The kids both wanted to wear wetsuits like the adults and luckily Amy had a spare one in four-year-old size. Once Rosie was in her wetsuit and her lifejacket was put back on over the top, she shocked everyone by jumping off the side of the boat into the water. Jamie was about to leap in after her when she bobbed back up to the surface, splashed and laughed for a minute, then swam to the back of the boat in a surprisingly competent front crawl.
‘Bloody hell,’ Dan whispered, his eyebrows in his hairline. ‘She’s like a fish.’
‘She has lessons,’ Libby told them. ‘Every week.’
Swimming lessons in London were not cheap. An image of Libby’s worn-out shoes flashed into Jamie’s mind and he felt his chest constrict.
Once back at the quay, and after Libby had changed back into her clothes under the cover of a strategic towel (this process was watched with avid fascination by Will until Jamie kicked the little shit in the shin again), Dan surprised Jamie by asking Libby to help him with the tarp whilst the others clambered up the ladder. Jamie was about to object but Dan held up his hand and shook his head slightly, mouthing ‘it’s okay’ to stop him, so he helped the kids up the ladder instead, but that didn’t stop him watching from over the side.
Dan moved closer to Libby after they had covered the boat and she stiffened in response; but whatever he said made her relax her shoulders, and eventually she smiled. Before they parted she even chuckled and held out her hand for him to shake. She was still grinning when they eventually made it up the ladder.
‘Jamie’s gonna take us to Pizza Express!’ yelled Rosie, bouncing on the spot with excitement. Libby smiled at her little girl and stroked her hair.
‘That sounds great, honey,’ she said, pulling her in for a hug but shooting Jamie a venomous look, which made it clear this development was anything but ‘great’.
‘Right, well, we’d best be off,’ Amy said as Baby Rufus grizzled from his carrier. ‘Got to get this one home where he can scream his little head off for a few more hours. Not sure the good people of Pizza Express are up for that torture.’ She leaned forward and hugged Libby, then crouched in front of Rosie, putting a hand up to the side of her head to smooth her curls. ‘Good to meet you, gorgeous. We’ll see you again soon, okay?’ As Amy straightened up, her eyes came back to Libby. ‘Hey – you guys around next month? You coming to the barbeque?’
‘Yes.’
‘No,’ Jamie and Libby answered together. Amy grinned and gave Libby a wink.
‘Okay then. If I know my brother-in-law, I’ll expect you there.’
‘We’ll see you then,’ Jamie said to Amy, giving her and Will quick hugs, Baby Rufus a kiss on the forehead, Seb a hair rub, and Dan an overly forceful slap on the shoulder.
‘But I – ’
‘Let’s get going,’ he muttered, picking Rosie up and settling her on his hip, then tugging Libby along by the hand.
*****
Pizza Express was one of Rosie’s very favourite places. Libby was quite sure her daughter had informed Dr Grantham of this fact at some point on the boat in order to secure an invite. (She was diabolical in her plotting capabilities.) Dr Grantham seemed bizarrely pleased to be in a kid-heavy environment early on a Saturday night, making Rosie giggle so much over the meal that she actually snorted some of her apple juice onto her dough balls, which was disgusting, but only seemed to make Dr Grantham even happier. When Rosie was totally engrossed in her ice cream at the end of the meal, Dr Grantham leaned forward and lowered his voice.
‘Thanks for what you did with Amy.’
‘Uh … what do you mean?’ Libby asked, lowering her coffee and frowning across at him in confusion.
‘She’s been struggling for the last few weeks with postnatal depression. Dan’s been out of his mind with worry. I know he can come across as a bit of an idiot but he does love her.’
‘Depression? But she’s … she’s so …’ Libby shrugged helplessly, ‘so bouncy.’
‘You should see her when she’s not depressed,’ he muttered darkly. ‘She was so happy on her wedding day Will could barely get her up the aisle without causing somebody permanent injury – lot of responsibility for an eleven-year-old.’
‘Will took her up the aisle? What about her dad?’
‘Amy’s parents didn’t approve of her marrying a single dad who’d had a son when he was a teenager and some other ... problems. Dan used to have a pretty bad drug habit before he cleaned up his act after Will. They weren’t keen on an ex-addict no matter how many years he’d been sober for, so they refused to go to the wedding.’
‘Oh no,’ Libby whispered, horrified that gorgeous, bouncy Amy’s parents could do that to her.
‘So Will doubled as bride giver-away and joint best man with me – it was pretty funny.’
‘Poor Amy.’
‘Anyway, like I said, thanks for today. I think this colic business has got her all wound up. Seb never had any problems like that when he was a baby and she’s been thinking she’s a terrible mother. Her friends are all NCT-brigade know-it-alls and she’s not close to her mum for obvious reasons. Dan’s tried to get her to talk to our mother but she’s embarrassed, and our mum is a bit … well, you’ll see for yourself.’ Libby thought that was a weird thing to say – she had no intention of meeting his mother. ‘I think you gave her a real boost today.’
‘I just said what I thought,’ Libby told him. ‘I mean, Rosie was a colicky baby but I didn’t have another child to juggle or –’
‘Oh no,’ Dr Grantham cut her off. ‘No,youonly had two jobs to work, medical school to apply for, then lectures and exams to contend with.’
