“I'm pregnant.”
The words hung in the air. The shocked silence stretched on.
Hannah stared at her mother.
“Well, say something.”
“Like what?”
“I don't know. Shout, scream, yell.”
“I don't feel like shouting - I'm still in shock.”
Liz looked at her tall willowy young daughter, who would one day soon be a lovely young woman. Correction - was a lovely young woman. Pride for her welled in her chest, threatening emotional tears.
“You could always say congratulations. People usually do when you tell them you're expecting a baby.”
“Congratulations.”
Hannah moved over to the window and looked out over the snow covered garden with a frown on her brow. Liz watched her anxiously. She often chided her for this, threatening that if she frowned too much, one day it would stick. This time she decided to let it go. Having a baby was a serious business.
“It's hard to believe, isn't it,” asked Liz, also moving to the window and putting her hand on her daughter's shoulder. “Come the summer you could be out there playing with a new baby.”
Hannah was chewing her lip, always a sign that she was anxious. “Does this change how you feel about me?” she asked.
Liz didn't hesitate for an instant. “No love. Not a bit. Nothing will ever change how much I love you. Nor will it change how Dad feels about you either.”
“Dad will have to be told,” Hannah pointed out.
“Yes, I know. But let's just keep it to ourselves a little bit longer. Just until we get used to the idea ourselves. Your father may take a little more time to get over the shock.”
That was an understatement. Brian, her husband and Hannah's father, thought the days of midnight feeds and dirty nappies were long gone. It would take some fancy talking to bring him round to the idea of there being a baby in the house again. But the alternatives didn't bear thinking about.
“For now it can be our mother-daughter special secret,” Hannah said. “But we can't leave it much longer.”
“No.”
“You've always said that this house was too small for anymore children, Mum. That was why you only had me.”
“We'll cope.”
“The baby could share my room. It'll be easier to get up to it during the night then.”
“We'll sort things out nearer the time,” said Liz. “Perhaps the baby could have my little office, and we can share the midnight feeds.”
“That'd be nice. Thanks Mum,” said Hannah, hugging her mother.
“When is the baby due?”
“In about six months.”
Liz sighed and went back to sit at the table. Images of Brian and herself, Hannah and the baby, all playing in the garden together, a lovely family group, danced through her mind. Yes, a baby in the house wasn't a bad thing. It could help to keep Brian and herself young.
She sighed again. Brian. He could be a bit of a problem.
“How will we tell your father?” she asked.
“Together. Now,” said Hannah. “You're always telling me there's no time like the present, so come on.”
Liz stood and hugged her daughter, marvelling at how grown up Hannah sounded.
Together they moved towards the lounge where Brian was watching TV. Hannah picked up the remote control and turned it off.
Brian looked up in surprise.
“Oh, oh,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “This looks like a deputation. Am I in trouble in again?”
“We have something to tell you,” started Hannah. “Well, at least … that is …Mum has,” she added, holding her mother's hand tightly, her nerve failing her at the last minute.
Liz took a deep breath and said quickly, “There's going to be an addition to the family. That is, we're going to have a baby.”
Brian's mouth opened in shock. “Oh,” he said. “That's nice. Good.”
Hannah heaved a sigh of relief. “Well, that's ok then. We thought you'd blow your top. Right, I'm off to see Sarah,” she said. At the door she turned and said, “You two try and behave yourselves while I'm gone.” Then she remembered, “Oops, sorry - it's too late for that isn't it?”
With a final toss of her head, she flung at Liz and Brian, “Really, at your age! Haven't you heard of birth control?”
