The Baby Farm
Book 2 of
The Pennie Irvine Series.
…
Her new doctor was young and charming and every bit as gentle as Annie had promised. She did not presume anything and did not ask unnecessarily intrusive questions. Somehow, Pennie found herself sharing with this stranger that her baby’s father had, essentially, been a one-night stand but only because he had died soon afterward and that he had died a hero. She was very proud of him.
Doctor Evers was very supportive and encouraged her to keep looking after herself. “Don’t overdo things at work and don’t strain. Remember there’s two of you now. I would like you to start planning for the months ahead. You might want to consider joining a prenatal class and whether you want to bring someone along for support. Since your baby’s father can’t do that, it could be anyone at all, a lady friend perhaps?”
“Thanks, I’ll have a think about that. Can we talk about it some more next visit?”
“Of course, Pennie. Here’s a brochure to explain some of the details. Thanks for coming to see me. Bye for now.”
Dr. Evers had her medical rooms right in The Cross, near the corner of Premier Lane and Rosebank Street. Premier Lane was always a bustling, commercial thoroughfare and this morning was no different. There seemed to be traffic everywhere. Just as well it was a one-way street. As Pennie sat waiting for her bus she leaned back and soaked up the autumn sunshine. She felt good and decided to check out the brochure Dr. Evers had given her. Almost as soon as she started reading she was distracted by a loud scream that came from her left.
It looked as if an elderly lady was struggling to get into the back seat of a stately old car. She was maneuvering her backside in as she held the door open with her right hand, the same hand that was attached to an arm from which swung a large handbag. The lady had shouted because her handbag was, just then, being ripped from her arm by a man dressed in black. As he grabbed hold of the handbag he started running, right towards where Pennie was sitting.
In what seemed like a simple, reflex action, Pennie put out her leg just as the man approached, tripping him up and sending him sprawling past the bus shelter. Pennie grabbed the handbag from the ground, not expecting the man to stick around.
“Hey, you fuckin’ bitch, that’s my bag. Hand it back, now!” the man shouted.
Pennie turned and faced him. He stood, legs apart and arms out from his side. He was obviously ready to tackle her if necessary.
“Sorry, sir,” she smiled. “I just found it. Is it yours?” Then, she noticed the flick-knife in his right hand. “Oh, come on, no need to get nasty. Here, take your old bag,” she said, and reached across with the bag, purposely aiming it towards the man’s knife-gripping right hand. That was enough to momentarily distract the man as he decided with which hand to take the bag. That one moment was all Pennie needed.
Pennie had always been popular with her schoolmates, and especially with the boys when she started to develop quite early in her teens. A small group of them met regularly at the school oval, lying in the long grass that grew along its edges. There, they talked rubbish and swore at each other, usually in jest. Her friendship with Frank, though not exclusive, had led to some kissing and some touching and feeling that their mothers would not have approved of. She had showed him ‘hers’ and he had shown her ‘his’ when they were there, alone.
One day, a small group of them were arguing about being treated like kids by their parents and their teachers, even though they were all maturing rapidly. One of the boys, Barry, had looked at Pennie as she cuddled with Frank and made the comment that, obviously, ‘some’ of them were maturing more than the others. It was clear he was referring to the development of her breasts and her friend Frank took exception to it. He stood quickly and threw a punch at Barry, saying, “Keep your eyes off Pennie, mate!” Soon, they were brawling and the rest of their group stood and urged them on, calling ‘Fight, Fight, Fight’.
Frank told her later that he knew Barry was a much stronger fighter than he was and so he tried to put an end to it quickly by simply kicking him in the groin at the very first opportunity. Barry went down and showed no interest in getting back up. “You just remember that, Pennie, if a guy ever tries anything with you that you don’t want. Just kick him in the balls and that will stop him. Even just the slightest bump in my balls can make me crawl on the ground in pain for the next few minutes.”
“Really, that bad?” she had asked.
Pennie smiled as she thought now about Frank. She did not hesitate but took the opportunity and as she stepped toward the man to hand him the bag she swung her right foot into his crotch. She was wearing her strong hiking boots and that poor man, having adopted his fighting stance, had no chance of avoiding her boot. Frank had said, if you do kick make sure you put everything you’ve got behind it. The man went down like a sack of potatoes. She heard people cheer.
She had let go of the hand bag as she directed her kick and now bent down to once again pick it up.
“Look out,” someone yelled. “He’s getting up.”
Pennie looked up and saw the man was on his knees, cradling his groin with both hands. He looked at her and growled, “Okay, bitch. For that, you’re dead.”
Pennie could not believe the man was not out for the count but again she did not hesitate. She swung around and her next kick hit him in the temple. She stood over him and watched as blood began to dribble from his ear. Then, she walked towards the car where the old lady still sat, seemingly in shock, still holding the back door.
When Pennie arrived, she handed the bag over to the lady and said, “I believe you dropped this ma’am. There you are.”
The lady seemed to come back to life as she accepted the bag from Pennie. She stood up, much faster than Pennie thought she could be capable of, and shook Pennie’s hand. “Thank you, so much, dear. Please, hop in the car. I’ll drop you off, wherever you want to go. I’d rather not wait for the police to arrive. Come on.”
Pennie allowed herself to be pushed into the back seat ahead of the lady. Only then did she register that she was hearing a siren. It seemed to be approaching rapidly. The driver of the car accelerated away from the curb as Pennie watched the crowd begin to disperse. She noticed the man in black was still lying on the ground.
…
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