Burned

30

          Louise slowly regained consciousness. She'd never fainted before in her life so the experience was frightening upon waking.

"Easy." A voice soothed when she tried to sit up too quickly and got another wave of nausea. A gentle hand guided her back onto the sofa she was lying on. "Can't get up too fast."

"Where am I?" Louise blinked a few times and looked around.

"Birmingham." Polly smiled and rested a damp cloth on the woman's forehead. "You fainted, luckily Alfie caught you just in time."

She felt uncomfortably clammy and still dizzy. "Where is he?"

"Downstairs with the other men." Tommy's aunt answered. "Had to push him out of the room to give you some space to breathe." Polly had been taken aback by how devoted Alfie appeared. He'd come upstairs in a full panic with his wife in his arms. He shouted that they needed an ambulance but Polly was quick to calm him down. She wasn't aware the man had such a capacity to care.

Louise closed her eyes, relieved that everything was okay. She took a few deep breaths and feeling began to return to her hands and feet. Still, nausea lingered.

"When are you due?"

The question alarmed her. Had Alfie told Polly about the baby? She thought they were keeping it under wraps at least until they couldn't hide it anymore. "I uh...I don't know..." She opened her eyes.

"It's okay," Polly assured her and removed the cloth from her forehead. "I won't tell anyone, not even Tommy."

Louise nodded slowly. "I should be ten weeks along, I think." She answered.

"Here, try and sit up to drink something." Polly helped Louise prop herself up against the arm of the sofa. She handed her a cold glass of water. "Do you want to know the gender?" The older woman asked.

Louise took a few sips of the water and frowned with confusion. "I didn't know it was possible to know before they were born."

"Some have a gift for it," Polly informed her.

"Huh..." Louise smiled slightly. "Thank you, but I think I'll wait. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for Alfie. He's impatient but sometimes likes to be surprised by good things."

That's when her husband burst through the door. "She alright?" He'd waited long enough downstairs and refused to linger around another second. He trusted Polly wouldn't harm Louise, but he was still on edge about the pregnancy.

"She's perfectly fine," Polly assured him. "She probably just didn't eat enough this morning. You need to make sure you're getting enough food for the baby." She told Louise and stood up.

Alfie frowned when she mentioned the baby. He hadn't said anything to the woman when he brought her upstairs. And Louise had agreed they wouldn't tell anyone. "Right..."

"I'll let you two have a moment," Polly said and left the room.

Louise finished the water and saw the look of worry on his face. "I didn't tell her." She clarified. "She just figured it out. Says she could tell me the gender of the baby too."

"Gypsies," Alfie muttered with an eye roll and went to kneel by her side. "You sure you're alright? Fucking scared me half to death when you just fell over like that."

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting it either." She touched his cheek. "But I'm alright now. Guess I can't skip breakfast again like that." She smiled and tried to ease the tension on his shoulders.