‘Not at all. In fact, it isn’t all that far from where I live, funnily enough. I just didn’t recognise the name of the road. I don’t think I’ve been down here before.’
‘You’ve not missed much,’ Lucy assured him wryly, opening the car door. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, I expect.’
‘You will.’
He waited while she unlocked the front door then drove away, but it was a moment before she went inside. As she watched the car’s taillights disappear around a bend, Lucy felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. All of a sudden the evening stretched before her, all those empty hours to fill. She couldn’t help thinking about how her life had used to be, when she had come home from work and Richard had been there.
She sighed because she’d honestly believed they’d been happy. Even when Richard had started making excuses and going out at night, she hadn’t suspected a thing. It was only when Amy, stricken with guilt, had confessed that Lucy had discovered what had been going on. The fact that she’d felt like such a fool had made it all the more painful.
She took a deep breath and closed the door. It was all in the past now and she had moved on. Even though she didn’t feel like the same person, she would survive and build a new life for herself. Just for a moment a picture of Max Curtis appeared in her mind’s eye before she dismissed it. Max might play a small role in her life but no man was going to take centre stage ever again.
Max drove home thinking about what Lucy had told him or, rather, what she hadn’t said. He’d seen the sadness in her eyes and suspected there was more to her decision to relocate than she had admitted. Had she broken up with her partner, perhaps? If that was the case, then it must have been a very painful split if she’d felt the need to leave everything behind.
He sighed as he turned into the car park of the modern apartment block where he lived. He knew only too well how it felt to want to escape. He’d done that himself, hadn’t he? After his marriage had ended, he’d left London and come north, seeking a fresh start. Although he couldn’t change the fact that his life was never going to turn out how he’d expected it would, it had helped to meet new people and form new friendships.
Nowadays he was far more philosophical. So what if he could never father a child? It was a blow, yes, but he had come to terms with the idea now and accepted it. At least he knew the truth so there was no danger of him ruining any other woman’s life.
Marriage was off the agenda for obvious reasons and any relationships he had were strictly for fun. Maybe it wasn’t the life he’d once envisaged for himself, but he couldn’t complain. He had a job he loved, good friends and enough money to buy whatever he wanted. In fact, he couldn’t understand why he was even thinking about it. Had Lucy Harris been the trigger? But why? What was it about her that made him suddenly wish he could change things?
He had no idea but it was something he needed to bear in mind. Lovely though Lucy was, he didn’t intend to get his fingers burned a second time.
Lucy was rostered to work at the antenatal clinic the following morning. She went straight there after she’d signed in and the first person she saw was Max. He was chatting to the receptionist, laughing at something the girl was saying. He looked so relaxed that she felt her spirits immediately lift. It had been a long night and she’d had difficulty sleeping, but there was something about Max that made her feel much more positive about life.
He glanced round when he heard her footsteps and grinned at her. ‘Ahah! I see you’ve drawn the short straw, Lucy. We’ll be working together this morning. Is that OK with you?’
‘Fine.’ She returned his smile, wondering why he had this effect on her. It wasn’t anything he said, more a feeling he exuded, and it was very welcome too. ‘I’ve no problem with that.’
‘Good.’ He gave her a warm smile as he led the way to the consulting room and sat down at the desk while he brought up the list of appointments on the computer. ‘It’s rather a mixed bag this morning. Normally, we try to split the list so that one of us sees the mums who are here for their first visits while the other deals with the rest. Unfortunately, we’re short-staffed today because Diane is off sick. It means you won’t have as much time with the new mums as you’d probably like.’
‘I’ll make up for it at a later date. Most women are a little anxious when they come for their first visit to the clinic and they find it difficult to take everything in. It’s usually better to talk to them and discuss their options at their second or third appointment, I find.’
‘That’s great. I’m glad it isn’t going to cause you a problem.’ He turned his attention back to the screen, scrolling through the list of names until he came to the one he wanted. ‘This is a case I’d like you to be involved in. Mum’s name is Helen Roberts. It’s her first baby and she had pre-existing diabetes mellitus when she got pregnant.’
‘How has she been?’ Lucy asked, walking around the desk. She bent down so she could see the screen, feeling her nostrils tingle as she inhaled the citrus-fresh tang of the shampoo he’d used. She couldn’t help comparing it to the rather cloying scent of the one Richard had preferred.
‘Extremely well so far. We run a pre-pregnancy clinic at Dalverston for women with established diabetes. It’s a joint venture between us and the diabetes care team and our main aim is to ensure that blood glucose levels are under control before and at the time of conception.’
‘There’s a slightly increased risk of the baby being malformed if the blood glucose level isn’t right, isn’t there?’ Lucy questioned, straightening up. She moved back to the other side of the desk, unsure why it troubled her to make the comparison. What difference did it make if she preferred the smell of Max’s shampoo?
‘There is, which is why a woman with diabetes should seek advice before she gets pregnant. As I expect you know, there are increased risks for the mother as well as for the baby. Retinopathy can be a problem for anyone who has diabetes, as can high blood pressure, but there’s more chance of them becoming an issue when a woman is pregnant. And of course there’s a greater risk of mum suffering from pre-eclampsia, too.’
‘It must be daunting for a woman to be faced with all that,’ Lucy said quickly, determined to nip such foolishness in the bud by focusing on their patient.
Max shrugged. ‘It must be. Thankfully, Helen is a very level-headed sort of person. She’s a farmer’s wife and has a very practical approach to life. She understood the risks from the outset and has coped extremely well. We’ve been working closely with the diabetes care team and she’s undergone all the recommended tests and assessments.’
‘How about the baby?’ Lucy asked. ‘Is it much larger than normal?’
‘Slightly larger than would be expected at this stage but not worryingly so.’
‘Controlling the blood glucose level is key, isn’t it? If the level isn’t strictly controlled, there may be an increase in the amount of glucose that reaches the baby so that it grows faster than normal.’
‘Either that or its growth may be stunted,’ Max explained. ‘I’ve seen several cases like that and there were complications each time following the births.’
‘How many weeks is she?’ Lucy asked.
‘Thirty-two,’ he replied promptly, not needing to refer to his notes.
It was clear from that how interested he was in the case and she couldn’t help admiring the fact that it was obviously more than just a job to him. She’d noticed that yesterday, too, when he’d examined Sophie. His patience and refusal to rush were indications of a genuine concern for his patients. She’d worked with a lot of doctors and, sadly, some had treated the mums-to-be in a very cavalier