--- 13th of March, 1967 ---

Years after knowing one another ideally and working persistently not only on their platonic with somewhat unspeakably spellbinded feelings for one another, further, on their divine, golden Rome miracle. Years after devoting their unarguable efforts and aiding one another to accomplish ultimate success so that to be Mother Superior and Pope was one of the toughest tasks for them along with concealing the secrets about their secret affair. Secrets that nobody was supposed to know or hear of them at least. They were as sinful as the alluring forbidden fruit in Eden's celestial garden as the serpent tempts Adam and Eve to savor from its insatiable juices of the forbidden fruit, itself. Eventually their wee secret was Judy was the first ever woman, whose Romeo of hers gave his virtue to her shamelessly.

A day after the fatiguing flight from Boston to Rome by spending the rest of their day in a private, nonetheless obnoxiously reeking of stiffing air airplane without missing their flight, the pious members of the clergy have already established in the ancient city with their luggage and being ensured with a compact, nevertheless, convenient and sufficiently expansive apartment just for them. Even if it was against the church and earning the judgmental, grotesque God's glares, casted on them, it was the British compatriot who utterly changed the policies just for him and Judy only, due to the fact they were already intimate and they've been hiding these lethally sinful secrets from the rest of the world for years, subsequently allowing the middle-aged woman to share the same bed with him.

Whilst Timothy was seating on his hardwood, exquisitely lacquered bureau in the special room, linked with the living room as he called it his office which was the sole bonus to the property they possessed, he reclined on the chair and sipping a glass of fresh, lukewarm water as it liquid was encumbering underneath his throat skin, gulping it.

In the meantime, the scintillating sun rays dispersed through the widely open window of his office, consequently bathing the room in vibrant sun light in the wee days of spring as Rome's spring was visibly sooner than Boston's one, factly, the readily different locations of these both cities. The elating, eloquent symphony of the twittering birds outside encircled the compact, luxurious apartment the Mother Superior and the Pope were currently residing. Even the passing strangers under the widely opened window whether smiling, frowning or cackling, their chattering formed a choir.

At last but not least, Jude and Timothy's apartment had a living room, office, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom with a balcony altogether.

Once the retro, obsidian phone commenced to ring, it caught him off guard as he left aloof the glass of water on the bureau, throughout grabbing the earpiece as little did he know who was calling him at the moment until the earpiece was grasped in his mammoth, milky as vanilla hand, clung to his ear and anticipating to response the phone call.

"H-Hello?" Timid murmur echoed through the earpiece, nibbling on the silken skin of his bottom, berry-coloured lip, gawking blankly at the antique clock that ticked incessantly, indicating the current time around ten o'clock in the morning.

"Oh hi, Timothy! It's been years since we've called each other." It was the aspiring man of the cloth's younger sister Anna replying him jubilantly as a beaming smile bloomed on his berry-coloured, damp lips, whereas his heart raced.

"Anna! I haven't heard of you for years." Timothy evoked out in honeyed, cheerful voice. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thanks! And how about you too?"

"I'm doing well too. I couldn't be more honored for being a Pope, whilst my rare bird is a Mother Superior by my side." Mirthful, hoarse chuckle zinged his lips.

"Congratulations, Timothy! You deservedly become a Pope as she is the Mother Superior by your side." All of a sudden, an abrupt, curt pause followed by a brief, embarrassing silence arched between the both adults, whilst Anna took a drag of her cigarette, puffing grizzle dim as it overspread around her. "Hold on a second! Who is your rare bird? Are you having a lover when you're still serving the church?"

"She's rather an old friend of mine and she helped me a lot so that to achieve the dream of becoming Cardinal and then Pope as I owe her a huge credit for this help through the years." A sarcastic, contagiously joyous giggle quivered his oral caverns as his fragile eyelids incessantly blinked like opening and shutting blinds. "Let's not forget, I helped her and I've always supported her so that she can be my side in Rome."

"Aww, I see! I bet she's an incredible person." The younger lady quipped with a content, mischievous grin, swaying across her naturally rosy-coloured, soft as velvet lips.

"She's definitely an incredible person with a big, golden heart and undeniable intelligence. Thanks to her, look at me where I'm now!"

"I'm sure I can meet her one day in person. I mean, your rare bird, brother!"

"You can, of course! If you come here in Rome or otherwise we're in London." The British aristocrat said in scoffing manner, tittering quietly to himself as his younger sibling joined him in the choir of titters.

"I've a quick question, in case, if your instincts or hers chime you to take your life in much different direction." Anna chewed her bottom plump lip as the holy man bobbed his head, thrumming inwardly, monotonously, affirming her exclaimation encouragingly to resume it by commencing with the question she yearns to pose it directly.

"Alright! Go ahead, sister!" He insisted emphatically.

"You know what do I actually mean with this! Like creating your own family and having your own children!" In the interval, the Pope nodded humbly, eagerly his head, listening attentively his sister's utterance without peeling a single word, in order to disrespect her and show any signs of relentless, vexatious cockiness, lack of maturity and brashness, oozing of him. "Do you consider staying in Rome with your friend or otherwise go back in Boston?"

"Urm, that's an obnoxiously tough question! I mean, I moved in the USA, due to a couple of reasons such as the war here in Europe, the beautiful, however, unknown land which God blessed it, besides with the interesting nature and becoming the first Anglo-American Pope with 2 homelands." The rational motives why the British compatriot moved in a much different world than the European one, much different than his birth country, England, much different continent with unidentified for his vision and benevolent, enveloped in immense affection and unconditional warmness heart land were explaining what it convinced the ambitious, strong-willed man of the cloth to not reside his birth country. "And now in Rome with a spectacular Mother Superior, mesmerizing Mediterranean nature and vibes that gives along with ancient Rome ones would change my mind from going back in Boston where the patriarchy's beginning for me was and finding the first ever true love of my life." A sharp, begrudging exhale heaved from the top of his brittle lungs, surging its oxygen of his breathing organs.

"What do you particularly mean with all this, Timothy? You will stay in Rome even if you are no longer member of the church with your friend?"

"Exactly! I doubt it of moving in Boston back again since I can't complain about Rome and it's peaceful the life here." His berry-coloured, luscious lips curled in a choir, chronically motioning whenever Anna was speaking or he eventually.

All of a sudden, vigorous, exceeding door raps caught him off guard, snapping him out of his whirlpool of thoughts as the member of the clergy flinched at first, biting his tongue unintentionally as he heard femininely disquiet voice whining in sore pain as Jude unbuttoned her wool, dark conversation attire of the clergy by wearing nothing else than her plain, cotton, convenient white nightgown, ankle length as she undid a couple of buttons of her nightgown sufficiently to expose her still appealing, smooth as satin, long as towers drop dead gorgeous legs as gore trickled down its own way underneath her inner thigh like a bloody, pungently stanching cataract.

"It's up to you, Tim! Anyway what's your old friend's name? Just of curiosity!"

"Timothy! Help meeee!" Ear-piercing bewail escaped the nun's naturally rosy-coloured, dry lips as if an ethereally eternal soul dwelled out of a mortal corpse, subsequently wandering freely around the world until it accomplishes an ultimate peace at last especially in its afterlife. Even when the middle-aged woman opted to keep it cool on outside and abide patient until her love interest finishes with the phone call, she couldn't help but reclining on the wall, slowly slithering her spine, incapable of halting its bleeding from her core and the slight pregnant belly she possessed 4 months of after being intimate again and being successfully fertilized after reaching their climaxes.

"Speaking of your curiosity, her name is Jude as her real name is Judy!"

"Jude? Judy?"

"Mhm!"

"I like it!" Anna exclaimed plainly, whilst the man of the cloth got from the desk, growling inwardly to himself to go help his rara avis and check on her what was the genuine reason why her maniacal, agonized bewails boated in the background.

"I didn't mean to be rude or something, but Anna, Jude needs me as I've to check on her. Take care!"

"Oh okay! Bye and take care, Tim!"

Thereafter he readjusted the handset back, scampering up to the door, opening it until he was embraced by reclining against the wall his right hand, crouching down to survey the trickling blood of her core. Searing concern and ginormous distress plagued his cells as his parchment, yet young-looking complexion blanched at the dumbfounding sight. His rare bird reclining helplessly against the wall, sitting on the floor as dew of salty moistness pooled her eyelids, crystal, bittersweet tears gushing down her cheeks and mapping her porcelain, ageless complexion in translucent tears. Sobs and sniffles in low voice were emitted, covering with her elvish, milky as snow hands her tear-stained face as the younger man scooped her in a tight, warm hug shortly after scrutinizing the issue.

"Everything will be okay, rare bird! I think the best we can do now is to visit the doctor and check what's going on." Shortly after breaking off the hug, they did have limited time to go the most nigh hospital.

--- *** ---

--- A Quarter an Hour Later ---

As the members of the church have awaited beside the doctor's office on the second floor even when the blonde struggled to tower the stairway to the second floor, fortunately, she had a helping hand, escorting her and diminishing the physical pressure that she was under.

What it flabbergasted them was they were in hospital in a brisk hike within a couple of minutes! There weren't abundance of eagerly anticipating patients in the profound, long hallway of the grand, old façade until one of the doctors beheld the vulnerable sister of the church, accepting them momentarily in his office in a jiffy.

"Oh my goodness! It seems like you've waited for a long time. You can come in my office!" The elder Italian doctor instantly accepted the both patients which didn't have even a peculiar appointment with him, consequently holding the door for them as they took their seats against his cherry wood bureau, throughout shutting the door and returning back to his seat, wearing a stern, welcoming slight smile, flashed upon his scabby, mildly wrinkled face. "Good day to you!" He could promptly tell Italian wasn't their first language and then he preferred to speak to them in English as he mastered fluently his first foreign ever language for decades even after hundreds of foreign patients have already being in his workroom.

"Good day, doctor! We've been there for awhile as there's a problem which worries us a lot." At first Timothy and Jude greeted kindheartedly the doctor in unison until it was the middle-aged lady explaining the bizarre phenomenon she was being through right away, nibbling on the silky skin of her bottom rosy-coloured, luscious lip reluctantly, darting her caramel brown pools, fueled with anxiety and sheepishness.

"What do you mean with this, sister?"

"A trickle of blood dripped through my inner thigh a quarter an hour ago and I've been gaining weight drastically for weeks as I do eat strange food lately, besides the common nausea in the morning is killing me and the particular exhaustion in ease."

"Oh! We need to ultrasound your belly for this purpose as you should lie on this patient bed." In the meantime, the Italian compatriot pointed with his pudgy forefinger at the patient bed for the ultrasound test, ushering her to lay on it and await for the final results though the holy man's jaw contracted at first due to the news Jude broke about her unbelievably unexpected symptoms. "In addition to all this, sister, I may be full of surprises for patients like you but you're pregnant." Meantime, when the Bostonian laid on the patient bed almost motionlessly, whilst her love interest was sitting on the chair on her right side, taking her petite, trembling of apprehension and murderous panic and agitation hand into his larger, surprisingly warm one, in order to alleviate her as its thumb kneaded the back of her hand. Their astounded faces gaped with slightly agape mouths directly at the doctor, who was responsible to scan with a mere eyeing the ultrasound monitor and ultrasound, greasing her four-month-old belly.

"I'm pregnant?" Little did the blonde know until now she realized the miraculous, celestial dream came true lastly. Being a mother in the midlife aspect of her life was one of the miracles she has always had a yen for, although she starkly believed for ages she was infertile and empty, incapable of bearing the love of her life's children. "What are ya saying, doctor?"

"You don't believe me?" A ruefully wry, husky chuckle wasn't suppressed by the older man, who was performing an ultrasound test on his recent female patient as its graphical image of the monitored fresh life that was growing inside her with unidentified sex with a stark eye, whereas earning the squinting gape of the holy woman. "Here is the proof." He maneuvered to them to glimpse at the monitor, noting a four-month-old baby inside its mother's pregnant belly as serene, soothed smiles curled upon their lips as their hearts vigorously hammered in their constricted chests. Sheer felicity and genuine affection enveloped them.

"Oh wow! Don't tell me I'm dreaming!" The nun whispered softly, wiping with her solely free hand the stray, crystal tears of indescribable, delirious glee the good news she just received for the odd symptoms that befell her not just for days, howsoever, for weeks and months. In the interim, the only free hand of hers rested on her pudgy, swollen belly, contemplating with welling into her eyelids tears the heavenly moment. The first moment of beholding her unborn sweet ray of sunshine not just visibly being guarded inside her, furthermore seeing it on the ultrasound screen, sniffling inwardly, joyfully to herself.

"You aren't dreaming, Jude! I'm undeniably happy we will be parents very soon." Timothy inhaled then exhaled abruptly as he squeezed firmer her petite, timid hand as he pecked a tender kiss on her cheek, emboldening her to not lose faith in the pregnancy.

"See? That's your ray of sunshine which has been," The Italian doctor stuttered in the middle of his caution when he hasn't acknowledged his recent patient's pregnancy duration by turning to them after staring at the ultrasound monitor. "For how long have you been pregnant, sister?"

"Urm, 4 months is my experience with all I did explain a few minutes ago."

"Good! That's the beginning of the second trimester as I can give you piece of advices since you're pregnant." In the meanwhile, the older man commenced with his lecture about pregnancy especially if they're first for certain woman, aged whether in their young adulthood or in their 40s or even 50s, if they are sufficiently lucky to be impregnated yet. "And that's perfectly normal for a lady like you to have such gruesome symptoms as they sound like gruesome if it's actually a first pregnancy until you be impregnated again in the future." After his lecture, the doctor has already finished with the ultrasound test, comforting with his velvety, soothing voice the future parents.

First and foremost, when it was Judy's first time experiencing the bizarre symptoms such as food cravings, morning sicknesses, back pains, easy weariness were perfectly normal hints for an accurate pregnancy, Timothy thought his rara avis was ill and struggling not just for days as he believed initially until through the elapsing time, something urged him to look after her as she couldn't and stayed in bed a half part of the day at least.