Page 133 of Don't Believe A Word

Letting it drop into his lap he regarded her innocently.

‘So who is she?’ she asked. ‘Are you still seeing her?’

He shrugged. ‘You already know her name’s Pearl. She joined our year when we started sixth form, and yeah, I still see her around, at school, obvs, and hanging out here and there …’

‘So she’s not actually your girlfriend?’ Was that better or worse? Cristy had no idea.

‘We saw each other a few times, but it was never, like,official.’

‘Well you obviously had sex with her, so what exactly does make itofficial?’

‘It’s just a decision you come to after a few dates, or maybe longer than that, and then you tell everyone else when you feel ready.’

Her eyes widened again. ‘And does imminent fatherhood make youfeel ready?’ she asked scathingly.

Shrugging again, Aiden said, ‘It’s not an issue. We both agreed we didn’t want it to be serious.’

‘But now she’s pregnant and apparently thinks it’s serious enough to send an email to Dad … Did she tell you she was going to do that?’

‘Never mentioned a word. I didn’t even know myself – about the baby thing – until a couple of weeks ago …’

The baby thing? What kind of son had she raised?‘And you didn’t mention it when you found out, because?’

‘I guess, because I wasn’t the only one she was getting it on with last August. There was Tim Watts and Dylan Fullbright …’

Seizing the lifeline, Cristy said, ‘So there’s a chance one of them could be the father?’

‘Who knows? I haven’t asked. Maybe there’s not even really a baby. Girls make this stuff up all the time.’

‘Well, this one has had a scan because she attached it to the email, so I think we can assume there is a child.’ To Matthew she said, ‘You need to talk to her parents.’

‘Me?’ he protested. ‘How aboutwetalk to her parents?’

‘You better check first that she’s told them,’ Aiden advised. ‘If they don’t already know it’ll be a helluva way to find out, you and Dad turning up on their doorstep allreach for your guns…’

Cristy almost laughed, out of hysteria more than humour.‘What matters here is that we establish whether or not the child’s yours,’ she declared, knowing she had to calm down, but seeming unable to. ‘Is she the kind of person who’d say it was, even if she wasn’t sure?’

‘I don’t really know her that well.’

She stared at him. This was turning into a farce and if Matthew laughed again she might just swing for him. ‘Why aren’t you taking this seriously?’ she shouted at him. ‘You surely can’t think it’s something we can just brush under the carpet and pretend isn’t happening?’

‘I am taking it seriously,’ he insisted, ‘but you’re right, there are a few steps to go through before we start getting excited …’

‘Excited?’

‘Sorry, wrong choice of word. I should have said … something else. Anyway, I’m with you that we need to find out if Aiden’s really the father. As that’s going to involve a DNA test we need to make sure she’s on board for it. If she isn’t, well then she won’t have any claim on him, will she?’

‘Which doesn’t exactly put him in the clear, and I for one want a definitive answer. So, this is what we’re going to do … You, Aiden, will contact her tonight to ask for the test, and you, Matthew, will reply to her email telling her that’s what we’re doing. Unless, of course, she’s ready to admit there is no baby and the scan is just something she downloaded for … I don’t know, a bit of fun? Would she do that?’Really grasping at straws now.

Aiden regarded her thoughtfully. ‘I guess, she might,’ he said. ‘I mean, I’m not saying she did, but …’

‘Stop! Just stop,’ Cristy cried, holding up a hand, and she turned to the fridge to snatch out a bottle of wine.

‘I’ll have one of those,’ Matthew told her as she filled a glass. ‘And you, Aiden …’

‘Yeah, sure,’ he said readily.

‘I’m not offering you a drink,’ Matthew said, ‘I’m telling you to get going on the contact Mum’s just suggested. With any luck, once this girl knows we’re getting into the science, she’ll come clean and admit it’s some sort of prank.’