Chapter 2
291 Words
CHAPTER 2
GOOD DECISIONS
With lungs on fire, Lillian raced along Gladstone Road, drawing ever closer to Patricia’s house. Her heart pounded as she put a mile between herself and Dutton Park. The younger girl had screamed with outrage the moment she found herself clutching the baby. Lillian imagined her finger pointing towards the city like a compass. Any Good Samaritan emerging from the cottages to see what the matter was would easily be convinced to set chase after the culprit who had committed such a callous deed. They would drag her straight to the police station if they caught her. Lillian shuddered at the idea of having to defend herself against charges of child abandonment. The fact she’d not been the slightest bit pregnant that morning did nothing to quell her distress. She was a worrier. Patricia always teased her for blowing situations with a justifiable explanation out of proportion. At that moment, Lillian’s nervousness knew no bounds but, despite her panic, she forced herself to throw a glance back over her shoulder. Nobody was coming.
She pulled the shawl fringe from her mouth, slowed to a trot and began to feel foolish. It was such a relief finally to reach Musgrave Park, so close to home, and stop for a moment on a park bench to take a rest.
Sweat beaded on her forehead and under her arms, soaking into her cotton blouse. Whether because of shifting the problem on to another girl or knowing how her brother-in-law would react if she’d brought the baby home, her stomach was churning. She collapsed on to a bench beneath a sprawling Moreton Bay fig tree until her heartbeat returned to normal and she felt well enough again to complete the last leg of the journey.
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