Least Said (4 page)

It
took
me
a
while
to
realise
that
I
had
missed
a
period
and
just
what
that
might
mean.
Totally
horrified
I
went
to
the
one
person
I
could
confide
in.
The
only
other
person
who
knew
what
had
happened
on
the
night
of
the
wedding
,
apart
from
the
Adonis
who,
it
seemed,
it
was
highly
likely
might
have
shared
more
than
a
bed
with
me
that
night.

It
was
late
when
I
knocked
on
Tina’s
door,
but
I
knew
she
wouldn’t
mind
me
disturbing
her
when
she
realised
how
upset
I
was.
Besides
being
my
neighbour
and
my
boss,
she
was
the
best
friend
I
had
and
I
trusted
her
to
advise
me
of
the
right
thing
to
do
about
the
situation
I
found
myself
in.

‘I
know
it’s
late,’
I
began,
making
an
effort
not
to
break
down
completely,
though
I
was
aware
my
eyes
were
full
of
unshed
tears,
and
a
shredded
tissue
was
being
further
destroyed
by
hands
that
were
shaking
so
much
they
were
almost
a
blur.
‘I
saw
your
lights
were
on,
and
Jon
has
gone
out
for
his
nightly
motor-bike
ride,
so
I
thought...’

‘Come
on
in.’

I
followed
her
into
the
kitchen,
sniffing
a
little
bit.
I
watched
her
make
two
cups
of
coffee
and
then,
without
beating
about
the
bush,
I
announced
baldly,
‘I’m
pregnant,’
before
dissolving
into
heartbroken
tears.

To
say
she
was
completely
taken
aback
and
thoroughly
confused
was
an
understatement.
Had
mine
been
tears
of
happiness
I
knew
she
would
have
completely
understood,
but
Tina
could
see
I
was
far
from
planning
to
celebrate
what
should
have
been
a
joyful
event
for
Jon
and
me.

‘I’m
obviously
missing
something
here,’
she
told
me,
when
my
floods
of
tears
had
subsided
into
hiccoughing
interspersed
by
the
odd
sob,
‘but
I
thought
you
wanted
to
be
pregnant.’

‘I
did.
I
do
,’
I
assured
her
looking,
I
knew,
as
if
it
were
anything
but
the
case,
‘but...’

She
waited,
but
when
I
didn’t
elaborate,
she
pressed
me,
‘But
-
what?
What’s
wrong?’

‘Not
now
.’

I’d
lost
her
totally,
and
she
shook
her
head
in
confusion,
asking,
‘What’s
wrong
with
now,
it’s
as
good
a
time
as
any,
surely?’

‘Not
now
when
it
may
not
be
Jon’s.’

She
sat
down,
then,
in
a
big
hurry.
‘
What
?’
she
said,
then,
‘
Who
?’

‘The
bloody
rugby
player,
who
seemed
to
be
such
a
great
idea
at
the
time,’
I
reminded
her,
and
was
certain
the
expression
on
my
face
would
have
been
absolutely
tragic.

Tina
almost
laughed
as
she
pointed
out,
‘But
that
practically
only
just
happened.’

‘My
period
was
due
last
week
and
it’s
failed
to
show.
I’m
as
regular
as
clockwork
–
never
late,
never
early,
always
right
on
time
every
time
–
every
time
except
this
time.’

‘You’ve
been
sleeping
with
Jon
regularly
though,
haven’t
you?
The
chances
are...’

‘I’ve
told
myself
all
of
that
a
hundred
times,’
I
said,
‘but
Jon
has
a
low
sperm
count
and
the
rugby
player
has
four
young
children.
Added
to
that
he
had
the
stamina
of
an
ox,
we
were
at
it
practically
all
night
long.
Who
do
you
think
is
the
more
likely
father?’

Despite
my
almost
comic
turn
of
phrase,
I
could
see
that
Tina
suddenly
didn’t
feel
like
laughing
any
more
than
I
did.
‘Well,’
she
said
slowly,
‘when
you
put
it
like
that.
How
do
you
know
about
the
children,
though?
Surely
it
wasn’t
part
of
his
chat-up
line?’

I
stared
at
her
and
sighed
deeply,
‘You
don’t
get
it,
do
you,
Tina?
You
just
don’t
get
it.
I
made
it
my
business
to
find
out
and,
when
I
did,
I
slept
with
him
on purpose
.
I
suppose
it
really
did
seem
like
a
good
idea
at
the
time,
especially
when
I
thought
Jon
was
doing
the
same
thing,
and
blaming
me
for
not
getting
pregnant
into
the
bargain.’

‘So
what
are
you
going
to
do?
It
could
still
be
Jon’s,
you
know.
Stranger
things
have
happened.’