was worth. He quickly put her down again.
‘You walk then,’ Elaine said anxiously, starting to panic. ‘Come on. We can’t stay here.’
Anastasia stared at her but didn’t move. Elaine tried again to persuade her, so did Ian, but the child’s expression was set. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere of her own accord.
‘You’ll have to carry her,’ Elaine said again in desperation.
Ian picked her up. Anastasia screamed but he continued into the hotel with Elaine following close behind. Reception was still busy but whereas before, on their way out, it had been an asset, now it was every parent’s nightmare. Guests and staff turned to see where the noise was coming from, some with condemnatory expressions, wondering what the problem was, and why the parents couldn’t control their child. Keeping their eyes averted, Elaine and Ian hurried across the lobby to the lift, which mercifully was waiting and empty. Stepping in, Elaine quickly pressed the button for their floor and the doors closed. Accepting defeat, Anastasia stopped screaming and struggled to be put down. A bit flushed but otherwise unfazed, she continued sucking her lollipop.
‘First battle won,’ Ian said perkily, but Elaine wasn’t so sure.
Her confidence had taken a big hit. Not only had she no idea what had provoked Anastasia’s tantrum, but she didn’t know how they should have handled it. Supposing she did it again when they couldn’t just pick her up and run to their hotel room? What would she do then? She suddenly felt great empathy for those parents she’d seen in the street or supermarket who gave in to their screaming toddler’s demands. If held to ransom by her child in a public place, she was in no doubt she’d do the same.
Once in their hotel room, energized from the two-hour sleep that afternoon, Anastasia ran around opening drawers, pulling on cupboard doors, rummaging in their cases and generally exploring everything in sight. Although it was only natural for a child to be inquisitive, it was wearing. Elaine followed her around, returning items to their correct places and making sure she didn’t do any damage or hurt herself. She picked up the discarded lollipop stick that Anastasia threw on the floor and put it in the waste-paper basket. A few times Anastasia babbled something in her own language, perhaps about the object she was investigating. Elaine told her the word in English but Anastasia didn’t repeat it. When she ran into the bathroom Elaine followed her and had to stop her from repeatedly flushing the toilet and turning on the taps, which fascinated her. She tried to climb into the bath.
‘You can have another bath tomorrow,’ Elaine said. ‘I’ll wash your hair too.’
Not understanding, and preferring to have her own way, Anastasia kept trying to climb over the side of the bath and eventually slipped and bumped her head. Not a bad knock but enough to make her cry out, mutter something – that could have been a curse – and give the bath a good kick.
‘Shall I make up that Pot Noodle or whatever it is?’ Ian called from the bedroom. ‘She may be hungry now.’
‘Yes, please,’ Elaine returned. The instructions on the side of the pot were diagrammatic, and simply involved pouring boiling water onto the contents of the pot and letting it stand for two minutes to hydrate. There was a kettle in the room for making tea and coffee.
Having heard Ian’s voice, and sensing something was going on that needed her attention, Anastasia ran from the bathroom. Elaine then had to keep her away from the boiling kettle, which she wanted to touch. As they waited for the mixture to hydrate and then cool a little, Ian looked up the main ingredients listed on the pot in their phrase book. ‘Mutton,’ he translated. ‘Flour, noodles, cabbage, onion, pepper …’ and so on.
Once the food was ready, Ian tested it. ‘Interesting,’ he said, unsure.
Anastasia was also interested in what was in the pot as the aroma rose and spread around the room. Elaine guided her to the chair, spread a tissue on her lap and gave her the pot and spoon, but stayed close by to help her or mop up the mess. Anastasia peered in, stirred the mixture, jiggled the spoon up and down but didn’t eat. ‘Hmm, yummy. Eat it,’ Elaine encouraged, smacking her lips.
Anastasia played with the food some more but didn’t try to eat it. ‘You must be hungry by now,’ Elaine said. ‘You’ve had nothing all day.’ Taking the spoon, she ate a little herself in the hope Anastasia would copy, but she just pushed the pot away. Elaine tried again without success. It appeared that when Anastasia set her mind to something she was resolute.
‘Perhaps we could try room service again?’ Ian suggested when it was clear Anastasia wasn’t going to eat the food in the pot. ‘We’ll have to order for us before long.’
‘But what?’ Elaine asked. ‘She hardly ate anything of what we ordered last time.’
‘I could ask someone in the kitchen for advice,’ he said. ‘Surely they will know what children here like to eat.’ He went to the phone by the bed and pressed the key for room service. ‘Speak English?’ he asked when it was answered.
‘A little.’
‘What do children living here like to eat?’
‘You want to eat?’
‘Yes, but I need to know what a child living in this country likes to eat.’
‘The room service menu is in your room by the phone,’ came the reply.
‘I know. Thank you. What do I order for a child?’
‘You would like to order now?’ So it appeared his English was very limited.
‘We’ll order later. Thank you,’ Ian said, and ended the call.
Elaine looked at him.
‘I have another idea,’ he said. ‘At least one of the girls at the reception desk speaks good English. I’ll take Anastasia down and ask her to find out what she likes to eat. Failing that, if she doesn’t eat tomorrow we’ll have to phone Dr Ciobanu for advice.’
‘What if Anastasia throws a tantrum and starts screaming when you try to bring her back?’ Elaine asked, worried.
‘I’ll carry her.’
‘I’ll come with you to help,’ she said.
‘No. You stay here and have a rest. We won’t be long.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
Elaine smiled gratefully. A few minutes to herself would be very welcome right now. She took one of Anastasia’s cardigans from her case as it was cooler in reception and helped her into it. ‘See you soon. Be good,’ she said, and kissed her cheek. Anastasia stared at her, uncomprehending.
Once they’d gone, Elaine had a quick tidy up – the room was in a mess – and then lay on the bed and tried to relax. Her eyes felt heavy and her forehead tight as if she had the beginning of a headache. Little wonder with everything they’d been through in the last twenty-four hours, and she reminded herself what a momentous, life-changing day it had been. They had woken as a childless couple, attended court, which had been emotionally exhausting in itself, and now they were parents, and Ian was out with their daughter. It didn’t get more significant than that!
Ian
