midwife » michael gray. [completed]

CHAPTER FIVE.

→ CHAPTER FIVE; REVELATIONS.

With a hop in her step, Hannah ran straight up to her bedroom, so she could start getting ready for her dinner date with Michael. It had been over three days since he had asked her out at the clinic and keeping it a secret was becoming unbearable. If she was back in London with her childhood friends, then she would have been shouting and raving about her date with a handsome boy from the rooftops, but Hannah couldn't deal with the judgement that she would face from the sisters and other midwives. However, Alexandra, Betty, Sophie and Jodie were not stupid, and they could see right through Hannah's performance. No matter how hard she tried to keep her eagerness controlled, there will still a glowing smile on her face whenever she thought about Michael and the activities they would get up too.

The sound of some jazz music softly played throughout the small bedroom that held nothing but two single beds and two chests of drawers. It wasn't much but it was what Hannah considered home. Hannah was near the front window which she was thankful for in many ways. After coming back from a long and gruelling delivery, she would sit at the window and watch the children play with their friends, the factory workers making their way to work and mothers rushing around all while she sat back with a glass of some cheap wine that Alexandra had brought back from one of the local shops. The wine was usually vile, but Hannah didn't have the heart to tell Alexandra who had politely gifted it to her.

"Where are you going tonight?" Alexandra asked as she skimmed over an article in a fashion magazine. Betty and Sophie were sat on Alexandra's bed, both speaking about their day but when they overheard Alexandra ask the question that had been playing on everybody's lips ever since they had arrived back home, their conversation was cut short. "I mean, you look lovely, so it must be with someone very important. Is it a date?"

"No, it's not a date, Alexandra. I'm going to meet an old friend of mine from London. She has some cousins up here and has somehow managed to find the time to invite me out for dinner at one of the new restaurants that's opened on Dark Lane. It's my night off and I couldn't exactly say no now, could I? I haven't seen her in many months and I missed her wedding which I don't think I'm full forgiven for." The deceits fell naturally from Hannah's lips, a series of prearranged untruthfulness, that she had been ready to share since the moment she walked into the room and saw all three girls on the bed. A part of her felt guilty for lying to her closest friends but she couldn't risk having the sisters find out about her private escapades with Michael Gray. It would only lead to unnecessary trouble that could easily be kept hidden.

Somewhere during Hannah's thoughts, Jodie had entered the bedroom and was sat at the end of Hannah's bed with a cup of tea in her small and petite hand. She had just arrived back from a troubling birth and was ready for bed, but Jodie was curious and wanted to know if Hannah was really going to see Michael like all the other girls had speculated. Betty gave Jodie a funny look, which Hannah caught in the corner of her mirror and within seconds, all of the girls were laughing hysterically to themselves. Hannah whipped her head around and looked at the other midwives with confusion and annoyance.

"What's your friends name?" Betty asked once her loud laughter had calmed down a little. However, as soon as she repeated the second question, the sound of Betty's laugher filled the air once more. "Michael Gray, is it?"

"Oh, bugger off, Betty." Hannah tossed the hairbrush in Betty's direction before chuckling along with her. "I believed that I was a decent deceiver. Clearly, I was very mistaken."

"Bless you, Hannah. We've all known for a few days now that you were going to see Michael tonight. If you and he are going to continue to meet up in secret, then tell him to not turn up at the clinic. You are tremendously fortunate; do you know that? If Sister Maria or Sister Margaret had seen him there then you might possibly have been out of a job," Jodie warned. Although she came across as demeaning, Hannah knew that she didn't mean it. Out of all the midwives, Jodie was the sweetest who cared for her friends deeply and she did not want to see Hannah broken-hearted over Michael.