“You two stay here while I put the food in the oven.” Laura looked pointedly at Bree. “By then your toenails should be ready.” She put the bag of Paul’s DVDs between them. “You can decide what we’re going to watch first.”

They were into the second movie when Kate felt something was wrong. Bree and Laura were laughing hysterically at the TV. They’d decided to watch Crazy Rich Asians. It was funny but Kate could barely manage a smile. She shifted in the recliner rocker and lowered the footrest. She’d felt a bit achy on and off yesterday but it had eased. Now she was uncomfortable with a period-like pain, had been since their dinner of party pies and pasties, and it was making her anxious.

She eased from the chair and Laura glanced her way. Both her sisters had been attentive today but Laura was watching her especially closely.

“Just going to the bathroom.”

Laura nodded and turned back to the TV.

The air in the passage was freezing and Kate shuddered as it sucked the warmth from her body. She wrapped her arms around her middle and walked faster, closing the bathroom door behind her.

Five minutes later she sat on the edge of the bath, dread pulsing through her veins. The cramps had stopped again but there’d been blood. She pressed a hand to her stomach and rocked gently back and forth. She hadn’t wanted to be pregnant and now it was possible she wouldn’t be and she was racked with guilt and fear. She wished she’d told Sean but she couldn’t ring and say she was pregnant but maybe not any more. If only her mum was home. She’d know what to do.

Natalie sat in a cafe at Perth airport. Her current book was open in front of her but she was making slow progress. Her flight to Adelaide had been delayed and she kept looking at her watch as if it had the power to fix whatever was holding them up. Now that she was on her way home she just wanted to be there.

Her phone rang. She plucked it from the table beside her and saw Laura’s photo. She pressed the phone to her ear.

“Mum, I’m sorry but I had to call.” Laura’s voice was full of panic. “This will be a surprise but Kate’s pregnant.”

Natalie pushed the phone harder against her ear. “What?”

“Or at least she was—”

“What’s happened?”

“She’s had some cramps…and, well Bree and I are taking her to the hospital in town.”

“That’s good.” Natalie paced the small area by the table with one eye on her bag and tried to picture the three of them in the car. “Is Bree driving?”

“Yes.”

Natalie let out a breath. That was best. Bree was more level-headed than Laura in a crisis.

“Can I talk to Kate?”