‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ she murmured, putting down her coffee cup and massaging her bump that was now as tight as a drum. ‘This is all perfectly normal.’

She breathed in deeply, then exhaled slowly.

In.

Out.

Braxton Hicks contractions.

It was when the womb tightened and then relaxed, she reminded herself. A sort of trial run for the real thing and could be triggered by all sorts of things, including dehydration or a full bladder. Hmmm … best not to think of her bladder, she thought, not when she routinely spent an insane amount of time going to the loo. At work it was embarrassing how often she had to go. Several times she had to ask the intern to cover for her when she’d been caught short.

She winced again as the tightening intensity of her stomach muscles increased.

Another breath in.

Another breath out.

She had experienced them twice before, so she knew the score and she’d read extensively about the phenomenon online. Just as she’d read up on everything else to do with being pregnant. Preparation was all.

So she knew that she was not about to go into labour. Absolutely not. She wasn’t going to be one of those panicky women who set off for the maternity unit with a false alarm every time she experienced a twinge. Willow had admitted the other day to Martha that she’d had a moment when she thought she might be in labour. ‘If Rick had been with me,’ she’d said, ‘I’m sure he would have insisted we went straight to the hospital.’

‘What made you so sure you weren’t in labour, given how far along you are?’ Martha had asked.

‘Complete denial,’ she’d said with a careless laugh. ‘I’m going to keep on denying I’m having a baby until the day she arrives.’

As another mini contraction took hold of her, Martha started at the loud ring of her mobile. Assuming it was Tom, she didn’t bother looking at the screen.

But it wasn’t Tom. It was Willow.

‘Hi Martha,’ her sister said, ‘you might think I’m being silly, but I had this weird feeling that I should ring you.’ She laughed in Martha’s ear. ‘I know, it sounds bonkers, doesn’t it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you? Is everything okay?’

‘Funny you should say that,’ said Martha.

‘And help is definitely on the way?’ asked Willow when Martha had explained that she was stuck in a lift.

‘I certainly hope so.’

‘Hey, it’s a bit spooky-woo-woo of me thinking I should ring then, isn’t it? It’s not like we’ve ever been telepathic or anything like that before. Had I better ring off if you’re waiting for Tom to call?’

Martha hesitated. It was good having the distraction of her sister chatting with her, and who knew when Tom might check his voicemail and call her back? ‘No, don’t ring off,’ she said. ‘You’re keeping me from worrying that I’ll never get out of here.’

It was then that she realised the Braxton Hicks contractions had stopped. The only movement inside her now was her hiccupping baby.