I left at dawn and the drive home was dull. When I reached Mother’s house, I was tired from my long drive and voluntary sleep deprivation. I dropped my bag in my room and trudged wearily to the kitchen, where she sat at the dining table, reading a book in the afternoon sun.
“You’ll need to go to the chemist’s to get a pregnancy test,” Mother stated, not lifting her eyes from her book.
“Why, who needs one?” I asked.
“You,” Mother answered. She closed her book and laid it on the table. “I thought you were going to wait until after you’d completed your studies to try for another child.” She smiled as if she already knew what my answer would be. I wouldn’t have been surprised.
“I received a particularly attractive offer that I found I didn’t want to refuse.” I hadn’t yet dared to let myself hope that Aidan had given me a healthy child, though I would have traded everything for her.
Mother’s smile grew wider. “What was it about him that made you change your mind?”
I couldn’t help but smile in response. “He had fiery red hair. Everywhere.” I shrugged. “It’s only a few weeks until I finish my final exams, so it seemed worth the risk. I won’t take the test until afterwards, anyway,” I said, opening the fridge in search of a drink. “Do we have any whiskey?”
“Whiskey?” Mother asked, looking up. “You can’t drink that if you’re carrying a child.” She smiled again. “Your father had red hair, too.”
“Oh.” I closed the fridge and poured myself a glass of water instead. I’d left him only this morning, yet I missed Aidan’s fire already.
“What was the man’s name?” Mother’s eyes looked far away, in some memory of the past.
“Aidan,” I replied.
“How was your practical experience in Albany?”
I smiled. “Highly educational.”
YOU ARE READING
Water and Fire - A Short Story
ChickLitWorking as a student midwife in an Australian country hospital is never easy, but Belinda finds more trouble than most. There's the intern doctor who follows her around like an overgrown puppy, the dangerous local wildlife and her own secrets she m...
