That's life

I sighed as I looked at the little stick, for the umpteenth time that year. The two pink lines made me want to be sick.

You see, I'd had IVF so that I could get pregnant with Ned, it was something that we'd both wanted. However, it always ended terribly.

The first time that I became pregnant, I passed my miscarriage off as just "Bad Luck". The second time, I knew something must be up. The third time, it happened again, when I was 10 weeks pregnant, a little later then all the others, which had given us so much hope that it wouldn't happen this time. The next two times were just the same. Now I was pregnant for a 6th time. We weren't about to give up.

I walked out of the kitchen, taking a deep breath. I walked over to Ned and Olive, who were waiting anxiously.

"I'm pregnant, again" I muttered, smiling with hope. Ned and Olive smiled and Olive hugged me tightly.

"It'll be alright" she said, and Ned nodded slowly. I, Ned and Olive, knew it wouldn't be alright.

…...

As I lay in hospital at 15 weeks pregnant, I smiled. The nurse doing my scan was beaming too. I looked at Ned and discovered that we were all smiling.

"Well, Miss Pimms, the baby seems healthy, and it's a boy" The nurse said, and she showed us a picture on a screen of our baby. I just hoped that it'd be OK now.

As we walked out of the hospital, I shared a smile with Ned.

"Maybe it'll be fine this time" I told him, putting my gloved hand into his.

"Yeah, maybe" He said. I sighed, I was sure that it would be OK, but I was wary.

…...

We were lying in bed, joined by the plastic separator. I remembered Ned's arm around my shoulder as we both drifted off to sleep.

I was dreaming about our little baby boy. He had dark brown eyes, just like Ned's, and my brown curls. He was so real. Then the turning point came. A hooded figure grabbed him by the arms and he started kicking and screaming "Mummy!". I wanted to grab him back, but I couldn't move.

I was then woken up by Ned's voice.

"Chuck, Chuck! Get up!" He said frantically, stirring me through the separator. I woke up quickly and stared at him, turning on the lamp by my bed.

His face was dark. He had dark rings around his eyes and I saw tears. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

I stared at his blood stained hand. I don't know how it managed to get through the separator. Maybe it just got through. I looked down at my night dress and started sobbing.

My nightdress was the same- Except for the blood stained spot around the private area, that shouldn't have been there. I knew that I'd had a miscarriage for the sixth time. I knew who the hooded figure was: Death himself.

Ned started crying too. He was just as upset as I was. He blamed himself whenever this happened, because of his gift. I looked at him and he looked at me and we both pretended to hug each other.

…...

Olive cried too. Even Emerson Cod, who is as tough as stone, cried.

Ned and I barely spoke to each other. There wasn't much going on at the Pie Hole. Until the day a twelve year old Max walked in and asked for a job…..

The bells rang for the first time in ages. We all looked up and saw a young girl walk in, smiling brightly. She skipped up to me and Ned at the counter and smiled at us. She had dark hair, freckles, Emerald Green eyes and the cutest smile that melted your heart.

"I'd like a job please" she said smartly.

"Well, first of all, there aren't many customers. Second; Aren't you a bit too young?" Ned asked.

"First, tomorrow, there'll be a lot more customers. Second; I'm not that young, I'm twelve, not five" she said confidently.

"Right… what's your name then?" he sighed, he always hated hiring new waitresses.

"I'm Max" she said.

"Do you have a last name?" I asked.

"No" Max said.

I raised an eyebrow at this one word. Maybe she'd run away from home or something and did not want anyone to find her. Ned sighed and nodded.

"You have the job" he said and turned away. He was upset still from the miscarriages.

"So, where's your parents?" I asked her, and her smile disappeared.

"Closer then you think" she muttered. What was wrong with her?