Page 7 of Wistful Whispers

Jake nearly cried when I told him the baby is a girl. He’s convinced the world needs another me, whilst I hope that baby takes after him though he’s not the biological father. She doesn’t need to turn into another neurotic and chaotic person like me.

So without supervision from the pregnant-lady-police I managed to clear out the nursery, buy some mint green paint and, surprise surprise, paint all the walls without fainting from exhaustion. Jake will tell me off but I can deal with that. He’s already doing way too much for us so the least I could do was save him yet another DIY job.

Ouch! Just as I’m twisting to reach for my water I feel a stabbing pain in my lower belly. I freeze and slowly lower myself back onto the mattress, stroking my hands over my tummy. At twenty-four weeks my bump is becoming more and more visible and there’s no hiding anymore.

I wait and wait but there’s no other pain. It might just have been trapped wind or something. I want to Google it, but the last time I did that I ended up having a mental meltdown because the suggested diagnoses scared the living shit out of me. Jake made me swear (under the threat of never making me my favourite sandwich) that I would never do that again. And this pregnant lady can’t live without those magically perfect sandwiches.

If there’s one thing I hate about this pregnancy it’s the peeing. I have to pee all the time. I reach for my phone sleepily and waddle to the bathroom.

Urgh, it’s just after three in the morning. I thought I would at least have quiet nights until my little girl is here. There’s barely any pee coming out which frankly is not surprising giving how often I visit the loo.

I wash my hands by the light of my phone torch. I hope that not turning on the bright bathroom light will keep me sleepy enough that I’ll fall asleep again, at least for a while. I dry my hands on my nightshirt like a slob and shuffle back to the bedroom.

“A few more hours please,” I mumble to nobody in particular as I sit on the edge of the bed and twist to lay down.

Shit! There’s the pain again. Sharp, almost like someone tugging hard on a cord. I can feel fear racing through my body. What is it? Lying perfectly still I try to feel if anything is wrong but the pain is gone… for now.

My hand shakes a little when I lift the phone. My thumb hovers over the shortcut to Jake’s number. I’m sure I’m just being silly and there’s nothing to be worried about but what if there is something wrong?

“Bollocks to that. He forbade me from using google,” I mumble as I press the call button. It rings twice before a groggy sounding voice reaches my ear.

“Hey, Hanny-bee.”

“Jake—” I try to school my tone but either my concern is still evident or he just bloody knows me too well. In any case he seems to be immediately on high alert.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” All the sleepiness has gone from his voice.

“I… I don’t know. Earlier tonight I had a sharp pain in my tummy, just for a few seconds. But because it was only once I didn’t think anything. But just now I had it again.”

“I’ll take you to hospital!” he exclaims and I hear the sounds of him getting dressed.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. I just got scared because I’m alone and what if—”

“We should go and get it checked out. Neither of us will sleep otherwise. I’ll be over in ten minu—” There is an almighty bang.

“Jake?”

“Sorry, I stumbled putting my shoes on and dropped the phone.”

“You need to calm down before you have an accident.”

There’s silence for a second. He knows I’m right.

“I’ll be over soon. Get dressed if you can. If not, I’ll help you when I get there.”

“I’m fine—”

“I’ll be over soon,” he says one more time before the line goes dead. Maybe he’s right. There’s no harm in getting it checked out.

By the time Jake pulls up in front of my cottage I’m dressed and nervously pacing on the drive.

“Why didn’t you wait inside?” Jake whisper-shouts when he gets out of the car.

I ignore his question which I’m pretty sure was rhetorical. Instead, I curl up in his arms for the hug I’ve been craving. The hug that tells me all will be okay.

“Any more pains?” he asks carefully.

“No.” He guides me to the passenger seat and closes the door once I’m in the car.

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