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surprised by the news; it was no secret that Kim had had very difficult births with her first two children – in fact with Lindsay she’d had such a terrible time of it, they’d both come close to dying.
    ‘A couple of weeks ago. Besides my GP, you’re the second to know. And your brother of course,’ Kim added, grinning. ‘I was feeling a little bit off lately, so last month I popped out at lunchtime and bought a test, and Bob’s your uncle.’ She winked. ‘As you can probably tell, it wasn’t exactly on the cards but what the hell . . .’
    ‘It’s really wonderful news. How far along are you?’
    ‘About ten weeks. I suppose we really should wait a little while longer before we start telling people, but I’m feeling great and all’s going well, so here’s hoping.’ Kim smiled. ‘I suppose after the first one you get a bit blasé about the so-called rules. Anyway, we’re telling the girls later today, so once they find out, there’s no way we’ll be able to keep it under wraps for much longer.’
    Cara had to marvel at the laid-back way Kim talked about it all, but then again this was how her sister-in-law behaved about everything. Work, pregnancy, motherhood . . . Kim Clancy took it all in her stride and she truly seemed to have it all – a great husband and lovely family, as well as a busy and successful career.
    ‘Forgive me for asking, but are you are at all worried about . . . you know, what happened before . . .’ Cara wasn’t sure how best to put it, but luckily Kim seemed to know exactly what she was referring to.
    ‘You mean the messy bit at the end?’ She looked sideways at Cara. ‘Well, after the last time, Ben and I had a chat about it, and we decided that this time, we should think about heading all of that off at the pass.’
    Cara frowned. ‘I don’t get you.’
    ‘I’m going to plan a C-section for the delivery.’
    ‘Oh.’
    Kim looked at her hard. ‘Don’t tell me you’re one of those? Too posh to push – natural is best and all that? I’ve been through the whole palaver twice and believe me there’s nothing natural about it.’
    ‘No, of course not. I think you’re absolutely right to do what you think is best.’ Notwithstanding that Cara didn’t have the first notion about the realities of childbirth, she wouldn’t dream of judging Kim for deciding to take a different approach. She was actually just surprised that she was so open about her plans, given that people generally kept these things quiet. As Kim had mentioned, people tended to be sniffy about the idea of planned C-sections and the whole ‘too posh to push’ attitude still prevailed.
    ‘After what happened with Olivia, I probably should have arranged one with Lindsay, but of course it wasn’t really the “done thing” back then,’ Kim went on. ‘Not that it is now either, and my doc took quite a bit of persuading from the outset, let me tell you,’ she added and Cara smiled, struggling to imagine anyone trying to stand in the way of the force of nature that was Kim Clancy. ‘Of course after fifteen hours of labour with Lindsay, I ended up having one anyway, so I think it’s safe to say that I’m pretty much au fait with the pros and cons of both. Either way, my consultant’s agreed and Ben and I are happy about it, so that’s all that matters.’
    ‘Absolutely.’
    ‘Must admit it’ll be a nice change too. This time there won’t be any waiting around at the end, trying to figure out when it really is show time. The hospital will give me a date to go in, and all being well, I’ll come out with Clancy number three, not feeling like I’ve done ten rounds with Freddy Krueger.’
    Cara grimaced at the notion; she still remembered how ragged Kim had been after Lindsay’s arrival five years before. ‘Actually, when you describe it that way, it sounds like the right idea.’
    ‘Of course it does. But you know yourself . . . wait for the fireworks and lectures to start once your mother