By the next day Sera had done her best to forget about Friday night. She was still trying to decide how she could kick Andrew out without endangering herself or causing too much upheaval. To that end, she'd told Andrew that an emergency had come up at work and she had to go in for the weekend. He hadn't been happy, but she was the primary breadwinner, so he'd let it go.
"How are you doing, Sera?" Kia Summer, the weekend Hose Handler asked as they sat at the firehouse table eating lunch together. "You look tired. And it's the weekend. Why are you here?"
"I am tired," Sera complained. "Andrew and I went out last night, and..."
"Ooooh," Kia teased. "Really? Things getting hot 'n heavy at your place then?"
Sera was about to respond when her tummy gave an ominous gurgle. Her jam toast had decided to make a reappearance. She ran for the bathroom.
And threw up viciously.
"Stupid hangover," Sera muttered to the toilet as she flushed.
"You sure you should be here, hon? Go home and get that sexy hubby of yours to make you some tea or something." Kia suggested, making a face at herself in the mirror. "I swear, every time I look in the mirror I have a new wrinkle."
"Kia, it's not like that," Sera sobbed. "Andrew drugged me last night. I hadn't been giving him what he wanted and..." she choked up, too upset to continue.
"Do you remember what happened, sweetie?" Kia asked, looking concerned.
"I remember we had Woohoo," Sera whispered.
"Did you hear a lullaby?" Kia's voice had an urgent note that surprised Sera. She hadn't been expecting such vehemence.
"Yes...I do...why?"
"Well, hon, you have a big decision to make then. Coz you're pregnant."
"What? How does the lullaby tell you that?!"
"Didn't you do Woohoo ed at school? That lullaby is how we know! Plus, you're throwing up every time you eat and you're tired. Those are the signs, honey."
Sera's eyes filled with tears. "Oh my Watcher, Kia...what am I going to do? I can't stay with Andrew anymore...but I can't kick him out if I'm having his baby. He or she deserves to know their daddy...it's so important."
"We're both too tired to make a decision right now, hon, and I can't tell you what to do, anyway. Go get some rest upstairs. You'll feel better, I promise."
However, when Sera woke up things were no clearer. In fact, they were a lot more complicated. She was definitely pregnant.
One thing was clear - she couldn't let the baby be raised without a father. So she would have to stick things out with Andrew. Not for one second did she consider giving the baby up. She already loved this little baby with all that she was.
"Don't worry, little one," she murmured, rubbing her belly fondly. "I'll keep you safe."
She still had a couple of day's breathing space before she had to tell Andrew about the baby...but she needed to tell someone...
It was without thinking about it that she headed over to Silas's place. Almost in a dream, she paid the driver, and walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell.
"Sera, what are you doing here?" Silas asked, his brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"
"Silas I..." Sera bit her lip. "Could we go inside?"
"Sure. Come on in."
Once they were inside Sera jumped straight in. "Silas...I'm pregnant. I found out today."
"Pregnant? Wow, that's amazing!" Silas said excitedly. "How wonderful!" His face fell as he took note of her expression. "Or...not wonderful, I guess?"
"Yeah, you and Andrew were on a date." Silas frowned. "Why?"
"Well, he gave me a few mood altering drinks, and one thing led to another...Silas, this baby wasn't conceived in love. I would never...I was planning on leaving...I don't know what to do..."
"Are you still leaving him?"
"No! I can't let my baby grow up without a dad, it's just not right. I have to put it all aside. I mean, I'm going to talk to him and let him know it's not ok, but I can't leave now."
"Okay, calm down. You can cross that bridge later. For now...you're having a baby, Sera." Silas smiled at her shyly. "Can...can I touch your belly? Please?"
Sera smiled back at him. "Of course."
Sera watched him rub her belly and sighed. Oh little one, I wish...she thought to herself. It would be so wonderful...but no, I can never let you feel like your daddy is second rate. I'm sure he'll be a good father.
Meanwhile, at home, a burglar had crept into the house.
Andrew got up out of bed and called the police.
Unfortunately, the burglar managed to sneak past the policeman, and get away with their washing machine and toilet.
"Sorry about that, she got away." Sergeant Winters apologised.
"Dammit, man how can we feel safe when you can't keep no good criminals out of people's homes?" Andrew shouted.
"I understand your concern, sir. After all, you have a baby on the way."
"What?!"
"Your wife, sir. She's pregnant. I saw her leaving the firehouse earlier when I was at the precinct. Kinda hard to miss. She was heading home, but I guess she mustn't have gotten here yet."
Andrew's face darkened. "Fine, well, you haven't done your job. Now leave."
With that he went back to bed. This changed things.
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Sorry this is late. And so short. I just started teaching full time this week, so my free time is GONE. Next chapter will hopefully be longer and out soon.
-Ishi
I laughed out loud when Kia asked Sera if she heard a lullaby. I think that's the first time anyone has ever acknowledged the lullaby in a legacy here. I love how you integrated the I'm reality into the story.
ReplyDeleteI so want Sera to dump Andrew, though I understand why she wants to try to work things out. I'm sure it will be trouble for her, though, now that Andrew knows she's pregnant, and that she didn't come home from work right away to tell him.
I thought it was so funny that right after Sera had thrown up they decided to have a conversation about music, so I just had to make it fit with the story. I really want her to dump him too...I'm working with my roll, lol. Hopefully I can play a bit more this week and really get somewhere in the story, but it all depends how crazy my class is.
ReplyDelete