Shirley came to visit them at the pub and admire the baby. ‘Looks a bit on the small side,’ she said as she peered down at him sleeping peacefully in his drawer. ‘That’s cos he was early,’ Naomi said. ‘Dr Phelps says he’ll catch up in no time. He’s ever so nice, Dr Phelps.’ Shirley said, ‘Well, that’s good then,’ but she wasn’t really thinking about the baby, she was wondering if Naomi thought she could move back into Cousin Maud’s house. Shirley had been willing enough to share her room with Naomi, but she had no intention of sharing it with a squalling baby. She’d been planning to tell Naomi that she’d have to find somewhere else to live when the baby came, but now it had happened and she’d left it too late. Still, she’d say it anyway, she decided. Dan was here, he could find them somewhere else; after all, they were his responsibility. ‘Maud says she doesn’t think you can come back with the baby,’ Shirley said, pushing the blame for her decision on to the cousin who’d given her refuge.
