I had been working twenty miles away from home, when I had a phonecall from Tracy.
"I've got some news", she said. "I'm pregnant".
Eight months and one week later I was now working away from home even further away, now in Farnborough. This meant staying in hotels three nights a week. I had returned home on the Tuesday night and Tracy had said she had not been feeling well. The following morning she said she was fine and anyway "The health visitor was coming later anyway". So on that appraisal of the situation, I set off in the Hire Car back up to Farnborough.
A few hours later, I was at my desk and the phone rang.
"I think you might have to come home", said Tracy on the other end.
"Why, what's wrong?", I asked. Tracy was not due for another three weeks and we were planning on another home birth.
"I think things may be starting".
"Are you sure?".
The verbal tennis continued like this for a few rounds before, "Yes, I think you really ought to come home".
I grabbed all of my stuff, told my boss I was heading home and I might not be back for a few weeks and headed for the hire car and the M3.
As it turned out, Tracy had been dusting the cobwebs off of the lights whilst balanced on a seat. Then the health visitor arrived and Tracy felt liquid running down her leg. Assuming it was pregnancy induced bladder weakness, she did not mention anything....actually it was the start of her waters breaking. You would think after already having three kids, she would have known the difference by then!
Whilst I was driving down the M3, Tracy was trying to arrange for a way to get to hospital (she was three days too early for a home birth). Luckily my Father-in-Law Tony was in Wareham on business and was promptly racing towards Dorchester. When he arrived, Tracy was advancing well and Tony had to put up with the potential risk of Grandchild number four arriving on the passenger seat of his company car. This was a risk too far for Tony and the land speed record to Dorchester Hospital was set that day.
I arrived around an hour after Tracy and my arrival probably relaxed Tracy a little, for Aimée arrived about twenty minutes later.
Aimée is four today and is going to school in September. It seems like only yesterday that this happened and Aimée is still our little baby but she seems to grow older every day, as does our love for her.