Woman Like Me | Keith Richards ✅

18

"Paul?" I said, hovering at the door of the library. He was still sitting at the piano, albeit staring at it sadly. "I have to tell you..."

Paul stood up and closed the piano lid before he followed me and Linda into the living room. Stella, James and Mary were all in there already. Stella and Mary were talking, and James was playing with a toy train that he'd been bought the previous week.

Linda took me by the hand and led me over to the armchair, sitting me down before she pulled the footstool over to sit beside me. Paul picked James up and sat him in his lap, beside Mary.

"I have to... to tell you all something." I felt myself tearing up. There was no way that this could be happening to me. I wasn't ready to be a mother. As tears spilled over and rolled down my cheeks, Linda rubbed my back. She soothed me, shushing me gently and helping me to regain my breath. When I was ready to speak again, I said, "I'm g-going to h-have..." another deep breath and my mind was so much clearer, "I'm going to have a baby."

Mary and Stella's face lit up. Paul was silent. James asked, "when?"

"In about eight months, James." Linda answered. "Not for a while yet."

James replied, "oh."

"Have you picked out any names yet?" Asked Stella, a grin on her pretty face.

I began to sob harder. Stella looked to her mother, "did I say something wrong?"

The doorbell rang. Paul handed James to Mary and then said, "I'll get it." Before he left the room to answer the door. We were all silent, listening to see who it was. "Keith...?" We heard him say. I internally groaned and Linda continued to soothe me, putting her arms around me. I continued to cry.

"Is she here?" We heard Keith ask. He then pushed past Paul and into the house, hurrying into the living room. When he saw me, he stopped. When he noticed that I was crying, he rushed over to me and knelt down at my feet. "What's wrong, baby girl?"

At the name he used for me, I cried harder and buried my face in Linda's chest. Linda pushed Keith away as best she could without disturbing my position against her. Paul came into the room and pulled Keith up, bringing him out of the room to tell him about the baby because I was incapable of doing so.

Marlon, however, ran into the room. Mary saw how broken I was and got up. She put her arms around me, and then Stella and James did the same. I loved having a family around me, because me and mum had never really been a family - we had been more like two people co-existing in the same house. Marlon hurried over. "I'll hug!" He exclaimed as he too threw his arms around me.

A minute went by of being hugged by my siblings and Marlon and Linda before Keith came back into the room. When they noticed that he was back, they all pulled away from me and quickly left the room - except Marlon, who sat on the settee.

Keith knelt at my feet again, "we need to talk, Lenny." He said softly.

He was right, of course. As if we hadn't had enough problems before, we now had a baby to think about.

I nodded. Keith took my hand and helped me to stand up once he had regained his full height - Linda put a hand on my shoulder as she also stood up. I looked back at her and saw only concern in her eyes, "do you want me or Paul to go with you?"

I nodded, "but this is something that you two can't help me with." I followed Keith out of the house and into the busy London streets of St. John's Wood.