Hidden Love. Кэрол Мортимер

      The woman looked up, tears instantly flooding her eyes. ‘Oh, thank God someone has actually spoken to me!’ she groaned, her accent distinctly American, her hand coming out to clutch on to Rachel’s. ‘Can you please help me?’

      Rachel sat down on the bench beside the woman. ‘Of course,’ she squeezed her hand reassuringly. ‘Is it the baby?’

      ‘Yes. I—I think it’s going to be born soon. I’ve been having pains the last hour. Sharp pains,’ the woman added pointedly.

      Rachel chewed on her bottom lip, knowing little or nothing about giving birth. ‘Do you think you should go to hospital?’

      ‘I know so,’ the other woman admitted ruefully. ‘I’ve been trying to get out of this park and into a cab for the last thirty minutes, but no one seems willing to help.’

      Rachel gave her hand another squeeze, knowing exactly what she meant, having once seen a man actually collapse in the street and people walk past him. It wasn’t that the people were callous or uncaring, they just didn’t want to get involved—as Danny hadn’t. Only she wasn’t made of the same stuff, had been the one to call an ambulance for that man and sit with him while they waited for it to arrive, and she was going to help this woman too.

      ‘I’ll help you,’ she promised. ‘I’ll get you a taxi, and—–’

      ‘You won’t leave me?’ The woman sounded panicked.

      ‘I could call someone for you—–’

      ‘Nick—he’ll come. I—Oh!’ she groaned, her hand squeezing the blood out of Rachel’s fingers.

      ‘A contraction?’ Rachel gulped.

      ‘Yes,’ she gasped. ‘They’re coming quite regularly now. I don’t think it can be much longer.’

      Rachel was no expert, but she had the same feeling. ‘There’s a call-box just outside the park gates, I’ll call an ambulance. And Nick.’

      ‘Just call the ambulance,’ the woman advised raggedly, pulling a tattered piece of paper out of her handbag. ‘It’s a private clinic,’ she explained as she gave Rachel the slip of paper. ‘My name is Kay Lennox, by the way—they might ask you that. The call to Nick can wait until later.’

      Rachel managed to extricate her hand, flexing the fingers to recirculate the blood. ‘I’ll call the clinic now, and—–’

      ‘Rachel!’ Danny had tired of waiting and now stood in front of them. ‘We have to get back,’ he hissed pointedly.

      She licked her lips nervously, knowing he wasn’t going to like what she said next. ‘Mrs Lennox is having a baby,’ she explained.

      ‘I can see that,’ he snapped.

      She shook her head, and stood up. ‘I mean now,’ she told him softly. ‘I have to call an ambulance—–’

      ‘Count me out,’ he said instantly—as she had known he would. ‘Rachel, you can’t get involved in this!’

      ‘I can’t not get involved,’ she snapped angrily. ‘Can’t you see that—–’

      ‘I can see you’re determined to do this. I have a class to go to,’ he told her coldly. ‘Call me when you’ve finished—baby-sitting!’ He turned and walked off.

      ‘Danny!’ She soon caught up with him, grabbing his arm to stop him. ‘I thought you could stay with Mrs Lennox while I made the telephone call,’ she looked up at him pleadingly.

      ‘Then you thought wrong,’ he scowled darkly. ‘Are you mad, Rachel? It won’t just be the telephone call, the next thing you know she’ll want you to go to the hospital with her.’

      ‘She won’t ask, Danny,’ her hand fell away from his arm, ‘because I’ll offer,’ she added rebelliously.

      ‘Then you do it alone!’ He shook his head. ‘You always have to interfere. Why couldn’t you just leave the woman alone?’

      ‘And let her have her baby on a park bench?’ Her eyes flashed.

      ‘She wouldn’t have—–’

      ‘She still could if I don’t make that call. Goodbye, Danny.’

      ‘Rachel—–’

      She looked at him coldly, disappointed to find he was another of those people who didn’t want to get involved. ‘I said goodbye.’ This time she was the one to turn and walk away.

      When she next looked round it was to see Danny striding back towards the college. She doubted she would be dating him again. Oh well, maybe it was for the best; she didn’t particularly like people who couldn’t care for others.

      She quickly called the clinic, giving them instructions on how to find them before rushing back to Kay Lennox’s side. ‘They’ll be here in a few minutes,’ she reassured her.

      ‘Thank you.’ Kay seemed to relax visibly. ‘You’ve been so kind. The baby isn’t really due for another three weeks, and I thought it would be all right for me to go shopping. Nick will be so angry when he finds out what’s happened,’ she frowned worriedly.

      He must be a bit of a brute to be angry just because his wife was having their baby three weeks early. ‘I’m sure he’ll understand,’ Rachel soothed softly.

      ‘You don’t know Nick,’ Kay grimaced.

      And she wasn’t sure she wanted to! Kay seemed genuinely worried about her husband’s disapproval. He should be made to understand that babies had no idea of the date picked out for them to arrive.

      ‘I’ll call him,’ she promised again. ‘Just as soon as we get you to the clinic. I’m sure he’ll forget to be angry once he sees the baby.’

      Kay grimaced once again. ‘I doubt it. The last thing he said to me this morning was to take things easy.’

      Rachel didn’t like the sound of Nick Lennox at all, although she gave no indication of that as she accompanied the other woman to the clinic in the ambulance. Once there Kay was whisked off to a delivery room while Rachel was shown into a waiting room.

      The doctor came back to tell her it would be several hours yet, and since she had tried the number Kay had given her for her husband and been met with one of those infuriating machines that said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’m out at the moment. If you wish to leave a message do so now,’ she decided she had better wait here until the absent Mr Lennox came to the hospital in answer to her message for him to do so.

      There were a few magazines lying about the waiting-room, but none of them really held her interest. The minutes dragged by into hours, until suddenly she realised it was almost dinner time and she had received no further word from the doctor on Kay’s condition, and Nick Lennox still hadn’t put in an appearance.

      When she tried the telephone number Kay had given her for a second time it was to again be met with that hollow-sounding recording, leaving the same message for Mr Lennox to come to the hospital immediately, thinking that at this rate the baby would be a year old before its father put in an appearance! It was ridiculous to leave on an answering service when you knew your wife was so near to having her baby.

      The doctor came back into the waiting-room just after she had returned herself. ‘No Mr Lennox yet?’ he raised his eyebrows.

      ‘I’m afraid not,’ she grimaced.

      ‘Well, in the circumstances … You accompanied Mrs Lennox, I believe?’ he looked at her enquiringly.

      ‘Yes,’ she nodded.

      He shrugged. ‘It should be another hour or so before the baby is born, and Mrs Lennox keeps asking for her husband. I wondered if you would mind talking to her for a few minutes, just to assure her that he has been notified.’

      The thought