Jane and Jamie looked at each other and burst out laughing, with Megan joining in. Jane leaned forward to hug her, then immediately let go and dashed to the toilet to throw up. Megan got worried and panicked.
‘Oh my God! Jane hasn’t got the plague, has she?’ Jamie rushed over and put his arms around her. ‘No, honey, she’s okay, honestly. Don’t worry, nothing’s wrong.’
Jane came out and drank some coffee, then gave Megan a hug. ‘Honey, I’m sorry to scare you and there’s nothing wrong with me. Megan… I’m pregnant. This is called morning sickness and it’s what most pregnant women get early on. I’m sorry we hadn’t told you yet. I only really knew just before we met you and we didn’t want to bother you with it this week while you were settling in with us, as things have been hard enough for you as it is. We were going to tell you soon.’
Megan threw her arms around her. ‘Oh Jane, I’m so glad you’re not sick! I couldn’t bear that to happen.’ Jane started crying and hugged her back. After they had recovered they sat at the table and talked about it with her.
‘But there aren’t any hospitals or doctors now, are there?’ she said. ‘So what will you do?’
‘Well,’ Jane answered, ‘there is the refugee camp run by the army now at Tunbridge Wells, and they have doctors and nurses there who can help me,’ which seemed to satisfy Megan. She omitted any other misgivings that she and Jamie might have so as to not worry the girl.
While Jane and Megan got breakfast underway Jamie took Max out for his morning walk along the promenade. After breakfast they tidied the place up a bit and got ready for their friends’ visit. Jane made some olive bread, which Megan helped her with, while Jamie prepared the fish they’d caught the previous day. They made a Mediterranean-style fish stew with onions and tinned tomatoes, as theirs wouldn’t be ready for a while yet, and herbs from the garden.
They heard a vehicle pull up earlier than expected and when Jamie went to look he saw Bill’s old Renault van outside, so he opened the door and went out to welcome them.
‘I see you finally got the old van fixed!’
Bill grinned as he shook his hand. ‘Well, it was about time, I suppose! Didn’t take much, in the end. Glad to have it back on the road.’
Sally came up and gave him a hug, followed by Emma. ‘Where’s Pete?’ asked Jamie. ‘Oh, he’s busy working on a small project with Phil,’ replied Emma, ‘and he wanted to get it finished today. He sends his regards, as do Phil and Sophie.’
They went through to the kitchen and Jane greeted them warmly with smiles and hugs, while Max barked and jumped up at them all. Megan was standing by the back door, looking both excited and a little shy.
‘Hello – who’s this, then?’ asked Emma.
‘This is Megan,’ said Jane. ‘We met her last week in Sidley. She’d been surviving on her own for about five months so we brought her back to live with us. Megan, this is Emma and her husband, Bill, and their daughter, Sally.’
They said hello and Megan came forward and shook their hands, smiling, saying how pleased she was to meet them. Sally said hi and gave her a big smile.
‘Is it okay if Sally and I take Max down to the beach?’ asked Megan. Sally was keen and the adults said yes, of course. Megan grabbed Max’s ball and the three of them ran off down the garden while the adults looked on, smiling.
‘It’ll do Megan a power of good having Sally to play with,’ said Jane, with tears starting in her eyes.
Emma put her arm around her. ‘And Sally, too, I think. She’s missed having girls her own age to hang out with. So, tell us all about her.’
Jane told them how they’d met on the way back from Sarah and Georgie’s the week before, and how she had spent a month in a cellar and another four months scavenging for food on her own after her parents had died. Bill shook his head and Emma had tears in her eyes.
‘The poor thing,’ she said. ‘What an awful thing to go through! She’s all skin and bone.’
‘You should have seen her a week ago,’ said Jamie. ‘She’s put on a fair bit of weight already since then, hasn’t she, Jane?’
‘Yes, she has, and she already seems like a different person to the scared little girl we met, bless her.’
Bill gave them a bag containing some eggs, milk and fresh cheese and they both thanked them. Jamie made them all coffee and they sat at the table talking about Megan.
‘That was a really good thing you did,’ said Bill, ‘bringing her back with you like that and taking her in.’
‘To be honest, mate,’ said Jamie, ‘we didn’t even need to think about it. There was no way we could have left her on her own.’ Jane agreed with him.
After their coffee they gave Bill and Emma a tour of the two houses and gardens. They were both impressed with all the things the couple had done there, and with all the food they had managed to preserve for the winter. They stood at the bottom of the garden looking out the gate at the two girls playing with Max on the beach, shrieking and laughing. Bill looked pensive.
‘Well, you’ve got a pretty good setup here,’ he said, ‘and a nice spot. Have you given any thought to how long you might stay here?’
Jamie smiled. ‘Blimey! No, we hadn’t even thought that far ahead, to be honest. And just recently we’ve had other things on our mind, too, apart from Megan…’
‘You’re pregnant, aren’t you?’ said Emma; Jane gave her a small smile and nodded.
‘Bloody hell!’ said Bill. ‘I mean… Well, congratulations!’
‘I knew straight away,’ said Emma.
‘Not much escapes you, does it?’ said Jane, smiling fondly at her.
‘No; not a lot!’ she answered, smiling. They all hugged each other and Bill shook Jamie’s hand warmly.
‘Well, it wasn’t planned, as you might imagine;’ said Jamie, ‘but now that it’s happened…’
‘Well, this calls for a celebration,’ said Bill. They went back into the house and Bill produced a bottle of home-made wine that he’d brought.
‘One of the last bottles from last year’s vintage: parsnip and apricot wine, from my old Dad’s recipe,’ he explained. Jane got some glasses and he poured them all a glass, though Jane diluted hers with some water. Bill thought it was sacrilege, but he understood.
‘Any names yet?’ asked Emma.
Jane smiled. ‘Yes – surprisingly! Either Robbie or Annie.’
‘To Robbie or Annie – whichever comes first!’ said Bill. They repeated the toast and drank. Jamie coughed slightly. It was thick, sweet and powerful stuff, more like a strong sherry.
‘Wow!’ he said. ‘That’ll put hairs on your chest!’ Bill smiled and nodded, then looked serious again.
‘Well, I was going to say something before, out in the garden, but your little curve-ball put me off my stroke with your news!’ He looked at Emma, who nodded. ‘The thing is; me and Emma have been talking recently – and this might be even more relevant now, what with Megan and the pregnancy. Well, we wondered if you’d be interested in coming to live with us at the farm? We’re very fond of you both. We’ve got plenty of space there; there’s a wing in the house that’s unused, or we could convert one of the buildings in the top yard. What used to be the chicken shed, back in my dad’s day, even has its own water supply and a hand-pump. Dad diverted the supply to the house about thirty years ago and it still works.
We’d be glad of your company and we could all look out for each other out in times to come, which aren’t going to be easy, as you know. There are acres of land we haven’t used yet and we could grow a lot more crops and breed more animals. We’re going to need to get horses for transport soon as well, I imagine, and we can make stabling for them in the top yard. Also, Megan would be great company for Sally now and we could make a lot of improvements between us. You’re good with your hands, Jamie – and you, Jane – and we could get a lot done to make things better for all our futures.’