Chapter 28

Michael

I amble into the kitchen to the mixed smells of toast, peppermint and coffee. Mitch, Beth and Charlotte
are gathered around the breakfast table. Plastering a smile on my face, I try to sound cheerful.
“Morning all.”

“Morning, Michael,” smiles Beth. She still looks tired, but like Charlotte, is still going through the stage
of not wanting to let go of Adam. He coos in her arms and she keeps her attention on him.

Charlotte speaks quickly, then looks away. “Hi.”

Mitch nods, then sips from her teacup, looking down.

Have I said something I shouldn’t?

Offended one of them?

Snagging a couple of oranges, I head for the squeezer and slice the first one in half. “Juice, anyone?”

“I’ll have some,” says Charlotte. “And squeeze some for Mom too, please.”

“Sure thing.” I grab another couple of oranges, running a quick mental inventory of what I’ve said and
done this morning and the evening before…

Beth was tired… Hardly surprising. But certainly not upset. Triumphant would be nearer the mark.

Did I say something to offend her?

Nah…

What then?



I press down on half an orange. The squeezer hums and spins, shooting a thin jet of juice and catching
me in the eye

Fuck!

… then dribbling down my face onto my chest…

Making a grab for the paper towels I swipe down my face, then mop at the stains on my tee-shirt…

… but it makes a convenient excuse for me to surreptitiously eye the female trio.

There’s an air of huddle about them.

Normally, me firing myself with orange juice would have at least drawn a snark from Charlotte. But
now…

She and Mitch and Beth lean in, heads close, talking quietly. This is beyond ‘huddle’.

I’m inching towards conspiracy…

What the hell’s going on?

Then I see it. On the tabletop, lying between the three…

“Is that a pregnancy test?”

Three heads spin. Three faces jerk my way. Three sets of copper hair sway, then settle.

I stride over, snatching up the small wand. Two blue lines stare up at me. “Charlotte? Didn’t you want to
tell me?”



Her great emerald eyes rise to mine and her mouth opens to speak, but I’m still talking… “It’s pretty
soon after the first, I know, but did you imagine I’d be angry?”

She’s shaking her head… “Michael, it’s not…”

“Charlotte… It’s marvellous…”

“Michael, it’s not mine.”

I jolt back down to earth. “What?”

“It’s not my test.”

My head is full of fug. I look to Beth, Adam cuddled up close, barely born.

“What’s happening?” James stands in the doorway, his gaze sweeping the kitchen, a touch of
interrogation in his tone.

Scarlet flushes up Mitch’s neck. She drops her face.

“Michael…” Charlotte touches my hand. “The test… It’s… Mom’s.”

Mitch?

My mouth flaps open then closed. Then open again. “Mitch?”

“Yes, I’m pregnant.”

*****

The Story Continues In



‘Vitale’

 


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