Chapter 115

"I'm pregnant."

I almost choked on the piece of carrot I was chewing. I reached for my cup of tea and gulped it down. 

"...Sorry… What did you just say?" I asked the grim Ginna.

"My bleeding days haven't come since last month..." She bit her lip and looked up, rapidly blinking to stop tears from spilling. 

"… Are you sure…? There could be other reasons for the delay..." I tried to be optimistic about the situation. But what was the situation? Ginna had never said anything about seeing a man, or that she was going to get married. Could it be…?

"The reason is I fooled around with some guy in my village more than two months ago." Ginna deadpanned. It seemed she had resigned herself to her fate.

"Alright." I nodded. "Are you keeping it?"

What?

"What?"

Exactly. Where did that come from? Was my memory acting up again? Though, it did feel as if I have had that type of conversation with someone else. I had asked that question because it seemed there was a way to not keep the baby.

Did the unknown woman in my memory keep the baby or…?

"I mean… Have you told him?" There was no way Ginna knew about the method, right?

She looked at me with narrowed eyes and leaned over. "I asked around for ways to… you know, not keep it. They all sounded unsafe." She sighed and leaned back. 

Right, so it seemed she was not so against the idea. And she was correct. The methods were dangerous for the woman. 

"I don't want to marry him." Ginna suddenly said, vacantly looking at some random point. "My Mom will force me to do it. We don't like each other, we just had needs..." I silently and openly listened to her. For her to trust me with something so big, must have been a tough decision.

We did not start with a good step. We were not enemies, yet we were less than acquaintances. With the help of the habit of seeing each other every day due to work, seemed to have softened the sharp edges in our attitude with the other.

"Move out, then." I suggested. It might not be the best advice for her, yet I would not feel well if I just remained silent in her conundrum. 

"I have nowhere to even drop dead." Ginna wryly said.

That was a good point. I had no idea if houses or rooms in town were cheap. The other thing was the matter with her Mom. I wasn't so sure she would accept for Ginna to move out, pregnant, and alone to town.

"Let us wait for Mrs. Attile, maybe she can help." I had no idea if she could really help, but it was best to hear more options from her. "Or I could lend you money if you look for something affordable." We were not in a wealthy state, but I could do that favor.

Ginna looked at me with an expression I could not really describe. "Thank you." She only said in the end. The conversation died there as we finished eating our lunch and got back to work.

I had started making the dress for the Commissioner's daughter. I had bought the fabric in the store with the money the Commissioner gave me: 60 coins. It was a rather generous amount, so I did not skimp and bought the best fabrics the store had. 

Dupioni, Charmeuse and Tulle. 

The skirt was not so voluminous, but it still had a wide shape; however, I did not want for it to be that heavy. That was why I chose Dupioni to shape up the skirt. Charmeuse to give it that shiny and elegant feel and Tulle to give it a bit of liveliness as the Commissioner's daughter was still young.

What was her name?

Marleene?

Since the skirt was not that elaborate, I made it one week. Of course, I did not rush as the previous dresses and shirts I made. The Chief's daughter-in-law had arrived to the house, and without asking how much the shirts were, she gave me 15 coins and left.

I was actually only going to charge her 5 coins for it. After all, the Chief had helped my Husbands a lot in the past. With that money, she could have bought more things for their moving. 

With that money, I bought some fabric and made some sheets for the couple. The day they moved out, I gifted them to the two and wished them the best in the new place.

Because I made those sheets, I had postponed the dress for quite some time. 

Since the skirt was done, I could move onto the top. The tight and backless top. For that, I thought it would be good to have her exact measures. So, I had to ask her to come to the store to measure her. 

It was mid-afternoon. It was best to wait for the next day to tell her.

Since I had nothing to do, I picked some fabric to make curtains and sheets for my new room. 

It was already built, but the furniture was missing. Ethan said to wait for his next salary to buy the furniture. He was going to be paid this day, so the furniture would the bought the following one.

I had seen the room, or rooms, as there was also the small storage room, and it was very well done. It was spacious enough to put a lot of things, like tables, drawers and even the tub, and still have room for more things. 

It looked very sturdy, with a high ceiling so I would not feel the heat from the sun at noon. The windows were wide enough to let air and light in; the sunset light. The porch from the house was connected to the new room, becoming a corridor.

I had plans to buy a rocking chair I had seen in a shop in town and place it in the corridor. Maybe hang some plants in the outer beams… It would be very dreamy! I could not wait!

"Hello! Good afternoon!" Jean cheerfully came into the store. She smelled of pastries. She must have been baking and made too much. "I came with sweets!" And she always shared them with us. The weight I gained must have been because of those pastries.

"Oh, good! I'm starving!" Ginna happily accepted the basket with the goodies and went to the back of the store to prepare tea. 

Business was a bit slow, so it would not be a problem to take a short break. Either way, it was a habit created by Mrs. Attile to spend the time whenever no clients came.

"I brought my own tea, so it's fine to make tea just for two." Jean said out loud.

"Got it!" Ginna yelled from the back.

In the meantime, I dragged some chairs and placed them behind the counter, where a small round table was. It was our resting spot, and if a client came, we would know.

"I have some good news to share with you!" Jean excitedly said. She did look in a very good mood. 

"Must be excellent news. You look more excited than usual." I observed.

"You can tell?" She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her wide smile.

"Don't start gossiping without me." Ginna scolded, carrying a tray with the teapot, the cups and the pastries served on a plate. "You brought more today. You not using the ingredients from the restaurant, are you?"

"No, no, no!" Jean shook her hands. "I was just so happy, I used more flour." She blushed.

"And then, what are the good news?" I asked, biting onto the soft puffy delicacy filled with jam. Jean could open up a pastry shop if she so liked. They were that good.

"I'm pregnant."

I choked on food for the second time that day.

"Oh, my! You alright?" Jean worriedly started patting on my back while Ginna passed me the tea.

"… Yeah… It took me by surprise." I said between coughs, glancing at Ginna. Well, what different ways to communicate such news. One was gloomy, the other was buzzing with excitement.

"Congratulations." Ginna smiled at Jean.

"Thank you! We've been trying to hard with my Husband that he almost cried out of happiness when I told him." Huh, to see that shark crying must be a sight. "The doctor told me to not move around too much, so my visits here won't be that often in the future."

"Do not worry. It is best to take care of yourself and the baby. Congratulations!" I said. 

"What do you want it to be?" Ginna asked.

"Not sure… Boy or girl, I'm sure we'll love it."

"That's for sure."

Seeing the two talking so animatedly about babies, made me think about the circumstances of the two women. 

Jean had been expecting to get pregnant for quite a while. To finally get positive news was the most wonderful thing in her life. On the contrary, Ginna was even thinking of getting rid of it as it was a certainly unwanted event.

Of course, Jean was married, her Husband had a restaurant that provided them with a more than enough income and she had no other worries bar her marital life. Mr. Dodds did not look like the perfect Husband, but he was very good to her in his own way.

Ginna had to work to help with the expenses in the house. She was not married and did not want to get married with the father of her child. There was also the shadow of what her Mom would say because of the unexpected pregnancy. 

With those circumstances, what would the future of those children be like?

Then, there were also my circumstances. Any child I had would have four fathers. Would I even know who the specific father was?

I had been having sex with both Lucas and Ethan the past few days, so if I ever got pregnant from those encounters, who would be the father?

"Isabelle."

My train of thoughts was interrupted by the soft call from Felix.

I had thought all that even on the way back and during dinner. I did not even realize I was getting ready for my bath.

My bath with Felix.

A very determined-looking Felix.

Was he going to do what I thought he was going to do?