Babyville Page 0,118

she's got this thing about being the perfect mother, and won't have help. Not that we can afford it anyway,” he snorts.

“Well, all that could change if that magazine feature comes off.”

“I know, but it's more than that. She's just changed so much. She never smiles anymore, never seems happy. Were you like that? Does that change?”

“I wouldn't say I was unhappy, but adjusting to being a mother definitely took months. I wish I could tell you that one day something happened that proved to be the turning point, but actually there was nothing as definitive or dramatic as that. I just woke up one morning and felt light. I felt as if I'd been in a bit of a fog, and suddenly it was gone, and I had energy again, and joy, and every day since then has been getting better and better.”

Chris sighs. “I wish that would happen to Sam.”

“Does she have friends in a similar situation?” Jill asks gently.

“No. That's part of the problem. She's at home all day with George, and when she's not at home she's on the Heath, but wherever she is she's pretty much by herself. She's got this problem with mother and baby groups—”

“I have to say I understand that!” laughs Jill.

“But meanwhile she doesn't see anyone. Both her best friends now live in New York, and I know she is so lonely, so desperate for friends with babies of a similar age, but won't do anything to find them.”

“Maybe she can't.” Jill shrugs. “Maybe she's slightly depressed and she needs to come out the other side. It will pass, though. I promise you it will pass.”

“Will it?”

“Yes. And even if it doesn't, you're all coming to us next Sunday, and I know that Sam and I will get on, and we'll be friends.”

“Can I just ask one more thing?” Chris says, giving her a grateful smile. “Did it affect Dan? That fog you mentioned. Did it ever seriously affect your marriage?”

Jill pauses, unsure at this point what Chris wants to hear, but she has to tell the truth, and he'll be relieved, surely, to hear it. “No. I would say it was a definite rocky patch, but at no point did I ever think about walking out.” She smiles reassuringly, expecting Chris to be relieved. Surely she had said exactly what he needed to hear.

“And what about Dan?” Chris says, anxiety still etched upon his face. “Did he?”

“Are you sure I look okay?” Sam whispers again to Chris as they stand on the doorstep of Jill and Dan's house. She pulls her black tunic cardigan (Marks & Sparks—thank God for those tunics that hide a multitude of sins) down over her bottom and tries to pull it together at the front to no avail, so she wraps her blanket coat tightly around to disguise her weight.

Chris hoists George onto his hip as the front door opens, and a little girl stands there looking expectantly up at them. Behind her Dan smiles as he moves her gently out of the way and beckons them in.

“Chris, lovely to see you!” They have met a few times before. “This is Lily. You must be Sam. And the handsome George. Come in, come in. Welcome.” Sam extends a hand, but Dan leans down and kisses her on the cheek, putting an arm around her shoulders to guide her down the hallway.

And Sam feels something unexpected as he rests his hand on her shoulder. Something she hasn't felt for a very long time. A flush on her cheeks and a stirring in her loins that is immediately exciting. Ridiculous, she tells herself. A man who is reasonably attractive is attentive and kind, and resting his arm on my shoulder in what can only be a warm, hostlike manner, and I'm on my way to my first orgasm of the year.

“Sam!” Jill appears from the kitchen and embraces Sam warmly. Sam returns the embrace with gusto, for while she wants to hate Jill, wants to hate her for being slim, and happy, and glamorous, for having a beautiful home and a sexy husband, she finds she can't.

“It is so, so lovely to meet you. Did you find it okay? Come in and sit down while I put the kettle on. Did you notice your husband's handiwork in the hallway?” Jill bubbles away as Sam tries to keep up.

“And in here. Look. Isn't he clever? Aren't you lucky? Now I have to tell you, for someone with a