Despite what she’d said to Mal, Freya was feeling tired. And feeling annoyed for feeling tired. She’d sat down on the only chair in the store while Kaylee picked over the children’s clothes, and sighed. She wanted to feel strong. Fit. Like she had done. Before Ethan …

He moved slightly, and she looked down into a pair of big blue eyes. Simon had said he was probably going to keep them, and she didn’t mind. Just like his father.

“He’s cute,” a woman said, bending down. “Hold old is he?”

Freya looked up. “Three weeks.”

“First baby?”

“Yes.”

The young woman, probably not much older than River, smiled. “And this’ll be your first trip out?”

“Mmn.”

“And you’re finding it hard going?” she asked astutely.

Freya smiled slightly. “Is it always like this?”

“Always.” The woman grinned. “At least with my three it was.” She glanced around towards a man at the back of the shop, two small children around his feet and one in his arms. “It takes a while for the body to get back to normal.”

“How long?”

She laughed. “Oh, around until the next one comes along.”

“I just feel like my body isn’t mine any more.”

“It isn’t.” The woman stood up. “You’re designed to be a one-stop food store. Kinda ensures any woman feels pretty pointless.” She smiled. “You had sex yet?”

Freya blushed, just a little, something she seemed to be doing more often since she’d got pregnant. “Actually … yes.”

“Good. Best thing. Makes you feel like a woman and not just a momma.”

“But I don’t even look right …”

“Did that stop your man?”

“Well, no …”

The woman leaned over, her voice low, conspiratorial. “Look, this is a secret, but … if you have a man who loves you, he don’t care if your belly ain’t flat no more.”

Freya thought back to the night before, how Mal seemed to pay particular attention to her stomach, to the fullness that she found so … “Oh.”

The other woman laughed. “See, things ain’t so bad as you think.” She looked back at her family. “Gotta go,” she said. “Wh