Surprise

Southampton
Two long days passed between the incident between Kelly and Uncle Bertram without Meg being allowed to see her friend. As soon as the doctor had arrived, he’d assessed the situation and moved her to the sofa in the parlor. After the bleeding was controlled, she’d been moved to her room. Daniel and Kelly’s mother had been allowed to visit, but the doctor explained he thought it best if everyone else allow her to rest. She’d overheard him explaining to Mildred, “If she isn’t allowed to get some sleep, she’ll lose the baby for sure.”
The baby. Kelly was carrying a child, and she hadn’t told Meg yet. Now that she was allowed to speak to her friend, she wasn’t sure if she should say anything about it at all for fear of upsetting her, but how could Kelly keep such a secret from her?
Patsy was sitting on the end of Kelly’s bed when Meg came in, and when she realized who had interrupted their conversation, she smiled, patted her daughter’s hand, gave Meg a hug, and then left them alone. Meg took her place, gently sitting down for fear of shaking the bed and making Kelly uncomfortable.
“How are you feeling?” Meg asked?
Kelly had a bandage over her broken nose but the bruise spread out from under the white across her cheeks beneath her eyes. She also had a lump on the back of her head and her mother had been bringing her ice packs consistently to try to keep the swelling down. One was poised behind her head now. “I’m much better today,” Kelly replied, readjusting and wincing a bit.
“You gave us a bit of a fright,” Meg said, managing a small chuckle, as if it was all harmless.
“I’m sorry,” Kelly replied, smoothing the blanket over her lap. “I didn’t mean to.”
“No, it’s okay,” Meg interjected. “You’ve no reason to apologize.”
Kelly smiled meekly. “I’ve always had a bit of a temper.”
“You have,” Meg agreed. “You’re just… spirited. Which is a good thing. Most of the time.”
“I wish you would have told me….”
Meg cut her off. “How’s Daniel? Did he go back to work?”
Kelly sighed, as if she realized Meg was not going to let her discuss the horrible secret that had brought about the argument with her uncle to begin with. “He did,” she said. “His overseer said he could come back at lunch time and check on me. I told him not to bother. I’m fine, but he’s worried.”
“About the baby?”
“Yes.”
Meg shook her head and looked down at the quilted blanket. She absently wondered if Patsy had made it. It must be nice to have a mother who would make you a quilt, who cared enough about you when you were injured to leave work for several days to take care of you.
“I didn’t know,” Kelly said, bringing Meg back to the conversation.
“What’s that?”
“I didn’t know about the baby,” Kelly clarified. “Before your… I mean, before I fell, I didn’t know I was carrying a child.”
“Oh,” Meg nodded. That explained it. She couldn’t well tell her if she didn’t know.
“My monthlies have always been sporadic, and I wasn’t sure. I had an idea that maybe… but I’m not far enough along to feel anything—any movement or what have you. So I was waiting. I hadn’t even mentioned it to my mother or Daniel. I wanted to be sure.”
“I understand,” Meg said, also concluding that this must mean she was now third on the list of important people when it came to knowing secrets. She reconsidered all that Kelly had said and then, clearing her throat, asked, “What do you mean your monthlies have always been sporadic? What does that have to do with anything?” She wanted to know because hers had been as well, and if that meant she could potentially be pregnant, that could be a problem.
Kelly’s eyes widened and then receded, a knowing expression on her face. “Your mother hasn’t told you anything, has she?”
“About what?”
“About babies—where they come from.”
Meg was sixteen—and a half. She felt like, perhaps, she should know something of how that worked, but she really wasn’t quite certain. She hesitantly shook her head.
Kelly smiled, and at first, Meg thought it was because she found her response humorous, but then she realized that she was smiling about the process—the baby making process. And as she began to explain everything to her, in fairly non-specific terms, Meg didn’t know what to think or how to feel. She asked several questions, and Kelly answered all of them. Meg was thankful to know there was no way that she could possibly be pregnant, despite having irregular monthlies. When Kelly was finished, she asked, “Why are you smiling?”
“Because—it’s wonderful, Meg. When you’re with the man who loves you, and that you love with all of your heart—there’s nothing quite like it in all the world.”
Meg silently hoped that someday she would know what that felt like, though overall the entire description had her both a little nauseated and nervous. It sounded a bit uncomfortable to her. Deciding they’d talked enough about married life, she asked, “Do you think you’ll return to duty soon or will you be done now?”
“Oh, no. I should be back in a few days. The doctor said that the bleeding was likely from the fall. He said the baby seems to be strong and healthy and that I have at least another six months to go. Of course, it’s hard to tell by listening and an examination. But he feels that the baby will be just fine so long as I take it easy.”
“That’s good to know,” Meg said, relieved that the child should be okay, as well as to hear that Meg would be coming back to work. She had thought she might be gone for good now.
“Your mother said I can stay on so long as I feel comfortable. Apparently, when your uncle finally came back yesterday, he denied everything. He said he wasn’t even in the parlor that afternoon and that I must have fallen and hit the corner of a table. Naturally, I chose not to argue with your mother. She knows the truth.”
“And… you feel comfortable staying despite what he did to you?”
Kelly held her gaze for a moment and then nodded. Finally, she said, “How could I go and…”
“Leave me here?” Meg finished her sentence for her.
“Yes.”
“But if you feel threatened, or in harm’s way, you don’t have to stay here just for me.”
“Meg,” Kelly said, leaning forward slightly, careful to keep the ice in place, “I would never leave you. Never. Besides, I don’t feel as if your uncle will bother me again. Daniel said he saw him at the tavern last night and made it perfectly clear that if he should so much as look at me sideways, Daniel doesn’t care what his last name is or how much money he has.”
Meg only nodded, hoping that Daniel’s threats were enough to keep her uncle at bay. There was not much anyone could do if he had his mind set on hurting them, at least not in her experience. Daniel was young and strong, though. Surely, he could protect his wife. Though that didn’t help her any.
“If he ever touches you again, Meg, you let me know. Do you understand? Daniel will make sure that he never hurts either of us again.”
“All right,” Meg said, nodding. There was no way she would ever tell Kelly anything about her uncle, not after what she’d witnessed two days ago. From now on, Meg’s secret would stay her secret and hers alone.
“He hasn’t bothered you since, has he?”
Meg really didn’t like to fib to anyone, particularly not her best friend. But in this case, she couldn’t help it. If she told Kelly the truth, that the monster had attacked again the night before, angered by the newspaper and Kelly’s attempt to hold him accountable for his actions, Kelly could find herself in harm’s way. “No,” she managed, praying for forgiveness for her dishonesty.
“Good,” Kelly replied, leaning back, seeming to believe her. “He deserves to have his entrails eaten by ants.”
Having spent hours and hours imagining all of the different possibilities of punishment for her uncle, Meg neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement aloud; she could think of even worse fates he deserved to suffer, and she knew that one day, he would. But that was for another day, and right now, she needed to let her friend rest. “You should go to sleep. Take care of that wee one.”
Kelly was already nodding off, and she simply shook her head, a small smile on her face as her eyes began to close. Meg stood and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I love you, Kelly. Like a sister,” she whispered. Her friend murmured something in response that Meg thought was an agreement, and she smoothed the bed before she made her way out the door, hopeful that this was the last time Uncle Bertram hurt someone she loved.