I Committed A Cardinal Sin

Remember when a trip to the local pool cost just 50c, and an icy pole was the ultimate summer reward? You’d peel back the wrapper, your fingers instantly sticky from the first melting drips, as that perfect mix of sweet lemonade and icy freshness hit your tongue. The splash of water, the heat of the pavement, the air thick with the scent of chlorine and sunscreen, the laughter of kids echoing off the water, the simple joy of a summer afternoon - pure, uncomplicated magic.

When I was about 10 years old, we met our family friends at the pool. There were four children, just like in our family. One boy, three girls. We used to do so many things together - family BBQ’s, sleepovers, family holidays. Their Mum and Dad were like our second parents. Their youngest was the same age as my youngest sister, around 3 years old.

I was sitting in the medium pool with my second Mum and the little kids. She had on this beautiful black swimming suit and I couldn’t help but notice a round bump at her belly. Without even thinking, I asked her if she was pregnant. She looked at me slightly surprised, laughed and said “no, why do I look pregnant?” I was slightly embarrassed, more so from the way she looked at me, but didn’t really understand I had committed some kind of cardinal sin. I mumbled something about thinking she might be having another baby because of the age of her youngest, and then fled the scene in search of another one of those delicious icy poles.

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