reopened one of the wounds on her side, and fresh blood is dribbling down her sagging, naked body.
“Your second choice,” I tell her, “and the one I think you should follow, is that you can leave. You can get up and walk away. I'll take good care of the baby, I'll raise him well, I'll raise him better than I was ever raised. He won't have Pa yelling at him, or Brother trying to mess with him when he's trying to sleep, and he won't have to fight for his fair share at dinner. You don't need to worry about him, you just need to forget he existed. I'm sure you can make more babies, so just make another one to replace this one. You don't really need him, do you? You can spare him and -”
“Give him to me!” she gasps, although her voice sounds weaker than before.
“I've told you the two choices and -”
“Give him to me!” she sneers, as if she's trying to sound angry in an attempt to compensate for the fact she's so badly hurt. She's like a wounded, sick animal now, and I know what happens to wounded and sick animals. “Give me my fucking son, you bitch!”
“It's not gonna happen that way,” I tell her, before looking down at the baby's screaming face. “Come on, Alistair, there's no need to be upset. You can just -”
“His name's Hugh!” the woman shouts. “It was always... We always planned to call him... Hugh, after Pete's father...”
“You did?” I pause, running a fingertip against the side of his face while I mull things over. “No, I think I like Alistair better. I think he -”
Before she can get too close, I kick her again, this time slamming the heel of my foot into her mouth. I feel her teeth briefly digging into my flesh before she slumps back, and I see blood all over her chin when she tries to sit up.
“I'll sing to him,” I explain, rocking the baby gently in my arms, “and I'll feed him good, and I'll teach him stuff as soon as he gets old enough. He'll learn to run the farm, and maybe one day we'll find him some new friends, some brothers and sisters of his own. If Pa's really gone, that leaves me free to make a few changes around the place. I always held back before, I suppose out of respect, but now I can clean the house up, and the yard too. I can finally knock in those fence-posts that Pa never got around to, and Alistair'll grow up to be a big, strong man.”
I watch Alistair's face for a moment, before turning to the woman and seeing that she's face-down on the floor now.
“Are you awake?” I ask.
Silence.
Stepping around her, I see that her eyes are closed. She's lost so much blood from her waist and from between her legs, just in the last few minutes alone, that I guess she simply passed out. Still, I know I need to be careful, so I kick her shoulder a couple more times before using my foot to roll her onto her back.
Her eyes flicker open.
“Tell me how to do it,” I continue, hoping she might be able to help. “How do I make one of these babies grow in my own belly? Please, before you go to sleep, I need to know.”
She stares at me for a moment, before slowly her eyes close again.
“How do I do it?” I ask, nudging her face with my foot.
This time, she doesn't wake up.
She looks to be in a pretty bad way, and it's clear that she's deep asleep, maybe even worse. I wait, just in case she shows any more signs of life, and then I use my bare right foot to nudge her face. When she doesn't respond, I press my big toe against the side of her neck and feel her heart still beating, and finally I step back, confident that she really is out.
Alistair is still screaming in my arms.
“It's okay,” I say, looking down at him with a smile, “I just had to shut her up. Did you hear the fuss she was making? She didn't understand. Then again, outsiders never do understand what it's like here. I don't know why it's so hard for them.”
Crouching down and leaning back against the wall, I watch for a few seconds as he bawls some more, and then I lean closer and kiss
“Your second choice,” I tell her, “and the one I think you should follow, is that you can leave. You can get up and walk away. I'll take good care of the baby, I'll raise him well, I'll raise him better than I was ever raised. He won't have Pa yelling at him, or Brother trying to mess with him when he's trying to sleep, and he won't have to fight for his fair share at dinner. You don't need to worry about him, you just need to forget he existed. I'm sure you can make more babies, so just make another one to replace this one. You don't really need him, do you? You can spare him and -”
“Give him to me!” she gasps, although her voice sounds weaker than before.
“I've told you the two choices and -”
“Give him to me!” she sneers, as if she's trying to sound angry in an attempt to compensate for the fact she's so badly hurt. She's like a wounded, sick animal now, and I know what happens to wounded and sick animals. “Give me my fucking son, you bitch!”
“It's not gonna happen that way,” I tell her, before looking down at the baby's screaming face. “Come on, Alistair, there's no need to be upset. You can just -”
“His name's Hugh!” the woman shouts. “It was always... We always planned to call him... Hugh, after Pete's father...”
“You did?” I pause, running a fingertip against the side of his face while I mull things over. “No, I think I like Alistair better. I think he -”
Before she can get too close, I kick her again, this time slamming the heel of my foot into her mouth. I feel her teeth briefly digging into my flesh before she slumps back, and I see blood all over her chin when she tries to sit up.
“I'll sing to him,” I explain, rocking the baby gently in my arms, “and I'll feed him good, and I'll teach him stuff as soon as he gets old enough. He'll learn to run the farm, and maybe one day we'll find him some new friends, some brothers and sisters of his own. If Pa's really gone, that leaves me free to make a few changes around the place. I always held back before, I suppose out of respect, but now I can clean the house up, and the yard too. I can finally knock in those fence-posts that Pa never got around to, and Alistair'll grow up to be a big, strong man.”
I watch Alistair's face for a moment, before turning to the woman and seeing that she's face-down on the floor now.
“Are you awake?” I ask.
Silence.
Stepping around her, I see that her eyes are closed. She's lost so much blood from her waist and from between her legs, just in the last few minutes alone, that I guess she simply passed out. Still, I know I need to be careful, so I kick her shoulder a couple more times before using my foot to roll her onto her back.
Her eyes flicker open.
“Tell me how to do it,” I continue, hoping she might be able to help. “How do I make one of these babies grow in my own belly? Please, before you go to sleep, I need to know.”
She stares at me for a moment, before slowly her eyes close again.
“How do I do it?” I ask, nudging her face with my foot.
This time, she doesn't wake up.
She looks to be in a pretty bad way, and it's clear that she's deep asleep, maybe even worse. I wait, just in case she shows any more signs of life, and then I use my bare right foot to nudge her face. When she doesn't respond, I press my big toe against the side of her neck and feel her heart still beating, and finally I step back, confident that she really is out.
Alistair is still screaming in my arms.
“It's okay,” I say, looking down at him with a smile, “I just had to shut her up. Did you hear the fuss she was making? She didn't understand. Then again, outsiders never do understand what it's like here. I don't know why it's so hard for them.”
Crouching down and leaning back against the wall, I watch for a few seconds as he bawls some more, and then I lean closer and kiss
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