Page 84 of A Secret Cornish Wish
‘No, that was just an accident. He didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘Claire! Listen to yourself. Stop making excuses for his behaviour. Wake up to what’s going on here!’
‘I am awake!’ Claire says angrily. ‘I wish I bloody wasn’t. I wish this was all just a bad dream that I could wake up from. But it’s not, is it? This is my life.Mylife, Frankie, not yours. You don’t have a husband or children, so how could you possibly know what I’m going through? You live this wonderful, young, free and single life up in Scotland. You don’t have any cares, nothing to worry about. You don’t understand and you never will.’
I stare at Claire, and then very slowly I begin to nod.
‘No, you’re right. I don’t have a husband and I don’t have any children – not yet anyway.’ I put my hand on my stomach in the same way Claire did back in 1994, when we were sitting outside a café, but in the sunshine this time. ‘My life is certainly not carefree though. In fact, I’ve got many worries right now that are bothering me greatly.’ And I begin to gently stroke my belly.
Now it’s Claire’s turn to stare at me.
‘Frankie?’ she asks quietly. ‘Are you pregnant?’
I nod.
‘Oh my, that’s wonderful,’ she says, happily this time. ‘Why didn’t you say before?’
‘It’s not been the right time. Also, it’s early days. I haven’t known myself all that long. I haven’t told anyone else yet.’
‘Not even your parents?’
I shake my head. ‘Nope.’
‘I’m the first?’ Claire looks quite emotional.
‘Yes.’
She gets up from her bench and comes around to my side of the table. Then, without speaking, she simply gives me a huge hug.
‘I’m so sorry for what I said just now,’ she says when she’s let go of me. She sits back down again, this time on my side of the bench. ‘It was rude and uncalled for.’
‘Forget about it,’ I tell her. ‘You’ve got a lot going on.’
‘Not as much as you,’ she says, looking down at my stomach, as though at any moment it might suddenly start growing a baby bump. ‘You are keeping this baby, aren’t you?’
‘Yes,’ I say. ‘I’m keeping it.’
‘And what about the father?’
‘Nah, I don’t need him.’
‘But you will tell him?’
‘At some point, I suppose.’
‘You’re going to bring the baby up on your own?’ Claire looks quite shocked by the thought.
‘It has been done before, you know.’
‘Of course, but it’s harder than you think. I know, I’ve had three of my own, and although he’s a shit,’ Claire grimaces at her use of a swear word, ‘Jonathan did help me a lot with the children when they were tiny.’
‘I’ll be fine.’
‘You could move back in with your parents?’
‘I don’t think so! And, anyway, they’re selling up soon and moving on – probably to a little retirement bungalow if they get their way. The last thing they’ll want is a new baby taking up all their space.’
‘But still . . . ’ Claire begins.
