The Midwife's Christmas Miracle (13 page)

As soon as she was ready she made her way into the sitting room, only to come to an abrupt halt at the sight that met her. Max was standing by the stove and he turned when he heard her coming in.

‘I hope you don’t mind me raiding your cupboards.’

‘Of course I don’t mind,’ she whispered, staring around in amazement.

He had drawn the curtains to block out the daylight and placed lighted candles around the room instead. The soft glow they gave out lent the shabby room an almost magical charm. More candles had been placed in the centre of the table, the flickering light from their flames reflecting off the glasses and cutlery. Lucy was so touched that he had gone to so much trouble that it was several seconds before she could speak.

‘I never expected anything like this, Max. It looks absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for doing all this.’

‘So long as you like it, that’s all that matters,’ he
said softly. He picked up a couple of glasses and came towards her. ‘I hope you like Bucks Fizz, although I’m afraid the fizz part is lemonade not champagne!’

Lucy laughed as she accepted one of the glasses. ‘I shall make a note to always keep a bottle of champagne in the fridge from now on!’

‘Starting with the bottle I owe you.’ He gave her a warm smile as he touched his glass to hers. ‘Happy Christmas, Lucy.’

‘Happy Christmas,’ she repeated, feeling a shiver run through her when she saw the way he was looking at her. Maybe it wasn’t champagne, but it was every bit as potent as she had imagined it would be to share this drink with him, and the thought made her heart race.

They finished their drinks and Max took the empty glasses over to the sink. He came back and pulled out a chair then bowed. ‘If Madame would care to take her seat, luncheon will be served very shortly.’

Lucy giggled as she sat down, loving the fact that he was as happy to play the fool as the ardent lover. ‘Thank you, waiter. May I ask what’s on the menu?’

‘Omelettes
aux herbes fines.
Not exactly Christmas fare, but the chef does make the most amazing omelettes.’ He kissed the tips of his fingers and she laughed.

‘They had better be good after the build-up you’re giving them!’

‘Manna from heaven,’ he assured her, grinning wickedly as he headed to the stove.

Lucy sighed as she watched him set to work, beating the eggs. It would be only too easy to see this rapport between them as a sign that their relationship would last,
but it would be a mistake to do that. She had to remember that Max wasn’t interested in her long-term.

It was a sobering thought and one that she couldn’t ignore. It was a relief when Max brought in the plates. He set them down with a flourish.

‘Luncheon is served.’

Lucy nodded regally, doing her best to play her part. She was going to enjoy this magical Christmas day, every single second of it, and not ruin it by worrying about what might happen in the future. ‘Thank you, waiter.’

‘My pleasure, Madame.’ Tearing off a length of kitchen roll, he draped it across her lap with huge aplomb.
‘Bon appétit.’

‘You’ve obviously done this before,’ she said, laughing.

‘I have indeed. I waited tables while I was medical school. The extra cash helped to top up my grant. In fact, at one point I was working evenings in a fast food outlet during the week
and
doing silver service in an up-market restaurant at the weekend.’

‘Is that where you learned how to make an omelette?’ she asked, cutting into her omelette, and he nodded.

‘Yep. The chef was a nightmare to work for. He used to throw a tantrum if things weren’t done the way he wanted them. Needless to say, the turnover of kitchen staff was horrendous and several times I ended up acting as his sous chef.’

‘Really? So how did you get on with him?’

‘All right, funnily enough. Oh, he still used to storm around the place but I learned to ignore him. It was good practice for when I did my rotations. Some of the consultants I worked for made him look like a real pussy cat!’

He rolled his eyes as Lucy laughed. She cut another sliver of omelette, sighing appreciatively as she popped it into her mouth. ‘This is delicious. How did you manage to make it so light?’

‘You add a splash of water to the eggs,’ he informed her. ‘I’ve no idea why but it seems to work. And you mustn’t beat them too hard either.’

‘I’ll remember that,’ she assured him.

They finished their meal and Lucy made a pot of coffee for them. Max was sitting on the couch when she took the tray in; he looked up and grimaced.

‘I’ll have dents in my bottom if I sit on this thing for very long. The springs are poking right through the cushions.’

‘Tell me about it.’ Lucy sighed as she gingerly perched on the edge of the couch and poured coffee into two mugs. ‘It should be sent to the tip along with the rest of the furniture.’

‘I take it that you rent the place fully furnished?’

‘Yes. I couldn’t afford to buy furniture when I moved here so I went for the easy option.’

Max frowned. ‘I’d have thought it was cheaper living here than in the city. It’s definitely less expensive to rent a place, I’ve found.’

‘It is, and once the lease has expired on the flat in Manchester then I’ll be much better off. I won’t be paying rent on that as well.’

‘You’re still paying rent on your old flat!’ he exclaimed.

‘Yes.’ Lucy grimaced. ‘We’d only just signed the lease when I found out what my ex had been up to. He refused to pay his share of the rent after we split up, so it was down to me.’

‘He sounds like a real piece of work,’ he said in disgust, then shrugged. ‘Sorry. It’s not my place to say that.’

Because he didn’t want to get involved? Lucy summoned a smile, but it hurt to know that Max was keeping his distance after what they had shared. ‘Don’t apologise, it’s true. I only wish I’d realised sooner what he was like. It would have stopped a lot of people getting hurt.’

‘You mean your family? Is that why you decided not to go home for Christmas and New Year, because of the upset it had caused?’

‘Yes. I was afraid that if I went home everything would get raked up again and that’s the last thing I want.’

‘I imagine it would have been difficult to see your cousin after what has happened?’

‘It would, although I don’t blame Amy. She’d just split up with her boyfriend when Richard came onto her and I think that’s why she ended up falling for him. He caught her at a weak moment, not that she was the first by any means.’

Max didn’t say anything else. He let the subject drop, not that she was sorry. What had happened suddenly seemed of very little consequence if she was honest. It made her see that her feelings for Richard hadn’t been nearly as deep as she’d thought, nowhere near as deep as the feelings she realised she had developed for Max. She knew that when she and Max went their separate ways, it would be far more painful.

M
AX
couldn’t settle after he left Lucy. He went back home, intending to spend the evening watching the Christmas Day film, but it failed to hold his attention. In the end, he switched off the set while he sat and thought about everything that had happened that day.

Making love to Lucy had been everything he had dreamed it would be and more. He had never expected to feel such a connection to another person as he had felt to her, and the thought filled him with despair because at some point soon he would have to let her go. All he could have were a few short weeks and he really shouldn’t allow himself even that much.

He sighed. He had done the one thing he had sworn he wouldn’t do and now he had to ensure that he didn’t make matters worse. That comment Lucy had made about her fiancé catching her cousin at a particularly vulnerable moment could apply equally to her. It brought it home to him that he needed to be extra-careful about how he handled the situation. Although he wished with all his heart that things could be different, it would be wrong to allow her to fall in love with him. The fact was, she would be much better off without him messing up her life.

Christmas Day had turned out to be quite busy, Lucy discovered when she arrived for work that night. Cathy was doing the handover and she lost no time updating her.

‘There are two mums still in delivery. One’s had her baby and she’ll be moving onto a ward as soon as Anita has finished tidying her up. The other mum will be a while yet from the look of things. Helen Roberts is in the side room. The diabetes care team have asked us to monitor her blood glucose levels as they’ve nobody on duty tonight. She’s on between-meals testing as well, so the last check will be due around midnight, if you could make a note of that.’

‘Of course. What about the baby? How’s he doing?’

‘Fine. He’s feeding well and all the tests are clear.’

‘That’s good to hear.’

They completed the handover and Cathy stood up to leave. ‘That’s it, then. Let’s hope you have a quiet night, unlike last night.’

‘It was quite an experience,’ Lucy agreed.

‘I’ll bet it was.’

There was a strange note in Cathy’s voice and Lucy looked at her in surprise. ‘Sorry, am I missing something?’

‘I heard all about you careering around the countryside with Max. The whole hospital’s been buzzing with it, in fact.’ Cathy grimaced. ‘Tell me to mind my own business, but I think you should know that a lot of folk are wondering if you’re the latest candidate to fall under Max’s spell.’

‘But it was work!’ she protested, trying to control the blush that rose to her cheeks. Maybe last night had been to do with work but this afternoon certainly hadn’t been.

‘That’s what I keep telling everyone but you know how people love to gossip, especially about Max. Just be careful, though. I think the world of Max—we all do—but he’s an inveterate womaniser. I’d hate you to get hurt, Lucy.’

Cathy said her goodbyes and left before Lucy could say anything. She sighed as she left the office. Whilst she didn’t regret what had happened, Cathy’s advice was a timely reminder that she needed to take care. Just because she and Max had slept together, it didn’t mean they had a future.

The evening flew past. Thankfully, Lucy had no time to brood because she was far too busy. The second baby, a girl, finally made her appearance just before nine p.m. Although it had been a long and tiring labour for the mother, everything was fine. Once mum and babe had been moved onto a ward, Tina went for her break. She’d only just left when the front doorbell rang to warn them there was someone waiting outside. Diane was in the office so Lucy popped her head round the door.

‘Someone’s just rung the bell. Can you hold the fort while I see who it is?’

Leaving Diane in charge, she hurried downstairs. Security was extremely tight on the maternity unit. All the external doors were kept locked during the night and anyone who wanted to be admitted had to ring the bell. Most mums phoned ahead to warn them they were coming in but there were always a few who just turned up. Opening the door, she peered out but there was nobody about. She frowned, wondering if it had been children playing a trick by ringing the bell. It had happened a couple of times, although it seemed unlikely
on Christmas Day. Stepping outside, she scanned the car park but still couldn’t see anyone.

Lucy went to go back inside when she heard a noise. She stopped dead, trying to work out where it was coming from. There was a bench seat against the wall close to the door and she realised that the sound was coming from that direction. She hurried over to the bench and gasped when she saw a Moses basket tucked on the end of it. There was a baby in it, wrapped in blankets and with a pale blue knitted hat on its head.

Lucy hurriedly picked up the basket and carried it inside. Although she would have liked to have gone and looked for whoever had left it there, her main concern was to make sure the baby was unharmed. She quickly made her way back to the maternity unit, seeing the shock on Diane’s face when she saw what Lucy was carrying.

‘Someone left this on the bench by the front door,’ she explained as she carried the basket into the office. Placing it on the desk, she stared down at the baby. ‘I’ve no idea who left it there because there was nobody about by the time I got to the door.’

‘We’ll have to inform the police,’ Diane said immediately. ‘I’ll do it while you make sure he’s all right. We’ll use one of the delivery rooms for now. There’s always a few mums in the nursery at this time of night, doing feeds, and it would be better if we kept this to ourselves for now.’

‘Of course.’

Lucy carried the basket into one of the delivery rooms and placed it on the bed. Although the baby was well wrapped up, it was bitterly cold outside and she wanted to make sure that he wasn’t suffering from hypothermia.
Babies rapidly lost body heat and even a relatively short period of being exposed to the elements could cause a drop in their temperature. She fetched a thermometer and took his temperature, relieved to find that it was within normal limits. She had just finished when Tina appeared.

‘I can’t believe this has happened!’ Tina exclaimed as she came over to the bed. ‘How could any mother abandon her child like that? And on Christmas Day too!’

‘Whoever did it must have been desperate,’ Lucy said sadly. She lifted the baby out of the basket when he started to grizzle and stroked his cheek. ‘He’s obviously been well cared for—you can tell that just by looking at him. Both his clothes and the blankets he was wrapped in are spotless.’

‘I suppose so,’ Tina conceded. ‘Anyway, the police are on their way. Diane said to tell you that they want to interview you, apparently. She’s going to phone Max and let him know what’s happened. I expect he’ll be here shortly, too.’

‘Oh. Right.’ Lucy felt her heart lurch at the thought of seeing Max again so soon. She had to make a conscious effort not to let Tina see how on edge she felt. ‘I think this little fellow might be hungry. Will you stay with him while I go and rustle up a bottle?’

Lucy popped the baby back into the basket and made her way to the nursery. There were a few mums in there so she had a quiet word with the sister and explained what had happened. Once she had made up a bottle of milk, she went back to the delivery room. The police had arrived and they were keen to interview her, so she handed the bottle to Tina while she made a statement.
She had just finished when Max arrived and she felt her pulse start to race when he came straight over her.

‘Are you all right, Lucy? This must have been a real shock.’

‘I’m fine.’ She smiled up at him, loving the way his eyes had darkened when he looked at her. Max might be reluctant to commit himself, but he couldn’t hide the fact that he cared about her. The thought made her heart overflow with happiness. ‘I’m more concerned about finding the baby’s mother. She obviously needs help.’

‘We’ll find her,’ he said softly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

The police wanted to ask him some questions next so Lucy excused herself. Tina had finished giving the baby his bottle so she volunteered to change his nappy. She undid the poppers down the front of his pale blue sleep suit, smiling when he started gurgling and kicking his legs.

‘So you think this is a game, do you?’ she said, tickling his tummy. He wriggled even harder, his chubby little legs flailing up and down with excitement, and she laughed. ‘You’re a lively little fellow, I must say.’

She changed his nappy and was about to pop him back into his clothes when Max came over to her. ‘The police need his clothes and the basket in case they contain any clues as to who he belongs to.’

‘Of course. I’ll undress him now.’

Lucy quickly slipped off the baby’s sleep suit and vest and handed them to one of the officers who placed them in a plastic bag. Although the mums were asked to bring in clothes for their babies, there was a selection of baby clothes in each delivery room in case someone
forgot. She found a fresh vest and a sleep suit and took them over to the bed.

‘Can you tell us roughly how old he is, Doctor?’ the older police officer asked as Lucy started to dress the baby.

Max frowned. ‘Well, he’s not a newborn.’ He pointed to the baby’s tummy. ‘The stump of his umbilical cord has fallen off and that usually happens in the first couple of weeks. If I had to make a guess I’d say he’s about four to five weeks old and that he’s been well looked after too. He’s definitely not undernourished.’

‘I see. And is there any way of checking if he was born here?’ the officer continued, making a note on his pad.

‘You think that’s why the mother left him here?’ Max said in surprise.

‘It’s possible. Most women who abandon their babies choose a place where they know the child will be looked after. It’s possible that this little chap’s mum gave birth to him here and that’s why she chose to leave him outside your door.’

‘It makes sense, I suppose.’ Max sighed. ‘We keep a record of all the babies who are born in the unit, but I’ll need to speak to the hospital’s manager before I can give out information like that. It’s a question of patient confidentiality, you understand.’

‘I understand, Dr Curtis. Rules are rules. But the sooner we find the mother, the better. In my experience, the longer this goes on, the less chance we have of tracing her.’

Lucy could tell that Max was torn between the desire to help all he could and the need to protect their patients’ privacy. She hurriedly intervened, wanting to take some
of the pressure off him. ‘What happens now? To the baby, I mean.’

‘He’ll be taken into care and placed with foster-parents,’ the officer explained. ‘I’ll get onto the child protection team as soon as we get back to the station and arrange for them to collect him.’

‘Actually, I’d feel happier if he remained here tonight,’ Max said firmly. ‘Although he appears to be perfectly fit and healthy, I’d like to keep him under observation. We can find a place for him in the nursery, can’t we, Lucy?’

‘Of course,’ she said immediately.

The policemen agreed that it was probably the best option and left shortly afterwards to check the CCTV footage. There were cameras covering all the outside doors and they were hoping that the incident had been captured on film. Lucy sighed as she fitted a plastic identification tag around the baby’s wrist before she took him to the nursery.

‘I hope they find his mother. I hate just putting the date and the time he was found on this tag instead of his name.’

‘Hopefully, his mum will come forward soon and claim him,’ Max said quietly.

‘Is that why you were so keen to keep him here?’

‘How did you guess?’ He smiled at her. ‘I know it’s a long shot, but the fact that she left him outside our door suggests that she trusts us. I think it’s far more likely that she will get in touch with us if she thinks the baby is here rather than with the police.’

‘You could be right. So what do we do if she does contact us?’

‘Try to reassure her that she isn’t in any kind of
trouble. She must be in a pretty bad state to have abandoned her child like that and the last thing we want is for her to think that she’ll be in trouble with the authorities.’

‘I feel so sorry for her,’ Lucy said sadly, looking down at the baby. ‘I can’t imagine what she must be going through at the moment, can you?’

‘We’ll do everything we can to help her, Lucy. I promise you that.’

His tone was so gentle that her heart ached. Max was such a good person, kind, caring, considerate of other people’s needs. Maybe he did portray the image of a carefree bachelor, but she was more convinced than ever that it was all a front. It didn’t seem right that he should continue to deny himself the kind of life he deserved because his first marriage had failed and she needed to make him understand that.

‘Look, Max,’ she began, then stopped when the door opened and Diane appeared.

‘Sorry, Max, but you’re wanted on the phone. It’s Alan Harper, the hospital’s manager. Apparently, the press have found out about the baby being abandoned and phoned him at home.’ Diane grimaced. ‘He’s none too pleased, either, seeing as he knew nothing about it.’

‘How on earth did they get hold of the story so soon?’ Max exclaimed, hurrying to the door. He paused to glance back. ‘Can you book him into the nursery and make sure all the staff know that any phone calls concerning him are to be directed to me. There’ll probably be a lot of crank calls once the news gets out, but if the mother does phone, I want to speak to her.’

‘I’ll make sure everyone knows what to do,’ she assured him, and he smiled.

‘Thanks, Lucy.’

Lucy sighed as she took a blanket off the rack and wrapped the baby in it. Maybe it was a good thing that she’d been interrupted when she had. It wasn’t her place to give Max advice and he would probably have resented her interfering. After all, if he’d wanted to change the way he lived, he would have done so. The fact that he hadn’t pointed to just one thing: he must still be in love with his ex-wife if their divorce continued to exert such an influence over him.

She knew she should accept that, but it was hard to accept that Max loved another woman after what they had shared that afternoon. She had felt closer to him that day than she’d felt to anyone else and knew that if she continued to see him, her feelings would grow stronger. She knew that she should call a halt but she couldn’t face the thought. The truth was that she had fallen in love with Max and didn’t want to lose him.