Chapter 74
Wednesday April 1st
Morning
Thought I’d do a spring clean this morning. It being spring and that.
So I tried to de-clutter the bathroom.
There’s SO much stuff in there. I divided it into pre- and post-pregnancy.
Pre-pregnancy
Va-va-voom! mascara, neon eyeshadow, glittery nail varnish, fruit face mask, waxing strips, tampons and general pampering stuff.
Post-pregnancy
Sanitary towels big enough to absorb a bath-load of water, a vaginal toning weight kit, stretch mark cream, suppositories, a big Velcro belt to help my stomach muscles knit together and hospital knickers made of stretchy netting.
How can something as natural as pregnancy and childbirth mess your body up so badly?
Evening
Alex called round at 8pm to take me running.
Nick was so pissed off, but he has no reason to be. I can’t help the fact that Nick and Alex didn’t get on at school (Nick went to Windsor College for a year, before getting expelled for laziness).
Anyway, Sadie is so unreliable.
Alex and I did more running and less walking this time.
We jogged along the Thames and all the way to Embankment.
A man on the deck of a river cruiser shouted: ‘Alex Dalton! I don’t believe it. Just the man. Jump onboard – I have some killer news about Maverick.’
Alex said, ‘Not right now, Ben.’
The man looked at his cocktail glass, pretended to rub his eyes and said, ‘Did you just say, “not right now” to a business discussion?’
Alex said, ‘We’ll talk tomorrow.’
We ran on, and I asked about Maverick.
Alex said, ‘It’s a Swedish hotel chain. We’re looking to them over.’
I said, ‘So isn’t that important? Do you want to go back?’
Alex said, ‘It’s not important. Not right now.’
Thursday April 2nd
Phoned Laura to ask about her and Zach, but she said nothing much was happening. They’ve been on a few dates, but that was it.
Bugger. I was hoping they were secretly engaged or something. That would irritate Catrina Dalton and Helen no end.
After clearing out the bathroom yesterday, I realise I might still be traumatised about Katy’s birth.
She came out okay in the end, but they had to use some big metal barbeque tongs.
Before I had Katy, I wanted a natural birth. Now I know the truth.
Nature is cruel and awful and we’re lucky to have things like morphine and haemorrhoid cream.
Friday April 3rd
Good Friday
Nick is in Sheffield for an audition this weekend, so I’m back in Great Oakley.
Considered getting Katy an Easter egg. But she’s a bit young for chocolate (although Mum says we had Easter eggs ‘practically from birth’). So I bought her socks with little chickens on them.
Got the usual Cadbury’s Buttons Easter egg for Callum.
I’m not giving it to him until Easter Sunday.
Dad always insisted we didn’t have our Easter eggs until then, and it taught us patience and self-control.
Saturday April 4th
Did a bad thing. Ate Callum’s Easter egg.
Luckily the village supermarket was still open, so I bought him another one.
9pm
Did a bad thing again. Ate the replacement egg.
Supermarket closed now.
Sunday April 5th
Easter Sunday
Snuck out early to buy a replacement egg, but the village supermarket was closed.
Ended up getting the train into London and buying a giant Thornton’s bunny rabbit from a 24-hour off-licence.
It was enormous – almost as big as Katy.
Of course, Callum ate the whole thing at once. Then he jumped on every bouncy surface in the house and put his foot through a wicker coffee table.
Monday April 6th
Easter Monday
Bit sick of chocolate. But Mum has made a double-chocolate Easter cake covered in chocolate frosting, chocolate chicks, and chocolate bunnies. There’s also a surprise in the middle – chocolate fondant.
Tuesday April 7th
Morning
Dad came round to discuss beer for the wedding.
He made detailed notes about guests and drinking habits, worked out the number of beer barrels we’d need, then fixed the leaking tap in the bathroom and replaced a blown fuse in the kitchen light.
Thinking about guest numbers (or any numbers) was a nightmare.
What’s happened to my brain? I used to know whole phone numbers. Now I can’t even find my handbag in the morning.
How do women manage with two children? Or three?
My old school friend, Mandy Hughes, has FOUR children. She looks like the walking dead – all blank-eyed. She can’t even match up her kids’ names – she cycles through all four until she gets the right one.
Evening
Laura turned up unexpectedly and forced me off the sofa.
She threw away my tube of Pringles and wouldn’t let me finish my chocolate bar until I’d got my running gear on. Then she dragged me out in the rain.
Now we’re back I’m glad I went running. I feel great, actually. Really great. I should so make this a habit, even after the marathon. Not just for losing weight, but for feeling good too.
Wednesday April 8th
Alex and I went running again this evening.
Nick was furious. I think he’s getting worried that I might win the bet.
When unreliable Sadie was my running partner, the odds were much more in Nick’s favour.
I have to admit, it’s very pleasant watching Alex running. He sort of glides along, barely touching the floor.
His body is all toned and athletic in that ‘I’m a rich person, so my body could be in a magazine’ kind of way. And the burn on his arm, although an imperfection, shows just how perfect the rest of his body is.
I suppose it’s no wonder Nick is jealous – every girl we ran past turned to stare at Alex.
When we got back to the apartment, Alex said, ‘Well done Juliette. I’ll see you next week.’
I was glowing when I came through the front door – it was the very first time I actually thought, yes, I could have a chance of finishing this marathon.