That Night

This is my story. It’s almost like a diary, but not exactly. They say I should write about what happened, and I should make voice recordings too. But I refused, writing is enough for me. But first I better fill you in on my past and I’d better explain what happened that night.

I think it was about midnight, but I can’t be sure. I was dancing with him. I can’t remember his name; I think I was too drunk to care. I thought that was the best night of my life then. Now I see that night was my worst. We did it. It. Even though my Mum and Dad bug me about safe sex and everything, we still did it. Unsafely.

When I was being driven home that early morning, I wondered if Mum would notice anything different about me. But she didn’t. She nattered endlessly on about how I was ‘in with the wrong crowd.’ She seemed pleased that I had come home sober for once. But that was only because after doing it I couldn’t stand having another drink.

What if I became pregnant? Mum has never taken stress or problems well. With us both being pregnant she’d panic. First she acts all calm and cool about it and bottles up her anger inside until it explodes. When I got expelled from my previous school she cut off all her hair and shaved her herself bald. It took ages for her long brown hair to grow back.

Five weeks later I couldn’t stop throwing up. I kept thinking this is it. I’m pregnant. But I wasn’t sure. I told Mum and Dad I was having a small fever. The next day I borrowed Mum’s spare pregnancy test kit and tried it in the bathroom. I came out in a daze, Mum saw me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. There was no point hiding it.
“I’m pregnant too, Mum.” Mum was eight months pregnant with a sweet girl kicking around inside her.
“That’s okay, honey.” She said soothingly. “I had a guess…”
“How did you..?”
“Who throws up when they are having a little fever?”
“Did you tell Dad?”
“No.”

Dad came home late that night. I waited until dinner. While Mum served up I talked.
“I’m pregnant Dad.” I said, and then added quickly, “Wasntmyfault.” Mum screamed from behind me. But I’d already told her. Why was she the one screaming? The plate of delicious-looking roast turkey fell to the floor and shattered. I got a splinter in my thumb but that didn’t matter. It was all about Mum.

“I…my…water…broke!” Mum said between gasps. Dad brushed a space clear of splints and sat next to Mum, immediately in action. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open like a fish.

“Call the ambulance and make some ice!” he ordered me. I called the ambulance and told them that my mum was having her baby to soon and our address. They replied that they were on their way. In the freezer I found some ice Mum was going to put in a strawberry smoothie for herself. I gave them to Dad who placed them on Mum’s sweaty forehead.

“Push, breathe, breathe, push!” Dad repeatedly kept saying. It was like something on TV. When I saw two little pink toes appear I fainted. Before everything faded away II caught a glimpse of the splinters I would fall on and covered my heard with my arms and heard my Mum gasp,
“Jack!”