloody phone-call! How could you have left it for so long? Do you have any idea how hurtful that was?’

      His face by now almost puce, Ben opened his mouth to reply.

      ‘It was because of me,’ said Bella, who had appeared silently at the door.

      Jo and Peter both swung around to look at her in surprise. Over the distance of the past few months, Jo had re-imagined her daughter-in-law as some kind of monster, with evil eyes and a snarling mouth. Yet here she was, looking serene and pretty, her slim figure showing no sign of a recent pregnancy in her skinny jeans and fitted shirt.

      Bella stepped into the room and faced them. ‘I didn’t want Ben to contact you. I’m sorry. I was just so hurt by what happened at Christmas and …’

      ‘Of course you were!’ Relief made Jo gush as she leaped to her feet. She reached out to hug Bella but thought better of it when Bella wrapped her arms defensively around her body. ‘I am so sorry for what I said, Bella, it was in the heat of the moment and I was feeling very stressed after Emma’s accident …’ Jo tailed off, unsure how to continue.

      Bella nodded and adopted a stoic expression. ‘It’s fine. Let’s forget about it.’

      Jo nodded. ‘Thank you. How are you, Bella? You look truly amazing! I can’t believe how quickly you got your figure back.’