Lily of the Springs by Carole Bellacera

around me as the rain pounded on the tin roof. It was something that nobody ever talked about, the fact that my aunt and uncle couldn’t have any children of their own. Lord knows that Aunt Jenny would’ve made a wonderful mother, but for some reason, they hadn’t been blessed that way.
    Aunt Jenny sighed and looked out the window at the dreary weather. “Oh, dear. I just don’t know how to say this.”
    “It’s okay, Aunt Jenny,” I said. “I think it’s time I should go home, too. We could call Sylvie Lou Blankenship, and have her get a message to Daddy to come get me this weekend.”
    “What?” Her surprised eyes connected with mine. Then understanding dawned. “Oh, no , honey! That’s not it at all ! I love having you here. I get lonely during the day when Virgil is at work. No, it’s just…” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath then met my gaze. “Lily, the doctor told me you’re…expecting.”
    I stared at her blankly. “Expecting what?”
    The color in her cheeks deepened. She took a deep breath and said, “A baby, Lily. You didn’t realize?”
    I blinked. My aunt’s words lingered in the silence, pounding through my head like a heartbeat. A baby…a baby…a baby .
    No . Jenny had to be mistaken. It couldn’t be true. After that first time, Jake had used a rubber. Every time. Well, almost every time. There had been that one stormy afternoon in his daddy’s hay-loft. Could I have been so unlucky?
    I shook my head and murmured, “No, it’s not possible.”
    But my mind raced as I tried to remember when I’d last had a visit from my monthly course. It hadn’t been since I’d arrived in Louieville, and I’d been here just over three weeks. Then I remembered, and an icy coldness swept over me. I’d been on my period over the fourth of July. I knew that because a bunch of kids from school had planned a day of swimming and picnicking at Lake Cumberland, and I’d been disappointed because I couldn’t go in the water, and had ended up skipping the whole thing.
    But in August, my period hadn’t come. I hadn’t really been concerned because when I’d mentioned my lateness to Daisy, she’d told me she’d read somewhere that major life changes and stress could interfere with the female workings of the body. And for sure, I’d been under a lot of stress in August, preparing to leave home.
    But it hadn’t come again this month…
    I swallowed the acrid taste of fear in my mouth and began to tremble. Aunt Jenny was staring at me, her face the color of the elaborately-dressed porcelain dolls encased in a curio cabinet in the corner of the living room.
    “Honey,” she said gently. “You know I’m not going to judge you. I want to help you if I can.”
    At her sympathetic tone, I burst into ragged sobs, covering my face with shaking hands. “Oh, my God! No ! It can’t be true! It just can’t !”
    In an instant, Aunt Jenny was beside me on the sofa, drawing me into her arms. I clung to her in desperation as the horror of the situation sank in. I imagined the stunned, disbelieving faces of my parents. The shame and condemnation in their eyes. Then I thought of Landry and what his reaction would be. I cried harder, burying my face in my aunt’s floral-scented shoulder. Somewhere in my consciousness, I heard her murmuring words meant to comfort. But there were no words that could change the facts. That could make it all go away.
    I was a girl in trouble. I was a bad girl who’d done bad things …and got caught.
    I wanted to die. I might as well be dead, I thought frantically, a new wave of grief shuddering through my body. I would be dead to my family. They’d disown me. Especially once they found out it was Jake who’d got me into trouble.
    “Lily Rae, hush, now. It’s not the end of the world, and you’re not alone.” Aunt Jenny rubbed my back. “Sweetie, listen to me. I’m here for you, and you’re going to get through this. I promise you.”
    I drew away and looked at her