Pete shuffled into a seating position and looked straight across at Stella, who was stuffing the strawberries into her pink lipsticked mouth. 'Do you really want to leave a baby that young with your mother.'
'Why not, she bought me up okay and she is always looking after our Diane's kids', munched Stella.
'But what about breast feeding, I mean how will you deal with that.'
'Whatever made you think I was going to breast feed, have I ever said I would breast feed, I cannot remember ever saying I would breast feed', responded Stella, 'anyway you know full well that by Christmas I want to go back to work, you knew that from the start. Just the thought of staying at home, mixing with those Mother Earth's makes me feel ill, and I haven't got any of those open toed sandals or long flared skirts, and I am definitely not going to start to eat lentils and other disgusting vegan stuff.'
'Some women are very happy looking after their kids, and I find long skirts and sandals quite sexy', laughed Pete. However he was no fool, he knew when to give in, he knew Stella would have been happy staying childless, he acknowledged in his own mind that he hadn't forced her into having a child, nobody could force Stella into anything against her will; but he knew that she would have her way. It was just the thought of having Margaret Haywood, Stella's domineering mother, descending on them, that filled him with terror.
'Okay, you make the arrangements I will fall in, I guess we both need a break, we haven't been away this year, so yes it sounds alright I suppose. Only please don't ask your mother to stay on after we get back cos that would do my head in', said Pete.
'Deal' agreed Stella 'but don't pull your face when she arrives, she will need to be here the day before we go away, we've got to give her chance to settle in though, so she can get to know all the baby stuff.' Pete glanced at the carriage clock that lived on the fireplace, blinked, then looked again. 'Blimey, look at the time, thought I was getting hungry, do you want me to cook dinner tonight, give you a rest eh.'
'Thanks Pete, you are such an angel at times', smiled Stella.
*
A voice woke Marie from her sleep, a voice calling 'Marie, Marie', she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, she heard footsteps running up the stairs then turned to see Jack standing in the doorway of the bedroom. 'Is everything alright, Marie the house is open wide downstairs, every window, the back door is open, God Marie, anyone could have just walked straight in.'
Marie was starting to wake up 'Oh sorry, I only meant to lie down for a few minutes, never thought I would actually fall asleep.'
Jack looked at his dishevelled wife, she had sweated that much that her dark hair had stuck to her puffy face, she had fallen asleep fully dressed, her pink cotton dress was crumpled up around the top of her legs, one sandal hung from her right foot, the other sandal was balancing on the end of the bed.
'What time is it', asked Marie.
'Five o'clock' replied Jack.
Marie slowly sat up and stretched her arms 'I'll be up in a few minutes, sorry dinner will be late.'
For the first time in many days Jack felt a pang of guilt, he could see that his wife was having a difficult time; it was so hot, he couldn't imagine how uncomfortable she must be feeling. 'No, you go and have a bath, I'll cook dinner, I'm sorry for being such an arse, honest I just wasn't thinking straight.'Marie felt the anger leave her, she looked at Jack and could see his remorse.
'Thanks Jack, guess I over reacted as well, let's blame it on the heat.' Jack leaned over and gave Marie a quick kiss on her forehead.
'Take your time, have a long cool soak, dinner in about one hour.'
CHAPTER THREE
THREE DINNERS
The Lady, Belle and Henderson sat at a small ornate table by the side of a blazing fire in the Lady's eating room, they were dining on dishes of hot stew that had been prepared by Josie earlier and left to cook slowly in the wood burning oven. Small loaves of freshly baked bread and recently churned butter were laid out on the table under the cover of beautifully embroidered napkins which were protecting the delicacies from the frosty air. Fresh ale and a bottle of the finest Pinka wine were sat in the middle of the table, small glasses for the wine and tall tankards for the ale, stood next to the beverages. The nights in Shenka were growing colder, the dark sky glistened with a thousand stars, the animals had all been brought indoors and only a few brave souls walked the streets. Henderson dabbed a white napkin to his lips, some of the gravy had accidentally dribbled down his chin, he was a person of such etiquette that he was always afraid others may think him uncouth if he let a single bad table manner speak otherwise. Belle didn't worry about such things, she happily enjoyed her food and was carelessly dipping a crust of brown bread into her stew to soak up the rich stock. The Lady ate delicately, every now and then she glanced at her guests, inwardly smiling to herself, they will do fine she thought, yes they will fare well. They ate silently, each secretly contemplating the next day. To Belle and Henderson the very fact that tomorrow they would meet with Ralph the Mighty, was beyond imagination. The Lady to be honest was relieved, Ralph could explain the road ahead far better than she. 'Prepare them to meet me' Ralph had said, 'but if you have even the slightest, tiniest, minuscule of doubt, if you believe that my research is even a fraction off course, then thank them for meeting with you, make some excuse then send them on their way; I trust your judgement my Lady and I will not hold any grudge or question your integrity if this occurs.' The Lady had no doubt, her heart told her that these two souls were the ones, their hearts were true.
Henderson had been puzzling a deep question in his mind, he finished his meal and placed the empty dish on the table at his side,
'My Lady, permission to speak, I do have one burning question that is eating away at me.'
The Lady's heart skipped a beat, please don't tell me at this late hour there is hitch she thought' . 'Yes Henderson, please ask me anything, like I said earlier, please feel free, it matters not.'
'Well, I know we have agreed to go and spend all this time on Earth, and I have no worries about that at all, of course we don't know what our task will be yet, again I have no worries about that, but if there is so much sadness on Earth, why aren't the Guardians doing anything about it.'
'Because Henderson, it appears that so many Earth men and women, have forgotten how to listen', the Lady nervously picked up her glass of Pinka wine and took a small drink 'I cannot say much more, it will all be explained tomorrow, those poor Guardians need help for sure.'
It is true that everyone has their own Guardian, some may call them their Guardian Angel, others their guides, but it is also true that many of Earth people have discarded their protection and stopped listening to the inner voice of communication that plays in their heads. They have also ignored the warnings, the feelings that something is wrong and gone ahead anyway, only to meet with a disaster or two. So you may ask why are there guardians together with Birthers and Passers; a simple question but a complex answer. As I have said before, not everyone will be visited by a Birther and not everyone will be taken to a place beyond by a Passer, those chosen to receive such visitors have been selected by the Chamber of Council that serves the Leader of Shenka, for example Birthers may be present when a great person is being born, or indeed a tyrant; all will be written down in the great records of time, as the great once leader of Shenka, Heler the All Knowing, said 'It will all serve a good purpose some day.' Passers too are challenged with similar tasks, they do this without questioning the whys and wherefores. The Guardians however are all around, sending signals to their charges, trying to point these charges in the right direction, they have always been there, but they fear their very own time may soon be coming to an end, people have stopped listening and believing. Yes, before you ask, the Birthers, Passers and Guardians can indeed see and talk with each other; and certain leading Guardians do visit Shenka, but only in very dire circumstances would a Shenkan visit Grafflin, it is said that that the power of that Kingdom is so strong
that even the bravest may fall for it's allure and never return.
Marie lay in her cool bath, lying down was difficult as she could not move her heavy bulk easily without the help of Jack; she needed this time to herself, a time to think her plan of action. A voice intruded on her thoughts, 'Marie, you haven't gone to sleep up there have you.' Her eyes opened, she shook her wet hair and sat upright.
'I'm okay thanks, give me five minutes and I will be down.'
'Dinner in fifteen minutes then', Jack called from the bottom of the stairs.
'No probs' replied Marie.
'Do you need any help to get out of the bath' Jack questioned.
'I should be alright, I'll give you a call if I need you.'
She heaved herself out of the bath, pulled the bath plug and stood and watched the water slowly drain away; a song came into Marie's head, a song that she and her friends used to sing in the school playground, she started to sing as she dried herself on a thick blue towel, 'A mommy was bathing her baby one night' then she stopped, she could remember something about the baby going down the plug hole, but she couldn't remember the lyrics, not all of them, Marie shrugged her shoulders, 'Oh well, come to think of it, that's not such a funny song is it, poor little baby.' She returned to the bedroom with the towel wrapped around her, dried herself, rubbed her hair with the towel, dressed in fresh clean clothes and finally dropped her sweaty clothes in the laundry basket that was already overflowing with washing; 'You can wait until tomorrow', she laughed.
Jack had been busy in the kitchen and had decided to eat outside on the small patio in the back garden, by the time Marie had finished bathing and dressing, the garden table was already laid: a bowl of fresh green salad and crusty bread to accompany a dish of salmon in a butter and parsley sauce; Marie's favourite. He had even squeezed oranges and lemons, with a hint of honey, which had been poured over crushed ice into long clear glasses. The evening air had calmed the heat, just perfect now for sitting comfortably outside without any effort to breathe. Marie smiled as she saw the meal before her 'Oh thanks Jack, this is lovely' she said as she sat down on the cushioned garden chair.
'Tuck in then', replied Jack, 'and don't get thinking about the washing up, it is all in hand, you just relax.'
They ate in silence, not a silence that you could cut with a knife, but a calm silence, a silence of contentment. The noises around them were summer noises, a far off lawnmower hummed over the summer breeze, to the right there were the shouts of children playing and to the left a radio filled the air with music, not too loud to be annoying, but somehow relaxing.
If Marie had looked really hard she may have seen two figures sitting on a garden bench, a little way down their garden; Jack would never see them, he never heard their voices in his head, he was a man with his feet firmly on the ground, not given to spiritual thoughts or idea's, 'If I cannot see it then it does not exist', was Jack's motto in life.
'See what did I tell you', giggled Sidney, 'even if you threw a pebble at him he would swear that a bird had dropped it from the sky.'
'Alright, as much as it pains me to agree, I will have to concede, that he is indeed a hopeless case', smirked Bertie.
'Funny though that she hears both of us', pondered Sydney.
'Yes I was thinking the same, I have heard of it happening before, but it is very rare thing', replied Bertie, 'and sometimes I swear that child she is carrying hears us too.'
'Maybe, that is why we are here' questioned Sydney, 'because Lord Albion Brightly was very keen that we watched over them, it did seem strange that he put us in charge after moving Arthur and Marvin to some place in the Outer Hebrides.'
'Us being newbies, you mean' said Bertie, 'yes it had crossed my soul too, oh well all will be revealed in time.' 'Come on let's wake that baby up, see if the child can hear us.'
The Guardians scampered across the lawn and stood next to Marie, she should have looked harder, if she had she would have seen the two young men beside her, shimmering in the evening sun, golden faces framed with long silver hair, multi-coloured gems covering their white gowns. Sydney being slightly taller than Bertie, bent down slightly to whisper in his companions ear, 'You go first, see if the child hears you'
'Little baby, little baby can you hear me' sang Bertie.
Marie squealed, 'Oh little one, that was weird.'
'You alright', said Jack quite concerned.
'Yes, I am fine, it was just as if the baby tickled me, a really strange sensation.'
'Test one complete', laughed Bertie, 'now it's your turn, you are Marie's Guardian, so see if your voice is heard.'
Sydney leant closer to Marie and spoke softly 'I am here, I am here to protect your mother, have no fear sweet child.'
Marie shouted quite loudly 'Oh my, oh my, oh my.'
'What is it, Marie, has the baby kicked you again, does it hurt' said Jack.
'No the baby hasn't kicked, it was just so odd, I think it has started to turn around, I think it has started to get ready, I am sure the head has started to drop' Marie felt her bulge , 'yes it feels different, I was so scared that it could be a breech, but yes I can feel the head, the baby has moved' Marie looked up to the clear sky 'Thank you God, thank you.'
*
Stella could hear Pete clattering about in the kitchen, she could hear him muttering under his breath, but she refused to move. She was busy updating her Facebook status and was chatting to some virtual friends she had in the USA, who due to the time difference had only just risen from their beds.
'What were we going to have tonight', called Pete from the kitchen.
Stella sighed, why can't he leave me alone just for a few minutes, do I have to do everything, she thought. 'Pete, why don't you just go down to the Chinese and get us something, it will be easier.'
Pete emerged from the kitchen, 'Are you sure, because I would cook something you know that don't you.'
'Yes I am sure, no probs', replied Stella, thinking it will take him a good thirty minutes, thirty minutes of peace and quiet.
'Right, I'll be off then, what do you want' asked Pete.
'Oh, let me think, yes I really fancy a duck curry, fried rice and a pancake roll', Stella grinned.
'Pity we cannot get it delivered, then I wouldn't have to leave you in the house alone', said Pete.
'Well that's what you get for bringing me back to the place where I used to live', laughed Stella, hoping he wouldn't pick up the sarcasm in her voice, 'we can always move back to the metropolis if you want your curries delivered to the door.'
'Never, no chance' said Pete firmly, 'I would rather drive ten miles and back again to get a loaf of bread than move back to that godforsaken place.'
Pete picked up his car keys that were lying on the table next to Stella's empty dish that had contained the strawberries she had eaten earlier, 'See you in a bit then', he said as he leaned down and planted a kiss on the side of her face. Stella waited until she heard a door slam and a car engine warm up before she picked up the dirty crockery, which she took into the kitchen and quickly rinsed out under the hot tap, she left it on the drainer to save drying up with a tea towel. She stood and pondered for a little while. looked around the tidy kitchen and absent mindedly took two plates off a shelf that stretched along the one side of the cream tiled walls, she placed the plates in the recently purchased oven and turned the dials to a low heat so that they would be warm enough for the soon to be delivered food, but not too hot either. She gathered up the required cutlery together with a selection of condiments, including a bottle of soy sauce, guessing that Pete would indulge in a chow mien, his favourite choice from the Lee Swang takeaway. Stella placed it all on a wooden tray, the one that was decorated with ballerinas in different positions, then carried it through to the living room. She placed it down on the recently cleared table, sat herself back down in her armchair and returned to her chats on Facebook.
'Let's see who you are chatting to' said her Guardian Rupert looking over he
r shoulder, 'Mmm Martha Somers this time, I heard she is thinking of running away from her husband, she won't tell you though, just you wait and see.' Stella did not hear any voice, did not feel any presence, Rupert had tried to make himself heard, he left his calling cards but she always brushed them aside; even the little white feathers she found in her bedroom she ignored, saying they must have flown in through the open window. Some thirty minutes later, Pete returned carrying a large brown paper carrier bag, full of the smells of the takeaway.
'Sorry for being so long, the queue was outside the door.'
'He speaketh with forked tongue' said his Guardian Denis incredulously to his fellow Guardian Rupert, 'there was no queue, he just stopped on the way and sat by the river for a smoke,.'
'Actually I didn't notice the time, so don't worry, did you enjoy your smoke then' smirked Stella as she pulled herself up from her comfortable chair. 'I'll go and get the plates, do you want a beer ?' she asked as she made her way into the kitchen that adjoined the living room.
'If you don't mind, I would love one' called Pete.
Stella returned with the warm plates, a bottle of cold beer that had been lying in the fridge and a tall glass of water for herself.
'I don't know why you feel the need to sneak a smoke, I have said a thousand times just don't do it around me, I cannot wait to have this baby, the first thing I am looking forward to is having a cigarette and a large glass of vodka and orange, that's been the worst thing about being pregnant, being constantly lectured about not having a drink, not smoking, not eating this, not eating that, it drives me crazy', grumbled Stella as she shared out the takeaway food. 'Anyway not long to go now and I am going to enjoy this curry, sod the spices.'
Pete ate his meal off a tray balanced on his lap, Stella because of her ever expanding bulge could not manage that feat, she was forced to use a tray that stood on a pedestal by the side of her armchair. The tray had been her paternal Grandmothers, it would have been thrown out with all the other out-dated and 'old ladies' stuff, when Stella inherited the house and all it's furnishings, but something told her to keep it, as it may one day come in useful, but one thing for sure it was gone as soon as she gave birth.