The sun was warm on her face as she floated on the lake's surface, but the fear inside Jenny was too strong for her to truly enjoy the weightlessness that supporting her, nor could she take pleasure in the way the sun warmed her skin like her husband's kiss. Worry about tomorrow was uppermost in her mind, and she prayed harder than she'd ever prayed in her life for a favourable outcome. Her baby was stirring restlessly in her womb, and she tried sending calming thoughts to the tiny mind waiting to see fruition as a living, breathing, miracle of life.
Her own life wasn't sunshine and roses, but while she was overwhelmingly fearful for herself, her greater fear was for her unborn child. If all went well tomorrow, Roisin would be barred from contacting her, or going anywhere near her or her family. That would give Calum the breathing room he needed to get his squidding business off the ground, and it would give them enough time to buy their houseboat and take to the sea. Roisin wouldn't be able to get to them once they were on the water, and even if she did try raising another court case in the future, Jenny already had no intentions of letting her aunt anywhere near her child. It would nip Roisin's attempts to get visitation rights, and it would send a clear message to the crazy woman that she had no place in the life of her estranged family.
Still, as Jenny took a deep breath and let herself sink underwater, that distant hope seemed as fragile as a moth's wing. She tried telling herself, as she sank into the lake's cool depths, the air leaving her lungs in a small stream of bubbles, that everything would be okay, that Roisin would be crushed like the ant she was.
But even as her air ran out and she kicked back to the surface, taking in calming breaths once her head was above water, Jenny knew Roisin would fight tooth and nail in some way, to keep her niece and great-niece or nephew on land. Jenny just hoped, as she went under again, that her lawyers were more wily than Roisin's. They had the most shark-like lawyers on their side, and so far each motion made by Roisin had met with swift opposition.
Out of air, Jenny surfaced again, feeling oddly better as she held onto her paddleboard. Her lawyers were up for the task, and some of her fear melted away, leaving confidence in its wake. She immersed herself once more, letting the cool water smooth the tangled nerves which had persisted ever since the afternoon's disastrous news. She was still scared, but nowhere near as much as when she'd first come out to the lake, and when she surfaced again, she felt ready. This is it, she told herself, taking calming breaths before going under one last time. This is the final play of the game Roisin's put us through. But she isn't going to win. Not if I can help it!
