Anna (Go To Him)

Chapter 27

"Pregnant?" I repeated breathlessly. "Are ye sure?"

Dot nodded, shifting her eyes away from me to blink back inconvenient tears. "Yes. I saw the doctor yesterday."

"Well...fuck. Is it Paul's?"

Dot frowned at me. "Of course."

"Sure. Sure." I said, distractedly. "Does he know?"

Dot seemed to fold in upon herself. "No. Not yet." She whispered. "Anna, how can I tell him? We've been together barely a few months. He'll leave me. I know it."

"Ye don't know that." I said, earnestly.

She twisted her hands together in her lap. "What else would he do?"

"I dunno, support you? Take care of you? Paul's a good lad, Dot."

"I know that, but..." She swallowed hard and looked away from me, tears spilling over her lower lashes. "I don't want this, Anna." She said quietly, her voice cracking.

I felt helpless, unable to do anything more than wrap my arms around her and whisper, "It's OK, it'll all work out" as she broke down on my shoulder. But both Dot and I knew that she was in a tight spot. There was no safe or legal way of getting rid of an unwanted baby in this country except for adoption. She was going to have to carry the shame and stigma of being an unwed mother for the next nine months, at a minimum.

Dot's sobs finally subsided as she swiped her gloved hands across her eyes and nose. "It's not even telling Paul that will be the worst." She hiccuped, "What will my parents say?" She drew a panicked breath, "Me da' won't be happy..."

"Ye can come stay at mine!" I said, hurriedly, "Honest, Dot, Eileen's room is empty. We don't even have to tell me folks anything. It'll just be somewhere for ye to be until we can figure something else out." I was worried for my friend. She'd never said it out loud, but I knew that her father had a drinking problem and that he sometimes turned mean. I'd seen the bruises on Dot's chin and arms before, though she often tried to hide them with makeup and long sleeves.

"'Ta, Anna." She sniffed, giving me a watery smile. "I..." She sighed. "I think I should probably deal with Paul first. I really don't know what he'll say, but...I've just got to know that first."

"Sure. I'm here either way." I told her. "Whatever ye need, just phone me, alright?"

"OK. OK, I will."

***

Within a few days, the news had spread through our friend group. John cornered me on our Christmas Eve trip to Lewis's, my father no longer serving as a barrier to our enjoyment of the elaborate Christmas land within. Wrapping his arms around me at the end of one of the lengthy aisles of perfume, John cocked his head and studied me. "Annie, I've heard through the grapevine that our own Macca has gone and gotten Miss Rhone up the duff. That true?"

I paused for a moment, unsure how much Dot might want me to share. But the fact that John knew anything about it made me think that Paul had already spilled the beans, in which case, Dot couldn't begrudge me for trying to defend her. "She...yes, she's pregnant." I said, softly. "It's not an easy thing, John, so please try to give them a little space."

"Fuck." John exhaled, heavily. "...FUCK! What shite timing."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's just...we have plans to try and work on marketing the band over the next few months. A band member with a kid on the way isn't the best publicity."

I stared at him in disgust. "Are ye serious?"

He looked genuinely puzzled. "...What d'ye mean?"

I shook my head in exasperation. "John, this is going to derail Dot's career, change her and Paul's entire lives and yer worried about...about publicity for the band!? Seems a bit petty, no?"