Nala
"In this world, she is my world" - Pierre Jeanty
March
•1908•
Mariana's POV
Mum had been about ready to burst for days now
She could barely move, her stomach was so big
"Behave yourself" I ordered David, I had been tasked with taking him and John to school everyday so that we knew they had actually gone.
"Alright alright" he grumbled
"Anything for you Mariana" John smiled
"Yeah yeah, go on" I said, watching them walk through the gates.
•
"You'll be back on time later wont you?" Mum asked
"Yes" I said, pulling my coat on
"I mean it Mariana, the baby could come at any moment and you know what your fathers like" she said, busying herself making a cup of tea
"Mum I'll be here, but I've told you before and I'll tell you again and again, that man is not my father" I said, sitting at the table.
Kinney was a drunken idiot
He was a shit husband. He'd be a shit father. Simple as that.
"Well he's better than your actual father" she said, sitting opposite me
My actual father must be the fucking devil then
"What's he like?" I asked
"Who?"
"My father" I said.
Mum never really spoke about him to me and David, all we knew was that he was an American man.
"I suppose your old enough for me to be truthful" she sighed
"He's a gangster. Dodgy businessman type, he came here for work, I met him in a pub, read him his tarot and he found me... interesting I suppose, we saw each other on and off while he was here, then he left for America and I found out I was pregnant. I had no contact, no name other than Ray. I couldn't really do anything. So I had you and... well I tried to get on with life" she said.
"That's not the end though" I said
"No, it's not unfortunately, I'm grateful for your brother obviously but... when he came back into town, when he found out I had you he started seeing me again. Was interested in getting to know the baby he didn't know he had. His little girl. Then I got pregnant again and he freaked out. Spilled all the truth out to me in a panic when I told him" she said.
"The truth?" I asked
"He was married. Already had kids, asked me to get rid of it. That he'd pay our way and keep me and you in a comfortable lifestyle. I said no" she explained
"I thank god every day for you and your brother, that man though he... well he insisted on you both having his surname, railroaded me into it in fact, then he disappeared to America again, left me a lump sum of money and told me to raise you right. I assume he went back to his wife" she said.
So he abandoned us?
"Do you think he ever told her? His wife?" I asked
"Probably not, rich businessmen they... well they often think they're better than us, that they have more respect than us. Gypsies are nothing to them. And yet they're so blind to the world. We see things they couldn't possible imagine" she said.
"What do you see?" I asked
She smiled
"I see everything, people, animals, spirits and visions. It's a gift Mariana, you'll learn that soon enough" she said
"A gift? Mum I don't see things the way you do" I said.
"You will. One day, you have our blood running through your bones. A child is often influenced by the blood they bare" she said
"So what will I get from my father?" I asked
She chuckled
"A smart mind most likely, the ability to make power moves" she said amused.
"And from me, you'll have the ability to see things Mariana, things others can't, you'll be tuned in to the small details of life, the souls of people. You'll have an advantage most don't" she said.
I smiled
"I should get going" I said
"I'll see you later darling" she said.
•
"Fuck... fuck" I sighed, leaning my forehead against his
"Yeah... fuck" he breathed out, his hold never wavering
"We can't keep sneaking down here" I laughed, trying to catch my breath
"Why not? Our little hideaway" he said, looking around at the small tunnel we were in.
The canal was a beautiful place at the right time.
And this little hideaway Tommy had found was beautiful indeed.
"Tommy" I sighed, he let me go, siting me on the stack of hay bales as he grabbed a cigarette from his abandoned jacket, lighting it
I pulled my straps up, redoing my buttons
He took a drag, before he sighed blowing it out
"You ever just want to get away?" He asked out of the blue
"All the time" I said.
"No I mean it. You ever just want to disappear for a few days, go on the road away from it all?" He asked
"Sometimes, things get too intense sometimes don't they?" I said.
He nodded, passing me the cigarette
"How's your mum?" I asked
"She's okay, barely left the house but... she's okay" he said, rubbing circles on my thighs
"Maybe she should get away for a while, have a break, some fresh air" I suggested.
"That's what Charlie said. I'm beginning to think he had the right idea" he mumbled.
"Then let's run away together into the sunset" I joked with a smile
He smiled back
"Doesn't sound too bad" he said, coming closer again and caging me in.
"Oh yeah?" I asked, our faces inches apart
"Yeah" he whispered, kissing me.
•
"I'm back" I shouted to mum
"Mar! Mariana thank god, upstairs!" She shouted
"What? Are you okay?" I asked, jogging up to see her
I expected to find her in her room, but she instead I found her on the bathroom floor, crying and flustered.
"Mum?"
"It's coming" she said
"Shit, okay uh... when... when did it start?" I asked, getting louder as I rushed back downstairs to the phone
"About 15 minutes ago" she cried.
I dialled the number for the doctor, telling him to get round here quickly.
Then I called the garrison to tell the bartender Harry to send Kinney home.
"Don't worry mum I'm coming" I said, throwing the front door open and knocking on the one next door
"Miss me already?" Tommy grinned, answering
"I need you to run down to the school and get David, mums gone into labour" I hurried out, rushing back into the house and up to mum.
"What?" He shouted.
•
"Fucking hell" David said worried, looking at mum laying uncomfortably on the bed
Me and the doctor had moved her with much effort before he got back.
"David, darling" mum smiled, already exhausted and she hadn't even started pushing
"Where's Kinney?" She asked, taking hold of David's hand
"I don't know mum" I said. I hope he got here soon. She shouldn't have to do this alone.
She had me and David but we were her kids
David practically still was a kid.
"I'm afraid you'll have to start pushing Catherine" the doctor said, his nurse stood waiting beside him.
"No, I... I have to wait for him" she said
"Mum you can't wait, that won't help you or the baby" I said.
"Yes Catherine you really must push now" the doctor advised.
"Okay" she said shakily.
Tommy's POV
"How do you think it's going?" John asked
Catherine then screamed.
"I imagine pretty well" Arthur commented back
"Where the fuck is he? Useless bastard" Polly snapped.
"Probably drunk" Arthur said
Most likely, Harry called back and said he wasn't in the garrison
"I can't take all this birth, it's too much lately" John said
"Shut up" I told him.
I hope she was okay. Mum took Finn's birth pretty badly
Catherine wasn't exactly all there herself.
"Do you think it'll be a boy?" John asked instead.
"No, it'll be a girl" Polly said.
"How do you know that?" Arthur asked.
"I saw it in her leaves" she said.
Of course.
Kinney's POV
"Another one?" The bartender asked
"Yeah why not, not exactly like I've got anywhere to be" I mumbled
Not like they fucking wanted me at home
The kids hate me. Catherine just bitches at me.
I couldn't be arsed for the hassle.
Mariana's POV
"That's it push" the doctor encouraged
"This isn't right" she said in distress, squeezing our hands
"Kinney should be here" she said
"I know mum, but you have to keep pushing" I said
"That's right Catherine, you're losing a heavy amount of blood, we need this baby out so we can take care of you properly" he said.
"Blood?" David asked
"Yes. So push Catherine" the doctor urged.
She was losing blood, most women who lost big amounts of blood... die.
I squeezed mum's hand back. Supporting her.
"It hurts" she cried
"I know, I know mum, keep going" I said, wiping her hair from her face.
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