Running on Empty by Roger Barry Read Free Book Online

Josh jumped from the bed.
    ‘Don’t drink that, it’ll be cold by now. Hang on a minute and I’ll do a fresh pot.
    Still naked, he walked to the kitchen area and began filling a kettle. Ella smiled to herself. Men are so practical after making love, she thought, always looking for something useful to do. It’s as if a switch flicks inside their head.
    After putting on the kettle, Josh moved to the small hall table, absently sifting through the post. Suddenly he stopped. Ella noticed, got out of bed and walked to his side.
    ‘What is it?’ she asked.
    He didn’t answer, but instead slowly opened the envelope which had captured his attention. He removed a single sheet of paper, scanning it quickly at first, before reading it again, more thoroughly.
    All Ella could see was a sheet of official headed notepaper.
    ‘What is it?’ she repeated softly.
    ‘I have to go’ said Josh, holding the page out for her to see, ‘my mother has just died’

Chapter 6
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Fondation d’Auteuil
    Ella awoke with a start, jumped from her bed and just made it to the bathroom before throwing up. Again. This was the second day in a row she had awoken like this. On the first day she thought that it may have been something she had eaten, but this morning, sitting on the bathroom floor with her head in her hands, staring into that white bowl, she was beginning to think otherwise.
    How long has Josh been gone, how long has it been since ‘that day’? Six weeks? Seven? Ella was unsure, the nausea impairing her ability to recollect accurately. This does not look good.
    Josh had promised to write as soon as he could, but so far, nothing. He had left her the keys to his apartment, but she hadn’t returned there since he’d left so abruptly. Ella knew it would take time for him to sort out affairs back home, probably a week or more, but seven weeks? Her mind had cleared a little as the nausea subsided, and yes, it was seven weeks, she was sure of that now. She wasn’t expecting a long drawn out letter, but a card perhaps? Surely time enough to drop her a card?
    This does not look good!
    ‘Ella, are you all right in there?’ her aunt called from outside the bathroom.
    ‘Yes Amelie, fine thanks, I’ll be out in a minute’
    ‘Shit, that’s all I need’ she whispered to herself. ‘If it’s what I think it is, she’ll know eventually, and probably a lot sooner’.

    The doctor facing Ella was a genial, gray haired man in his early fifties, she guessed.
    ‘Well Ella, I have some good news for you’ he began, although his expression didn’t appear to have the look of someone bearing glad tidings, as his eyes glanced from her face to her hands, then swiftly back. ‘The cause of your sickness is simple. You’re pregnant’.
    ‘Oh’ was all Ella could muster, for he was only confirming what she already knew, or at the very least, strongly suspected.
    ‘And, forgive me for prying, but is the father of this child, ah…available at present?’
    Ella shook her head slowly.
    ‘He’s in America. He had to return home due to his mother passing away. He had to attend to things over there’.
    ‘I see’.
    After a long pause, he continued.
    ‘Do you expect him to return soon? Have you heard from him?’
    Ella shook her head again.
    ‘Forgive me for prying, but I do so out of my concern for both you and your unborn child. I’m unsure of how you feel at this moment, and whether you do or do not expect the father to return. Have you considered the options you have, bearing in mind the circumstances?’
    ‘Well I…well no, not really if I’m honest’.
    ‘Have you considered, for example, the possibility of putting the child up for adaption? I am not aware of your financial status, or your family status, so I’m just trying to help you explore the possibilities, you understand. Essentially, it’s your child, and your choice, but practicalities like these have to come into play at some stage. The head and the heart will probably offer