Free Baby Be Mine by Paige Toon Page A

don’t know if it’s properly sunk in.’
    ‘How awful.’ She shakes her head sadly.
    ‘I must call him later,’ I add.
    ‘I’ll look after Barney if you want to call him now?’
    ‘Actually, I might do that quickly. Do you mind?’
    ‘Of course not!’
    I go into the adjoining room and find my phone before sliding the doors shut.
    ‘Hey, you,’ I say warmly when he answers. ‘How’s it all going?’
    ‘Not too bad,’ he replies with a small sigh. ‘Dad hasn’t looked at any photos today, so that’s a step in the right direction.’
    I murmur with sympathy.
    ‘How are you?’ he asks. ‘Cheer me up. How’s your room?’
    ‘It’s amazing,’ I say earnestly. ‘Thank you so much.’
    He chuckles softly. ‘You’re welcome. What are you up to?’
    ‘We’ve been for a swim and now we’re getting ready for an early dinner. I’m hoping Barney will fall asleep in the buggy after that so we can stay out for a while. You know how he sleeps through anything when he’s knackered.’
    ‘Good luck. I wish I could be there.’
    ‘I wish you could be, too,’ I say sadly. ‘Have you booked your return flight home yet?’
    ‘No.’ Another sigh. ‘I think I’m going to fly straight into Berlin for the band’s next show.’
    ‘When?’
    ‘Tomorrow.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ I ask worriedly. ‘Isn’t that a bit too soon?’
    ‘I don’t think so. Joel’s going to be here for a couple of weeks, and Dad won’t let us help him clear away any of Mum’s things yet. I’ll have to come back in a month or two anyway, so I should get back to work.’
    ‘How long will you be away?’
    ‘Could be another week or two.’
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘Well, I missed the tour’s opening night so I’ve got a bit of catching up to do. Maybe I’ll only need ten days.’
    That still seems like forever to me.
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘You don’t mind, do you?’
    I take a deep breath. He’s already been through so much. ‘No,’ I reply. ‘It’s fine.’ But inside I’m disappointed.
    Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for Bess to lift my spirits. She’s cracked open the complimentary champers in the minibar and has poured me a glass.
    ‘I shouldn’t really drink any more,’ I say solemnly. ‘I’m a mother now.’
    ‘Bollocks to that!’ She chinks my glass. I grin and then cough as the fizzy bubbles hit the back of my throat.
    ‘You alright, love?’ Bess asks wryly. ‘You don’t drink much these days, do you?’
    ‘Not as much as I used to,’ I admit.
    ‘We’ll soon rectify that,’ she jokes. ‘How was Christian?’
    ‘Relieved that his dad has stopped trawling through photo albums of his mum,’ I reply with a sad smile as I put my champagne glass down on a table. ‘He also told me he’s going to join Contour Lines on tour instead of coming home again.’
    ‘Oh no,’ she says.
    ‘Mmm,’ I reply unhappily.
    ‘Sounds like you need a night out on the town!’
    ‘I couldn’t agree with you more. Let’s get ready.’
    ‘Good plan.’ She turns to rummage through her suitcase. ‘Ooh, I forgot about this.’ She plucks out a box-shaped parcel brightly wrapped in paper decorated with rocket ships. ‘Barney!’
    ‘You’ve just given him a present!’ I exclaim as my little boy leaves his torn-apart stickers for a moment and comes crawling over.
    ‘This is his birthday present – I only sent him something small last month,’ Bess replies.
    ‘You didn’t have to do that,’ I chide. ‘But that’s very sweet, thank you.’
    ‘You won’t thank me when he opens it.’ She gives me a cheeky grin and helps Barney remove the paper to reveal a white toy bunny. ‘I’ve already put some batteries in it,’ she says, taking it out of the box and switching it on. The thing squeaks into life immediately before doing a sudden back-flip and landing on its feet again. A delighted Barney picks it up.
    ‘That is seriously going to do my head in,’ I joke, as the fluffy rabbit keeps on squeaking.
    ‘The joys of