Part Eight
Part Seven
Today was the marking of nine months since her violation. Camilla could feel a slight tremor, but was no longer afraid or hateful of the situation. Now, she had the responsibility of giving life to a new human being, due on this very day.
Mrs. Connick had warned her in advance that she would most likely endure false labors pains over this time. However, Camilla had suffered from no such actions at all. She did feel sick to her stomach often, and sometimes even felt a tightening pain in her abdomen. Still, she said nothing, knowing it only meant that the time was closer than ever.
At this time, she was nearly certain that the baby would not come this day. If it did, it would disappoint Snitch by dragging him from his friends. He hadn�t seen them in so long because he was tending to her. Camilla sighed and hugged her stomach to warm herself more.
�You okay?� Snitch asked her.
�I�m fine.� She let out a shaky breath. �I�m just a little cold.�
�Want me t� call a cab? A walk this long ain�t th� best-�
�I�m perfectly fine, Dean. I need the exercise. Especially now, since the baby could come at any time. I�ll be spending a couple days in bed doing nothing.�
�All right. It�ll be about �nuther ten minute walk ahead of us, so if ya feel like gettin� a ride, lemme know, okay?�
�I won�t need a ride.�
She steadied herself on the slippery streets, refusing to ride in anything with wheels. The baby may be weighing down on her, but she needed to stay on her feet. It was all she could do to ignore the hunger ravaging in her stomach.
The walk continued slowly, and often times, Snitch would take her hand to steady her when she would slide slightly. Yet when she regained her balance, she still clung to his hand tightly to let him know that she was grateful he was there with her.
Though all the newsies knew of her condition by now, Camilla still felt somewhat uncomfortable. Yet when she remembered Snitch�s intension to announce their engagement, she felt a warm sensation uncurl inside of her. She couldn�t wait to let everyone know. Especially her own father. Though they had decided to wait till after the baby came, it still seemed hard to keep this from him.
It didn�t take long for them to reach the lodging house. Acting as the gentleman, Snitch opened the door and held it aside for Camilla to enter. She obliged and entered, then felt her back stiffen. She suddenly felt shy and vulnerable. Then she heard Snitch enter behind her, and she relaxed. As long as he was here, she would be fine.
�Hey, Snitch!� Itey shrieked.
Itey�s outburst caught the attention of all the other newsies in the lobby area. The next thing Camilla knew, she was jarred off to the side as Itey came bounding up and tackled poor Snitch in a leap and a bear hug. She laughed as she watched Snitch struggle to keep his balance and preventing from dropping Itey.
Soon, all the newsies began crowding around Snitch, and Camilla was completely ignored. It was as though she wasn�t even there. Sighing, she seated herself on a nearby bench and wrapped her arms around her pregnant belly. She felt the baby move and felt some comfort in the movement. This was, however, Snitch�s big comeback. Let him reacquaint himself with his friends. Camilla would have wanted the same had she been in the same situation.
Thankfully, reacquainting himself didn�t take Snitch very long. He cut the time short to make the announcement he had been longing to shout for weeks:
�I�m gonna get married!�
That was when Camilla became a part of the attention. While most of the newsboys kept their attention on Snitch, most of the newsgirls went to Camilla with their congratulations. She enjoyed the attention and willingly answered the many probing questions she suddenly realized she was starved for.
�When will you be getting married?� Princess asked.
�How did he propose?� Nian-Nyan questioned excitedly.
�Are you and Snitch gonna raise that baby of yours?� Snicker inquired innocently.
Somehow, Camilla managed to answer all of the questions happily and without suffering from any insult or embarrassment. Afterward, some of the newsgirls felt inclined to bring her up to date with the latest news from the lodging house, most forgetting that she was not well acquainted with the newsies and couldn�t identify most of the newsies.
�Jack and Autumn finally made up.� Pip reported. �In case you forgot, Jack proposed to her after she caught the bouquet at Seven and Bumlets� wedding, and she kinda freaked out. But they�re together again, and they�re actually thinking of getting married!�
�Psyche and Mush got hitched about a month ago.� Aki informed. �They eloped without telling anyone and moved out shortly afterward.�
�Dutchy and Cyanne are planning on having their wedding in April.� Stress said. �They wanted to wait till spring for warmer weather.�
�I think the best news is that Fantasia and Blink finally made up after their fight.� Tack stated cheerfully. �If you didn�t know, Fantasia used to be with one of the newsies� worst enemies and Blink got really ticked off at her. And so now they�ve finally mended their differences and are starting all over.�
�I�m glad there�s so much good news to report.� Camilla spoke up. �Is there anything else you need to tell me?�
�Not that we know of.� Books replied. �But we haven�t heard from Pie Eater and Kay for a while. They should be here soon. And Seven and Bumlets almost couldn�t make it. Bumlets says that Seven�s been sick.�
�Is she all right?�
�She thinks it�s influenza.� Twilight answered. �She�s stubborn and doesn�t like seeing doctors. She�s always been that way. But Bumlets is worried, so I think he�ll get her to go sometime.�
�So how are you and Specs doing, anyway?� Balla questioned, turning the attention to Twilight. �You guys haven�t been around much since you got married around Christmas.�
�We�ve been just fine. Specs got a promotion already and we�re gonna move into a more suitable apartment.�
Pie Eater and Kay were next to arrive, and half the attention Snitch had received suddenly went from him to Pie Eater. Snitch didn�t mind though and took a seat next to Camilla.
�How ya feelin�?� he asked.
�Oh, she�s kicking again.� Camilla grimaced. �I hope it won�t be long now.�
�Jus� as long as she don�t come t�day.�
�Believe me, if you were in my position, you�d want her to come right away.�
Goosey came over and took a seat next to them. �Hey Camilla. Glad you could show up.�
�Thanks.�
�When�s your due date?�
�Today, actually.�
Goosey�s eyes widened. �Then what the heck are you doing here?�
�I wanted to come. Besides, no babies are born on time. I don�t think I have anything to worry about.�
�I hope so. Well Kloppman�s brought some food in and he�s serving it in a minute. You might wanna grab a place in line before everyone gets here.�
�I don�t think she�ll �ave a problem with that.� Snitch said.
�Why not?�
�Take one good look at �er. Ya think they�ll let a pregnant lady stay in th� back of th� line?�
�Point taken. In that case, I�ll go grab a place in line!�
�Don�t forget Itey!� he called after her.
�Are you dumb or something?� she shot back.
�Ya hungry?� he directed toward Camilla.
�Famished.� She replied, licking her lips.
�How ya feelin�?�
�Just hungry for now.�
�An� th� baby?�
�She�s still kicking. I think she�s fine.�
�Don�t think she�ll come today?�
She groaned. �I wish she would. My back is killing me.�
He helped her to her feet and took her to the line for the refreshments. Once the line began moving, Seven and Bumlets arrived and the line was cut short from those who went to see the couple. Camilla took as much food as she could before returning to the bench. She watched Snitch as he went to see Bumlets.
Camilla began to hungrily consume all that she had on her plate, which was really just a few refreshments that Kloppman could afford. Among that precious few was sourdough bread, carrots, popcorn, coleslaw, and red candies in the spirit of Valentine�s Day. Nearly everything of Camilla�s was gone when she noticed that Seven had seated herself next to her.
�Hi, Camilla.� She said, smiling. �How are you doing?�
�I�m certainly ready for this baby to be born.� Camilla replied, also smiling genuinely. �But other than that, I�m just fine.�
�That�s good to hear.�
�How about you? I heard some of the girls say that you were sick lately.�
Seven sighed. �I used to get sick like this all the time when I was a kid. But I don�t understand why it�s come back now. It�s worse than ever.�
�Will you be all right?�
�I should be in a couple of days. Bumlets keeps telling me to see a doctor, but I don�t need one. I�ll be fine.�
�Might I intrude, ladies?� Snitch interrupted sheepishly.
�Of course you might.� Seven rose. �You can have my seat. I was just leaving.�
�Hey, ya don�t gotta leave-�
�It�s all right, I just came over to say hi to Camilla. And now that Bumlets is almost free, I�ll go rejoin him.�
�It was nice talking to you.� Camilla voiced.
�You too.�
Snitch took Seven�s spot once she left. �Ya feelin� okay? Ya look kinda pale.�
�I�m not sure.� She hugged her stomach. �I�m feeling a little strange.�
�Wanna head home?�
�No, no, it doesn�t feel too serious. I think I just ate everything too fast for my stomach to handle.�
�All right. Well I�m gonna talk t� some of th� guys, but I�ll be close by. If ya need anythin�, holler.�
�I will.�
Camilla watched Snitch as he left her and joined his friends to catch up on the time he had spent away from him. For the first time since he proposed to her, he seemed so truly happy. Not that he wasn't happy when he was with her, but he seemed somewhat happier in a different way when he was with his friends.
Fantasia and Kay came over to see her. Camilla was somewhat relieved Kay had come, and that she had left her baby with Pie Eater. Kay could help her in advice for when it came time for her to give birth.
"I'm glad to see you, Kay." Camilla said after the girls dropped by. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, Fantasia, but I am sort of in need of advice from Kay."
Fantasia grinned and nodded. "I completely understand. But you wouldn't mind me eavesdropping, would you?"
"Not at all."
"So what would you like to talk about?" Kay wondered.
"Well, first of all, my baby is actually due today. What did you go through when your baby's due date arrived?"
"It never did. Little David came early."
"Then what did you go through before he was born?"
"I'm assuming you're already going through with most of the things I can tell you about."
"You're probably right."
"But have you been having any false labor pains?"
Camilla frowned thoughtfully. "Not to my knowledge. What are those like?"
"They're like cramps. You'll probably mistake them for real labor pains, which are much more than the false ones."
"I haven't felt any cramping, or at least not in the sense of childbirth."
"Then maybe you should see a doctor."
"What for?" she paled. "Do you think there's something wrong?"
"It's probably nothing, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
She felt the baby move strongly and groaned. "Well, I hope she comes soon."
"She?" Fantasia questioned.
"She. Both Dean and I feel this baby is a girl."
"Oh. Poor Race."
"Race?"
"He was placing bets again, he betted on a boy."
"He always bets on a boy." Kay voiced. "He actually won for once when Little David was born."
Camilla continued to probe Kay with questions of what was to come in her pregnancy, and Kay answered as best she could. Some of the questions Camilla would ask lowly and Kay would reply to lowly, often causing Fantasia to blush slightly.
Every now and then, another newsie would drop by to say hello, and Camilla and Kay would silence so that their conversation would not be overheard. Then when they would pick up again, they would go further into detail. Camilla was thankful for all of the information Kay had given her, though some of it frightened her a little.
Soon, she began experiencing a rather cramping feeling weighing down on her belly. She shut her eyes briefly and pursed her lips together.
�Are you all right?� Fantasia wondered.
�Looks like what we�ve been talking about wants to get started right now.� She swallowed. �I�m feeling something like cramps that are pushing downward.�
�Do you think you�re in labor?� Kay questioned.
