to tremble and Ben could feel himself physically having to squash down the impatience that was rising in his chest. Every time he even slightly challenged her, she either threw a tantrum or cried. It was becoming increasingly wearing.
But, he reminded himself sternly, she was a new mother and her emotions and hormones were running amok. He had to be patient with her. ‘Come on, sweetheart. Don’t get upset. You are doing a fantastic job with our gorgeous baby. I’m so proud of you.’
Bella gave him a watery smile and wiped her eyes. ‘Thank you. I’m sorry for calling so often, it’s just that I get so bloody lonely sometimes. It’s really, really hard.’
Ben reached out and took her hand in his. ‘Of course it is. I completely understand, darling. But … You don’t have to be lonely.’
Bella took her hand away and sat up a bit straighter, as if anticipating what he was about to say.
‘I’m sure Mum is desperate to see Elodie and she’d be so happy to help out. To give you a bit of a break.’
Bella pursed her lips and looked away.
Ben took a deep breath. ‘Why don’t we invite her round? Come on, Bella, otherwise it’s a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face.’
Ben tried to read her expression. The fact that she hadn’t immediately jumped down his throat gave him a tiny scintilla of hope.
‘Maybe,’ she began, blinking slowly. ‘But you have to be here, too. I don’t want to see her on my own, just in case …’ She left her words hanging in the air.
Ben nodded furiously, not caring what Bella was insinuating. ‘Of course I’ll be here. How about this weekend? Shall I ask them to come here then?’
‘Them? Invite your dad, too?’
Ben frowned. ‘Well, yes. I’m sure he’s as desperate to meet his first grandchild as Mum is.’
Bella looked away again, her expression unreadable. Finally, she shrugged nonchalantly. ‘I suppose so.’
Ben felt giddy with elation. It hadn’t struck him until now how much the strain of being estranged from his family was affecting him. He missed them desperately and seeing Freya had reminded him that they weren’t monsters and that his mum had been under huge stress the day she snapped at Bella. And a tiny part of him also felt that maybe his mum had had a point. Bella had behaved like a spoilt child at Christmas with her strange behaviour.
He finished his dinner, trying to eat as slowly as possible so as not to look too eager to get to his phone. ‘Why don’t you go and have a relaxing bath while I clear up?’ he suggested, not wanting her to overhear his conversation. ‘I’ll listen out for Elodie.’
She hesitated, before nodding. ‘OK, that would be nice. Thanks.’
Ben busied himself tidying up until he heard her turning off the taps and climbing into the bath.
‘Mum, it’s me,’ he said, as soon as Jo answered.
‘Oh, Ben!’ Ben could hear the tears in Jo’s voice. There was a long pause before she spoke again, having composed herself slightly. ‘Sweetheart, it is so lovely to hear from you. How are you, my darling?’
Ben suddenly thought he might cry. He took a second to compose himself before he spoke. ‘Good, Mum. I’m really good.’
‘And Elodie? How is she?’ There was a nervousness in Jo’s voice that made Ben feel instantly ashamed. This was Jo’s first grandchild and she was clearly scared to even ask about her.
‘Well, that’s why I’m calling, actually. We wondered if you and Dad would like to come and visit this weekend? Say, Saturday.’
There was a short pause before Jo answered. ‘We’d love to, of course we would. But is it OK with Bella? I don’t want to upset her.’
‘Of course! She’d love to see you too.’ Ben almost choked on the lie but there was no other answer he could give.
‘Oh, well, in that case we’d be delighted to come. Thank you. What sort of time?’
Ben tried to remember the details of the routine Bella had got Elodie into but he couldn’t recall the exact times. ‘Um, about midday? We’ll do lunch.’
‘Oh how lovely!’ Jo sounded thrilled, causing Ben to feel even more guilty. ‘We’ll see you then.’
Ben hung up, wishing he had suggested it to Bella much sooner. His parents were good people and it wasn’t fair to have punished them for a slip of the tongue when they were very stressed.
‘Midday?’ Bella’s voice cut through Ben’s thoughts and he spun around to find her watching him with a deep frown creasing her smooth forehead.
‘Yes. What’s wrong with that?’ Ben’s heart immediately sank again. He should have known it wouldn’t be straightforward.
Bella rolled her eyes theatrically. ‘Oh, nothing, except that Elodie will be asleep. I thought they were coming to see her?’
Ben sighed. ‘They are coming to see her. Surely it won’t do any harm to keep her up a little bit longer for once?’
‘Oh for God’s sake, Ben!’ Bella spat. ‘That’s typical of you. You aren’t the one who’s worked your backside off to get her into her routine. I’m not wrecking all my hard work just to suit you.’
‘Fine!’ Ben snapped. ‘Then we’ll have lunch first and they can see her when she wakes up.’
Bella tipped her head to one side and put her hands on her hips. ‘Well, you needn’t think I’m cooking lunch. I’ve got enough to do, thank you very much, without having to entertain your parents.’
Ben could feel his temper starting to rise. She was so bloody unreasonable sometimes. And having broken the deadlock with his parents, he was suddenly desperate to see them. He couldn’t let her ruin it. ‘I’ll do the cooking,’ he cajoled, his jaw tight with tension. ‘You can sit and chat to them.’
‘Oh yes, that’s a good idea, because we get on so well.’ Bella gave a haughty toss of her head.
Ben walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace. Her body was stiff and unyielding. ‘Please, Bella, don’t turn this into a feud. They’re my parents and they’re Elodie’s grandparents. I don’t want them to become strangers.’
He felt Bella soften slightly as he spoke and she lifted her face to look at him, reminding him just how truly beautiful she was. ‘I’m sorry, Ben. I just … feel that your mum doesn’t like me and it’s really hurtful.’
‘She does like you.’ Ben tried to quell the urge to tell her that her own behaviour had been far more hurtful towards his mum, especially keeping her away from her first grandchild. ‘So don’t go looking for insults and slights. Just be yourself and they will love you as much as I do.’
Bella smiled, immediately lighting up her delicate, heart-shaped face. ‘I love you, too. I’m just so tired all the time. How about we get an early night?’
Ben
