I slept the whole trip home and only opened my eyes when the lady seated behind me tapped me away when we arrived.
"I heard you say you were headed to Waltham Abbey?",
" Yes , we're already here?", I ask and yawn.
She nods and smiles at me,after thanking her I walk out with my things I didn't have much because I sold most of my stuff including my phone and got a cheaper one.
I walked out and strolled onto the platform taking a deep breath of the cool alleviating fresh air of my hometown. I was finally home.
I looked around and finally heard someone calling me "Bird! Over here!", I heard a beautiful voice call me.
I turned to where the voice was coming from and saw Polly, my childhood friend and my grandmother waving excitedly at me.
Polly and I have known each other since we were still in diapers, she's more like a cousin than a neighbor and friend. Her short mercury red tumbled over her shoulders and bounced as she waved excitedly. Even after not seeing her for so long she still had her bubbly outlook.
I noticed the little boy she held on her hip that looked around him curiously and I could say he was the cutest little bit I have ever seen.
"My God Bird, how long has it been? Four years?", She laughed after giving me a bear hug.
" Polly! I've missed you so much!", I say and kiss her on the cheek." Who's this little guy",I ask and lightly squeeze the little boy's cheek making him shyly look away.
"This is my son Caleb" he looks just like her with big doll eyes and brown hair.
After a heartworm reunion and tight hugs we finally went to the car park,they drove here in my grandmother's beat up truck. I helped my grandmother as she struggled to walk properly. She didn't tell me it had gotten this worse if I had known I would have gotten her a nurse.
It must have rained here last night because the ground was still wet and the air moist and fresh. I looked at the familiar streets as we drove. Nothing had changed, even some graffiti we did as teens was still there,it felt nice to be home after such a long time. The little village was pretty small with one highschool and one middle School,one hospital and on police station that we shared with the neighboring village so everyone basically knew everybody.
The wind blew through my hair,the sound of my grandmother telling me all the town's gossip slowly becoming faint as I remembered the time I told William about the place I grew up. We lay in each other's arms looking at the city through the windows of his penthouse,he really wanted to come here.
We stopped at a famous local diner to have some food because it was already noon.
"Remember when we used to come here", my grandmother cheerfully said.
We came here to celebrate all the time , birthdays, graduating to the next grade, getting an A in a subject, everything.
We entered with Caleb in my arms,he was just so cute and I kissed him a few times. I was excited to know that soon I'd be holding my own child as well.
As soon as we walked through the door the smell of food hit me, making my stomach grumble.I didn't realize how hungry I was until my stomach made that sound.
They all looked at me making me blush in embarrassment, seeing my reaction made them burst out into laughter,Caleb looked curiously at all of us and joined in the laughter as well, making us laugh harder.
"Oh my! Bird is that you?", A familiar voice said.
"Hello Sandy",I smiled at her,I can't believe she's still working here ,Sandy is the woman that made most of my childhood memories fun.
"How have you been sweetie",she smiled,we made small talk then she took our orders.
Polly and I ordered the usual and local favorite fish and chips and my grandmother went for some meat pie.
But I regretted my order immediately when the aroma of the deep fried fish hit me. I rushed to the bathroom bumping into someone on my way there. I retched into the sink, spilling the little content of the fruit salad I had eaten earlier on the train.
After rinsing my mouth I walked out and found someone waiting for me.
"I thought I knew you", Bernard said, giving me a nasty grin while he eyed me up and down.
He is the local Sheriff and one of the reasons I wanted to leave our little village may be beautiful and tranquil but the police here are corrupt. He would arrest me for no reason and sexually harass me,he just couldn't wait to put his hands all over me whenever he got a chance.
"I see your hairline has completely disappeared",I snorted and began walking away but he stepped in front of me and blocked me.
"That's not nice,is that what you'll say to me after not seeing each other for so long,I thought the teenage you was beautiful but the mature Bird is much more beautiful",he says his cigarette cotted breath fanning my face.
"I have nothing nice to say to you!", I snap and take a step back " Now get the fuck out of my way",
"This is what I like about you, you're so feisty,this is what drives me crazy",he says and tries to touch my cheek.
" I'm as young as your daughter, you perverted old freak!", I say and slap his hand away.
" Ever since you left I've been keeping track of your life ,I know you cheated on that rich boyfriend of yours , you're nothing but a little whore! Don't act righteous", he says, taking a step closer to me. He looks nothing like a forty five year old,years of alcohol, cigarette and substance abuse has made him age ten years more.
"Shut the hell up and get out of my way!",
"You're nothing but a slut! Acting like your too good for me!",
" You're married, what the hell is wrong with you,leave me alone or else I'll scream",I warned, taking a step back as he took steps closer to me until my back hit the bathroom door.
"I've always loved you Bird,my sweet Bird,no one will ever love you like I do",he says taking strands of my hair and sniffing it "I was so heart broken when you left",he gently says.
" What the fuck is going on here!", A shreal voice says before I could raise my knee and hit him in the groin. And my thought was here we go again,I never seem to have a break.
Bernard steps away from me and me and his wife get a better view of ourselves.
"It's you! You never seem to stay away from my husband do you! You came back to snatch him you little bitch",she said and launched for me.
" Enough Maria!", Bernard said and grabbed her by the arm. Maria kept screaming on top of her lungs about how I came back to ruin her marriage and spilled all types of profanities at me. Her yelling drew everyone's attention including Polly's and my grandmother's.
When my grandmother saw Bernard and his wife her face sunk immediately "you bastard! After my granddaughter again?!", She yelled and raised her cane to hit him with it.
Bernard still pulled his wife away, screaming and kicking ignoring the gazes everyone was giving us.
"Curse that son of a leprechaun",my grandmother said as I helped her back to her seat.
"Are you okay?", Polly asked why rubbing Caleb's back who got startled from all the noise and started crying.
"Yes I'm okay", I said and smiled.
"I'm talking about earlier",
"Yes honey, does your stomach feel funny, could it be because you traveled and got motion sickness?", My grandmother asked with concern in her voice.
They were going to find out anyway, even though I didn't want to tell them "it may be because I'm pregnant and couldn't stand the smell of the fish",I say looking nervously at my grandma. I know she is going to get upset because an old fashioned person like my grandmother and the rest of the town think it's shameful to have a child out of wedlock.
I saw her eyes go wide and expected her to scold me,after not hearing her scolding for some time I looked up and saw her looking at me gently.
"It's okay sweetheart",she said and kissed my forehead.
" You hear that Caleb , you're going to have someone to play with soon", Polly laughed.
After having our meal we drove back home,I handed Caleb who was fast asleep to Polly and she went to her house that was just next to ours.
The house was the same as I left it,every photo,every trophy and medal.
After helping my grandmother to bed I walked into my room, it's like I never left in the first place. I threw my luggage onto the floor and fell face down onto my bed. I lay there and wondered if William ever got my letter.
"Bird please come here",I heard my grandmother call for me.
Thinking she needed my help with something I rushed to her room.
"Why are you out of bed?",I asked when I saw her standing next to her dresser with a yellow box in her hands.
"I just have bad knees, do treat me like I can't take care of myself",she grumbles. On normal days she can take care of herself even in the garden but there are days when her arthritis gets bad.
"Fine I know",I roll my eyes and support her to her bed.
" I'm happy that you're going to have a baby and you don't have to worry about anything anyone has to say,as long as you have me I don't know what happened with that young man you told me about but I'm assuming he's the father,you don't have to worry about a thing",she says patting my hand gently and proceeding to open the box. Inside it were some baby clothes, shoes and socks. "These were some of yours",she laughed "you were the cutest little thing",she said taking out a onesie with little yellow ducks. Seeing the clothes got me so emotional that tears streamed down my face. It was scary and thrilling to think of having a baby soon, after all I'm just 24 and all I once cared about was my career but now all I have left is my life here the rest blown to the wind.
.