The strength of the heart (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2:
Tests and results.

At the coffee shop, Vanessa walks herself over to a window seat so she can keep an eye on her office, knocking over the salt pot as she sits down. Looking up at Jimmy she chuckles quietly to herself as he walks over, holding a tray and balancing two cups of coffee and a pot of milk on the top.

“Throw it over your shoulder or you’ll give us bad luck,” he says, placing the tray on the table and sitting down slowly.

“You have to make your own luck,” Vanessa replies, stirring the milk into her coffee. She looks around for sugar, and then remembers the new trousers she recently brought that barely buttoned up, and decides to go without it this time.

Jimmy on the other hand has no consideration for how tight his jeans get and piles spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his coffee.
Vanessa smiles and shakes her head.

“What?” Jimmy smiles, sipping his coffee and screwing up his nose as the sugar hits his teeth.

“Nothing at all,” she replies, leaning back and glancing at her watch. “I have to be at the doctor in fifteen minutes Jim.”

Jimmy looks at his watch and downs the rest of his coffee.

“We’d best get going then,” he coughs roughly before standing up and placing a few euros on the table.

“Still got that cough?” Vanessa asks, picking up her handbag and walking over towards the door.

“Yeah, my chest is just a little sore. Nothing serious,” Jimmy replies.

Vanessa nod’s disapprovingly. “It’s serious enough for it to stay for a good few months. We’ll make an appointment whilst we’re at the doctors.” She fiddles in her bag for her car keys and unlocks her car.

“And fix your poorly tummy up,” Jimmy reminds her, sitting himself in the passenger seat and leaning back.

“And fix my poorly tummy,” Vanessa agrees, starting the engine and pulling out into the busy street.


The doctor’s reception is full to the brim with sick people. A few children and their parents are sitting near the play area, but it’s mostly older people. Winter months bring death threats to the elderly, but in particular those who find it hard to pay for heating. Most of them turn up at their doctor if their dog sneezes, just in case he caught a dormant cold bug off of them.
Vanessa and Jimmy sit in between a woman and her toddler and an old man who’s decided that mumbling to himself would get him better answers than talking to his wife, who looks as though she could take someone out with one punch.
The toddler looks up and Vanessa over the hand of the thumb wedged tightly between her lips. Her ringlets hang down to her shoulders and a yellow ribbon falls in between her pigtails. She climbs onto the chair that her mother specifically told her not to move from, and without taking her eyes off of Vanessa, she stands herself up on the chair, and steadies herself against her shoulder.

“Hello there,” Vanessa smiles, holding her elbow so she doesn’t fall.

The little girl leans over and presses her soggy thumb against Vanessa’s cheek.
Vanessa looks at the girl, and feels tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.

“Kelly, get down now. Oh god I’m so sorry. It's a fun new phase, touching people. She has no understanding of personal space,” the mother says, grabbing Kelly’s arm and pulling her down onto her bum.

“No… it’s… uhm. It’s fine,” Vanessa replies, smiling at the woman.

“Vanessa Harris?” a nurse shouts, walking out into the waiting area.

“Here,” Jimmy shouts roughly. He coughs loudly into his hand and stands up. Vanessa grabs his hand and looks at him worriedly, before walking into the doctor’s room.

“Hello Vanessa. It’s been a while I see,” the doctor says putting down his notes and standing up to shake their hands.

“Hello Dr O’Brian. I’ve just come in for a check-up. I’ve had stomach cramps and nausea for the past three weeks and it’s not getting much better.”

Dr O’Brian nods and stands up.

“Can you lie on the bed for me please?”

Vanessa stands up and lays herself down on the paper-covered bed pulling her jumper up. He places his hands on her tummy and pushes gently. Vanessa squirms slightly and bites her lip.

“Does that hurt?” he asks, pressing down on Vanessa’s lower stomach.

“A little bit. It’s mostly just sickness rather than pain.”

“Ok sweetheart, you can stand back up now.”

Vanessa pulls her body off of the bed and yanks her jumper down to her hips.

"Any actual vomiting?"

"A little."

"Any blood or red patches in it?"

Vanessa tries to remember but can't come up with any specific time when it didn't just look like carrots in goo.

"No, well, not that I noticed."

“Well I'd better do a few tests on you. The results won't be back for around a week, but I don’t think there is anything seriously wrong with you, Vanessa.”

He hands Vanessa a cup for a urine sample and she heads off into the surgery toilet.
Jimmy breathes in fast and grabs his chest as he coughs loudly. Vanessa stops and looks at him with worry.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he chokes. “It’s just a cough.”

She nods and walks into the cubicle.
Dr O’Brian stands up and walks over to a locked cupboard. Opening it with a key from a huge set of in his pocket he pulls out a contraption and walks towards Jimmy.

“Blow into this for me please Jimmy.”

Jimmy looks up at the doctor with puppy eyes and sighs, coughing a breath into the machine.

“And again, please?”

Jimmy musters all his breath and blows into it again.

"Keep blowing, keep blowing," The machine bleeps twice. "Okay that's enough."

The grey haired doctor sits down and waits for the reading.

“I think we’d best do some test on both of you. Have a look at what’s wrong with your chest as well, Jimmy. It could be asthma. How long have you had that cough for?”

Jimmy shrugs as he tries to catch his breath without sounding as if he has been running eight miles. "About two months now I think."

Vanessa walks back in and hands the jar back to the doctor.

“Vanessa I’m going to run an ultrasound on your stomach next week just in case we find anything of any concern, and see if there’s anything there that shouldn’t be. There’s nothing to worry about, I just want to rule out a few options. Jimmy I’m very worried about how rough and how old your cough is so I am going to refer you to the hospital for some tests. Your weight has obviously fallen since we last weighed you, and it’s worrying that that is visible without you having to step on my scales. Have you coughed up any phlegm?”

“I did yesterday. It was a funny yellow colour too.”

“Interesting. Well, we’ll see what happens when you go to the hospital. Take these papers and phone the number on the front when you’re ready to make an appointment. I’ll put you down as urgent so we can get the results back as soon as possible.”

“Thank you Dr. and I’ll book an appointment with the receptionist. In about a week’s time, yes?” Vanessa says, standing up and adjusting her handbag on her shoulder”

“I’m free next Friday, Ness. We should try and book for then so I can drive you,” Jimmy adds. Vanessa turns to him and smiles, watching him struggle to detach the cord on his fleece from the arm of the chair.

“See you next week Vanessa.”

“See you next week doctor,” Vanessa replies, wandering over to Jimmy and freeing him from the evil clutches of the chair.

They walk out of the doctor's office and over to reception. Jimmy stops to pick up a tatty old rag doll that the toddler fromearlier had thrown onto the floor and he smiles at her messy face.

“Ta,” she squeals before sitting herself down on the oversized chair and cuddling her doll tightly against her body.

Her mother smiles at Jimmy and pulls Kelly’s head against her body. Jimmy sees this as his queue to join Vanessa.

“Are you sure they’re the only times?” she asks, before biting her lip in frustration.

“I’m afraid so, Miss Harris. But we can do all day the following Monday.”

“What’s wrong honey?” Jimmy asks, wrapping his arm around Vanessa’s tiny waist.

“They only have appointments between midday and three on Friday. I’ll be at a meeting from eleven onwards and won’t be able to get back till around five.”

“What is the latest appointment you have on Monday?” he asks the receptionist trying to figure out what time he would be working until on a busy Monday.

“The latest? Let me see,” she clicks the mouse on her computer a few times and looks up at the two of them. “Five thirty.”

“If you take that one I can meet you here after work. I finish at five so I can be here for about five twenty.”

Vanessa sighs and nods. “I’ll take the five thirty slot then, please.”

The receptionist smiles and types Vanessa’s name onto the computer.

“That’s all booked for you then. Monday the 13th at 17:30.”

Vanessa takes the card that is being waved about in front of her face and smiles politely.

“Thank you. See you then.”

She grabs Jimmy, who by that time was busy looking through the children books on the coffee table next to them, and walks out of the door.

“I bet she had loads of times on Friday! She asked me what times I couldn’t do and then told me the time’s she had. Mean cow!”

Jimmy’s wide eyes stare at Vanessa as she continues mumbling on about what she has a mind to do and what the receptionist could do with her stupid Monday appointment and wonders how the sweet and caring woman that he fell for can suddenly turn into someone who makes him very afraid. He smiles and holds the passenger seat door open for her as she sits in and grunts in aggravation, figuring it’s probably not a good idea to let her drive in this mood.

As the days go by the week speeds past and before they know it Saturday morning comes around and they’re getting ready to go and view the house. Vanessa phoned the hospital as soon as they got home on the Monday and got Jimmy an appointment for the following Monday, the same day as her doctors appointment, which meant he had to take the morning off of work to go to it.
As they close the door to their apartment and walk down the stairs to the car, Vanessa wonders quietly to herself if she is really ready to move. It’s such a big step to move from a small apartment to a big house, and would the move make Jimmy wish they could have a child more than anything? She pushes the thoughts to the back of her head and grabs his hand wondering if he’s got any worries about the possible move. Jimmy on the other hand is oblivious to any doubts that Vanessa is feeling and is simply wondering whether he could fit in a hamburger before dinner without getting an earful about his waistline.
Slipping into the passenger seat of their red second hand BMW, Vanessa turns on the radio to listen for traffic.

“Oh Jimmy listen! It’s the song that was playing at that awful disco your parents made us go to when we were seventeen!”

“Oh, is this the one that you made out with my neck to?”

“I was not making out with your neck! You were just far too tall for me to kiss,” she pouts, singing along to the music. “I will, always, love you….” she wails, as Jimmy flinches, trying to start the car. With a loud grunt, the car throws itself into action and purrs loudly as Jimmy hits the gas, pulling out into the street and driving slowly towards the centre of town.

“Take the next left,” Vanessa quickly shouts, trying to read the map and wondering why people make street maps that you have to turn upside down to understand.

“Fleetling drive, is this is?” Jimmy asks, trying to slow down without annoying the car that’s been tailing them for the past half a mile.

“Yes this is it. Next right and we’re there. It’s the third door on the left at the other end of the road. Apparently it’s the one you can’t miss.”

She replies folding the map up and placing it back into its home in the sticky drinks holder.
Jimmy slowly pulls into the road and coasts down the street, trying to figure out what makes this house so unmistakable, but as soon as they arrive at the end of the street they can see.
The house has a long drive leading up to it, with a precisely cut lawn either side. The front door is old oak and framed beautifully in ivy. Each window is filled with flower boxes and plants, the bricks a soft grey colour; the house is the most perfect building that he has ever seen.

“Not bad,” Vanessa smiles, pulling her handbag out of the car and slamming the door.

“It’s great!” Jimmy shouts, bouncing about like a sugar filled child.

Knocking gently on the door, Vanessa looks around the neighbourhood and sighs. She had sort of hoped that the house would be ugly and disgusting, so that their decision would be made for them, but seeing the house and Jimmy’s reaction, that obviously isn’t going to be the case.
Charlotte opens the door with a huge smile on her face.

“Hey I’m glad you found it okay. Come on in. Oh don’t worry about your shoes; the carpets are all being re-laid tomorrow so we may as well make the most of this old one while we still can.”

“Nice reasoning,” Vanessa giggles, kissing Charlotte’s cheek and walking past her.

The inside of the house is as big as the outside let’s on, but Charlotte has decorated it in such a way that it’s big and cosy, as opposed to big and cold.

“Right I have an appointment in about an hour, so shall we get straight down to the tour?” Charlotte says very matter-of-factly.

“Sure, why not,” Jimmy replies, grabbing hold of Vanessa’s hand and following Charlotte.

“So there are two bedrooms,” she says, leading them up the stairs to the first floor, “and two bathrooms. This is the main bedroom, and there’s a bathroom through the back.”

She points over to the door at the back of the freshly decorated room as Vanessa and Jimmy look around. Packing boxes overload the room as most of her belongings have been packed away awaiting a new home.

“It’s massive,” Jimmy exclaims, “almost as big as our entire apartment.”

Vanessa chuckles and walks over to the bathroom. Opening the door she finds a white pristine suite with a shower and a bath, decorated appealingly in black and white.

“This is gorgeous!” she exclaims, running her hand over the beautiful white tiles.

“Yeah it’s a palace compared to our dingy bathroom,” Jimmy says, coming up behind her and resting his chin on her shoulder.

“Anything is better than our dingy bathroom Jim,” she adds.

“Ok, that is a fair point.”

Charlotte leads them swiftly through the rest of the house and the grounds, before hunting through a box with Jimmy to find the kettle and settling down in the empty lounge.

“So what do you think?” she asks, anxious to find out what they think.

“It’s gorgeous, Charlotte, but you can’t possibly want to swap this place for our tiny apartment. That’s crazy,” Vanessa sips her coffee, trying to avoid burning either her tongue or her lap.

“I don’t need this place anymore, it’s full of bad memories for me and I want to let you share something together that I couldn’t share with Simon; a gorgeous home to make new memories in.”

Jimmy grabs Vanessa’s shoulder and tugs her gently towards him.

“What do you think then, love? Should we move on from the apartment, or would you rather stay in a tiny little home tripping over each other until our lottery numbers come up?”

Vanessa leans her head against Jimmy’s shoulder and sighs.

“I’ll miss the apartment and the memories we made there, but we can’t live there forever. It’s too small for us now.”

“So do we have a deal then?” Charlotte beams, her eyes sparkling at the thought of a new home for her to settle into without an egotistic man holding her back.

Jimmy looks at Vanessa with eyes full of hope, and she kisses his cheek and grins.

“I guess we do.”

“I’m so glad! I think this calls for a meal to celebrate! I know somewhere we can go. Come back tonight and I’ll take you to the best restaurant in town, my treat.”

Knowing Jimmy could never pass down the offer of free food, Vanessa accepts and sits back against the sofa, relieved from having the worry of deciding what to do off of her shoulders, but terrified of the prospect of the upcoming life change. Would she be able to make it as cosy as Charlotte has? Would the space drive a wedge between her and Jimmy, rather than bringing them closer?

“I think we’re going to be happy here, love. Really happy,” Jimmy sighs as if answering her concerns, placing his chin on the top of Vanessa’s head.

Vanessa looks up and kisses his stubbly chin, nuzzling her nose into his neck.

“I think so too.”


They decide to spend the few hours or so that Charlotte has to attend her appointment looking around the town that they would soon be calling home.
Quaint shops and beautiful houses are dotted around the small shopping square, which contains nothing more than a small store, a bakery, a pub, and a nursery school.
The pub, a large old house with flowers spread beautifully across the front, consists of the building itself; a beer garden, and a children’s play area.
With the sun beating down on the red stone roof, the building looks magnificent, with its feature windows and red shutters, lying against the same grey bricks as Charlotte’s... their, house.
Vanessa stares up at the building, instantly knowing that beer guzzling Jimmy has already been won over by the small village. She looks over at Jimmy, who is quickly and carelessly stubbing out his second cigarette since leaving Charlotte house and is now wandering towards the front door.

“Jimmy, you’re not seriously going for a pint at this time are you?” she shouts.

Jimmy glances at his watch and smiles.

“I’m sure they sell coffee too, love.”

Vanessa imagines the warm liquid running into her stomach and quickly follows.


As they walk into the small pub, the door slams shut behind them. Everyone looks up from their conversations startled by the unusual mid day guests and smile welcomingly. They walk over to the old cheerful looking man behind the bar.

“What’ll it be then, folks?” the large bar tender asks, pulling down a pint glass.

“A pint of Guinness and a white coffee, please”

“Two sugars,” Vanessa pipes in.

“You look sweet enough to me already lass,” he winks at Vanessa.

Jimmy chuckles and mumbles something along the lines of “try living with her”, and sits himself down on a stool.
Vanessa kicks him lightly in the shins and perches herself down.
The barman returns with a steaming coffee and a large pint for Jimmy.

“That’ll be five eighty then please.”

Jimmy hands over the money and sips the foam off of the top of his pint.

“You two new to town?” the barman asks politely, drying the inside of his glass with a shabby dishcloth.

“We’re thinking of moving here,” Vanessa smiles, desperately trying to lick the coffee off of the rim of her cup before it drips on her new skirt
.
“Ah really? Well it’s a lovely place to live. Could do with a couple more young folk though. I’m beginning to feel like all I ever run is bingo nights.”

Vanessa chuckles softly.

“My names Shaun,” the barman smiles, holding out his hand to Jimmy.

Jimmy shakes his hand and smiles back.

“I’m Jimmy and this is Vanessa,” Vanessa shakes Shaun’s hand and realises that she has never been to such a friendly place before.

“Well I hope you decide to move here. We’re not as scary as we look,” Shaun laughs, before saying his goodbyes and serving an old couple who just walked in.

Jimmy and Vanessa sit enjoying their drinks and chatting until Vanessa’s mobile phone rings.

“It’s the surgery,” Vanessa looks at Jimmy confused.

“Are they open Saturdays?”

“I didn’t think so,” Vanessa replies, flicking her phone up and answering the call,

Jimmy looks at her questioningly and waits until she stops nodding and answers the caller.

“Err, hi Dr O’Brian. Yeah I can be. I didn’t know the surgery opens Saturdays.”

Vanessa starts to shake, worrying about what the problem could be.

“Yes of course, we’ll be right there. Bye,” She hangs up the phone and grabs her coat.

“Come on, we’re going to the surgery.”

“Why? What has he found?” Jimmy asks quickly finishing the last of his pint, but Vanessa is already out of the door.


Walking up the steps to the surgery, Vanessa holds Jimmy’s hand tightly.
She pushes open the front door and walks through the dark corridor.
Knocking lightly on the doctor’s office, she hears a quiet “come in” and opens the door.
As they walk in, Dr O’Brien stands up to shake their hands.

“Hello Vanessa, Jimmy. Take a seat.”

Vanessa, still shaking with fear, sits softly down on the chair furthest away from the doctor’s desk
.
“What’s going on, doctor?” Jimmy asks, suddenly taking charge of the situation.

Dr O’Brien sits himself back in and puts his hands together across his large stomach. Vanessa notices that he always wears bright coloured knitted jumpers, and tries to decide whether this is his choice of fashion, or if he does it to seem more grandfather-ish in an attempt to put people’s nerves at ease.
She decides if it's the latter, it could use some work.
He smiles softly and looks at them both in turn.

"Vanessa, I've got the results through of your urine sample that I sent off for to the hospital."

Vanessa and Jimmy nod their heads.

“Well, they test for kidney disease, diabetes and a lot of other diseases and conditions. Amongst them, is a test for pregnancy,”
Jimmy turns to Vanessa and stares at her wide-eyed.

“I’m…” Vanessa begins.

“Pregnant,” Dr O’Brian finishes.

“But, how?” Jimmy asks, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Well, apparently, you’ve got very stubborn sperm,” he laughs, winking at Vanessa.

Jimmy sits in silent shock, broken by the start yet another coughing fit. Vanessa grabs his knee and squeezes tightly, and rests her other hand on her stomach.

“How far?” Jimmy asks, once he starts breathing normally again.

“Well, we’ll need to do an ultrasound. Vanessa, you’re booked in for a more detailed one on Monday but I’m sure we can have a look now. I'll go and find our machine.”

He stands up and walks into the next room. He comes out not long after with a large machine on wheels.

“Lay down for me and pull your jumper up please,” the doctor asks, pulling some paper sheet down over the cold plastic bed.

Vanessa lays down, still not able to speak, and closes her eyes tight as if to try and wake herself up from a dream. Jimmy stands up and grabs her hand, squeezing comfortingly and sitting himself on the edge of the bed.
The doctor smears jelly on part of the machine and runs it over Vanessa’s belly.
A few seconds later an image flashes up on the screen. A white shape forms against a black background. The shape moves as the doctor runs the machine further across Vanessa’s tummy.

“And there, is your baby,” he smiles.

Vanessa and Jimmy lean forward to stare at the screen.
Vanessa curls her arms around Jimmy’s waist and cries softly.

“That mess of white lines, is our baby?” Jimmy asks in shock, stroking his fingers through Vanessa’s soft hair, taking in the soothing smell of strawberries.

“You bet, and by the looks of this, I’d say you’re probably around fifteen weeks.”

“Fifteen weeks? But shouldn't she have some sort of a bump by now?” Jimmy shouts, probably a little louder than he intended. His chest aches but ignoring it he kisses Vanessa's clammy forehead.

“She has a very small frame, so she may not grow particularly big, but there’s nothing to worry about. I’m going to get you booked in for a proper ultrasound at the hospital and you’ll get some print-offs and a DVD to take home. Are you ok, Vanessa?”

Vanessa nods her head slowly and stares blankly ahead.

“I think so. It’s just, a huge shock, you know?”

Jimmy smiles and kisses her forehead, pulling her legs around so she can sit up.

“Thank you doctor. I best get her home now before it really hits her and she passes out. She’s not as light as she looks,” he jokes, grabbing Vanessa’s purse and coat before leading her towards the door.

“Thank you,” Vanessa whispers, wriggling free from Jimmy’s grip and wrapping her arms around her childhood doctor’s neck, kissing his cheek softly. "Thank you.”

He smiles and as they walk out of the door, he can feel tears threatening to escape his eyes.


As they walk out of the surgery, Vanessa rummages in her purse for her phone.

“Oh bums. Eight missed calls. That’ll be Charlotte trying to find us for the dinner she was supposed to be treating us to.”

"Oh man, I was looking forward to that!" Jimmy teases.

She presses redial and waits patiently for Charlotte to answer, explaining the situation and re-scheduling for a later date. As soon as she hangs up the phone, she dials her mother’s number and bites her lip as she hears her voice on the other end of the phone.

“Hi mom, you’ll never guess what…”



Slowly settling herself onto the couch, Vanessa sits and does her usual worrying over situations that worrying cannot change.

“I drank wine. I drank lots of wine. Wine for dinner, wine in the evening. That’s a lot of wine Jimmy.”

Jimmy sits down wide-eyed, staring at Vanessa as if she’d gone berserk.

“Why are you not concerned?” she snaps, suddenly bursting out crying. "Oh my god, I think I drank every day!"

Jimmy rushes over to her and sits next to her.

“Calm down, love. What’s really wrong? You don't drink every day, and I’m sure a few glasses of wine won’t make a difference. You barely drink wine anyway. I’ve seen you have about four glasses in the past three months. Is something else wrong?”

“No…” she begins, “oh I don’t know. Jimmy I don’t know if I’m ready for this. I’d surrendered myself to thinking I’d never have children, that we’d never have children and suddenly I’ve got just twenty-five weeks to prepare for a child I’m not even supposed to be carrying. I’m scared Jimmy. Can I do this? Can we do this?” she looks up at Jimmy, eyes wide with fear and he pulls her body deeper into his arms.

“You can do anything, Ness, that’s what first attracted me to you. You’re always there, always ready and up for anything. You’re ready for this. I know you are.”

Jimmy pulls Vanessa’s chin up and plants a soft kiss on her nose.

“We’ll be fine, won’t we Jimmy?” she asks, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

“We’ll be great,” he replies, holding her tight.

Suddenly their conversation is cut short by the sound of a key turning in the door and a loud thudding along the hallway.

“Vanessa?” Emily shrieks as she runs into the room.

“We’re doomed.” Jimmy whispers into Vanessa’s ear as he gets up to welcome Emily.

She runs straight past Jimmy’s open arms and onto the couch next to Vanessa.

“You’re really pregnant?” she asks, her face inches away from Vanessa’s and her hand pressed firmly on her tummy.

“Yes. I went in for some tests and came back with a family,” Vanessa jokes half-heartedly.

“Oh that’s wonderful news. Isn’t that wonderful news Jimmy?” she shouts.

Jimmy, who is still standing with his arms erect, laughs and turns around. “It’s great news.”

“And you’re going to be moving to Charlotte’s house as well. Oh this is great,” her face lighting up at the thought of a grandchild.

As Emily starts gabbling on about clothes, cots and breast-feeding, Jimmy sneaks out to go and watch some TV in the bedroom. He lays on the bed, smiling at the way that no matter how prepared you are for where your life is going, it always seems to come and pull the secure rug out from under your feet. That morning a family seemed completely impossible. And now, after so long of wishing, finally their luck has changed. After a while, watching television just didn't seem like an appropriate celebration, so grabbing his coat and keys, he runs out of the front door and gets in his car before Emily can catch him and call him in to lecture him on the right way up to hold a baby. He has the perfect plan, and he isn't going to let anyone or anything get in his way.

Jimmy creeps into the apartment and shuts the door softly behind him. Looking up at the clock he sighs in annoyance at the thought of Vanessa going to bed alone. His plan will have to wait until the morning.
He takes his shoes off and throws them down into the hallway, then slides along the floor to the bedroom. Hiding a small green bag in his sock drawer, he quietly climbs into bed next to Vanessa and curls up behind her.

“Where have you been?” Vanessa asks sleepily, wriggling back to cradle herself in the curve of his body and pulling his strong arm around her.

“Planning our life,” he replies with a smile.

“Mhmm,” she sighs, pulling Jimmy’s arms up to her neck and falling back to sleep again



Waking up to a bright sunny day, Vanessa stretches and pulls herself out of bed. She looks around the room, which has been hovered and dusted, and walks into the bathroom. Lying on the side is a towel, some rose bubble bath and a chocolate muffin. Munching on the muffin Vanessa steps slowly into the warm bath water and leaves the taps on to run as she soaks herself.
Half an hour later, freshly washed and dressed in a pretty skirt and a flattering shirt finished off with her fluffy pink slippers, she pads into the kitchen and sits herself down at the table.

“Hungry?” Jimmy asks, hovering around the stove with steam and beautiful smells flying around him.

“I am actually,” she smiles, leaning back in the chair and putting her feet up on the windowsill.

“Good” Jimmy replies, turning around to show a huge plate of pancakes, a jar of maple syrup, a lemon and a large mug of coffee all balanced on a big tray.

“I should have your baby more often,” Vanessa giggles, looking over her lovely breakfast and pulling Jimmy beside her.

“That’s not what this is for,” Jimmy smiles, running into the bedroom.

Vanessa watches after him for a few seconds then digs into her pancakes. Jimmy emerges a few minutes later with his hand behind his back.

“What are you up to, Mr Connor?”

Jimmy wipes the sweat off of his forehead with his sleeve, and bends down. Suddenly he is on one knee, and holding Vanessa’s left hand softly.

“Vanessa, I love you more than anything and couldn't imagine a life where I couldn't see your face every morning. I’ve been thinking about this a long while, but I couldn’t find the right time. Now, everything seems to be fitting into place and you’re making me the happiest man in the world. But there’s one more thing that can top that off,” he says, pulling a small black box out from behind his back, and opening it to reveal a beautiful white gold diamond ring. “Marry me?”

Tears running down her cheeks, Vanessa bites her lip to stop herself blubbering.
Jimmy looks around shiftily.

“Not getting any younger, love, my knees aren’t made of stone. Say yes already,” he laughs.

Vanessa’s face spreads into a wide smile as they stand up. Jimmy slides the ring on her finger, and pulls her into his arms.

“Of course I’ll marry you,” she whispers in between sobs. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he whispers back, “more than anything.”

“Always and forever,” she sighs happily as she hangs on tightly to the love of her life, sneaking a glance at the gorgeous ring adorning her normally empty finger.


Later that day, after the appropriate phone calls have been made informing close friends and family of their engagement, Vanessa sits quietly on the sofa, thinking to herself about all the things that have happened in the past few weeks. She places her hand softly on her tummy and smiles to herself. She’s finally able to feel complete.

“You’re going to make everything ok, little one,” she mumbles, looking at the beautiful glistening ring on her finger.

She stands up and walks slowly over to the phone. Picking up and dialling Charlotte’s number, she perches herself down on the side of the sofa, breathes deeply.

“Hi Charlotte,” she sighs softly, smiling to herself. “I’d like set a date to swap homes.”