Chapter 6 - Surprises

The whole day my head was in a whirl. Me? A mum? Oh my gawd. Not planned, not at all. I thought back a few weeks. It must have been... when, exactly? It was, oh it was another pub night, when the til cleared £900. Al was happy, and me for him.

I was in a state of shock for several hours, and after my tummy settled, sround about two that afternoon I watched Sarah Deptford usher her two kids in for a checkup. The older kid, Harry, was six, and pretty cute, while the baby, Emma was about a year-and-a-half. Emma was at the grabby stage, picking up everything in sight, while her brother carried a little pack on his back, which he opened to show me a stack of books from the library.

"Oh lor, Harry, don't you bother Morwenna. Sorry luv," she said to me. "Since he started readin' he can't stop!" She brushed her graying hair back from her pretty, but tired face.

"No, that's fine." I smiled at her son. "I like to read too. What's your favorite kind of book?"

"Everything. Pirates, trains, cars," the boy said to me.

"My, that's quite advanced, ain't it?"

"That's just what his teachers say," his mother replied. "I don't know where he gets it. I'm not much for readin'."

The Doc came out and handed me notes for filing. He looked hard at me. "How are you... uhm..." he asked quietly.

"Somthin' wrong with you, Morwenna?," Mrs. Deptford asked. "Emmas's got the sniffles," she addressed the Doc.

He looked at me in alarm. "Morwenna is just fine, Mrs. Zagar," he intoned.

"Deptford," she said back to him. "I can't imagine having a sick receptionist would be good at all," she cleared her throat. "You do look a might peaked to me, dearie."

The Doc replied, "No, and now, uhm, Morwenna is..."

"Fine. Right as rain," I told her. "Here Doc, are Mrs. Deptford's childrens' notes."

Doc peered at me like I had two heads. "Yes, right. And stop her!" he nearly yelled as Emma started to tear a magazine to bits.

The mum took her daughter in hand and pulled the pages from her. "Sorry, Doc. Emma gets into things."

Shaking his head the Doc pointed to his examing room. "Go through then. Take both children." He clapped his hands. "Smartly now!"

The family was herded inside and the green door closed.

"My, them kids run her ragged, I imagine." That came from Mr. Stafford, one of the too-frequent office attendees. His complaint was always constipitation (and loneliness). "They get on my nerves."

Mrs. Jackson diasagreed. She was an aged widow with bad knees, diabetes, and many opinions. "Nay. Not at all. Why those little darlins? Sarah and her Frank tried for years, and years! Got married in their teens, and phfttt. Nothin'. Every Wednesday and Friday night, she told me, they worked on it. Finally, when Sarah was 43, she had Harry. And then Emma a bit back. Sarah told me she nearly prayed her knees out, and almost gave up tryin'. But oh my them kids is SO loved. Makes me wish I had more." She turned her lined face to me. "You mark my words, Morwenna Newcross. Don't you wait for the stork too long!"

My hand went to my waistline. "Okay, as you say. How many kids did you and mister have?"

"Six," she said proudly, and then she winked at me.

Did she know I was going to have Al's baby? How could she? Nobody knew. Just me, Al, the Doc and Louisa. Unless Al told his dad, and then the whole village would know!

I looked back at Mrs. Stafford in what I hoped was with an innocent look. She winked twice more, and then I remembered she had a facial twitch. "Six, oh my."

"Six. Oh yes. And I wear each and every stretch mark with pride," she cackled.

"Right." Stretch marks. Oh goodie.

"And nine grandkids," she added. "Best thing I ever did. Have kids."

Something to look forward to.

After surgery closed, Louisa intercepted me and offered to help me shop. "What for?"

"You know. Clothes, for you and the baby. And then all the... other things."

"Oh. Well thanks then."

"Martin... and I... decided to help."

"Oh Al and I, we'll be fine."

Louisa put her arm around me. "Right. Listen, any questions you have, you just call."

"And the Doc will answer them."

"Yes, right. But I mean, uhm, lady questions. I am a mother, and there are things that Martin can't answer. Despite all his medical knowledge." She shrugged. "May be a few things I can help you with."

"Oh." Right then was the beginning of a different relationship with her. "Cheers then."

I got to the house and found the table was set, with candles, and a bouquet of roses. "Al?"

He clattered down the stairs, and lo and behold, he was dressed in sportcoat and tie, and had even shaved. "Oh, hey, I mean hello." He straightened his tie, crossed the room, took my hand and dropped to one knee. "I know this might be sudden, but Morwenna Newcross, will you marry me? Be the mother of my... our child?"