Chapter 54

Bella was helping Paula in the bookshop. Well, helping was a bit of a stretch, but she was reading a book at Paula's request, the book was written by one of Paula's customers, and Paula had promised to read it but didn't have time. Paula wanted to hear Bella's thoughts about it.

Bella was useless for anything else. She was 38 weeks pregnant and about to pop any minute; she could feel it. In her check-up yesterday, the doctor said that the baby was full-term and already turned around, head down, ready to be born. All there was to do was to wait.

Paul was at work but had texted her throughout the day asking how she was doing like he did every day. He seemed to be more nervous about the birth than she was. But Bella guessed that it was more to do with him fearing missing out, not being there when it would begin, than a fear of something going wrong. Paul was very eager to be there with her from the first moment. He'd been with her in every birthing class, and they were both ready to welcome their child.

Bella had occupied her favorite spot in the shop; a cozy armchair by the window facing the leafy street. Paula had brought Bella her favorite tea: peppermint with vanilla. She could already stand the smell of coffee and had started to grave for a delicious flat white with oat milk but decided it was better to wait. As an ex-caffein addict, she knew the dangers of good coffee. It was hard to keep the amount moderate, and too much caffeine wasn't good for a baby.

"Bella Lahote?" Bella heard a woman's voice.

"Yes," she said, raising her head. She saw a Native American woman, a middle-aged, very beautiful woman with short black hair and dark eyes … Bella gasped; they were Paul's eyes. Bella's head spun, and she felt dizzy. Was this woman ... Paul's mother?

"I'm …" the woman started "... I'm Paul's mother," the woman confirmed her suspicions.

And all went dark.

"Bella! Bella!"

Bella opened her eyes and stared at Paula's worried face.

Behind Paula, Bella saw the woman claiming to be Paul's mother. She looked terrified, but Bella recognized the eyes again; anyone who had eyes like that had to have a link to Paul.

"I... just .." Bella started but was interrupted by Paula. "Should I call an ambulance?" she asked.

Thank God Paula was a reasonable person and hadn't called one already,

"No, it was just a shock,"

"I'm sorry," the woman with Paul's eyes said, "I caused her to faint. I should leave." And with that, she left.

"No, wait!" Bella shouted after her, but the woman was gone.

"Did you see that woman, or did I imagine her?" Bella was still feeling dizzy and didn't trust her senses.

"You didn't imagine her," Paula said, looking at her with a concerned expression. Paula took up the mug Bella had dropped on the floor. Fortunately, she'd been sitting down and hadn't fallen when she lost consciousness.

"What happened? Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?"

"I'm sure. It was a shock. That woman..." Bella still couldn't believe it, "That woman was Paul's mother," she said, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh," Paula said. "Now I understand." Paula looked at the door where the woman had vanished. "You want me to go and try to see if she's still out there?"

Bella shook her head. "No. I'm sure she'll come back." But did she want her to come back? Oh God, Paul...

"Miss, can you help me?" a customer came to them.

"Go," Bella said to Paula, "I'm fine. Really. It's just... Paul, what am I going to tell Paul … God... He's going to freak … poor baby." Tears flooded her eyes and started to run down her cheeks. She covered her face.

"Are you okay, honey? I'm getting really worried?" Paula said, taking her hands in hers.

Bella nodded. "I'm fine. I'm so worried about what this does to Paul... But don't worry about me. I just need to think."

"Please, stay here so that I can look after you," Paula pleaded.

"Okay. I will, for a while at least."

Bella leaned back on the chair and placed her hands over her bump. Little B was kicking her ribs, and it hurt like hell.

"Please, B, would you be a good baby and come out soon. I love you, but I can't take your kicks much longer," she talked to the bump brushing her hands over the bulge.

Another kick, and this one made her wince. She wiped tears off her cheek and took a deep breath. She got up to walk around. There wasn't a position anymore where she could feel comfortable for much longer than a few minutes at a time. Nights were the hardest. She couldn't get proper sleep anymore. She wobbled slowly around the bookshop, straightening books on the shelves and just running her fingers over the spines.

Paul's mother.

Good, God! She couldn't believe this. Paul had never talked much about her mother. Bella only knew her name because it was on the papers when they were getting married; Ellen. Paul had not once mentioned the name. He hated her, and Bella could understand that perfectly; His mother had abandoned him when he was just a little boy and had never come back.

Until today. Why now? How had she found Paul?

But of course, the article in the magazine. She must have seen the article. Damn.

Bella didn't know if this was a good thing or a very, very bad thing to happen. She didn't know how Paul would take the news. The timing was the worst imaginable. They were waiting to become a happy family, and they wanted to concentrate on their baby. Having this kind of shock wouldn't do him or them any good.

In the long run, it might be a good thing if Paul's mother had come with intentions to get to know her son, wanting to apologize and make amends. But would Paul want that? Would he want to get to know his mother after his initial anger? Was it possible to forgive something like that? Bella's eyes welled up again, thinking how that woman had been able to abandon Paul, her child, her son. Thinking of Paul as a little boy waiting for his mummy to come home... This was too painful. She brushed her hand over her bump.

"We love you, little B. Mummy and daddy love you so much. We will never let anything bad happen to you," she whispered, wiping her tears. She was unable to stop crying. This was so heartbreaking.

Paul had shown her the box holding photos mommy Holly had saved for Paul. Bella had asked him if he wanted to watch them with her, but he declined. He'd said she could watch them if she wanted to. Bella hadn't. But now she felt she needed to see the photos to make sure the woman was Paul's mother.

And she wanted to see them now. She didn't know where the urgency came from, but she needed to see them now.

"Hey, Paula. I go up to rest for a bit."

Paula was in the middle of selling a book to a customer.

"Okay, honey. But is it okay if I come and check on you in an hour or so?" Paula asked. "Paul made me promise I would keep an eye on you," Paula said sheepishly.

Bella rolled her eyes but smiled. "If I haven't called you back in an hour, then come. But please don't worry. I'm okay."

Bella left the bookshop and climbed upstairs to their apartment. The stairs had started to be a bit of a challenge to her. They were so steep.

After she got up to the landing, she let her breathing even out before walking to the door. Every time she opened the door to their home and saw the ample open space with big windows, she was blown away by its beauty and coziness. And this time was no different; she loved their home so dearly. Bringing up a child in this place would be an enormous joy, apart from those bloody stairs. She was happy there was enough space to store the baby stroller under the stairs.

Bella closed the door behind her, went to their bedroom, and opened the closet door. Paul had put the box on the top shelf of their ceiling-high wardrobe. She went to the cleaning closet to get the ladder and placed them firmly in front of the closet. Paul would be angry at her for using the wobbly ladder, but she needed to see the photos before saying anything to Paul.

Then she realized that the woman might have gone to see him in Altura. Did Paul already know his mother had come looking for him? No, surely, he would have called her, wouldn't he? Or what if he was so confused and angry that he had gone to do something stupid? No, that Paul was the old Paul, the man he was before. Paul, soon to be a father, wouldn't do anything reckless.

Bella took out the box and used all her concentration to climb carefully down. Once safely on the ground with two feet, she took the box to the living room and sat on the couch.

She opened the lid. She gasped, covering her mouth. And damn, there came the waterworks again.

There were tiny, tattered sneakers with a hole on the spot where the big toe had been. The white strings were dirty, as they should be; the shoes had belonged to a small boy.

Bella took a shaky breath. Was she really up to this? She took the shoes that still had some dried mud on the soles. She placed the shoes carefully on the table. Wiping the tears, she took a pile of photos.

In the first photo, three people - Paul and his parents - stood before a white house. The woman was definitely the one who had come to the shop today. She smiled as she held a baby, Paul, in her arms. Paul's father was standing next to his wife and son, having his arm protectively around his wife's shoulders. They both looked at the camera, looking very happy, while Paul's chubby hands were stuffing a string of his mother's hair into his mouth. They looked like the very essence of a happy family. At least Paul had had that for a while.

In the next photo, Paul is with his father. They were lying on the ground laughing. Paul was around 4 or 5 in that photo. Just like a father and son should be. In another one with Paul and his dad, they gave a tummy rub to a big black dog, laughing. The next photo made Bella gasp; Paul and her mother were cuddling on the couch, and Paul's mother was reading him Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat.

Tears were flooding, and she couldn't stop the sobs.

It was impossible to phantom what had happened. Why had Paul's mother left her husband and child? How had this loving man in the photos become a drunken child abuser? Surely it was heartbreaking to lose one's wife, but it should not make anyone the monster he seemed to have become.

It took some time for Bella to get her emotions in check, and she continued to browse the photos. They all draw a picture of a very happy family. Of course, there were only a few photos, and they could tell only so much. But they didn't lie; the people in those photos were happy.

Then she gasped; in one photo, Paul was with an older woman, and there was her father and Billy. It must be mommy Holly and Paul on one of their fishing trips with Charlie and Billy. Bella suspected that Harry had taken the photo; there was one lonely beer can next to her dad. Paul was older in this photo, maybe 14 or 15. He was smiling, holding a coke in his hand. Even that young, he'd been a heartbreaker. Bella's heart jumped. God, how she loved him.

Bella glanced at the clock on her phone. It was almost three pm. She decided to call Paula. Paula didn't pick up, so she wrote a message saying all was good and no need to come up to check on her. She added a smiley face and put her phone away.

Now she had to think of a way to tell Paul.

Paul had had a busy day, but he wasn't tired; he rarely felt exhausted even after a long day; he loved his work, and Altura was a great place to learn the trade.

He was walking home from the local fruit and veg market. He was stacking up their refrigerator with ready-made foods so, after the baby was born, they could just defrost their daily meals whenever they were too tired to cook.

It was almost six pm. They had planned to go for a walk after he got home. Paul wasn't sure if Bella was already too tired to leave the house. It was sunny, and many people were enjoying the early August evening. Paul was thinking of suggesting to Bella that they would get some ice cream if she wouldn't otherwise have the energy. Walking would do her good, and she could not be able to say no to a big scoop of pecan vanilla ice cream.

Paul was so damn excited to think about the soon-approaching birth of their baby. They still didn't know if it was a girl or a boy, but Paul had a feeling it was a girl. Bella, on the other hand, thought it was a boy. Paul really didn't care either way. It just was a little easier for him to picture a baby girl with Bella's eyes. But a baby boy would make him as happy. Fuck he would be the happiest fucker on earth. Jesus, he was going to be a father.

He arrived at the bookshop and saw Paula was closing the store. He opened the door to the stairs leading to their apartment. He climbed the steps two at a time; it was a bit of an exercise for him. Lately, he hadn't had time to do anything extra work out.

"Baby! I'm home!" Paul shouted when he opened the door to their apartment. He kicked the door shut behind him and turned to walk to the kitchen.

What he saw almost stopped his heart: Bella was lying on the floor in a huge pool of blood.

"BELLA!" Paul shouted, dropping the grocery bags, and ran to her.

"Baby, Jesus, what..." Paul sobbed as he knelt beside her.

"Oh God, no, no, no. No..." he chanted as he felt her pulse.

Bella was pale and looked like she was dead. But Paul could feel the pulse. He leaned, so his cheek was close to her mouth to feel if she was breathing. She was, but just.

"No, no, no, no, no..."

He took his phone from his pocket. Wiping tears from his eyes, he scrolled the emergency app, but his hands shook so badly he could hardly tap the icon.

"Baby, oh God..." he mumbled. "Oh, God..."

"I need an ambulance. My pregnant wife..." Paul said, his voice cracking. He tried to clear his voice. "My pregnant wife is unconscious, and she's bleeding. Badly."

"Stay calm, sir. Help is on the way."

Paul heard the person on the phone talking, but he couldn't make out the words.

"Sir, Sir?! Can you hear me, sir?"

"She is bleeding. Help her. Please come quick!" Paul sobbed on the phone.

Please, God, don't let her die!

AN:

Thank you for your comments, follows, and favs. I'm happy to get returning readers. This is my first born, I won't abandon it or any other my fics. I know in fanfic there are so many uncompleted and abandoned fics, and it is frustrating when starting to read a good story and then you notice it's not finished and won't ever be. I'm not going to leave the story before it's finished. Writing three at the time is a bit much, but in time, they all will be finished.