Silver Linings by Rachel Ennis

Author:Rachel Ennis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 2017-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

‘Was what it like in the Home?’ Gill asked.

‘There were ten of us, all different ages. Me and another girl were sixteen. We were the youngest. Our fathers paid for us to be there, but we had to do chores as well. Father arranged for me to have schoolwork and two hours each day to do it. He said I had to think about my future. In our free time we watched TV and knitted matinee jackets. Another thing we did was pick up an empty cardboard box each from the local shop. Then we each decorated them with drawings we coloured in and pictures cut out of magazines.’

‘What was the box for?’ asked Mor.

‘To hold everything the baby would need for the first six weeks: nappies, blankets, little nightgowns, and the jackets we knitted. When the new parents came for the baby, they took the box as well.’

‘Did you have any ante-natal care?’ Claire asked.

‘A midwife and doctor came once a month to check our blood pressure and how the baby was growing. But they didn’t tell us anything about what to expect during the birth, and they were so stern we didn’t like to ask. Some Homes had a maternity ward but ours didn’t. My waters broke while I was washing the kitchen floor. It was the day after my birthday. The matron sent me in a taxi to the local hospital. Father had left money for that.’

‘Who went with you?’ Mor asked.

Swallowing, Annie shook her head. ‘The Home was short-staffed and couldn’t spare anyone.’

There was a moment of silence. ‘Had you visited the hospital before?’ asked Claire and Jess knew all of them were imagining how Annie must have felt; scared, in pain, walking into a strange place to give birth without family or friend for company or support.

‘No.’

‘How long were you in labour?’ asked Gill.

‘Twelve hours.’

Air hissed through Viv’s teeth. ‘You must have been bleddy terrified.’

‘I was. One nurse was lovely. Meg, she was called. Meg Wakeling. The others – they walked past like I wasn’t there.’ Annie swallowed more tea. ‘In the ward I asked one if I could have something for the pain. She called me Miss Rogers very loud, so everyone else in the ward would know I wasn’t married. Then she bent down and said the pain was my punishment for fornication. I told her she had no right judging me. She was no Christian either, calling an innocent baby a punishment. She pulled the curtains round my bed then left me on my own for hours.

‘When he was born, soon as the cord was cut, a nurse wrapped him in a towel and took him away. I never even held him. Meg told me it would be harder for me if I got attached to him.’

Jess recalled her twins being born, her elation despite being tired and sore; Alex’s tears as he held her hand, kissed it, and told her how much he loved her; Nan and Grampy’s beaming delight.

‘Father came and signed all the papers for him to be adopted.

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