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‘That bad, was he?’
    ‘Worse.’
    ‘Well, if you ever want to talk …’
    ‘I don’t. Not about him, anyway.’ She didn’t dare. He’d threatened her if she revealed who he was, what he’d done.
    Millie began to cry loudly again.
    ‘Let’s look at the poor little thing. The tooth is nearly through but her gums are very swollen. Some babies have it harder than others when they’re teething. Do you have any soothing gel?’
    Janey could feel her cheeks burning. ‘No. I can’t afford it without a prescription. I’m not extravagant but it’s really hard to manage on benefits as well as setting up a home.’
    ‘Don’t your parents help you
at all
?’
    She had to swallow hard before she could say it. ‘They walk past me in the street as if I’m a stranger.’ She feltcomforted when the nurse laid a hand on her arm for a few seconds.
    ‘That must be hard.’
    ‘Yes. But I couldn’t give my baby away like they wanted. And I’m getting better at managing, though I do worry about Millie. I’ve never had anything to do with babies before, you see. There weren’t any others in our family. I’ve read some books about babies and
Just Girls
is helping me. I stayed in their hostel after Millie was born and they’ve given me a cot and all sorts of bits and pieces for the flat.’
    ‘They’re great. Look, I’ll come and visit you, if that’s OK, to see if you and Millie need anything else. I’m here to help, not criticise, so look on me as your support system in emergencies not an enemy. Right?’
    Janey nodded. She trusted Sally instinctively, was relieved to have someone to turn to.
    ‘Will you be at home tomorrow morning’ – Sally consulted a list – ‘say about eleven o’clock?’
    ‘Yes. I take Millie out for walks in the mornings when it’s fine, but we can just as easily go out in the afternoon.’
    ‘Walks are good. You both need to get plenty of fresh air and exercise. And did they tell you about the meetings at
Just Girls
? You should go. You need to make some friends.’
    ‘I will once I’ve settled in.’
    Sally opened a cupboard and got out a sample of gel. ‘Let’s rub some on her gums now. If that doesn’t do it, we’ll give her some baby paracetamol. Can you wait here till this takes effect? There’s a room you can sit in.’
    ‘I’ll do whatever’s best for Millie.’
    ‘Good. And I’ve got a great book about babies that I give to new mothers. Want a copy?’
    ‘Yes, please.’ Janey was well aware that she was being observed and checked out, as well as Millie, in case she was a bad mother but she was cool about that. She didn’t think she was doing too badly, actually. But just occasionally, when Millie cried on and on, she felt a failure or at best, a fumbling amateur.
    Best of all, she left the clinic with a number to ring if she needed help outside working hours. It was such a relief to know she’d have someone to turn to if she was worried about Millie during the night.
    It started raining as she was walking home, but strangely that seemed to soothe Millie rather than upset her and Janey didn’t care if she got wet now that the screaming had stopped.
    When she got back to the flats, she saw that someone else was moving in. She stood in the car park watching with interest as a scowling man with a pronounced limp opened the front door to two removal men, who at once started carrying his possessions into the ground floor flat underneath hers.
    He had a lot more things than she did, that was certain, and what looked like a computer. How she envied him that!
    She went into the building, intending to introduce herself to him, but after one quick nod to her and Millie, he started talking to the men again, so she left him to it. She carried Millie upstairs first and as she was opening the door, one of the removal men dumped the buggy on the landing with a grin.
    ‘There you are, love.’
    Even that small act of kindness made her feel weepy.
    She hoped the flats were