Giving him a curious glance, I stood up and went to answer the door. A man greeted me, holding a large white rectangular box in both hands.
“Evie West?” he asked, and I nodded. “Perfect. This is for you.” He handed me the box and I was surprised to find it was quite weighty. “Hold it carefully,” the delivery man said, smiling before he walked away.
I stepped back and gently kicked the door shut since my hands were full. I carried the box into the living room and put it on the end of the coffee table.
Ash was smiling as I looked over at him, and I sat down on the floor in front of the box, wondering what could be inside. I lifted the lid and gasped.
A cake. But not just any cake. It was an exact replica of my tattoo, right down to the exact shape and colours, and the hand holding onto it. A laugh of surprise and amazement left me, and I looked up at Ash again. I felt tears in my eyes at how thoughtful he was.
Everything from him making plans in the first place, then quickly figuring out how to change them, to the presents, and now this.
He was amazing.
“Ash,” I breathed. “Why did you do all this? It’s so much.”
He smiled softly. “Because you deserve it. You took me in when I had no-one, and you helped me find a job, and move house. You listened to me when nobody else had in a long time. You gave up your Christmas for me. And back then, I couldn’t afford to re-pay you.”
“I never wanted to be re-paid, Ash. I never wanted anything.”
He nodded. “I know. That’s why I did this. Because you give and you never ask for anything. So, I wanted to give you a birthday to remember.”
Shaking my head, I let some tears fall. God, he was so sweet.
“Thank you,” I said, as best as I could with my throat clogged.
“You’re welcome, Evie.”
“I’m pregnant.”
When Evie had said those words earlier, it was like someone had punched me in the gut.
Of all the things I thought she might say, that one never entered my head.
I’d kind of blocked out the fact that she’d slept with her ex at New Year, because it didn’t matter. He wasn’t in her life anymore. There hadn’t been any more phone calls or attempts for him to see her. It really was the end of it.
Or it should have been.
What I knew about Evie was that when her baby had died inside her, a lot of her had died too. And it had taken her a long time to find herself again. One thing she’d never mentioned, though, was if she wanted to try to have children again one day. Probably because she’d never mentioned whether she intended to get into another relationship again, or if the last one had put her off forever.
She seemed terrified by the idea of being pregnant, and even though I tried all I could to keep her mind off it so she could have a good birthday, I knew it sat in the back of her mind all day.
It was hardest for her during the evening, when we went out to dinner with her mum, and Keely and Nick. Luckily, I’d met Evie’s mum before so there was no additional awkwardness, though I sometimes felt like she was silently warning me away from her daughter. It wasn’t that she didn’t like me, just that she would have lik
ed me more if I was also thirty.
Evie had told everyone that the reason she wasn’t drinking was because she’d had a lot to drink the night before—an answer her mother wasn’t very happy about—and she was taking it easy. Keely and Nick had no problem buying that. Evie wasn’t much of a drinker, unless something was really bugging her, and they both knew she was pretty hung up on the big three-oh.
All in all, it was a good night, but I knew things were going to take a turn when we got back to hers.
Evie and I sat at her kitchen table with large mugs of hot chocolate and a slice each of her birthday cake. On the way home in the cab, I’d watched her become more withdrawn as she realised it was time for her to talk. A part of me felt bad for forcing her to when she didn’t want to, but there was no chance I’d let her wallow, allowing her thoughts to torture her. She had to let it out before it swallowed her.
“Shit,” she said suddenly, after we’d been sitting silently for a while. “I’ve been so self-involved today, I almost forgot.”
“Forgot what?” I asked.
“Tomorrow. It’s Natalie’s hearing.”
Yeah. I’d been trying to forget too. I knew Evie hadn’t truly forgotten, because she’d asked me about it a few days before, and I’d fobbed her off. What was there to say? I knew it was coming, and the day had almost arrived.