Our Minor Mistake

Today I had woken up to an empty house. It was eerily quiet. I woke up in my tiny bedroom and walked down to the kitchen. I fumbled around with the toaster until a figured out how to make toast. I had never made toast before so I was fairly proud of myself. I figured out I should learn to cook before the baby comes.

I eat my toast and wonder where everyone else is. It’s unusual for everyone to be out at this time. Cora’s usually around at least. It being a Sunday no one really works. There was a knock at the door, finally a sign of life. I put my toast down and waddle towards the door. Its Claude who was wearing a leather jacket. ‘’Hey Claude, what’s up?’’ I ask him smiling.

‘’I was wondering if you wanted to go to the arcade with me?’’ he asks with a shrug.

‘’Yeah okay, I’ll just get dressed.’’ I say smiling and walking down the corridor into the kitchen. ‘’Come in and have some…’’I say opening the fridge. ‘’Chicken’’ I suggest seeing the first thing I see.

‘’I think I’ll pass if it’s all the same to you’’ says Claude laughing. ‘’As if you aren’t dressed at half twelve’’ he says.

‘’Hey I’m five months pregnant’’ I say finishing my toast.

‘’I suppose you better make the most of sleeping then’’ he says laughing.

‘’Shut up’’ I say wrinkling my nose.

I go upstairs, leaving Claude in the kitchen and pull on a baggy maternity top and a pair of maternity jeans. I pull my hair into a high ponytail and grab a pair of checked black and red canvas shoes. Lastly I grab my hoody and pull it over my shoulders. It doesn’t go round my middle anymore but it still fits my shoulders.

I run downstairs and join Claude in the kitchen. He stands up as I enter and we leave the house. We take a bus round to the arcades. We play for a while but then we get bored so we take a stroll along the beach. It’s cold so he lends me my jacket. We sit down on the wall and watch the donkeys across the beach with delighted children grinning and laughing on their backs. Their parents held their hand, making sure they didn’t fall off. It’s so much fun for two quid.

I imagine me holding a small, ginger haired girls hand. In my head she looks like a mixture between me and Dan and she’s sitting on a donkey as I hold her hand. She’s so happy, so wonderfully happy and so am I. It can’t be that hard, can it? Kids seem to be happy at everything so they can’t be that hard to please. Maybe I could do an okay job.

‘’Come on Elizabeth its getting dark’’ says Claude next to me. It’s not really getting dark. It’s probably just about to rain. ‘’I’ll walk you home’’ he says.

We get up and catch the bus back to Aunt Cora’s. The open the door and call out to see if anyone was home. The house was still empty but the lounge curtains were closed so some had obviously been in. Claude takes my hand and leads me into the living room, confused I follow him.

‘’SURPRISE’’

I jump as I walk into the darkened living room. People spring up from behind sofas and chairs and streamers and banners hang from every angle. A huge pile of presents stood in one corner. I look around at the people. Cora stands in the middle of them all. There was most of the family, Gran, Billy, Tom, Ryan and Jennifer. Laura, Nikki, Dan and a few of our other friends from school. Then there was Rebecca and Lucy from work. ‘’What’s this all about?’’ Is the only thing I could ask through my surprise.

Then someone else moved into the room. A tall, scrawny woman with red hair, mum. Tears form in my eyes as I run towards her and she pulls me into hug. ‘’What are you doing here?’’ was my next question.

‘’I’ve been thinking and I’ve decided that you need support from your mother, please come home Elizabeth’’ she says.

‘’I would but this is my home now mum. I’m happy here I have a job and friends’’ I say looking at Claude. ‘’I hope you can understand that’’ I say looking into her eyes as she holds me head in between her hands.

‘’Of course I can darling’’ she said softly. ‘’I just want to be involved in my grandchild’s life’’ she said hugging me as tears ran down both our faces.

‘’I’d like that’’ I say smiling genuinely. ‘’What about dad?’’ I ask nervously.

‘’I’m working on him’’ she says laughing slightly.

‘’Alright moment over’’ says Cora loudly parting us. ‘’Elizabeth Darling we decided to throw you a shower’’ she says. ‘’So me, Daniel and Claude gathered everyone together’’ she says. I hug her and then the ‘party’ starts.

It’s pretty boring and everyone tries to stroke my stomach and talk about the baby. I make polite conversation and then eventually just settle in a corner with my friends drinking lemonade and laughing over normal stuff like we used to. Before the pregnancy.

There is a knock at the door I hear Aunt Cora get it. The door opens and a tall guy with blonde hair and blue eyes enters. My heart stops for a second. Its Ben. ‘’Elizabeth, this young man says he knows you’’ she says.

Ben walks over to me. ‘’Hey, can I talk to you?’’ he asks. How did he even remember me? I haven’t seen him since Cedar’s party. I nod and follow him as my friends watch me walk away.

‘’Sorry to interrupt your party but I was just wondering if there was any chance that it could be mine’’ he says.

I stop. He’s finally voiced the thought that I’ve been pushing to the back of my mind all the time.

‘’I don’t know, maybe’’ I say.

‘’What? I was just making sure you mean there’s actually a chance it could be mine?’’ he asks almost yelling.

‘’Well we had sex on the night I got pregnant Ben its fifty fifty chance’’ I say almost yelling back.

‘’You did it with two guys on the same night, you slag’’ he says turning around to leave. At that moment the door opened and Dan entered to see what was going on.

‘’Hey, what’s up?’’ he asks through a mouthful of pizza.

‘’Your girlfriend is a slag that’s what’’ says Ben. I close my eyes as tears threaten. Finally the truth is coming out.

‘’My girlfriend is carrying my child, how does that make her a slag?’’ Dan demands.

‘’Or she’s carrying my baby’’ he says turning to me. They both turn to me. Ben’s eyes are accusing while Dan’s are confused and hurt.

‘’What? Elizabeth, is this true?’’ he asks. I turn to face him, biting my lip. I can’t answer that. There is too much to say.

‘’Maybe’’ I manage to splutter.

‘’You know what Elizabeth. I’m sick of you. You tell me you’re pregnant with my child and then disappear and now I find out it might not even be mine’’ he says. ‘’You know what you are a slag. I hope I never see you again’’ he says walking towards the door.

‘’Dan wait?’’ I say running after him and down the street. I lose him as he disappears through the maze of streets. I flop down in the middle of the road as tears run down my cheeks. The heavens opened and rain fell onto me.

After what feels like hours of crying I feel the rain stop and look up to see an umbrella and feel someone sit down next to see. I lift the umbrella up slightly to see Claude. ‘’Hey, I’m sorry, about what happened’’ he says.

‘’How do you know?’’ I ask him quietly.

‘’I think everyone know, you were talking really loudly’’ he says putting his arm round me.

‘’You okay?’’ he asks. I nod although I’m not too sure.

‘’I just don’t feel as though I can go back you know?’’ I say.

‘’You can come stay with me if you like. I live with my mum but there’s room’’ he says. I nod and get up.

We take the taxi round to the North Bay and up a few streets until we reach a small semi-detached house. Claude opens the door and lets himself in. He leads me through the small, beige hallway into a living room scattered with toys. In the middle of the floor, clearly tidying up was a young woman with brown hair tucked behind her ears. She is putting toys into a large wicker basket. She looks up.

‘’Finally, you should have called me’’ she says picking up the basket and stacking it against the wall.

‘’Sorry mum’’ says Claude. I was surprised she must have had Claude at like sixteen. Then it struck me. I was having a baby at sixteen.

Claude mum almost jumps as she sees me. ‘’Oh hello, I’m Jenn’’ she says holding out her hand. I shake it.

‘’Claude, whose your friend?’’ she asks. ‘’You didn’t get her pregnant did you?’’ she asks her son bluntly.

‘’No mother I didn’t’’ he says.

Jenn’s face went from concerned too happy in a few seconds. ‘’Oh well that’s okay then’’ she said.

‘’Elizabeth’s going to stay for tonight’’ says Claude. ‘’She’s had a bad night’’

‘’Okay great, she needs to get out of those clothes though the poor girl she’s soaking’’ says Jenn still addressing her son.

Then it hit me. I didn’t actual have any clothes. My clothes were still at Aunt Cora’s. ‘’I don’t have any other clothes’’ I blurt out.

‘’No problem mine will probably fit you, I have some maternity clothes from when I was pregnant with Joe’’ she says.

She puts the basket of toys down and led me upstairs. She finds me a pair of legging and a keep calm and carry on maternity top. Then she finds me some maternity pyjama’s and leads me to a spare room. It’s very small and just about fits a single bed. The bed is made up with a neat yellow cover and pillow and the window overlooks the park opposite. I look out the window at the small, cramped looking houses in the street.

‘’Jenn, how much do these houses cost’’ she asks.

‘’About a hundred thousand’’ she says. ‘’Why?’’ she asks.

‘’Because I need a house and these are nice’’ I say. I think about it. I reckon I could apply for a mortgage when I get to eighteen or maybe mum would help me out. sigh and follow Jenn downstairs. Me and Claude sit down on the sofa and watched telly vision with Jenn. My phone kept buzzing but I ignored it. I couldn’t be bothered talking to anyone. I just wanted to sleep and watch television and relax. I had no desire to talk to anyone I knew. Now everyone knew I was a two timing whore I knew they wouldn’t want to talk to me. This couldn’t have gone any worse. I didn’t even get to open my gifts.

I sigh and get up. I tell Jenn and Claude that I’m going to bed and shuffle upstairs. I change into Jenn’s pyjama’s and climb under the duvet. I imagine what it would be like to live here.