Second Chance Family

Prologue

Nora couldn’t quite believe the moment had finally arrived. She’d been waiting so long, waiting with a mix of hope, joy and worry. But now, after all those months of anticipation, she could only flop back onto the pillows, exhausted, closing her eyes against the glare of the overhead lights.

It was over. No more pain. No more grunting and groaning. No more impossible pushing. Her baby was here, safely delivered. She had heard the reassuring wail, had glimpsed the waving little arms.

‘Here’s your baby, Nora. You have a strong, healthy little boy.’

At this, she rallied, launching herself upwards again, eager and desperately curious. And there he was. Her baby. Her little boy, kicking his legs, just as he’d been doing inside her for so many months.

No longer wailing, he lay quietly now. Tiny, with wet and bloodied hair, a scrunched-up face, a fat tummy and shiny, damp reddish-purple skin. But unmistakably, a healthy little male.

‘Well done, darling! What a champion!’

This was her husband’s voice. Nora wasn’t sure if Keith was referring to herself or the baby as the champion, but it didn’t matter.

Keith had been right by her side all through her labour, comforting her, cheering her on, manfully copping her outbursts of temper. Now, as he smiled down at her and gave her hand a loving squeeze, she saw that he was blinking tears.

‘Okay, it’s time to get you and your bub tidied up,’ announced Dr Morris. ‘Keith, you can go with the nurse and watch your son being weighed and bathed.’

Nora’s exhaustion reclaimed her and she closed her eyes, once more slumping back onto the pillows, grateful that, for the moment at least, her work was done.

She was aware of murmuring voices, the faint rattle of a trolley with medical equipment, but she was too tired, or possibly too drugged, to check what was happening. Perhaps she drifted off.The next time she opened her eyes, she was covered by a clean white cotton blanket and a nurse was holding her baby boy wrapped in a blue bunny rug.

‘He’s scrubbed up beautifully,’ the nurse told her with a grin.

‘And he weighed in at a healthy 3.5 kilos,’ added Keith. ‘That’s seven pounds, seven ounces in the old money.’

Now the nurse crossed the delivery room to where Nora lay.‘Here you are, Mum. I’m sure you’d like to hold your little man.’

The warm bundle was placed into Nora’s arms. And oh, my goodness, her baby was beautiful. Even though his eyes were tightly closed and his face was a little puffy, his skin was no longer red and shiny, but soft peaches-and-cream perfection. Such sweet little ears, such a cute, pert nose and rosebud mouth.

Gently, Nora lifted the bunny rug back from his face to take a closer look, and that was when she saw the fuzz of her son’s hair, as soft and fluffy as the down of a newly hatched duckling. And glowing an unmistakably bright ginger-red.

She gasped, flashed a frantic glance up to Keith and saw the answering mix of knowledge and dismay in his eyes.

For so many months they’d waited with fingers crossed. Now, at long last, their nervous question had been resolved, but this was not the answer they’d hoped for.