whistles as he went and Isla laughed, glad to see the lift to the group that Alessi had given.
And also terribly aware of the lift in her.
After she finished up, instead of heading straight for home Isla went up to the ward.
She guessed he’d be there and she was right.
‘Aren’t you finished?’ Isla asked.
‘I’m staying tonight,’ Alessi said.
‘You’re not on call.’
‘Tell that to the twins.’
‘Thanks for offering to come and speak. It will be good.’
‘No problem,’ Alessi said. ‘They seem a nice group. Truth be told, I admire them.’
‘I do, too,’ Isla said, and turned to go.
‘Isla?’
‘Yes?’
This time he didn’t tell her that whatever he had to say would keep. ‘Are you ready for Saturday?’ Alessi asked.
‘Saturday?’ Isla frowned. ‘Oh, yes, the ball. I’d forgotten.’
‘You attend so many things, I’m not surprised that it slipped your mind.’
It hadn’t slipped her mind. It was just that she had been so focused on Donna that for a little while she had managed to push aside the fact it was the ball on Saturday.
She had seen the seating plans and would be sitting between her father and Alessi. Both were there to represent the maternity and neonatal units. She was excited, nervous and never more so than when she looked into his eyes, and Alessi touched on a necessary topic if things were going to proceed.
‘I promise I’ll behave this time if Rupert is there.’ Even saying his name, even thinking of being there with Isla and him made Alessi’s skin crawl, but he did his best not to show it as he broached the sensitive subject.
‘Rupert’s not going.’
‘Oh,’ Alessi said. ‘Is he back in the States?’
‘I think so.’
‘Think so?’
Jump, Isla told herself, but her legs were shaking and she wanted to turn and run, not that Alessi could tell. As coolly as she would face the guests on Saturday, as easily as she delivered a speech, even if she was shaking inside, Isla somehow met his gaze as she took that dangerous leap.
‘We broke up.’
‘Oh.’ Alessi had to concentrate on not letting out a sigh of relief. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, just as Isla had said to him on the night they had met.
‘I’m not,’ Isla said, just as Alessi had once said to her.
She watched as his lips stretched into a smile, and either every baby on the delivery ward simultaneously stopped crying and every conversation had suddenly halted, or the world simply stopped for a moment. Whichever it was, it was irrelevant to them as silence invaded and realisation dawned on them both—Saturday night was theirs to look forward to.
ISLA HAD TRIED to speak with Ruby at the end of the TMTB meeting but she hadn’t been able to get very far. Ruby had merely shrugged in answer to Isla’s questions and given her a look that only teenagers could, a look that said, what would you know?
After the group there had been loads of sandwiches left over and a couple of the girls, Ruby included, had taken up Isla’s suggestion to help themselves as it would only be thrown out, but when Isla had tried to speak with her Ruby had said that she had to go.
Isla didn’t mind being snubbed. She was just very glad that Ruby had turned up and hoped that the promise of pizza might lure her back, if nothing else, and she dropped in on handover the following morning to tell her team the same.
‘If I’m not there and one of you is taking the TMTB group, either ring down to Catering or get some pizza delivered,’ Isla said.
‘Can we bring in a cake?’ Emily asked, and Isla smiled. Trust Emily to want to do more.
‘No, Emily, you’ve already got more than enough on your plate without feeding hungry teenagers.’ Isla shook her head. ‘There’s room in the TMTB budget to ring for pizza or to order from Catering. I do want to have a think about it, though. I can’t stand the idea that these girls might be hungry …’
A bell buzzed and Isla gave her staff a smile. ‘I’ll get it. You carry on with handover.’ But as she walked out of the staffroom the bell buzzed again and Isla quickly crossed the ward, her heart galloping when she saw that it was coming from Donna and that it must be urgent because she wasn’t taking her finger off the bell.
Flick, one of the midwifery students, was, in fact, the one who was pressing the bell.
‘Well done,’ Isla said, because as soon as Isla appeared Flick moved to open a delivery pack.
‘They’re coming …’ Donna sobbed.
‘It’s okay,’ Isla said, pulling on gloves and giving instructions to Emily, who on hearing the urgency of the buzzer had followed Isla in. ‘Fast-page Darcie and the neonatal crash team.’
‘I wanted Tom to be here …’ Donna sobbed.
‘His flight gets in this morning, doesn’t it?’ Isla asked, and Donna went to answer but nature got in first.
‘Something’s coming …’ Donna said, and Isla recognised the fear in Donna’s voice, not just professionally but personally, too, and, just as she had that night with Isabel, she stayed calm.
At least now she knew what to do professionally.
‘It’s okay,’ Isla said. ‘We’re ready for them.’
They were ready, almost. Staff were busy plugging in two Resuscitaires in the side room that Donna had been allocated. Isla could hear footsteps running along the corridor and was grateful for the sound for indeed a baby was coming.
‘Don’t push, Donna,’ Isla said as she felt the baby’s little head. ‘I know that you want to, but let’s just try and slow this down a little.’
Isla wanted to slow things down, not just to minimise any trauma to the tiny baby’s brain but also to ensure there were plenty of staff and equipment ready when this baby made its rapid entrance into the world. Isla met Donna’s gaze. ‘Just breathe,’ Isla said, and a petrified Donna nodded, using all her power to give her baby a few more vital seconds inside her.
Alessi came in then. He was a bit out of breath from running and his hair was soaking and his scrubs were damp—clearly he had been in the shower when his pager had gone off. He stood, watching, but even with Donna doing her
