🌻Sunflower🌻

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"He's doing well. He's gained weight, looks healthy. And he's such a pretty little boy." The midwife, Sarah gushed.

"And how are you doing?" She asked Anne.

"Ok. It's very tiring. He wants feeding so much. Greedy little thing." She laughed.

"You're doing ok with the breastfeeding? No problems?"

"Apart from sore nipples, everything is fine."

"That's good. Well. This is my last visit. You can come to baby clinic from now on. It's every Thursday morning at 10. We'll weigh him, and check him over and you can talk to us about any concerns you have. Is that ok?"

Anne nodded, although she wasn't happy about going out.

"Yes. That's good thank you."

"So...we'll see you next week. Bye Bye Harry. She waved at him, even though he was asleep. "Take care Anne. Don't forget to call us if you need us before then."

She smiled and showed Sarah out.

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The following Thursday came around quickly. Anne contemplated going to the baby clinic, but she couldn't bring herself to go out, not wanting to risk him finding them.

So she stayed home, spending the day cuddling her beautiful baby.

The weeks went by with Anne staying home with Harry. They didn't even have a garden to sit out in, to get a bit of fresh air.

Sarah was so worried about not seeing them that she turned up on their doorstep one afternoon.

"Sarah...what are you doing here?" Anne asked when she opened the door, holding Harry in her arms.

"Hi Anne. Can I come in?" She asked. Anne showed her in and they sat on the sofa.

"Anne...we've been worried about you and Harry. Why haven't you been to baby clinic?"

She looked down at her sleeping baby. "I...I can't go out."

"Why not?"

"I'm scared."

"You're agoraphobic?"

Anne shook her head, as a tear fell down her cheek. "My ex. He might kill us."

Sarah was shocked. "He's threatened you? Have you told the police?"

"No. He wanted me to...to have an abortion. I didn't, obviously. I'm scared if we go out...that he will get us. I can't risk Harry's life." She sobbed.

Sarah sat closer and put an arm around her. "Why didnt you tell me before? You shouldn't keep something like this to yourself. You need to go outside love."

"I can't. I'm too scared."

They talked for a long time. Sarah giving her advice and numbers of people she could speak to. She told Sarah everything he had done to her.

Once Anne had calmed down, Sarah did her checks on Harry.

"He's doing well. Weight gain. He's a very happy contented baby. You're doing a great job with him. You just need to do the same for yourself. Have you thought about moving to a different area?"

"No. Maybe I could look into it. A change would be good. He won't find us then."

"You should. It would be beneficial to you both. You shouldn't be hiding away from the world. Harry deserves to see the world too. Please do something."

Anne nodded. "I will. I want my boy to be happy ." She smiled.

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It took a while, but Anne finally moved home. They moved to a small flat in Doncaster, far away from her old life.

Harry was now 3 months old.

She finally bought a pram for Harry and would take him out for walks in the park, he would watch the ducks as Anne fed them by her feet. He would giggle as they tried to peck at her feet.

He was such a happy baby and Anne loved him so much.

She was sat on the bench one morning when a woman walked up to her,  with a small boy in a pushchair.

"Hi. Do you mind if I sit down? My feet are killing me." She smiled at her.

"Sure." Anne said as the woman sat down.

"Your little one is gorgeous. Beautiful eyes." The woman said.

Anne looked at her and smiled. "Thank you."

"My name's Jay. This is Louis. Say hi Lou."

Louis waved at Anne. She waved back.

"Hi Louis. He's cute. Hi Jay. I'm Anne, this is Harry.

"How old is he? Louis is 17 months."

"He's 3 months."

Anne was struggling a bit to make conversation, as she'd hardly spoken to anyone for months. But she thought Jay seemed nice.

"I've not seen you around here before.  Have you just moved, or is it a day visit?"

"We just moved not long ago. It's nice here." Anne replied.

"Yeah. It's not bad. You fancy going for a coffee, if you've got nothing else on?"

Anne smiled. "I'd love that. Thank you."

They stood up and walked into town, enjoying the warm May weather, ending up in Babs coffee shop and bakery.

They ordered 2 lattes and a muffin each, and sat chatting for an hour, while both boys napped.

Anne hoped that Jay would be her friend.

Just getting started.

Thoughts welcome.

All the love  💖💖💖