midwife » michael gray. [completed]

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX.

    → CHAPTER FORTY-SIX; OCTOBER NIGHTS.

It was October 1927 when Michael came back to Small Heath, almost a year and a half after he had first left.

Hannah had slowly found herself moving on with her life, very slowly. She had promised herself that she would no longer cry over Michael Gray after the fourth month had passed, she was better than that and she also deserved better than him. There were times when she loathed Michael and would curse his name to every person who mentioned him but Hannah knew deep down that she was still completely in love with him and that when he did finally return, she would be straight into his arms if he felt the same. If he didn't, then she would fight for his love with every fibre of her body.

The nights were starting to draw earlier, the streets of Small Heath becoming dark at around 5pm, leaving Hannah to tackle home deliveries in the pitch-black darkness. She was frightened anymore, and she didn't care for any trouble that started, she was like a machine. After a birth that was close to Watery Lane, Hannah would always walk the long way back, even if the sky had gone down and the chances of something terrible were increased, just so she could avoid reliving memories that she shared with Michael.

Everywhere she went, people would look at Hannah and they could all see the sorrow in her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, Hannah could not hold up the wall she had built constantly and it occasionally fell down, usually in front of Alexandra who had spent so many nights comforting Hannah during her darkest of feelings. Hannah did not want to feel like this, she wanted to be over Michael and move on with someone else but she couldn't, even if she did try, which she hadn't.

Betty and Sophie had tried to set Hannah up on a blind date at the start of the year but Hannah full on refused, she truly believed that Michael would come back and be with her instantly. The engagement ring was always on her finger also, just in case he randomly turned up and whisked her away. Hannah was completely delusional and was a fool to think that it would ever happen.

It was a hard move, going from having someone by your side constantly, a protector and a lover, to nothing but loneliness. Hannah missed Michael the most at night, when she was cold and eager for the touch of his skin on hers, warming her up in an instant. She missed the feeling of his mouth on her neck and she often daydreamed about those times they spent together, wrapped up in bedsheets and doing sinful activities before work or after a taxing day. Hannah just missed Michael more than she had missed anything in her life.

When Hannah first saw Michael for the first time in over a year, she was unsure of how to react. It was pitch black and she struggled to make out if it was him with another person but then the figure down the road laughed and her heart stopped, it was Michael and he was back. All she wanted to do was run over and embrace him but she was stuck on the pavement, probably looking like a weirdo to anyone who was watching from their windows. She had waited for this moment for months but now that it was here, she was clueless on what to do. She wanted to run away and not confront him but she also wanted to run over and kiss him like he had never been kissed before.

Hannah had no choice but to walk over, her patient was in the house next door to where they were stood. It was inevitable, she would have to face him, even if it wasn't a positive experience. She was sure that Michael would be happy to see her but she could already imagine how awkward things would be, what would they talk about?

Hannah finally braved it and began to walk over, keeping her head low and secretly hoping that Michael wouldn't recognise her, she needed time to think things over before she had a discussion with him. Hannah wasn't that far away from Michael though when she saw a female laugh and lean over, kissing Michael on his lips which Michael seemed to enjoy, his mouth moving along with the mystery females. Hannah bit her lip as she tried not to cry, she was better than this, she didn't need to feel upset about a boy.