‘Right then, Patsy,' the midwife announced from her position at the foot of the bed. ‘You're ten centimetres dilated, my darling. It's all systems go now. Time to start pushing this baby out!'
Lily and Declan were standing back, watching the stars of Five Days Away do their thing on the red carpet for the barrage of cameras as photographers jostled for the best shots.
‘Enjoying yourself?' said Declan.
‘Well I haven't spotted any runaway mice this time, which is a bonus. It's a lot easier not being the centre of attention. Although some people seem to be having fun.' Lily twisted the crystal-studded bangle on her wrist and smiled at the sight of Coral being photographed with the actresses who'd played her and Patsy in the film. Coral was loving every glamour-packed second, every camera flash and scream of delight, not to mention the buzzy air of excitement that was-
Whoa.
Lily's gaze, which had been skating idly over the massed crowds lined up on the other side of the barriers, suddenly screeched to a halt. She zoned in on the face of someone she'd never met but whom she was nevertheless pretty sure she recognised.
Oh goodness, was it really her?
The girl was small and thin with a pale, heart-shaped face, straight dark hair falling to her shoulders, and unflinching bright blue eyes. She was wearing a stripy grey sweater under a pink puffa jacket and was clutching a phone in her hand.
From here she blended in perfectly, looking like every other film fan.
It was the way she was completely ignoring the stars on the red carpet in order to look at Lily that was the real giveaway.
Declan touched her arm. ‘Everything OK?'
‘Yes.' Lily nodded. ‘I've just seen my half-sister.'
‘What? Where?'
‘At the front of the barriers. Pink puffa jacket.' As Lily was murmuring the words, the girl raised her free hand slightly, did a little wave and broke into a crooked smile.
‘I see her now. What are you going to do?'
‘Ignore her.' Lily waited, then gave Declan a nudge. ‘Hey, she's my half-sister. I'm going to go over there and say hello.'
‘Push, Patsy! Take a deep breath and push down as hard as you can!'
‘HMMMPPPLEURGHHHHH!'
‘And again! Come on, Patsy, you can do it,' cried the midwife.
‘GUUUURRHHHHFFF!'
‘That's it!' Oliver was urging her on too, letting her grip his hands and heroically not complaining about the pain she was inflicting on him.
‘One more push. I can see the head,' the midwife said. ‘Let's get this done, shall we? OK, brace yourself, here we go … '
‘Hi.' Sasha's eyes were bright. ‘Do you know who I am?'
‘Of course I do. I recognised you straight away from your photo in the paper.'
‘And are you OK with this? I mean, me turning up today?'
Lily nodded. ‘Oh yes, definitely!'
It wasn't something she'd mentioned to anyone else, but deep down, a tiny part of her had wondered if it might happen like this one day.
‘I didn't even know for sure if you'd be here,' said Sasha. Up close, she had a scattering of freckles across her nose and the faintest sign of a dimple in her cheek. ‘And I know I said last year I wasn't bothered about meeting you, but … well, that was then. I'm older now. More mature. I thought maybe I'd like to see you after all.'
She was sixteen and full of spirit. Charmed, Lily said, ‘I'm glad.'
‘In case you're wondering, I'm a lot nicer than my father. Our father,' Sasha amended.
Lily said, ‘Well that's good. Hopefully I am too.'
The younger girl's thin face lit up when she smiled. ‘I suppose we could hardly be worse. Honestly, you didn't miss out on anything growing up. You were better off without him.' She hesitated. ‘Could I take a photo of us together? Would that be all right with you?'
‘I'd love it,' said Lily.
When it was done, she said, ‘They're going to want us to head inside in a minute. Can I see you later?'
Sasha pulled a regretful face. ‘The thing is, I've got to catch the train home. School tomorrow. It's GCSEs this year,' she explained. ‘I want to get as many A stars as I can.' After a pause she added frankly, ‘Maybe next summer when exams are over we can meet up again. You could give me your number if you like, so I can text you. I wouldn't be a nuisance, I promise.'
Lily took the girl's phone and keyed in her number. ‘You wouldn't be a nuisance anyway.' She handed the phone back. ‘I've never been a big sister before. Text me whenever you want. I'd like that very much.'
The red carpet had been cleared and the press pen had emptied. Lily, along with the rest of their party, was making her way through the cinema foyer when Dan's phone rang.
‘Whoa!' He stopped in his tracks and held up his hand. ‘It's Patsy.'
Everyone in the foyer fell silent. Cast and crew alike had got to know Patsy during their weeks of filming in Stanton Langley. There'd also been some lively betting on the weight of the baby when it arrived.
‘Hey,' said Dan, ‘how's everything?'
Lily loved the way Dan's voice softened as he spoke on the phone to his sister.
He listened for several seconds before breaking into an unstoppable grin. ‘Yes? That's brilliant. Fantastic. Well done, you! Listen, are you decent? OK then, let me call you back on FaceTime. You can tell everyone yourself.'
And seconds later, with the volume turned up to maximum, Lily and Coral and the others surrounding Dan saw Patsy's flushed, happy face appearing on the screen of his phone.
‘Hello, hellooo!' She waved from her hospital bed. ‘Sorry to interrupt your premiere, but I've got someone here for you to meet. He weighs eight pounds and two ounces and we love him to bits!'
Everyone cheered as Patsy lifted up her newborn son, wrapped in a white blanket, and presented him to the camera.
‘For those at the back who can't see,' Dan announced, ‘it looks like a baby.'
‘He's beautiful,' Lily exclaimed. ‘You clever thing!'
‘I know! Thank you.' Patsy was beaming. ‘I'm so happy.'
‘I don't believe it. Eight pounds two ounces.' Dan shook his head in resignation. ‘And I had twenty quid on eight five. This is bad news. Hey, Pats, I don't suppose you could pop him back in for a few more days so he can-'
‘No, Dan,' Lily chimed in. ‘She probably doesn't want to do that.'
‘Dan?' Patsy was firm. ‘Lily's right.'
‘You see, this is what I have to put up with,' Dan said mournfully. ‘A sister who's just plain selfish.'
‘Don't worry,' Lily shook her head at Patsy, ‘I'll deal with him later. You get some rest now, you deserve it. Have you chosen a name yet?'
‘Not yet.' Patsy glanced down with pride at her son. ‘We thought we'd wait until he arrived, then see what he looked like.'
‘Risky,' said Dan. ‘What if he looked like ET?'
‘If he had,' said Patsy, ‘we'd have named him after you.'
In the darkened cinema, Lily was completely wrapped up in the film playing on the screen. She'd read the script, watched some of the scenes being shot on location, and Eddie had even shown them the initial rough-cut version, but actually seeing the polished end result was just the most extraordinary experience. Somehow, from the real-life bones of a story, Eddie had written something amazing, and the director had brought it to the screen in a way that was both funny and sad, quirky and emotional. Eddie was playing himself, her own character was played by Mira, and a gorgeously charismatic up-and-coming actor called Ronan Morrell had captured Dan's character to a T.
It was fictionalised reality, but so recognisable that Lily felt as if she were living and breathing the film, even those scenes created by Eddie that had never actually happened.
And now the film was nearing the end. Next to her, Lily felt Dan reach for her hand, and as always, the intimacy of the gesture gave her a thrill. Up on the screen, Eddie was being presented with an award for his work, receiving a standing ovation and listening to the applause as it rang out around the theatre. Then it cut to the next scene, with him being driven back along a winding road to his multimillion-dollar home in the Hollywood hills. There, barefoot and still clutching his award, he wandered alone through the vast empty rooms, then stood on the terrace gazing out at the glittering view spread out below …
And then it cut to the cottage in the Cotswolds where he'd first met Lily. But that had been then, and this was now. Outside, visible through the window, snow was falling. Inside, in the living room, a fire was burning in the grate and the squashy, faded blue sofa was occupied by Mira and Ronan playing the characters of Lily and Dan. They were lying contentedly together, laughing and playing with a boisterous mongrel puppy with a waggy tail and soft oversized paws.