Chapter 14

"Hello stranger," Matthew said, jumping down from the four foot wall as Katherine passed him. He had been out with Gareth at the pub watching the lunchtime football game while Gareth's wife did some shopping in town and was busy eating a kebab when his ex-lover went past.

Katherine looked up, her bump was pronounced and Gareth gave a brief wave at the pregnant girl. "Sorry," she muttered. "In a world of my own. That looks nice," she said looking into the fast food and Matthew passed her a piece of donner meat on his fork. "Cheers," she said as she chewed the unhealthy food.

"What you up to? Shouldn't you be at home resting?"

"I'm pregnant not ill," Katherine replied somewhat indiginantly. "Mum mentioned Mothercare had a sale on prams and stuff so I thought I would come and have a look," she muttered. "Everything is so expensive."

Matthew smiled and Gareth grunted from the wall. "Yeah, I told Katie that's why she couldn't get knocked up. Kids are fuckin' costly."

Matthew gave Katherine an apologetic look and she turned back and rubbed her stomach. "I know, and I have years of it."

Matthew felt a pang of guilt and looked at her. "You've always got your friends to help," he told her and she forced a smile.

"My friends are off to Uni," Katherine told him. "None of them were stupid enough to get a bun in the oven. And I wouldn't mind, I don't even have sex." There was a pause as she realised what she said and then added. "Well not often, I don't have a boyfriend."

There was a loud voice from the other side of the road, and Gareth looked up at his name.

"Oh crap," he muttered and dropped down from the wall. "I gotta go," he said, looking towards his wife in their battered car and Matthew turned to Katherine after bidding his friend goodbye.

"Can I come with you, to the shops, like?" Matthew asked and Katherine nodded.

"By all means," she said and helped herself to the last of Matthew's unhealthy snack. Matthew found it weird looking in the baby shop, he had never been there before and had to ask Katherine why they needed a baby bath when she already had a sink and a big bath. Katherine laughed and held up a baby-grow. "It's so cute."

Matthew suppressed a grin and then started looking at the prams and the buggies. He realised that the baby, far from being small and insignificant and therefore having little needs, would actually require lots of money and time. He stared at his friend looking at each of the buggies before returning to him. "I like that one, but they are so expensive. It might be a third-off but they need to be cheaper before I can get one."

Matthew sniffed and looked at Katherine. He wanted to tell her that the baby was his and was conceived from consensual drunken debauchery not a violent rape, and that he would pay his way with her. He wanted to tell everything would be all right, but he couldn't and stammered.

"I'll umm, I'll help you," he promised.

Katherine's eyes widened and she rubbed her face. "Ahh that's sweet," she said. "But I'll manage. I will get help but it's just so weird."

"No, what I mean is, is that I am expecting to come into some money soon. It's not a lot, but it will help. I'll help you. I mean, do you want to get a pram?"

Katherine smiled and Matthew's heart pounded. She shrugged and gawped. "I can't borrow money from you."

"I'll buy it," Matthew said quickly and Katherine looked at him in shock, wide-eyed and surprised.

"That is so nice, but I can't," she said with a deep breath and looked at the buggies. "I just can't but thank you. Dad said he would help but he has been a bit busy lately."

Matthew sighed. "Yeah, Paul's not been around much." Katherine looked at the pram one last time and turned away. Matthew felt wretched and called her back, pulling out his wallet and finding his Credit Card – it maybe £150 but his child would need it, and it was the sort of thing savings were there for. "Come on."

"No, Matthew," Katherine said firmly but Matthew strode over to the buggy that reclined into a pram and then asked her "what colour?"

Katherine stammered and so Matthew suggested the neutral brown on the basis it wouldn't show the dirt as much and Katherine mewed several thank yous at him. Matthew felt she shouldn't be showing him any gratitude but they took the big box to the till and he jabbed his PIN into the little machine before walking out of the shop carrying the container that was almost as big as he was.

Matthew could only just move it, but he walked her home via the bus and she gave him a hug on the porch.

"I'll pay you back," Katherine promised, tapping the top of the box and kissed him on the cheek. "And thank you so much. You really are wonderful, Matt, you've really helped me out."

"No problem, that's what friends are for." Matthew blushed at Katherine's display of appreciation and waved at her, walking away down the drive. He knew, more than ever, that he needed to properly help her but just didn't know how to do so without causing problems. He had a proper dilemma and not one anyone could help him with.

Matthew answered the knock at the door, his heart in his mouth. Was this Joseph and Charlotte coming to rip him to shreds, did they know? Was buying the buggy too much of a give-away? He peeped through the spy hole and grinned when he saw his mate staring back.

"Hiya mate," Matthew said jovially as he opened the door and then gasped when he saw the two suitcases with him. "What've you done?"

"She's thrown me out," he said expressionlessly and Matthew groaned.

"Oh Gareth," he said as Gareth pushed past him. "Oi," Matthew replied indignantly as his friend sailed past.

"Oh come on mate," Gareth pleaded. "I've got nowhere else to go." Matthew sighed, he needed Gareth staying with him as much a diabetic needed a lifetime supply of chocolate bars but he looked at his friend begging him and sighed. "Please, two weeks tops."

"OK," he murmured relenting. "But no staying up until 6am watching porn. I have neighbours and a job. And you clean up after yourself and no, I repeat no, wandering around my flat naked. And no looking at porn on my laptop, I do work on that sometimes."

Gareth stood up straight and touched the side of his head. "Aye aye mate," he said with a smile. Matthew groaned and Gareth pulled his suitcases into the flat. Matthew pointed him towards a small box room containing a mattress (but no single bed) and gave him some sheets from the airing cupboard.

"I couldn't borrow a few quid could I? I'm starving, could really do with a ruby."

Matthew sighed and looked at him as he slung the sheets over the bed in a heap and Matthew picked up his wallet and passed him a ten pound note. "Cheers, you having one?"

Matthew ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. "I've got an interview tomorrow," he said calmly. "A job interview. I need to prepare, go to bed early and not smell of curry and beer."

Gareth patted his rotund belly. "Ahh a bit of beer never hurt no-one. And what do you need to prepare for a job interview for? Come on, lets grab some tins from the offie."

Matthew closed his eyes and counted to three. "No," he said firmly. "I need to prepare. This is an important job interview, and I need to get it." He watched his friend leave the flat and sat down with his books, only to be disturbed a few minutes later when he returned with a curry and a bag containing cans of lager, sitting down on the sofa and watching a sports game show by shouting out the answers.

"Fuckin' twat," he shouted at the television, his mouth full of Lamb Rogan Josh. "Obvious that's not Schmeichel. His nose isn't purple. See Matty."

Matthew looked up and sighed, putting his book down. "So why did you and Katie split up?"

Gareth tore his eyes away from the television screen and glanced down at the floor and then at his friend. "She ummm, she went skitz. We had a row, and she threw me out."

Matthew sighed and scratched his hair. "What d'ya do?"

"I did nothing," Gareth said indignantly. "It was her, she just went fucking mental."

Matthew rubbed his chin and hesitated. He had known Katie for a long time and while she had a temper, she was not overly impulsive, there had to be something else.

"Did you cheat on her?" Matthew asked and Gareth shovelled the last of his curry into his mouth.