"Why did you run," Peter asked a few hours later in her room. He realised he had to be gentle as not to upset her, but there were so many unanswered questions playing in his head.
She took a deep breath. She didn't know if she was up to telling the whole story yet, but she felt she really owed him an explanation. "When I found out I was pregnant I was shocked at first. I thought we'd always been careful, but I guess even then there's always a chance, however small. When it finally sunk in I got scared, I'd never been so frightened in my life. And my mind told me to get the hell out of BallyK."
Peter frowned, he didn't understand.
"What were you afraid of, not me surely," Peter enquired, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer to that.
She shook her head. "No, of course not, not you. I was afraid for you, for me, for us. This would ruin your life. People would judge you. You were their perfect priest. I thought they would believe I'd lured you into my bed and led you astray, that I'd got pregnant on purpose. So you'd feel you had to do the decent thing and leave the priesthood. That I'd planned it all. People would hate me for stealing you from them and they would hate you for being weak. Worst of all I feared they would hate my baby and so I believed I could only leave, to spare you and our child. Because no matter how scared I was, I knew from the beginning I wanted to keep the baby and I would love it, as it was also part of you, the person I loved and stil love like I've never loved anyone else. I swear I didn't plan for this to happen, but it certainly wasn't unwanted."
"Where did you go?"
"I phoned my aunt Helen in Cork. I only told her I needed a break and wanted to visit since it had been so long. She's my mum's sister. She's always been someone I could count on. And if there was one person in the world who would understand my situation, it was her. You see at the age of 18 she got pregnant, unwanted. Luckily my grandparents stood by her and helped her in anyway they could. They didn't force her into making any rash decisions and she eventually decided she would become a single mum. Despite the support, she had a very tough time. And of course it wasn't easy for my grandparents either. When my cousin Laura was one year old, my aunt decided to move to Cork, to start over where no one knew them. A few months later Helen met my uncle Henry who accepted Laura as his own daughter. So in the end it was all is well that ends well for her."
"When I was run over I was on my way to catch the bus to go home, to you. I promised aunt Helen I'd ring her as soon as I got home. Oh God, she'll be worried sick by now," Assumpta panicked.