down,’ Alice said and went to try to get Sophy’s legs up on the bed.
‘Don’t want to,’ Sophy moaned and flicked Alice away. ‘I hate that Danny Lovat for this,’ she sobbed. ‘It’s all his fault. He don’t even care. He ain’t even tried to see me, or asked how I am, or nuthin’.’
‘Shut up about him,’ Alice hissed. A knot of fear had formed in her chest for Sophy did look very queer. ‘Just lie down; you’ll feel better,’ she added desperately as Sophy began to wail.
This time Sophy took her sister’s advice and gingerly moved her legs up to the bed edge.
‘What’s that?’ Alice breathed.
‘What?’ Sophy croaked, trying to lift her head from the pillow.
‘There’s wet all over yer skirt. Look.’ Alice pointed at the darker mark on Sophy’s brown skirt. She peered closer then tottered back a bit in shock. ‘Think it’s blood; think you’re bleeding.’
Sophy struggled up and, with an appalled expression, tried to twist about to see the stain Alice had mentioned. Her searching hand encountered the warm, wet place and she drew her palm away covered in crimson. At that moment another cramping pain made her groan.
‘What is it?’ Alice demanded, scared. She knew it couldn’t be Sophy’s time. She knew her mum had calculated from Sophy’s missed monthlies that the baby would be born about July or August. It was only the end of March. ‘Baby can’t be coming, it’s not ready yet.’
The girls looked at each other with panic in their eyes as they remembered what had happened to Aunt Fran when it was her time and there’d been blood everywhere. They knew their Aunt Fran had almost died, she’d been so sick.
‘It can’t be the baby. Ain’t big enough.’ Sophy ran her trembling hand over her small mound of a belly. ‘It must be me monthlies. I’m not pregnant after all,’ she gasped and winced. ‘They must all be coming together ’cos it never hurt like this before or come so heavy. Oh God!’ she gave a muted shriek as she felt a burst of fluid drench her inner thighs. She pushed herself to sit up and scrabbled at her skirt to look between her legs. ‘It’s going all over the place,’ she cried in despair. ‘Oh, Gawd help me! What’s goin’ on?’ Sophy raised her terrified eyes to her sister.
After a moment of petrified stillness, mesmerised by the bloody mess spreading on the bed, Alice fumbled at the end of the mattress to find the rags they used for Lucy’s nighttime nappies. She started ineffectually to dab at her sister’s legs but as she did so another surge of blood soaked her hands. ‘There’s loads of it,’ she whispered, horrified.
‘It’s been in there for months … it’s all been in there …’ Sophy howled. ‘I weren’t pregnant; I’ve been all swollen with all me monthlies,’ she moaned. Suddenly a pain took her knees into her chest. ‘Can’t stand it, Al,’ she whimpered. ‘Why don’t it stop? That’s enough … it must be. Where’s Mum? Get Mum for me,’ she pleaded. ‘Look at the state of it … she’s gonna kill me … the mattress’s had it now.’
Alice’s hands were covered with crusting blood as she yanked the bottom sheet up and tried to bundle it beneath her sister’s thighs and in between her legs to try to staunch the flow. ‘I’ll get some washing water,’ she panted and flew into the front room. She dragged Lucy away from the door where she was stretching for the handle and plonked her quickly back on the bed. That rough handling from her favourite sister made Lucy start to cry.
Alice upturned the crockery her mother had stacked in the bowl clumsily onto the table then she raced outside to the tap on the landing. A groan from Sophy made her speed back quickly with the bowl only half filled with water. Some of it slopped over the sides with her jerky movements.
‘It hurts, Al,’ Sophy whimpered. ‘Where’s Mum?’
Alice tried to find a bit of clean cloth but practically all of it was now soaked with blood. She grabbed at a piece that had a clean edge and dipped it into the water then frantically set about wiping her sister’s legs. Another gush of blood made her efforts wasted.
Alice shot back and for a moment just stared at the red pool that had formed beneath Sophy’s hips. She was frightened and had no idea how to help her sister. ‘I’ll see if Aunt Fran’s in,’ she gulped. ‘If she stays with you ‘n’ Lucy, I’ll find Mum.’
Sophy’s frightened eyes clung hungrily to Alice’s face. ‘Alright,’ she whispered. ‘If you can’t find Mum … d’you know where Dad’s gone?’
‘He’s looking for work down the market,’ Alice said. She quickly tried to reassure Sophy who’d started to sob. ‘Mum won’t be far. She ain’t been gone long.’ She plunged her bloody hands into the bowl to get the worst of it off before dashing into the other room. She tried to quieten Lucy’s howls with a few soothing words before flying out and down the stairs to Aunt Fran’s. She hammered on her aunt’s door with both fists. She called to no avail. With tears of frustration starting to her eyes Alice swore and dithered on the spot, unsure whether to bolt back up the stairs and see how Sophy was or to go out immediately to try and find her mother. She continued down to the street and darted searching looks here and there hoping to spy her mum close by. She didn’t but at that moment Margaret Lovat came out of next door.
At first Margaret made to ignore Alice. It was the way they all went on now since Danny had got Sophy pregnant. Didn’t look … didn’t speak. But Margaret had never had a quarrel with Alice, and from her harassed demeanour the older woman could see she had trouble.
‘Somethin’ up?’ Margaret asked, hesitating on her walk to the shop.
‘Sophy,’ Alice breathed. ‘She ain’t pregnant after all. All her monthlies have come together and it’s gone all over the place and Mum’s gone out.’
Margaret blanched. ‘Where is Sophy?’ she demanded.
‘On the bed in the back room,’ Alice gasped. ‘Can you just stay with her and keep an eye on Lucy while I find me mum? She’s gotta come back and see to her ‘’cos I don’t know what to do.’
‘Well I was …’ Margaret began. She stepped past Alice. ‘Go and find Tilly as quick as you can,’ she said. ‘Quick as you can!’ she repeated urgently as Alice succumbed for a moment to her shock and stood riveted to the spot. ‘I’ve left my lot up there on their own,’ Margaret explained. ‘I was only going to get a drop o’ milk.’
Alice nodded vigorously and jerking into action she hared off along Campbell Road. Thankfully her mother hadn’t got too far at all. Alice spied her in a dim hallway of a house opposite talking to Beattie Evans; no doubt they were tearing strips off the Robertson family.
Frantically Alice beckoned her mum and Tilly, sensing her agitation, rushed out straight away.
‘Sophy’s not well, Mum,’ Alice blurted in a cautious whisper. Despite the urgency of the situation she was still conscious of keeping her family’s privacy. ‘Her monthlies have come after all and she’s bleedin’ all over the place. Mrs Lovat’s with her.’
Tilly didn’t wait to hear more; with her skirts in her fists she began to run home with Alice hot on her heels.
‘Think it’s done.’ Margaret’s quiet statement greeted Tilly’s appearance in the doorway. She
