The Christmas Bookshop(84)

‘I WANT TO COME TOO,’ said Phoebe.

‘I won’t be long. And Carmen will stay.’

‘Can we watch a 12 film?’

‘You can watch The Driller Killer,’ said Carmen. ‘Let’s just get your mum to the … ’

But the cab had already taken off down the icy road without them.



‘It was two hours ago,’ said Carmen firmly. ‘And it was one glass of wine and I didn’t finish it.’

‘Drinking and driving is very dangerous,’ said Pippa disapprovingly.

‘Surely this is why you bought that ridiculous Range Rover?’ said Carmen. ‘A car so oversized and stupid-looking, the only possible reason to buy it would be to keep your sister safe if she ever had to drive you to hospital. It will destroy everything in its path.’

‘Oh God. Okay. All right then,’ panted Sofia.

‘Come on, munchkins. Put your dressing gowns on.’

They looked, Carmen mused, like the children in Peter Pan in their old-fashioned nighties and long striped dressing gowns and, excited by the entire experience, were skidding their way to the car, not even fighting about who had to sit in the middle as they usually did.

She helped Sofia into the passenger seat – why, wondered Carmen, had she bought a car that necessitated an escalator to get you up into it? – and belted her in, then skidded round to her side of the car.

She’d only driven her own little Fiat before, which was ten years old and had the heating stuck on full blast all the time. She’d never driven an automatic. She didn’t know where the hospital was. She suddenly wasn’t sure this was a good idea.

‘Press—’

But another contraction came over Sofia and she couldn’t finish.

Jack leaned over from the back.

‘It’s D,’ he said. ‘D for drive, see?’

Carmen put her foot down on the clutch, then realised there wasn’t a clutch.

‘No, that’s the brake,’ said Pippa.

‘You’re very useful, thank you,’ said Carmen, trying to take deep breaths. She could feel herself getting a little panicky. She shut her eyes and thought of calm things.

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Let’s go.’

The huge car rumbled into action. It was like a tank. Fortunately, it had absolutely no concern for the icy roads; it was as if they didn’t exist.

‘How do I get to the hospital?’

‘Just point it downhill,’ said Sofia. ‘And head for the water. Oh shit, no. They moved it. Bugger. Take the bypass.’

Confused, Carmen spun out into Haymarket and followed the signs out to the ring road.

The bypass was quiet this time of night, or as quiet as it ever got, but they seemed to have to drive for a long, long time, far further than Carmen had suspected in the small city.

Sofia leaned her head against the cool window, tensing, attempting not to make too much noise.

‘FINALLY,’ Jack was saying. ‘A boy in the family. I am going to start him on football straightaway.’

‘Well, that’s just silly,’ Pippa said. ‘Babies are small. For AGES.’

‘Well, by next Christmas,’ Jack said.

‘He won’t even be able to walk by next Christmas,’ said Pippa.

‘Seriously?’ said Jack. ‘That sucks. I mean that’s, like, FOR EVER.’

‘You’ll be too old to want to play football by the time he’s old enough.’

‘I don’t believe that,’ said Jack stoutly, and Carmen thought that was probably true.

Phoebe was being uncharacteristically quiet as a large sign came up indicating the turn-off for the hospital. Carmen, hands gripping the wheel, was now terrified of stopping and parking. Fortunately, the maternity unit allowed you to drop off right at the door, and Pippa went and found someone to bring a wheelchair.

‘Thanks,’ said Sofia weakly then, quietly to Carmen: ‘Thank goodness I’ll have Pippa for when I kill Federico.’

Carmen smiled. ‘When’s his plane?’

‘He’s probably on his second glass of Champagne and watching a movie right over the Russian steppes,’ said Sofia as she managed, with some difficulty, to transfer from the car to the wheelchair.

‘See you inside!’ And with that, Carmen took the children with her to park the car. Out here, beyond the city without its protective heated offices and walls, the cold was much more stark, surprising and fierce. The Pentland hills were right above them, thick with snow. There were marks where people had evidently been skiing. Goodness.

She unbuckled the children, and they jumped out, enjoying their night-time adventure.

‘I am going to have a LOT to talk about in news tomorrow,’ said Pippa happily. Carmen suspected she generally did.

‘I’m not sure there’s going to be school tomorrow,’ she said, expecting happy cries all round.

‘BUT! It’s the concert!’ said Phoebe, eyes round. ‘We have to be there!’

‘We do,’ said Jack. ‘We can’t miss it.’

‘But the baby might take a while to come … ’

Phoebe and Jack had taken a hand each, not even asking for her permission, just doing it. She felt incredibly privileged, like they had bestowed a gift on her.