Page 15 of A New Arrival at Cwtch Cove

When they all had a mug of tea, Edith sat back and gazed at Alice.

‘Are you all right, Alice, darling?’

‘Yes, why?’

‘I’m not sure what it is but there’s… There’s something different about you.’

Trudy looked from her mum to her daughter and back again.

‘You’ve lost weight since I last saw you but… nope… it’s not that. Yes, definitely something different.’

Alice shifted in her seat. ‘Is there?’

Trudy watched as her mum scratched her pink hair then her eyes widened and she jabbed an arthritic finger into the air in front of her.

‘You’re pregnant!’

‘What?’ Trudy and Alice asked at the same time.

‘You’re expecting.’

‘No I’m not!’ Alice looked at Trudy and she could see the horror in her daughter’s eyes. ‘I can’t be.’

‘Have you had sex?’

‘When?’ Alice frowned.

‘Recently.’

Alice looked over at her mum as if afraid to admit it in front of her then she mumbled, ‘Not for a few months.’

‘There you go then. It’s early days, I’d say, from looking at you, but you have that shine in your eyes and the early pregnancy hollow cheeks. I had exactly the same thing and so did your mum.’

‘I can’t be pregnant,’ Alice said, sounding like she did as a little girl when she couldn’t believe something. ‘It was only once and it was a mistake and I’m not in a relationship.’

‘I’d bet my bag of pastries on it.’ Trudy’s mum nodded vigorously. ‘Is your period late?’

Alice knotted her brows and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she said. ‘Oh god, I think it might be.’

‘You don’t keep track of it on one of those apps on your phone?’ Edith asked. ‘I thought all you youngsters did that these days.’

‘I did for a while but I got a new phone recently and didn’t bother adding the app to this one.’

‘Well if I were you, I’d check later and perhaps get yourself a test.’

Alice looked like she was going to cry so Trudy decided to change the subject to one she suspected her mum was keen to discuss.

‘So, Mum, tell us aboutBig Boythen.’

And her mum did. And Trudy found it every bit as traumatic as she’d thought she would. But at least it distracted her mum from grilling Alice about her possible pregnancy and what she should do about it.

But the thoughtOh god, what if Alice is pregnant?circled in her mind like a vulture above a carcass and she couldn’t wait to leave so she could speak to Alice properly. She desperately wanted to find out if there was a possibility that her mum’s suspicions about Alice might be true.

Chapter13

Alice

Three days had passed since Alice and her mum had visited her nanna in Tenby. It had been nice to see her nanna but what hadn’t been nice was being accused of being pregnant. In fact, Alice had been horrified when her nanna had told her that she should take a test. Luckily, her mum had stepped in and asked about Donald and so the conversation had moved on from Alice and her possible pregnancy.

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