The Guest List Page 10

Cara looked up, worried her friend was about to embark on another string of well-meaning ‘advice.’

  ‘Well, she was a complete bitch.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Honestly, I was scared shitless of her. I put on a pound – a single pound the week of the wedding and she made me do a round on the treadmill on the morning of the ceremony. Wouldn’t let me eat anything other than a banana for breakfast and there I was gagging for a fry-up. ’Oul wagon.’

  The four women burst out laughing and for the first time that evening, Cara felt that her friends were finally getting it.

  Well, if nothing else, it was a start.

  Chapter 10

  Heidi was beside herself with excitement. She was on her way to Holles Street Maternity Hospital for her very first prenatal appointment.

  Now eight weeks pregnant, she hadn’t initially been sure what hospital to choose in which to have her baby, or whether she should attend as a public or private patient. Her GP had outlined the options, and while she was naturally inclined to choose a private hospital over a public one, something Kim had said recently had made up her mind for her.

  That day at her parents’ house when Heidi had announced the pregnancy (and discovered that she wasn’t the only one with such news), her sister-in-law had let slip that she was attending a private hospital, because she ‘could be in and out of prenatal consultations within minutes, and back at her desk in quick time’, whereas it seemed the public waiting time was considerably longer.

  ‘Going public was fine for the first time with Olivia when Blissology was just in the early stages and wasn’t so busy, but I just couldn’t afford to be waiting around with Lindsay,’ she’d said.

  Heidi had been horrified. To think that Kim thought so little of her baby that she wouldn’t give the necessary time away from her precious business for a prenatal appointment? How incredibly selfish.

  That had made Heidi’s mind up there and then. While she was of course aware of all the horror stories about long waits and overcrowded hospitals throughout the Irish health service, she’d actually been quite taken aback at the efficiency of the hospital when she’d phoned a week or so ago to make an appointment.

  At eight-thirty a.m., the slot they’d given her was a little earlier than she’d have liked, especially as Heidi enjoyed her lie-ins and needed even more rest now that she was two months gone, but at the same time she was prepared to make whatever sacrifices were required for her baby.

  Paul had an early meeting this same morning and so wouldn’t be able to accompany her to the appointment. He couldn’t cancel, he’d told her, especially when she’d only told him about the visit a few days before. To be honest, it had slipped Heidi’s mind, as she’d been spending much of her time going around the shops looking for baby clothes.

  At first, she’d been outraged about Paul missing such an important milestone, but at the same time, she conceded, maybe it was for the best, at least for the first visit. Paul would no doubt spend the entire appointment asking questions like was it OK for Heidi to drive and do housework and such nonsense, when of course it wasn’t OK.

  He’d dropped her off at the hospital on his way to the office earlier that morning and had promised to meet her for lunch and see how it had all gone.

  Heidi figured she’d spend a good hour chatting to the doctor about the various aspects of her pregnancy, and outlining the details of her birth plan, before heading on to Grafton Street for a spot of shopping afterwards.

  It would be good if she could get some good clear ultrasound scan shots of her baby, but the receptionist had advised over the phone that a scan wasn’t always standard on a first appointment. Heidi smiled. She was sure she could sweet-talk the doctor into giving her an ultrasound. It would be simply amazing to be able to show the first pictures of her baby to everyone. Maybe when they saw in black and white how tiny and fragile it was, they might start giving her pregnancy the respect it deserved.

  Hefting her handbag high on her shoulder, Heidi pushed open the main door of the hospital and, following the signs, made her way to the prenatal reception area. She was hoping they had some up-to-date magazines in the waiting room; she hadn’t yet had a chance to pick up the latest copy of Vogue and was looking forward to flicking through the fashion pages while she waited.

  Approaching the reception desk, she announced her arrival to the pleasant-looking lady there.

  ‘The waiting area is just through there,’ the woman said, having taken her details, and Heidi marvelled again at the politeness and efficiency of the public health system.

  Really, why would anyone consider spending a fortune on private consultant obstetrician care, when the very same services were available here for free? Especially when that very same fortune would be better spent on day spas or chic maternity clothes?

  Smiling, Heidi reached into her handbag and pulled out a sheet of paper. She handed it to the receptionist.

  ‘What’s this?’ the woman asked, giving her a puzzled look.

  ‘My birth plan,’ Heidi replied easily. ‘I presume you’ll be needing a copy for when the time comes.’

  The woman didn’t say anything for a moment; she just read through the list, and Heidi guessed she was impressed at the level of detail and planning that had gone into each request. Indeed she’d put a lot of thought into the birth plan; the background music (Debussy), the specific aroma and brand of scented candle (NEOM Lemon and Watergrass), how many people should attend the delivery, what Paul’s role should be and so on.

  ‘Well, this is . . . interesting,’ the woman replied eventually. ‘First baby?’ she asked, and Heidi nodded proudly.

  ‘Just so you know, it’s probably not a good idea to rely too much on these,’ the other woman continued, in a kindly tone. ‘Things can change very quickly in the labour ward, and our midwives are very experienced.’

  ‘Oh I’m sure they are. But like the books say, in order for the needs of the mother to be best served, it’s important that everyone knows what’s required of them.’

  ‘Of course,’ the receptionist said, and was it Heidi’s imagination or was she looking at her strangely? ‘As I said, just head on down the hallway.’

  Smiling, Heidi followed her directions and pushed open the door of the waiting room.

  Only to be met with the sight from hell.

  She didn’t think she had ever seen so many people crammed into such a tiny space, ever! And never mind magazines – much to her horror Heidi quickly realised that there were no seats available. And all these children screaming and running around . . . The noise and chatter was deafening.

  But why on earth were all these pregnant women here already, clearly way in advance of their appointments?

  Heidi took deep breaths, trying to control her breathing. Thank goodness she had an early consultation and wouldn’t have to wait around too long in the midst of all this . . . chaos.

  Wiping her brow, Heidi hesitated a little before approaching a heavily pregnant woman standing close by. Standing!

  She looked daggers at a man sitting nearby. Who did he think he was, taking up a seat when there were so many people – like Heidi – desperately in need of one?

  ‘Excuse me,’ she said to the heavily pregnant woman. ‘I was wondering, what time does the clinic start? Can you believe this crowd? What time is your appointment? I have an eight-thirty so at least I won’t be waiting long but—’

  ‘First time here, yeah?’ the woman said, smirking a little, and Heidi nodded seriously.

  ‘Yes, and I’m really not sure why everyone has to be here so early—’

  ‘Well sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but we all have that eight-thirty appointment.’ She nodded at the crowds. ‘Might as well get comfortable for the next few hours. It’s first come, first served around here.’

  Kim was at her desk reviewing a proof for Blissology’s latest catalogue when the phone rang. She hit the speaker button without looking as she flipped over a page, turning her attention to a photo spread showcas
ing their best-selling seaweed bath soak.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I have a call for you,’ Simone, her assistant, said crisply. ‘Your sister-in-law is on line two.’

  ‘Cara? Great, put her through.’

  ‘No,’ said Simone hesitantly. ‘It’s Heidi actually.’

  Kim frowned. ‘Heidi? Seriously?’ she repeated, somewhat incredulous. She could count on one hand the number of times Ben’s youngest sister had called her, whether at her office or at home. They had a very different relationship to the one she had with Cara; they weren’t exactly good friends or even the slightest bit close as Heidi seemed to have taken a dislike to her from day one. Kim’s internal radar bleeped as she wondered what this was about. Whatever it was, she was sure it couldn’t be anything good.

  ‘Shall I take a message? Tell her you’re in a meeting maybe?’ Simone prompted.

  Better not, thought Kim. If there was one thing Heidi hated, it was being dismissed, or ignored.

  ‘No, no, it’s fine Simone, thanks. Put her through.’

  ‘No problem.’

  Kim took a deep breath and steeled herself before she picked up the line.

  ‘Hello there, Heidi. How are you?’ she asked breezily, quickly switching off the speakerphone button.

  ‘That is quite a question Kim,’ the other woman snapped. ‘You should know all too well how I am, especially after your little stunt!’

  Kim rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead. OK, so nothing new here, she groaned inwardly. Heidi had her knickers in a twist. About what she wasn’t entirely sure . . .

  ‘Heidi, I have no idea what you are talking about. What stunt?’ she asked. Was she still cheesed off about her big announcement being usurped that time by news of Cara’s engagement? Not to mention the news about her own pregnancy, Kim recalled, grimacing.

  That day at Betty and Mick’s Kim could tell on the spot that Heidi had been livid that her news had been overshadowed, albeit unintentionally, by the rest of the family activity. While Kim believed everyone’s news was something that should be received with joy and celebrated accordingly, knowing how Heidi’s mind often worked she suspected that the younger girl believed she and Cara had planned it all out of spite.

  But that was a couple of weeks ago so what . . .?

  ‘Oh, you know very well what I’m talking about,’ Heidi hissed. ‘Telling me to go public for my prenatal appointment, as if it was no big deal! You did it on purpose, didn’t you?’

  Kim was well and truly flummoxed. ‘Did what on purpose? And I certainly don’t remember telling you to go public, Heidi. I merely pointed out that I found it fine on my first pregnancy, but that my needs had changed for my second, and again for this one. Why . . .?’

  But then, guessing what must have happened, Kim grimaced. Had her sister-in-law gone along to an appointment in one of the public hospitals recently? Oh dear. Poor delicate little Heidi was definitely not cut out for the inevitable three-hour wait amongst the hoi polloi. Given all her airs and graces, she truly was the last woman on earth Kim could envision going public. So what in the world had possessed her?

  ‘It was like something out of a third-world country, Kim. Honestly, how could anyone say that it’s no big deal? We were treated like herds of cattle, and there was nowhere to sit, and no magazines to read or anything, to say nothing of all the noise. Just by sitting there I was endangering my baby. All of that kind of stress is not good for anyone. I shouldn’t have to be telling you all this!’

  Kim held the phone back from her ear as Heidi’s voice increased in decibels. She was sure that the girl would be able to break glass soon if her voice got much higher.

  She shook her head. She’d forgotten how spoilt her husband’s little sister could be, and how immune she was from the realities of day-to-day life for most people. In fact, Kim would have thought she would have been the first in the door of Dublin’s more exclusive and expensive private maternity hospital.

  However, at least Heidi had a choice as to whether to go public or private during her pregnancy. Many women didn’t and they just had to make do with the services that were provided – magazines or otherwise. Trying to imagine her snobbish sister-in-law standing in the midst of all the bored and impatient women from all walks of life in the waiting room, she couldn’t help but smile. She guessed that it was probably private all the way for Princess Heidi from now on.

  Still, Heidi sounded very close to tears on the other end of the line and Kim softened a little. While they might not be close, she would never have done anything to purposely to upset Heidi.

  ‘Heidi, I can assure you I did not urge you to go public – I merely outlined the options available to you that day at your mum and dad’s. Like I said, it was fine for me the first time round, but as that was over eight years ago, I have no idea what it’s like in the public system now. For what it’s worth, I can give you the number of the obstetrician I’m using. She’s great and is based out of—’

  ‘Oh it’s all you, you, you isn’t it Kim? Same that day at the dinner – it had to be all about you and Cara’s engagement. I had one shot – one shot – to tell everyone my wonderful news, and the two of you had to go and ruin everything—’

  ‘Now hold on a minute; that is not fair. No one tried to ruin anything for you, Heidi. Cara had just got engaged and she walked in with a brand new diamond to show us all, and celebrate with her and Shane. You should be happy for her. She wasn’t trying to steal your thunder and nor was I. Rather, I think that all of our news that day was something to be happy about – is still something to be happy about,’ Kim said her voice taking on a harder edge. Seeing as her original attempt at trying to stroke Heidi’s sensitive ego had failed, she was now all business.

  Heidi breathed heavily into the phone. ‘And then, all this nonsense about helping with dinner, and acting like all of it is no big deal, when you know I was in a delicate condition.’

  ‘Really Heidi, if I recall you were barely a few weeks pregnant then, so of course it was fine for you to help out with the housework – still is.’ Kim couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘Nor was I trying to imply that your pregnancy was not a big deal. You and I simply have different viewpoints in that regard, and just as you are entitled to do as you want with your pregnancy, I should be afforded the same privilege.’

  ‘No Kim, you purposely downplay everything and I know you do it just to try and make me feel silly for wanting to be careful. You do it so everyone thinks I’m a drama queen.’

  Kim’s eyes widened at this and she thought that actually her sister-in-law didn’t need any support whatsoever in the drama department.

  ‘I do no such thing. Everyone is different and if you are offended by my opinions, then that is your issue. To be truthful, I couldn’t care less if you have your baby while standing on your head in the bathtub—’

  ‘Exactly, you don’t care. You don’t give a rat’s ass about anyone other than yourself. You don’t care about me at all.’

  Kim was speechless. Her sister-in-law was completely off her rocker.

  ‘Heidi,’ she said slowly, the way she would if she were speaking to a toddler. ‘Of course I care about you; you are a part of my family. All I was saying is that your decisions are your own. While I don’t particularly go in for the belief that you need to spend nine months of your life while pregnant on bed rest, if that pregnancy is perfectly healthy, that is my opinion. Maybe it’s different because I have been through the whole thing twice before—’

  ‘And you think that makes you special, huh? Because you have done it before, the big expert.’

  Kim could see that there would be no winning this conversation. Not if Heidi insisted on taking every comment she made completely out of context. The woman was simply determined to play the victim.

  Kim sighed heavily. ‘Look Heidi, I really don’t have time for this just now. I have a lot of work to do and a brochure to sign off on, so I simply cannot get into this discussion with you at the mom
ent.’

  ‘Oh yes, so high and mighty, aren’t you Kim? With your big company and your responsibilities. Well I have no problem being a stay-at-home mother even though I know you working women look down on us and sneer because we care enough to be around to raise our children, instead of playing the big businesswoman.’

  Kim was trying desperately to keep her temper from exploding.

  ‘Heidi, to my knowledge, you are not a stay-at-home mother as you don’t yet have a child to take care of. You are simply pregnant. Again, if you don’t want to work, fine, that’s your choice and I’m not arguing with you, and certainly not sneering about it. What you do or do not do every day is between you and your husband . . .’

  Kim sat back in her chair and looked at the time impatiently. This foolishness had gone on long enough. She had copy to proof.

  Kim knew she would pay for this later, but she also knew that there was no other way to get out of this conversation. Looking regretfully at the phone, she secretly wished that she had told Simone to send it to voicemail.

  Oh well, hindsight was twenty-twenty, she thought, her finger hovering over the disconnect button.

  Heidi was still continuing her tirade on the other end of the line, and Kim figured it would take her a while to figure out that she had hung up. Quietly, she disconnected and placed the phone back on the receiver, then sat back in her chair, exhausted by the conversation. She knew that this situation with Heidi would only get worse before it got better. Especially as she seemed to view their mutual pregnancies as some kind of competitive situation.

  Her sister-in-law’s air of self-righteousness really was silly though. After all, she was pregnant, not dying. And for all her protestations, she wasn’t some kind of delicate flower either.

  Kim stood up and walked to her door. She wanted to tell Simone that any more calls from Heidi were to be screened. No doubt her sister-in-law was sitting at home right now planning her next line of attack.

  She shook her head. Why did happy life events in the Clancy family always have to be wrapped up in so much drama?